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And thus does the wheel of technology spin. I have a very slight problem in that I went to grad school when professionals still used calculators, and real prof
by GlenTheMachine 2y ago
And thus does the wheel of technology spin.
I have a very slight problem in that I went to grad school when professionals still used calculators, and real professionals used HP calculators. And so I still own, and use, a variety of HP scientific calculators. I can quit any time I want, I swear.
The HP-48 line (for instance) transferred files via an LED/photodiode pair. You'd point the calculators at each other and let them flash away until they were done. This seems to be that, but much better. Or at least much faster.
- lxgr 2y agoInfrared ports are basically that! They were quite popular before Bluetooth (Bluetooth file transfers are actually a different physical layer for the same protocol called OBEX) and quite ironically interoperable across phone and PDA manufacturers, as far as I remember. It’s extremely sad that we’ve gone from being able to send a photo or business card across manufacturers to needing (incredibly clever!) contortions like this, on vastly more powerful hardware that can literally talk to satellites and run local LLMs.
- MBCook 2y agoIrDA. I remember having it on laptops, palmtops, printers and such but I don’t think I ever actually used it. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infrared_Data_Association https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infrared_Data_Association
- wlesieutre 2y agoThe original iMac had it, but it was dropped in the first refresh
- gumby 2y agoYou could walk up to a random HP printer and print from your palm pilot. Handy while traveling.
- semi 2y agoEarly smartphones had it too, which was nice as then you could use them as universal remotes in a pinch.
- captn3m0 2y agoTIL OBEX is older than Bluetooth.
- skykooler 2y agoAn LED and a photodiode are basically a single pixel screen and camera, so this is basically that but in parallel.
- lxgr 2y agoSame as a Bluetooth or Wi-Fi antenna, if you squint hard enough :)
- gerdesj 2y ago"when professionals still used calculators" Silly me and my slide rule. When your cells run out, I'll still be calculating logs like there is no tomorrow. I also own a quite early Texas Instruments calculator (it was my Dad's and so are the slide rules) but I only keep that to spell out BOOBIES.
- GlenTheMachine 2y agoI am too young to have ever used a slide rule in anger, but that doesn't mean I don't have one. My mother's, when she went to grad school.
- gerdesj 2y agoKeep it handy. One day you won't have a computer or phone available and you have a need to multiply two large numbers together ... your SO is depending on you ... the kids are agog and probably gurning in slow mo as the situation unfolds. ... you firmly grasp your slide rule (its plastic is comfortingly warm). You take the logs of the two numbers with swift aplomb note them down with your trusty crayon on the SO's thigh (first available place to scribe) and without wavering, you add them together. Armed with the crucial sum you deliver the answer to the multiplication with a casual flick and a careful read of the slide rule. Yes, we have progressed somewhat. However, there is something rather satisfying using a slide rule. You do somehow feel the numbers within your hands. With a slide rule you can deal with far bigger numbers than you feel comfortable within your noddle (head). You can do that too with a calculator but you "feel and touch" the numbers with a slide rule.