If you are a grad student who has been waiting for a month for a job to finish...this could be very important. I was in an engineering department where jobs that ran for weeks were not uncommon (fortunately most of mine only took a day or two). A shutdown of a critical machine could set someone back months.
I agree that this story is very premature. To my knowledge, no medical condition has ever been cured using gene delivery. Scientists have been optimistic about using such therapy for Cystic Fibrosis because delivery to the lungs is practical (inhalation); however barriers to delivery remain high for other organs/tissues.
So the chances that it will be used by 2012 to improve athletic performance seem extremely low.
For the record, my engineering department (in '91)STRONGLY recommended that all incoming freshmen purchase an HP caluclator (one with RPN). They did not require it, but I am very happy that I followed their advise. Otherwise, I may have gone with a TI and never learned RPN.
Also, none of my classes ever had any "calulator-specific" materials. To me that seems useless.
There are a couple of differences that make me think a palm will not measure up.
The Palm can certainly compete in terms of functionality but...
I have had my HP42S since 1991. It has survived many lab accidents and trips in the bottom of my backpack. (It's nearly indestructible) The quality of the buttons is much higher than any other calc I've ever tried.
I have only had my Palm for about a year, so I can't comment too much on its durability.
My uncle has a funny story about his old 15C. He accidentally got epoxy on his R/S button, fusing it to the case. He didn't have many options, so he took a hammer and a nail punch and beat on it until the button broke free. It worked perfectly afterward. Try that with a Palm!
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If you are a grad student who has been waiting for a month for a job to finish...this could be very important. I was in an engineering department where jobs that ran for weeks were not uncommon (fortunately most of mine only took a day or two). A shutdown of a critical machine could set someone back months.
I agree that this story is very premature. To my knowledge, no medical condition has ever been cured using gene delivery. Scientists have been optimistic about using such therapy for Cystic Fibrosis because delivery to the lungs is practical (inhalation); however barriers to delivery remain high for other organs/tissues.
So the chances that it will be used by 2012 to improve athletic performance seem extremely low.
BTW, the parent message should be moderated up!
For the record, my engineering department (in '91)STRONGLY recommended that all incoming freshmen purchase an HP caluclator (one with RPN). They did not require it, but I am very happy that I followed their advise. Otherwise, I may have gone with a TI and never learned RPN.
Also, none of my classes ever had any "calulator-specific" materials. To me that seems useless.
There are a couple of differences that make me think a palm will not measure up.
The Palm can certainly compete in terms of functionality but...
I have had my HP42S since 1991. It has survived many lab accidents and trips in the bottom of my backpack. (It's nearly indestructible) The quality of the buttons is much higher than any other calc I've ever tried.
I have only had my Palm for about a year, so I can't comment too much on its durability.
My uncle has a funny story about his old 15C. He accidentally got epoxy on his R/S button, fusing it to the case. He didn't have many options, so he took a hammer and a nail punch and beat on it until the button broke free. It worked perfectly afterward. Try that with a Palm!