[NTLK] Delurking and intro

[Ed Kummel]

Wow...All this talk about HP calculators sure brings me back.
My first HP introduction was an HP-67 my grandmother gave me when I was in Highschool back in the '70s. 

She was German and not wanting to loose alot of inherritance in taxes, she decided to give her family gifts in lieu of inheritance when she went into assisted living in Germany. When she asked me what I wanted, I said I wanted a computer...expecting a TRS-80 Model 1 or a Commodore Pet...Maybe even an Altair!
But little did I know that my asking for a computer got lost in translation (she only spoke German and I only spoke English, so mother had to translate and obviously didn't know how to tell grandma what a computer was)
So, I got a calculator! Not just any calculator she got me the most fanciest and expensive calculator she could find...an HP-67...Boy, did I have fun with that in my 2nd, 3rd and 4th year of highschool! Tests were a breeze since teachers let us use calculators because the most advanced calculators us kids could afford were 4-function with *MAYBE* square-roots and squares...
I really loved that calculator! The tan pleather case with the thick-plush-shag fake fur lining...and a secondary pocket for my card case...what a machine (I purchased a TI-30 as a backup that had a sweet denim patterned pleather pouch...that machine saw a lot of abuse since I loaned it out quite a bit!

Alas, after years of use (and abuse) and a drop into a creek (doing some survey work for a friend). My first year of college I relied on my TI-30 for my work, and that was tough!
I saved up my money and got myself a really slick sideways calculator...the HP15.  Still have this calculator...it too is beat to hell...the logo is long gone and the metal bezel is so worn, you can't even tell it's original color! That is my work horse at work now! That calculator served me well until I needed more power. A class in Quantum Mechanics required more horse power than that 15 could supply, so I purchased an HP-28s. Now *THIS* was a calculator! I wrote all sorts of programs for it! I even turned it into a rudimentary PDA of sorts...it kept all my addresses and phone numbers, as well as schedules and such! 

A class in finance (still didn't know what my major was trying for) so I got an HP-30. Good enough until I found the HP-12C. Had to have it...still have both of these calculators (gave the HP-30 to my wife)
My love affair with HP devices didn't stop there...I got a sweet deal on an HP95LX. Played around with that for a year or so until I traded it in on an HP200LX (still have). From there it was a simple jump to an HP300LX. A slight detour into an HP Omnigo...HP's rendition of the Palm. Better than the Palm if you ask me.... But then, back to the HP320LX. 

Currently, I use an HP Elitebook as my laptop. I gave up on HP printers though. I like Epson and Canon better despite the fact that I do have a Dell AIO Wifi that I picked up new for $30...well worth the price!

So yeah...Me and HP go way back...and other than my brief forays into my Royal 90S 4-function with percent, square root and PI, and a recent acquisition of a Victor V12 (looks like a slightly larger HP-15 with RPN and Algebraic but only cost me $10!) I've been true to my HP Calculator roots. Of course, my PDA life has been a much more storied life that harbored some rather exotic devices...but that's a different story!

Ed
web/gadget guru
http://newton.tek-ed.com (download Newton packages)

 
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"Oh Yeah...That's the stuff!"
Stewie Griffin, Family Guy


________________________________
 From: Warren Ockrassa <wockrassa at gmail.com>
To: "newtontalk at newtontalk.net" <newtontalk at newtontalk.net> 
Sent: Saturday, November 19, 2011 10:23 PM
Subject: Re: [NTLK] Delurking and intro
 
On Nov 19, 2011, at 18:53, Max Smith <maxmaxmaxmaxsmith at gmail.com> wrote:

> Hmmm, I didn't know there was a correlation between Newton users and  
> love of HP calculators.

I know, right?

• Warren • off console • w azkrmc.com • h nightwares.com •


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