5 ms·

Nostalgia and fun with calculators

49 points by Nux 8y ago

pixxel 8y ago
8008135
- c22 8y ago
  SEIBOOB?
  - pixxel 8y ago
    Gimme a break, it’s been decades :P
  - richardhod 8y ago
    55378008
sneakernets 8y ago
I have a CASIO CFX-9850 GB PLUS with 64 KB memory, and it's been the most useful gadget for spreadsheet-style graphics and data analysis. Since it has a 3 color display, it's very easy to visualize lots of different datasets. As far as I know, they don't make them anymore, which is a shame. They were great. Slow BASIC, but the BASIC was amazing and easy to use.
- ludditus 8y ago
  They only make the monochrome fx-9860GII and fx-9750GII.
  - sneakernets 8y ago
    That's a bummer. The color display was finicky but it really did help convey information effectively to a suspicious lab TA.
21 8y ago
This article reminded me of this classic: https://i.imgur.com/fYuWMTq.jpg https://i.imgur.com/fYuWMTq.jpg
asc123 8y ago
i was expecting to see 8008
deleted 8y ago
[deleted]
jwr 8y ago
I stick to my HP-50G (which is pretty much the best all-around calculator ever made) and intend to eventually maintain the iOS emulator myself, as it seems there is so little interest. I do not understand why people do not use calculators, if you are in any engineering profession, it makes life so much easier. No, wolfram alpha, google, siri, python or bc are not the same thing at all.
- 0xffff2 8y ago
  >No, wolfram alpha, google, siri, python or bc are not the same thing at all. Why not? A combination of the plain old Windows calculator (scientific and programmer modes) and DDG/Google for unit conversions has worked well for me for years, and doesn't require that I move my fingers off the keyboard.
  - jwr 8y ago
    Because you can't use these tools on many occasions, they don't always do exactly what you want, and accessing them is slower than using a calculator. The devil is in the details. Such as being able to quickly switch to engineering notation to display values applicable in electronics. Also, I often want to do a series of calculations, for which an RPN calculator with a stack (you can see the top 7 levels) is uniquely suited. As another example, unit conversions (basically, convert between every unit known to man) is something I use every day. It takes about 6 keystrokes to convert from anything to pretty much anything on a HP-50G.
saagarjha 8y ago
> The EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) requires me to put this shit here. I don't use cookies (at least, not knowingly!), except for myself, when I must log in to write posts and deal with the comments. If WordPress or one of its plugins uses cookies for whatever reason, I don't give a dead rat's ass on them, and I don't feel responsible. And now, for the bureaucrats in Brussels and Strasbourg, the following nonsense: This site is (probably) using cookies for some reason unknown to me (most likely to give you the best experience etc). You can find out more about which cookies are used or switch them off in settings. I'm sorry, but you don't get to deny responsibility of what goes on your website, and I find it frankly concerning that you are unaware of what is using cookies (it's StatCounter, just FYI). On topic, I don't think the author of this article understands how the calculator he's using work; the calculators (at least the Casio one; I have the 115 ES Plus and I think it's functionally identical to the 991 ES Plus) are actually just computing the integrals numerically and then converting to fractions because the error in result was smaller than the the threshold needed to convert it to a fraction. There is no "smarts" (i.e. a CAS) involved.
- ludditus 8y ago
  So what are you (or the European Union) going to do? Suing me because of the StatCounter cookies? (I almost forgot about that plugin.) In a world in which EVERY SINGLE SITE is setting DOZENS OF TRACKING COOKIES so that all the big names (Google, Amazon, etc.) know what you just visited, the fucking EU invented this piece of shit. Wanna know what's the best result of the fucking stupid GDPR? I cannot visit a number of American sites (unless I use a VPN to put me outside Europe) because I get this: 451: Unavailable due to legal reasons We recognize you are attempting to access this website from a country belonging to the European Economic Area (EEA) including the EU which enforces the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and therefore access cannot be granted at this time. For any issues, contact thonline@wcinet.com or call 563-588-5611.
- ludditus 8y ago
  > just computing the integrals numerically and then converting to fractions > because the error in result was smaller than the the threshold needed to convert it to a fraction. Then why can't they display 9 instead of 9.000000007? What is that threshold if 0.7e-9 not small enough? And, are you telling me that computing integral(sin(x)dx from 0 to pi/3) can be done with better precision than 0.7e-9, whereas arcsin(arccos(arctan(tan(cos(sin(9)))))) cannot? Otherwise, of course I don't know how these devices work internally. But have you designed one, or you're just assuming things?
zokier 8y ago
> Truth be told, nobody makes hardware the way they used to in the 70s and the 80s. > Simply put, CASIO is the king, and fx-991EX, whatever you call it, is the mother of all calculators, both in build quality and features Let me introduce to you the DM-42, the ultimate calculator https://www.swissmicros.com/dm42.php https://www.swissmicros.com/dm42.php Precision? 34 decimal digits Build quality? Steel case for starters Keypad? Harks back to those classic HPs in feel Screen? High-res, high contrast Performance? 24 MHz ARM core And best of all? Fully free firmware that you can verify and modify to your hearts content.
- saagarjha 8y ago
  This looks like a prototype? It doesn't look like they're selling this.
  - zokier 8y ago
    They have been shipping DM42 for over a year now: https://www.swissmicros.com/order.php https://www.swissmicros.com/order.php
- grawprog 8y ago
  >which consumes 16 bytes per number Damn...they're not fucking around here. That's awesomely excessive. I've never really been one to drool over fancy calculators. But this one looks pretty fucking awesome.
- jackalo 8y ago
  I carry my TI-89 with me everywhere. The TI OS has been hacked up enough to do just about anything. And that was back in the early 2000’s at that.
UncleSlacky 8y ago
I just tried the ln(x²) integration example on my ancient TI-68 (built in Feb 1991) - unfortunately the accuracy depends on judicious choice of numerical integration intervals (it uses Simpson's rule). It seemed to give best results with about 25 intervals, taking about 7 seconds to come up with 717.7575466854 (more intervals result in overshooting the correct answer).
themodelplumber 8y ago
> just so they can wear one or another depending on their mood and apparel. Is there anyone doing the same with pocket or handheld calculators? Yes. And the old organizers. Gulp

