The HP-35: Consumer Electronics, an Origin Story • Hacker News Board

Re: The HP-35: Consumer Electronics, an Origin Story

#81

Post by jasomill » Sat, May 12, 2018, 8:05 PM UTC

gh02t wrote: post #25

fermienrico wrote: post #4

Unfortunately, consumer electronics are not the same as the days of Braun. 70’s was the golden era. I was extremely pleased with my DM42 from SwissMicros. All of their models either have a Titanium or Steel case. The heft and quality is just absolutely beautiful. I spoke to Michael Steinmann and he seems to be a great guy passionate about what he does. I enjoyed our conversation about old school electronics. Check ou…

I've been eyeing one for a long time. I use an original HP-42S I stole from my father that's older than I am, but I almost spilled coffee on it the other day, which made me realize it's probably time to invest in the SwissMicro just based on the value of the 42.

Looks like the DM42 also fixes the only complaint I ever had about the 42S, namely, the display contrast. While I've had a 42S for many years, and have spent many pleasant hours fiddling with it, it never replaced my pair of 15Cs as a daily driver on account of the display.

Re: The HP-35: Consumer Electronics, an Origin Story

#82

Post by chx » Sat, May 12, 2018, 9:32 PM UTC

e3pi wrote: post #75

joezydeco wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm a proud 42S owner as well. I keep it safe in a drawer and use the Free42 build on iOS in my pocket: http://thomasokken.nl/free42/

I've a SKB case filled with HP calculators. It is your android FREE 42s I pack in the kit. Other than 3-D just-so HP's haptic double-injected keys, it's fantastic! Thank you Thomas for your phenomenal RPN gift to humankind!

You are not replying to Thomas Okken, just FYI.

Re: The HP-35: Consumer Electronics, an Origin Story

#83

Post by jloughry » Sun, May 13, 2018, 3:23 AM UTC

Stratoscope wrote: post #31

FullyFunctional wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

INTERESTING, thanks for sharing. Please, how is the keyboard? To me, more than anything, what made the HP calc fantastic was the great keyboard - which really matters when you start using them in anger. My HP-15C survived all but the last of many drops. The HP-11C that replaced it still powers on on its original batteries!

These were rugged little machines. Back in the '80s I had a dog named Ben. A lab-afghan-shepherd mix, truly a great dog. Whenever he took a nap, my cat Petunia would climb on top of him and take a nap with him. They were best friends. Ben had only one bad habit. He liked to find my wallet or checkbook and bury it in the back yard! One day he found my HP-16C in its "leatherette" case. Yes, it was just like a checkbook…

Casio calculator watch—the black plastic kind—went all the way through a black Lab named Brando. Came out the other end of the dog minus half of its wristband, with teeth marks in the keyboard and a cracked display but it still worked. Cleaned it thoroughly, replaced the band and wore that watch for many more years.

Re: The HP-35: Consumer Electronics, an Origin Story

#84

Post by qubex » Sun, May 13, 2018, 6:44 AM UTC

chx wrote: post #37

madengr wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ha ha, practically? She did. Keysight is what’s left of the original HP. HP is now known for garbage computers and shitty printers.

And calculators...?

I have an HP Prime. I use it daily. It’s CAS isn’t exactly Mathematica-grade but it’s perfectly adequate for my daily purposes.

Re: The HP-35: Consumer Electronics, an Origin Story

#85

Post by joezydeco » Sun, May 13, 2018, 5:01 PM UTC

e3pi wrote: post #75

joezydeco wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm a proud 42S owner as well. I keep it safe in a drawer and use the Free42 build on iOS in my pocket: http://thomasokken.nl/free42/

I've a SKB case filled with HP calculators. It is your android FREE 42s I pack in the kit. Other than 3-D just-so HP's haptic double-injected keys, it's fantastic! Thank you Thomas for your phenomenal RPN gift to humankind!

Yeah, sorry if that wasn't clear. I didn't write Free42. Just a happy user.

Re: The HP-35: Consumer Electronics, an Origin Story

#86

Post by ddingus » Tue, May 15, 2018, 10:24 PM UTC

agumonkey wrote: post #78

ddingus wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You should. Teardowns on ordinary things is appealing and informative. I suspect more people than you think would find all that compelling.

Youtube is already filled with that, but it's random in quality.. maybe

Really, I was speaking to quality. If it's good, informative, then heck yeah. I like that stuff.

Re: The HP-35: Consumer Electronics, an Origin Story

#87

Post by dbuder » Wed, May 16, 2018, 2:38 PM UTC

agumonkey wrote: post #78

ddingus wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You should. Teardowns on ordinary things is appealing and informative. I suspect more people than you think would find all that compelling.

Youtube is already filled with that, but it's random in quality.. maybe

In my experience most of the teardowns on youtube are terrible, if it's not from one of a half dozen channels there is a <10% chance you will be able to see the component you are interested in and it is hard to trust their judgment.