Trip

I'm on a bit of a calculator trip at the moment, mainly the Hewlett Packard 48 series and the RPL language, keeps me happy and it's a cheap hobby. I do like the other machines as well, but, I'm just focused on one series.

Mind you, some of the older HP calcs are selling for obscene money on ebay and if I decided to start collecting them I would have to re-mortgage the house. And I'm sure the guys at the local Cash Converters have gotten wise to the ebay thing as I don't see the calculators there at all any more, just Texas Instrument crap, which strangely enough, quality wise, are actually better than the newer Hewletts being manufactured now.

This new version, the 49G+, is just a big letdown as HP have dropped the good quality keyboard, basically used the same core CPU as the 48G and made algebraic input an option, that IMHO was the beginning of the end when HP started building in algebraic instead of the classic RPN. I also think that HP make much more money on ink cartridges nowadays than they ever did in the calculator market. Ink cartridges are the equivalent of razor blades, sell a printer for eighty bucks then charge fifty bucks each time Joe Public wants an ink cart. Screw Joe.

Still, there are more than enough 48Gs, 48GXs and even the older 48S and 48SX calculators around to see my career or my life out, whichever comes sooner.....

I know, I know, I go on a bit.