49 points by Nux 8y ago

pixxel 8y ago

8008135

c22 8y ago
SEIBOOB?
- pixxel 8y ago
  Gimme a break, it’s been decades :P
- richardhod 8y ago
  55378008

sneakernets 8y ago

I have a CASIO CFX-9850 GB PLUS with 64 KB memory, and it's been the most useful gadget for spreadsheet-style graphics and data analysis. Since it has a 3 color display, it's very easy to visualize lots of different datasets. As far as I know, they don't make them anymore, which is a shame. They were great. Slow BASIC, but the BASIC was amazing and easy to use.

ludditus 8y ago
They only make the monochrome fx-9860GII and fx-9750GII.
- sneakernets 8y ago
  That's a bummer. The color display was finicky but it really did help convey information effectively to a suspicious lab TA.

21 8y ago

This article reminded me of this classic: https://i.imgur.com/fYuWMTq.jpg https://i.imgur.com/fYuWMTq.jpg

asc123 8y ago

i was expecting to see 8008

deleted 8y ago

[deleted]

jwr 8y ago

I stick to my HP-50G (which is pretty much the best all-around calculator ever made) and intend to eventually maintain the iOS emulator myself, as it seems there is so little interest. I do not understand why people do not use calculators, if you are in any engineering profession, it makes life so much easier. No, wolfram alpha, google, siri, python or bc are not the same thing at all.

0xffff2 8y ago
>No, wolfram alpha, google, siri, python or bc are not the same thing at all. Why not? A combination of the plain old Windows calculator (scientific and programmer modes) and DDG/Google for unit conversions has worked well for me for years, and doesn't require that I move my fingers off the keyboard.
- jwr 8y ago
  Because you can't use these tools on many occasions, they don't always do exactly what you want, and accessing them is slower than using a calculator. The devil is in the details. Such as being able to quickly switch to engineering notation to display values applicable in electronics. Also, I often want to do a series of calculations, for which an RPN calculator with a stack (you can see the top 7 levels) is uniquely suited. As another example, unit conversions (basically, convert between every unit known to man) is something I use every day. It takes about 6 keystrokes to convert from anything to pretty much anything on a HP-50G.

