These ear-canal units are quite common in the UK and the better models such as this http://hearing.siemens.com/uk/04-products/28-imini/iMini.jsp can be programmed via a remote controller to adjust volume, tone and of course to switch them on and off. The in-ear-canal ones cost about GBP 1500-1600 here (around USD 2500). The behind-ear ones are usually much cheaper with a reasonably good one starting at about GBP 200 (USD 320) and more advanced ones with background noise suppression and automatic speech focussing from about GBP 400 (USD 640). In-ear but not deep ear canal models lie about half way between in price. Looking at some of the prices talked about in this thread the prices in the USA seem to be inflated.
I posted this some time ago on the HP Calculator Museum forum and I think it still stands -
It sadly reminds me of a once great British brand, GEC, built up over decades by the single-minded and famously penny concious Arnold Weinstock up to become Britain's largest and most profitable diversified technology company and a world leader in many fields. GEC succumbed to short-termist profit demands from gung-ho management and institutional shareholders. They saw in the 1990s, high profit margins from their telecommunications divisions, mainly due the expansion of the internet and subsequent dot-com boom. They decided this would be their "core business" and divested themselves of all the other divisions of the company which at that point were less profitable. They renamed the company "Marconi" and for a couple of years were popular investment due to high dividends. When the dot-com bubble burst and the telecoms equipment market went flat they had nothing to fall back on and within 10 years of being the largest conglomerate in the UK, they went bust. The old GEC was able to trade on its reputation for innovative, quality products and its wide portfolio of product types from components to systems allowed them access to the majority of markets and to cross-sell products. Further, the company's size allowed them to recruit in quantity the best engineers and designers who would then cross-fertilise ideas and solutions, even between separate businesses within the group. The parallels with HP are compelling and sad for me as we seem to learn nothing from historical errors of management. Is a time when enterprises and governments worldwide are reducing spending the right time to put all your eggs in the basket of enterprise level computers and software? Especially when an upturn in the market doesn't seem to be in near sight. When a company has invested heavily in acquiring a software platform (WebOS) which has a number of advantages over the market leaders and then further invested in providing an excellent tablet and phone platform for it, is it wise to withdraw the product 2 months after launch? It all comes down to short-term profit from a quick sale of businesses and instant cash injections resulting in large management bonuses. It is this greed and near-sightedness which is a fatal flaw in our current market system. I do hope that the HP name survives as it is a brand with a tradition to be proud of and of course I think it would be a crying shame if the last maker of RPN calculators were to cease production. I can't help but feel pessimistic though.
The rot started with outsourcing in the 1990s after John Young retired. I think Bill and Dave will be turning in their graves.
"Anonymous is creating the conditions under which governments will ultimately be able to justify destroying a free and open Internet."
Our governments are doing this anyway without requiring any justification other than the generic "threat of terrorism".
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These ear-canal units are quite common in the UK and the better models such as this http://hearing.siemens.com/uk/04-products/28-imini/iMini.jsp can be programmed via a remote controller to adjust volume, tone and of course to switch them on and off. The in-ear-canal ones cost about GBP 1500-1600 here (around USD 2500). The behind-ear ones are usually much cheaper with a reasonably good one starting at about GBP 200 (USD 320) and more advanced ones with background noise suppression and automatic speech focussing from about GBP 400 (USD 640). In-ear but not deep ear canal models lie about half way between in price. Looking at some of the prices talked about in this thread the prices in the USA seem to be inflated.
Surely concerns with larger projects which could not be split could be nationalised instead?
I posted this some time ago on the HP Calculator Museum forum and I think it still stands - It sadly reminds me of a once great British brand, GEC, built up over decades by the single-minded and famously penny concious Arnold Weinstock up to become Britain's largest and most profitable diversified technology company and a world leader in many fields. GEC succumbed to short-termist profit demands from gung-ho management and institutional shareholders. They saw in the 1990s, high profit margins from their telecommunications divisions, mainly due the expansion of the internet and subsequent dot-com boom. They decided this would be their "core business" and divested themselves of all the other divisions of the company which at that point were less profitable. They renamed the company "Marconi" and for a couple of years were popular investment due to high dividends. When the dot-com bubble burst and the telecoms equipment market went flat they had nothing to fall back on and within 10 years of being the largest conglomerate in the UK, they went bust. The old GEC was able to trade on its reputation for innovative, quality products and its wide portfolio of product types from components to systems allowed them access to the majority of markets and to cross-sell products. Further, the company's size allowed them to recruit in quantity the best engineers and designers who would then cross-fertilise ideas and solutions, even between separate businesses within the group. The parallels with HP are compelling and sad for me as we seem to learn nothing from historical errors of management. Is a time when enterprises and governments worldwide are reducing spending the right time to put all your eggs in the basket of enterprise level computers and software? Especially when an upturn in the market doesn't seem to be in near sight. When a company has invested heavily in acquiring a software platform (WebOS) which has a number of advantages over the market leaders and then further invested in providing an excellent tablet and phone platform for it, is it wise to withdraw the product 2 months after launch? It all comes down to short-term profit from a quick sale of businesses and instant cash injections resulting in large management bonuses. It is this greed and near-sightedness which is a fatal flaw in our current market system. I do hope that the HP name survives as it is a brand with a tradition to be proud of and of course I think it would be a crying shame if the last maker of RPN calculators were to cease production. I can't help but feel pessimistic though. The rot started with outsourcing in the 1990s after John Young retired. I think Bill and Dave will be turning in their graves.
"Anonymous is creating the conditions under which governments will ultimately be able to justify destroying a free and open Internet." Our governments are doing this anyway without requiring any justification other than the generic "threat of terrorism".
Yanks withdraw porn site poisoned by Microsoft.
I use my HP-11C every day. Who needs a tablet PC when you have an RPN calculator?