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As an alternative point of view, I've always heard that HP calculators were killed by TI giving free calculators to schools - which lead to an entire generation

by sjm-lbm 11y ago

As an alternative point of view, I've always heard that HP calculators were killed by TI giving free calculators to schools - which lead to an entire generation that had no desire to learn RPN, even if it has some serious advantages in a lot of areas. The counterexamples you provide (OSX and Chromebooks) follow basically the same UI paradigms as the Windows machines they replaced (even if some of those might have been copied from earlier Macs). There still may be less overall diversity in the computers we use, even if there are now a number if different logos on the box.

jcrawfordor 11y ago
I don't think HP's RPN calculators were ever in competition with TI. The RPN calculators like the 12C are marketed to finance professionals, and TI has nothing like them. The HP graphing calculators like the 50g are infix (although there is a pretty good RPN app available). Edit: I do see that HP made graphing calculators with native RPN in the late '80s, so perhaps they were pushing these for academic markets, although today they seem to be the provence of surveyors. Random aside: I first learned RPN from my father, a budget analyst, and have used it ever since. RealCalc is an Android calculator app with an excellent RPN mode, if you're curious.
- DigitalJack 11y ago
  The 50g is infix? When did HP switch away from RPN? Oh, it's just an option now. I've had my 48g since college in the late 90s, and now use a 48g emulator on my phone.
  - apricot 11y ago
    HP hasn't been making calculators for years. They buy calculators from some Taiwanese maker and put their logo on them.
- swiley 11y ago
  I have an hp50g and it kind of sucks in infix mode compared to RPN mode IMO. Everything is hidden behind layers and layers of menus sort of like the TI calculators (which is the point I guess?)
todd8 11y ago
There is this mystic and frankly mythology that HP's RPN is a superior entry method for arithmetic. It's not. I knew RPN from my interest in math before calculators were invented, so I liked HP's RPN. However the direct correspondence between written math and the way it is expressed on a TI calculator is a huge advantage. I still have an HP RPN calculator. I liked its physical shape and size. I like the shape of its buttons. I likes the quality and feel. However, my daughter's TI calculator with a high resolution color screen (for a calculator) that graphs functions and understands calculus is so much more capable, and it supports parentheses with a standard order of operations so it is easier to go from a problem or equation description and entry into the calculator. Before Python, I ordinarily used bc (a Unix command that acted as a basic calculator) for simple calculator calculations at my desk. bc was much more popular that the other Unix calculator dc which used RPN. Now I just use python's REPL. I only use a calculator if I'm away from a real computer (which is rare since I carry a smart phone).
- iNate2000 11y ago
  RPN is a better way to think about calculating or computing. It's more cumbersome for a single arithmetic operation, but when you're chaining operations together the stack is very powerful. It's a lot less abstracted from the way the computer works.

by sjm-lbm 11y ago

jcrawfordor 11y ago

I don't think HP's RPN calculators were ever in competition with TI. The RPN calculators like the 12C are marketed to finance professionals, and TI has nothing like them. The HP graphing calculators like the 50g are infix (although there is a pretty good RPN app available). Edit: I do see that HP made graphing calculators with native RPN in the late '80s, so perhaps they were pushing these for academic markets, although today they seem to be the provence of surveyors. Random aside: I first learned RPN from my father, a budget analyst, and have used it ever since. RealCalc is an Android calculator app with an excellent RPN mode, if you're curious.

DigitalJack 11y ago
The 50g is infix? When did HP switch away from RPN? Oh, it's just an option now. I've had my 48g since college in the late 90s, and now use a 48g emulator on my phone.
- apricot 11y ago
  HP hasn't been making calculators for years. They buy calculators from some Taiwanese maker and put their logo on them.
swiley 11y ago
I have an hp50g and it kind of sucks in infix mode compared to RPN mode IMO. Everything is hidden behind layers and layers of menus sort of like the TI calculators (which is the point I guess?)

todd8 11y ago

There is this mystic and frankly mythology that HP's RPN is a superior entry method for arithmetic. It's not. I knew RPN from my interest in math before calculators were invented, so I liked HP's RPN. However the direct correspondence between written math and the way it is expressed on a TI calculator is a huge advantage. I still have an HP RPN calculator. I liked its physical shape and size. I like the shape of its buttons. I likes the quality and feel. However, my daughter's TI calculator with a high resolution color screen (for a calculator) that graphs functions and understands calculus is so much more capable, and it supports parentheses with a standard order of operations so it is easier to go from a problem or equation description and entry into the calculator. Before Python, I ordinarily used bc (a Unix command that acted as a basic calculator) for simple calculator calculations at my desk. bc was much more popular that the other Unix calculator dc which used RPN. Now I just use python's REPL. I only use a calculator if I'm away from a real computer (which is rare since I carry a smart phone).

iNate2000 11y ago
RPN is a better way to think about calculating or computing. It's more cumbersome for a single arithmetic operation, but when you're chaining operations together the stack is very powerful. It's a lot less abstracted from the way the computer works.