saagarjha 8y ago

> The EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) requires me to put this shit here. I don't use cookies (at least, not knowingly!), except for myself, when I must log in to write posts and deal with the comments. If WordPress or one of its plugins uses cookies for whatever reason, I don't give a dead rat's ass on them, and I don't feel responsible. And now, for the bureaucrats in Brussels and Strasbourg, the following nonsense: This site is (probably) using cookies for some reason unknown to me (most likely to give you the best experience etc). You can find out more about which cookies are used or switch them off in settings. I'm sorry, but you don't get to deny responsibility of what goes on your website, and I find it frankly concerning that you are unaware of what is using cookies (it's StatCounter, just FYI). On topic, I don't think the author of this article understands how the calculator he's using work; the calculators (at least the Casio one; I have the 115 ES Plus and I think it's functionally identical to the 991 ES Plus) are actually just computing the integrals numerically and then converting to fractions because the error in result was smaller than the the threshold needed to convert it to a fraction. There is no "smarts" (i.e. a CAS) involved.

ludditus 8y ago
So what are you (or the European Union) going to do? Suing me because of the StatCounter cookies? (I almost forgot about that plugin.) In a world in which EVERY SINGLE SITE is setting DOZENS OF TRACKING COOKIES so that all the big names (Google, Amazon, etc.) know what you just visited, the fucking EU invented this piece of shit. Wanna know what's the best result of the fucking stupid GDPR? I cannot visit a number of American sites (unless I use a VPN to put me outside Europe) because I get this: 451: Unavailable due to legal reasons We recognize you are attempting to access this website from a country belonging to the European Economic Area (EEA) including the EU which enforces the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and therefore access cannot be granted at this time. For any issues, contact thonline@wcinet.com or call 563-588-5611.
ludditus 8y ago
> just computing the integrals numerically and then converting to fractions > because the error in result was smaller than the the threshold needed to convert it to a fraction. Then why can't they display 9 instead of 9.000000007? What is that threshold if 0.7e-9 not small enough? And, are you telling me that computing integral(sin(x)dx from 0 to pi/3) can be done with better precision than 0.7e-9, whereas arcsin(arccos(arctan(tan(cos(sin(9)))))) cannot? Otherwise, of course I don't know how these devices work internally. But have you designed one, or you're just assuming things?

zokier 8y ago

> Truth be told, nobody makes hardware the way they used to in the 70s and the 80s. > Simply put, CASIO is the king, and fx-991EX, whatever you call it, is the mother of all calculators, both in build quality and features Let me introduce to you the DM-42, the ultimate calculator https://www.swissmicros.com/dm42.php https://www.swissmicros.com/dm42.php Precision? 34 decimal digits Build quality? Steel case for starters Keypad? Harks back to those classic HPs in feel Screen? High-res, high contrast Performance? 24 MHz ARM core And best of all? Fully free firmware that you can verify and modify to your hearts content.

saagarjha 8y ago
This looks like a prototype? It doesn't look like they're selling this.
- zokier 8y ago
  They have been shipping DM42 for over a year now: https://www.swissmicros.com/order.php https://www.swissmicros.com/order.php
grawprog 8y ago
>which consumes 16 bytes per number Damn...they're not fucking around here. That's awesomely excessive. I've never really been one to drool over fancy calculators. But this one looks pretty fucking awesome.
jackalo 8y ago
I carry my TI-89 with me everywhere. The TI OS has been hacked up enough to do just about anything. And that was back in the early 2000’s at that.

UncleSlacky 8y ago

I just tried the ln(x²) integration example on my ancient TI-68 (built in Feb 1991) - unfortunately the accuracy depends on judicious choice of numerical integration intervals (it uses Simpson's rule). It seemed to give best results with about 25 intervals, taking about 7 seconds to come up with 717.7575466854 (more intervals result in overshooting the correct answer).

themodelplumber 8y ago

> just so they can wear one or another depending on their mood and apparel. Is there anyone doing the same with pocket or handheld calculators? Yes. And the old organizers. Gulp