Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!lll-winken!unixhub!shelby!helens!calvin!zimmer
From: zimmer@calvin.tmc.edu (Andrew Zimmerman)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.handhelds
Subject: Re: calculators vs computers
Message-ID: <1066@helens.Stanford.EDU>
Date: 25 Sep 90 19:19:19 GMT
References: <1049@helens.Stanford.EDU> <1990Sep24.082943@ultnix.enet.dec.com>
Sender: news@helens.Stanford.EDU
Reply-To: zimmer@calvin.stanford.edu (Andrew Zimmerman)
Organization: Stanford University
Lines: 43

Thanks for the interesting replies to my original question of what people
were doing with their hp48sx's.  Most of the responses were positive and
answered my question.  Most replied that it was easier to carry, cheaper,
and many people mentioned the matrix operations.

However, whenever anyone asks such a question, you get responses from
HP zealots, so to answer a few of the questions.

1.  Why are you upset at HP?  Surely not because of the '48?

    I only mentioned that I was upset with HP so that people would
    know that in advance.  I brought up the question as a philosophical issue,
    not to bash HP.  In that light, I did not want people to think that I
    had a hidden agenda.  So, I pointed out my bias right away.  Why I am
    upset with them was not the point of the posting, so I did not mention
    the reason.  


2.  It sounds like, after playing around and running Kermit, you were left
    in the position of "I have this great solution -- where can I find a
    problem?"

    No, I bought a hp48sx for a number of reasons, the foremost was to replace
    an aging HP41C (note the absence of an X or V).  I did buy the hp48sx
    because of the serial connector.  Being able to upload and download
    programs is a big plus.  I very seldom programmed the 41 because I didn't
    have a card reader for it.

3.  The HP48 is first and foremost a calculator.  It is not an
    entertainment device.

    This by the way is the main point of my posting.  Some of the respondents
    did think that the 48 was an entertainment device.  Others mentioned
    that is does a great job as an address book, etc because it is always
    with them.  As one person put it, "When I think of a calculator, I
    think of an HP-41C."  I tend to agree, the hp48 is a lot more then
    just a calculator, that is why I put it in the same class as a laptop
    computer.

Anyway, thanks for all of the constructive responses.

Andrew
zimmer@calvin.stanford.edu