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The Future of RPN Calculators
Noksagt writes "HP's recent release of the 33s won't be the last RPN calculator. Former HPers at Hydrix are hyping an impressive Linux-based PDA/calculator, named Qonos. They have a survey up regarding features, etc. More information can be found at comp.sys.hp48 or The Museum of HP Calculators.
A new open hardware project called OpenRPN has also begun. Their mission is to produce horizontal and vertical format scientific RPN calcs and later a graphing calc."
maxima.sf.net is a truely awesome symbolic algebra program, it is derived from one of the first ever 'modern' computer algebra systems and was recently made open source.
If it could be put into a calculator, that would rock.
http://notanumber.net/
Surely it should be
RPN Calculators Future of the
You are probaly right which is a shame. When I was just a lad everybody used hp calculators with rpn. In our calculus class I do not remember anyone having a problem with the chain rule. The idea of a composite function was almost inate partly because of the way you enter equations into an rpn calculator.
I teach calculus to students who use the TI, and so many more students just do not get the chain rule. It is amazing. Moreover, it is damn near impossible to try to connect the idea to the way they think about functions and the way they key them into the calculator. The tools we use really can constrain the way we think, and rpn calculators really make you back up and rethink what a function is.
Other obligatory comments:
There's more details and pictures on hpcalc.
Quote:
Operating system:
eCos, running in 512KB SRAM and providing one month of battery life
Linux, running in 64MB of SDRAM and providing considerably more than a day of battery life
Other software:
Emulation of both the HP 49G and the TI-89
Advanced math software: Gnuplot, Giac/Xcas (supposedly better than Maple), MathsExplorer
PDA software: calendar, tasks, notes, time management
Datalogging capabilities
Processor:
Intel PXA 263 XScale processor, running at 400 MHz
32MB of on-chip flash memory
32-bit data bus
Display:
Grayscale 3" 320x240
Full support already exists for a color screen to be offered at a later date
Other hardware:
Mono speaker and microphone
Stereo audio input and ouput ports
Keyboard with tactile feedback designed for fast, accurate data entry
Compact Flash Type II slot
SDIO slot
IrDA port
USB client and host ports, supporting external keyboards, webcams, and other devices
Optional sled:
Vernier probe compatible
8 analog I/O channels
16 digital/sonic I/O channels
Extra high-capacity lithium ion battery
DB-9 serial port
Price:
Over US$350
From the OpenRPN Project Website
Here is a short list of some planned features:
*Philips LMC210x ARM7 CPU
*Flashable ROM
*MMC/SD expansion card support
*20 digit accuracy
*USB connectivity
*Several forms of I/O
*3"x5" PCB for internal expansions/modules
*Hi-Resolution LCDs
*All aluminum watertight body
*Molded-through keytops (customized sets will come standard)
*High-durability anodized finish
*Customizable keyboard overlays
*Positive tactile keys
*Reverse RPL compatability
*A nice thick manual
This sounds just like the PDA I would Love to have which is of course the point here.
My single question is one of integration in that I do not want to carry a full-featured Calculator and a PDA I just want the PDA itself yet with this awesome calculator function integrated. Where does the line exist anymore between PDAs and Calculators especially Linux powered devices?
I have a theory that the truth is never told during the nine-to-five hours. -- Hunter S. Thompson
As a high school student, I loved my HP "Reverse Polish Notation" calculator. Whenever someone would ask to borrow it, I would say, "Sure, you just have to remember that if you want to add 4+2 you have to enter '4', 'Enter', '2', 'Plus'."
This scared everyone away, and they went on to borrow someone else's calculator. I didn't have any trouble with people "forgetting" to return the calculator, I still have it to this day. Thanks, HP!
I've got a hp48gx and always suffer from this kind of situation:
- hey, can you lend me your calculator?
- no, you won't know how to use it.
- yes I will.
- ok, if you really want.
- [1] [+]: + Error: Too Few Arguments hey it's not working!
- I told you...
I don't want my calculator to be my PDA. I have a PDA for that. They're different devices with different interfaces and should be used for different things. I put an RPN calculator on my Palm and, although I can use it, it's awkward and clunky. I use it only when I have no other choice.
