A long time ago I had some HP calculator emulators on my Mac and iPhone. They were pretty cool but had minor flaws. (One was actually Made By HP.) I don’t need anything more than an RPN 4-banger, and I’ve selected PCalc as my virtual calculator of choice across all my devices. PCalc is a great little company.
As for physical calculators, my HP-45 is in storage. My HP-10c died, but I still have an HP-11c, and an HP-12c. The 12c is what I go to in my home office. It does all sorts of fancy financial calculations, such as Net Present Value, that I never use. But balance my checkbook? It’s right there. The tactile feedback is perfect.
I think in RPN, and it would be tough for me to use an algebraic calculator, although I do know how. I’m just way faster with RPN, and I never have to worry about parentheses.
My slide rules are in storage, also. There’s a yellow plastic Pickett slide rule that I used as a freshman in college. There’s also a bamboo Post slide rule that I couldn’t afford as a college student – but I bought when slide rules were being cleared out at the college bookstore, as engineering mandated scientific calculators, and slide rules were instantly obsolete.
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branchandroot
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Date: 2025-02-27 02:05 am (UTC)As for physical calculators, my HP-45 is in storage. My HP-10c died, but I still have an HP-11c, and an HP-12c. The 12c is what I go to in my home office. It does all sorts of fancy financial calculations, such as Net Present Value, that I never use. But balance my checkbook? It’s right there. The tactile feedback is perfect.
I think in RPN, and it would be tough for me to use an algebraic calculator, although I do know how. I’m just way faster with RPN, and I never have to worry about parentheses.
My slide rules are in storage, also. There’s a yellow plastic Pickett slide rule that I used as a freshman in college. There’s also a bamboo Post slide rule that I couldn’t afford as a college student – but I bought when slide rules were being cleared out at the college bookstore, as engineering mandated scientific calculators, and slide rules were instantly obsolete.