Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!usc!wuarchive!uunet!unhd!rg
From: rg@uunet!unhd (Roger Gonzalez )
Newsgroups: comp.sys.handhelds
Subject: Boy, does the 48 have a steep learning curve, or what!
Message-ID: <1990Oct18.135213.22920@uunet!unhd>
Date: 18 Oct 90 13:52:13 GMT
Reply-To: rg@unhd.unh.edu (Roger Gonzalez )
Organization: Marine Systems Engineering Lab
Lines: 49

I've had my '48 for a week now, and I love it!  Unfortunately, some things
are taking a while to get into my fingers.  Please note that my last calculator
was a 27S, which I loved for its simplicity (it had the same menu interface
structure, and a less capable equation solver).  I am finding that many of the
features of the '48 are not too user friendly.  Please excuse if these are FAQs,
I just started subscribing today and I'm impatient :-)

1)  Going from solver to plot and back to the solver.  There are times that
I have an equation with several variables, and would like to plot it several
times with different values in the non-plotted variables.  Is there an easy
way to do this?  It seems to take a lot of key strokes.  Also, sometimes I'd
like to tweak the equation a little, but I keep ending up editing the name of
the function rather than the function itself.

2)  Creating equations seems to fill up the VAR menu very quickly.  Is this 
because I am creating them as global variables?  In general, I am finding that
I clutter up the menus and lists rapidly.  Although the manuals talk about
directories and such, I am not getting a clear overall view of the best ways
to organize the equations, programs, constants, and whatnot that I create.
Examples of how to manage the data would be appreciated!  You almost need a
system administrator for this thing!

3)  Is the algebraic manipulator actually worth anything?  I haven't
investigated too closely, but it seems that it would be faster to just do
it on paper before you input the equation.

4)  Flag -19 seems to dictate how complex numbers are represented; in ()
form or in [] form.  When would I want to use it in [] form?  

5)  Is there a good way to get a complex number input that contains a
(for example) square root term as one of the numbers?  I have only found two
ways: build the two arguments up on the stack, and then do a 2D, or
by entering the root on the stack, then the () on the command line, and then
doing the interactive stack command "echo".  Any better ways?

6)  Is there a quick and dirty way to factor a polynomial?  Have it spew
out the real/complex roots?  No?  Drat.  :-)

I realize that I could probably just look this up, but I'd much rather just
be lazy and leach off the net-wisdom.

-Roger


-- 
"The question of whether a computer can think is no more interesting
 than the question of whether a submarine can swim" - Edsgar W. Dijkstra 
rg@unhd.unh.edu               |  UNH Marine Systems Engineering Laboratory
r_gonzalez@unhh.bitnet        |  Durham, NH  03824-3525