I don't want a graphing calculator. I like my one line of text. If I need to graph anything, then I'm probably doing it for a complicated reason, and I'll fire up Matlab or Origin at my desktop. My calculator is for, just that, calculating.
The website brags that this thing has a whole month of battery life in it's low-power mode. Big fricking deal. I bought my HP in about 1990. I have replaced the batteries in it exactly ONCE. There's nothing more useless than a calculator that you've picked up and realized you forgot to plug it in last night to recharge it, and it's dead.
I don't want a fold-out keyboard that's probably fairly fragile and won't last too long. I want something sturdy that will stand up to significant, continuous use for years to come.
Why can't someone just build a good calculator that does what it's supposed to, and not some calculator / PDA / laptop / Borg monstrosity?
No worries about spelling, either. :)
:)
The modern calculator should be able to handle easy RGB triplet to hex conversion, as well as IP xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx 'Bruce' format (I can't remember what that format is called, so I just refer to it as Bruce to save confusion) to 32-bit format.
Oh yeah, and a built-in function for calculating the air speed velocity of laden and unladen African and European swallows, based on various factors such as wind speed, elevation (density of air, ya know), age & weight of birds and any burden they may be carrying. Granted, even with that, it won't be all THAT accurate, but it's better than clacking two coconuts together
Oh, it should also have built-in 802.11g WiFi & IEEE1394.b.
And If I can use it to control the TV remotely, that'd be great, thanks.
I still prefer the physical format of my trusty HP11C, but then again, I don't need graphing ability in my calculator. Graphing's for nerds.
People just freak out over RPN for no reason. I taught several college friends, none of whom were math wizards, about the joys of RPN and every one of them became hooked. RPN just seems backwards because everything is fed to us in a linear, "algebraic" way. But the fact is, RPN is actually much more intuitive once you get past the initial "wall." With RPN, you do calculations the way you would with a pencil and paper - or in your head: Break the problem into chunks so you get intermediate values, then operate on those intermediate values, and so on until you're done.
Just starting at the left and working your way to the right, all the while keeping track of parentheses is NOT intuitive. It's just familiar.
Second, you've committed the atrocious sin of mixing Leibniz notation with Newton prime notation. What a horrific mess you've created.
The proper way to write it would be:
h(x) = f(g(x))
h'(x) = f'(g(x))*g'(x)
I think this should help explain why the Leibniz notation is so popular, because in the Newtonian notation, a prime can only bind to a name, not an arbitrary algebraic expression. Hence you are required to introduce the additional function h(x) just to allow the notation to work.
Anyway, you're hardly qualified to school us in calculus.
I would suggest getting the HP-49G+. (I am a 49G user.) RPN might only be "minorly better," but the real question comes down to the operating system's user interfaces. The 49G's is simply far better. In RPN mode, the user can use all the calculator's features without having to jump through dialogue boxes all the time. For example, say I wanted to graph a sine curve. Instead of having to go to the "Y=" menu and such, with which we're all familiar, I merely need to type X [SIN] EQ [STO] [PLOT] [F4] [F5] [F6]. (and I can press F4 F5 F6 in very quick succession) It is really nice to use.
After having used a TI-89, then an HP-49G, when I try going back to the TI-89 for some purpose (maybe a game, or a program i once made), I really start to notice how annoying and slow the 89's UI is.
The HP is also much more customizable. The ability to remap the keyboard is quick, easy, and built in. There are 128 system flags for changing user settings, accessible via the MODES menu. The HP has no limit to the depth of the directory tree. Its menus are better -- they are at the bottom of the screen, somewhat like the TI-85 and Ti-86's menus, rather than having to type Shift MATH 4 4 every time you need to use a specific function.
One of the neatest things is programming. Its programming language, Reverse Polish Lisp, is simple yet powerful. Plus, it has a built-in compiler for System Reverse Polish Lisp, and ASM.
Plus, text-editing on the HP 49G/G+ is much, much easier. When in ALPHA mode, one can type both letters and numbers because the number pad has no letters on it.
I used it for BC Calculus this year, and it easily served my needs.