Now the fact it has limited runtime on a battery charge is very annoying, I agree. To be fair, the Prime is a pretty good calc. In summary, I would highly recommend the Prime See page 13 But the HP Prime has all 3 entry schemes, take your pick. And I will understand if people don't like it. I have been using RPN since the HP 35 came out in '73 and it just flows from my fingers. We can go on forever about the merits of RPN versus Algebraic versus Textbook entry schemes and not get anywhere. While I could solve matrix problems on the Prime, I find it easier to use MATLAB. If I want a plot, I move to MATLAB (or Octave - free). Mostly I use the calculator to evaluate simple expressions. Along with old age comes failing eyesight. Why use the Prime instead? The lighted display. But I like it! It is not my favorite calculator, that would be the HP 48GX - I just find it easier to use. I retired about 18 years ago so my opinion on functionality is probably worthless. I have the calculator in daily use, right next to my mouse. It also does other neat stuff like "$73.45 in £" (currently £53.53). As I type, dependent calculations instantly changed to reflect the edit. A sample screen is shown, then I went back and changed the first 4 to a 5. The big difference is that it calculates in real time, so as you edit or type, the answer catches up. It is very much like Berni's SpeedCrunch (not tried that, but will do thanks!) but keeps the answers off to the right. Does your word processor have an interface that looks exactly like a typewriter? Why should your maths tool look exactly like a calculator? So, that's pretty much the main reason I use OpalCalc. This was really apparent when I downloaded the aformentioned HiperCalc (windows version) which was very slick indeed but had no way to press the function keys other than clicking with a mouse. A PC has a mouse and keyboard for input (not to mention a relatively ginormous screen) so with a calculator simulator you're either tapping buttons with the mouse or finding weird key combinations. I tried this once, mostly when I was looking to buy a calculator and tried its simulation, and figured it was cool in the way nixie tubes are, but it's form over function. The perfect simulation of whatever calculator there on your desktop. Thinking about this, there is some raving about calculator simulators going on.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |