Re: Calculating Wishes (was hpcatalog.com)

>95% of the engineers I have worked with do not use a calculator beyond
>what a 4-banger could do for them. I'm a rarity in Denmark, when it
>comes to engineers and use of advanced calculators - for actual work,
>we tend to use computers.

Sounds about right. People are actually penalized for using a calculator.
Less accurate, 12 digit results. Calculators now offer handheld, quick
convenience ONLY (compared to computers). But even for quick 1-4 steps
calculations, you are better off doing it on a computer if you care about
the accuracy of the results.

>I see advanced calculators as a niche product filling one of these needs:
>
>- Educational
>- Highly specialized field work (rare, as such units usually also have
>to be rugged)
>- Recreational

Calculators could break out of those niches by doing their core purpose
(calculating) BETTER than computers, by increasing accuracy to 19+ digits.

Right now, calculators are on a self-fulfilling prophecy treadmill
instead of trying to exceed computers (which, as special purpose
devices, they SHOULD be doing anyway).

>I picture a morning where engineers around the country arrive at
>work to find a brochure from HP in their mailbox:
>
> "1000x more accurate than a computer, 10000000x more accurate
> than any other calculator -- in the palm of your hand,
> the new HP-##xx."
>
>Millions of engineering brains would go *BONK* at once, whether
>or not they need the extra precision (or realize they do).

Even the other 95% who only use 4-banger calculators would end
up thinking ...

"Hmm ... 19+ digits. Well, I don't really need that very often.
But once in awhile, it would be nice. Can't hurt at all.
Hey, my computer can't even crank out answers that good! Hmm,
that's interesting.

I should at least be able to do some calculations off-line with
a calculator and feed the numbers into my desktop computer software
without immediately losing 4 digits of precision, like I do all
the time now. That blows! You really have to keep the calculator
out of the loop so often.

And, now that Johnson has 19+ digits on his calculator, I suddenly
feel so ... so ... so puny, so inadequate.

This HP-11C I've been using for the last 20 years is great, and
there's never really been a reason to upgrade to all those fancy
programming features when my computer gives more accurate answers
anyway.

But this more accurate model makes my HP-11C show it's age ... yep,
I guess it's time to upgrade. Can't let Johnson get out in front
with more accurate answers .... wow, 1000x more accurate than a
computer. 1000000x more accurate than other calculators. Cool!"

I see a 19+ digit calculator with these properties:

Sideways format (like HP-11C/15C, for fast input)
Clamshell structure (like HP-28S, for full feature set on dual
keyboard -- maybe another single keyboard format, like 15C)
Key assignments like HP-32SII (but not the pixelated, italicized screen)
Flexibility like HP48gx
Screen like HP 49G+ -- maybe larger for landscape format.


.

Relevant Pages

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