Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!know!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!sdd.hp.com!hp-pcd!hpcvra!billw
From: billw@hpcvra.CV.HP.COM (William C Wickes)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.handhelds
Subject: Re: Programmable alpha on for HP48?
Message-ID: <25590042@hpcvra.CV.HP.COM>
Date: 6 Aug 90 17:30:47 GMT
References: <5998@jhunix.HCF.JHU.EDU>
Organization: Hewlett-Packard Co., Corvallis, OR, USA
Lines: 11

There is no way (other than with INPUT) to turn on alpha mode in HP 48SX
user language.  An oversight? No; INPUT seems the right place to provide
that capability--the ROM is full and there's 10000 other capabilities
that are just as desirable.   Terrible? Hardly.  Something the 41 has 
that the 48 doesn't?  Well, the 48 doesn't have an alpha register either.

Before suggesting any alternate approach, we'd need to know more about
your program.  I fear that turning on alpha mode may be the least of your
problems if you're trying to emulate INPUT; for example, how are you
going to freeze the display (longer than to the next keypress) to keep
your graphics in view while data entry is happening?