Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!zephyr.ens.tek.com!tekig5!kevinc
From: kevinc@tekig5.PEN.TEK.COM (Kevin E Cosgrove)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.handhelds
Subject: Re: HP promo
Message-ID: <6778@tekig5.PEN.TEK.COM>
Date: 14 Aug 90 23:26:29 GMT
References: <1854@ac.dal.ca>
Reply-To: kevinc@tekig5.PEN.TEK.COM (Kevin E Cosgrove)
Organization: Tektronix, Inc., Beaverton,  OR.
Lines: 48

In article <1854@ac.dal.ca> scrutton@ac.dal.ca writes:
>You bought the 48. No one made you do it. Being readers of c.s.h
>you surely heard about versionitis. But no, you couldn't wait.

	Like you I waited until I thought the ROM would have stablized.
	With the present pace of product development I'd venture to
	guess that there are no products with the amount of firmware as
	an HP 48SX that are completely bug free before there obsolete --
	I doubt there will be in the forseable future.  The trick is to
	buy something early enough that it's still a good value for the
	money, but late enough that it's going to be "clean".

[stuff deleted]

>I'm not flaming current owners. I'm trying to tell HP something here.
>We don't mind paying for quality -- don't rush it; the 48 was a preme.
>Surely competitors are still well behind.

	I can't agree with the 48 being a "preme".  Have you ever been a
	"beta test site" for a product?  If I remember some of the bugs
	and their versions correctly, version A was the only one with
	potentially fatal errors (e.g.:  memory erased during backup
	when clock is running).

>PS: Will palmtops kill the calculator?

	I already know of people who don't have use for a calculator --
	they use math applications on PCs/Macs.  I reminded a gentleman
	of that fact that as a student one can't take a PC to a test,
	but calculators are allowed.

	I would hope that HP is looking into porting a "virtual
	calculator" to a windowed computer environment.  That would be
	very slick for me.  I'd like to be able to up/down load to/from
	the real and "virtual" calculators as well.


P.S.:	Does anyone know if there are plans in the works to offer custom
	application cards?  For instance I'd pick EE equations, units,
	constants, and periodic table stuff for my custom package.
	Yamaha offers custom voice ROM packs for their MIDI musical
	instruments.
__________________________________________________________________________

        Kevin Cosgrove          bucket.UUCP!cathouse!kevinc
        OSU EE Senior           tektronix!tessi!bucket!cathouse!kevinc
        (503)-297-6067          kevinc%cathouse.uucp@bucket.UUCP
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