
Nostalgia and fun with calculators - Nux
http://ludditus.com/2019/02/10/nostalgia-fun-with-calculators/
======
zokier
> 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
This looks like a prototype? It doesn't look like they're selling this.

~~~
zokier
They have been shipping DM42 for over a year now:
[https://www.swissmicros.com/order.php](https://www.swissmicros.com/order.php)

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sneakernets
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
They only make the monochrome fx-9860GII and fx-9750GII.

~~~
sneakernets
That's a bummer. The color display was finicky but it really did help convey
information effectively to a suspicious lab TA.

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UncleSlacky
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).

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themodelplumber
> 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

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jwr
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
>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
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.

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pixxel
8008135

~~~
c22
SEIBOOB?

~~~
pixxel
Gimme a break, it’s been decades :P

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asc123
i was expecting to see 8008

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21
This article reminded me of this classic:

[https://i.imgur.com/fYuWMTq.jpg](https://i.imgur.com/fYuWMTq.jpg)

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saagarjha
> 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.

~~~
droithomme
It's very sad that enthusiasts running a wordpress blog to share their
interests with the world now have to hire lawyers and tech experts to evaluate
their sites and determine to what extent all their plugins are legally
compliant or face comments assaulting them, and their comments responding
stricken.

The result is that interesting and useful information being shared by amateurs
is systematically being targeted and banned from the internet. Soon everything
will be corporate views only thanks to these laws and their intolerant
fundamentalist advocates, both which are intentionally destroying vast parts
of human culture and knowledge. For this reason, these laws, and their
advocates both, are extremely evil entities.

~~~
saagarjha
> For this reason, these laws, and their advocates both, are extremely evil
> entities.

That's some nice alliteration you've got there, but I'm still of the opinion
that you are responsible for what goes on your website. I run a blog just like
the author does, but I unlike him I am not flippant about legislation designed
to protect my readers' privacy. Since it's my website, I can ensure that I
don't run cookies at all, which means I don't have to hire "lawyers and tech
experts". And finally, I'm pretty sure the comment was automatically flagged
due to its tone and the fact that the account was new.

