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Brad Barton · 05-10-2014, 01:02 PM

(05-10-2014 05:28 AM)Craig Thomas Wrote: I actually sent a letter to David Packard while he was still alive and working, about the low-power indicator on the HP-29C (I think that was the one) and got a great letter back from some VP who said Mr. Packard wanted me satisfied and please don't send any more letters to Mr. Packard....it still makes me chuckle.

Now THAT is funny. Also a symptom of the problem in the big corps; leadership by committee, which turns into leadership by lawyers and accountants. There's nothing like a man (or woman) at the top with a clear vision of what's important.

jebem · (This post was last modified: 05-10-2014 03:49 PM by jebem.)

(05-09-2014 01:04 PM)Eddie W. Shore Wrote: I say go for it. That is the beauty of calculators with upgradable firmware.

+1

I have the HP-Prime and I can only tell that the plus points are obfuscating the negative ones. The problem is that one tends to give extreme importance to the negative ones, forgetting about the great and unique features of this calculator.
Now, this is not a calculator to replace the 48/49/50 series, as it has been stated by so many experts in the field. That is why I also have almost all of those 48/49/50 machines as well.

lemontea · 05-10-2014, 05:37 PM

(05-10-2014 05:28 AM)Craig Thomas Wrote: You are certainly correct. When it comes to large, modern corporations I HAVE gotten pretty cynical. 20 years at the Boeing Company living Dilbert's life will do that.

Part of me is thinking that those "good old days" of engineering by engineers who work inside large corporations, who care, are being gradually supplanted by a totally new paradigm, which we see already alive and well here, with the community engineering and production of the WP 34S. This "megatrend" is borne out by the explosion of interest and talent across the globe by social networking* connected enthusiasts (look at the whole MAKER phenomenon).

Even this website is part of that new paradigm. Essentially what I see is a group of people who care. The only problem that would constrain this is the fact we all are distracted by having to make a living by other means (the traditional corporate engineer makes his/her living as part of the engineering process, but now that seems to have become separated).

I'm not saying that it is better this way, but it seems that it is what it is (and possibly actually a response to the lackluster results from large corps; indeed, the WP 34S is precisely a response to that, for example; other examples, especially in the software world, abound).

*only when the medium is not being used for keeping track of the latest antics by movie stars and other so-called celebrities

Ferdinand333 · (This post was last modified: 06-05-2014 01:50 AM by Dave Hicks.)

(05-10-2014 05:37 PM)lemontea Wrote:
(05-10-2014 05:28 AM)Craig Thomas Wrote: You are certainly correct. When it comes to large, modern corporations I HAVE gotten pretty cynical. 20 years at the Boeing Company living Dilbert's life will do that.

Part of me is thinking that those "good old days" of engineering by engineers who work inside large corporations, who care, are being gradually supplanted by a totally new paradigm, which we see already alive and well here, with the community engineering and production of the WP 34S. This "megatrend" is borne out by the explosion of interest and talent across the globe by social networking* connected enthusiasts (look at the whole MAKER phenomenon).

Even this website is part of that new paradigm. Essentially what I see is a group of people who care. The only problem that would constrain this is the fact we all are distracted by having to make a living by other means (the traditional corporate engineer makes his/her living as part of the engineering process, but now that seems to have become separated).

I'm not saying that it is better this way, but it seems that it is what it is (and possibly actually a response to the lackluster results from large corps; indeed, the WP 34S is precisely a response to that, for example; other examples, especially in the software world, abound).

*only when the medium is not being used for keeping track of the latest antics by movie stars and other so-called celebrities

I am totally agree with you. No doubt two facts unequivocally the best we have all had. You are 100% good here that we all are distracted by having to make a living by other means.

Thomas Radtke · (This post was last modified: 05-31-2014 07:56 AM by Thomas Radtke.)

(05-07-2014 06:04 PM)Brad Barton Wrote: The title might be little misleading. I'm definitely going to buy a Prime, but I'm on the fence as whether to pull the trigger right away, or wait until they become available with the "just-on-the-horizon" firmware update.

Waiting for the next hardware revision will reward you with all those functionality missing from current models.

Edit: Oops, just noticed the new revision is already available!

Brad Barton · (This post was last modified: 05-31-2014 05:37 PM by Brad Barton.)

Quote:Waiting for the next hardware revision will reward you with all those functionality missing from current models.

So it would seem. I guess I shouldn't be surprised that some of the hardware is limited in the RevA models. I suppose it's not possible to design for all eventualities, and as the product evolves, so do the hardware requirements.

Makes it difficult to buy on line though, because how can one be sure to receive the correct model?

debrouxl · 06-01-2014, 07:11 AM

Checking the hardware model (based on the HP product number, see http://www.hpmuseum.org/forum/thread-145...l#pid12760 ) is difficult for online purchases, indeed.

Thomas Radtke · 06-01-2014, 07:22 AM

The german HP site as well as dynatech.de and some ebay dealers list the model number. Currently only rev A Primes are sold, unfortunately.

cutterjohn · 06-01-2014, 01:40 PM

Yep gotta say now with the "new" hardware version coming out that you were correct in fence sitting.

Apparently not even the hardware part was really finished... (or was borked)

semka · 06-04-2014, 08:05 PM

(05-08-2014 05:45 AM)Steve Simpkin Wrote: Remember if you have access to a Windows computer you can download the HP Prime Virtual Calculator Emulator and try it out before buying one.
The direct link is:
http://ftp.ftp.hp.com/pub/calculators/Pr..._11_25.exe

From the HP Prime FTP site:
http://ftp.ftp.hp.com/pub/calculators/Prime/

These links don't work for me, all I get is "Server not found". Does anybody else have the same problem?

Thanks,
S.

Jonathan Cameron · 06-04-2014, 08:11 PM

(05-08-2014 05:45 AM)Steve Simpkin Wrote: Remember if you have access to a Windows computer you can download the HP Prime Virtual Calculator Emulator and try it out before buying one.
The direct link is:
http://ftp.ftp.hp.com/pub/calculators/Pr..._11_25.exe

From the HP Prime FTP site:
http://ftp.ftp.hp.com/pub/calculators/Prime/

Cut and past the URLs into your browser and convert 'http://ftp." to 'ftp://'

semka · 06-04-2014, 08:23 PM

(06-04-2014 08:11 PM)Jonathan Cameron Wrote: Cut and past the URLs into your browser and convert 'http://ftp." to 'ftp://'

It worked! Thanks a bunch.

Craig Thomas · 06-04-2014, 11:12 PM

(06-01-2014 01:40 PM)cutterjohn Wrote: Yep gotta say now with the "new" hardware version coming out that you were correct in fence sitting.

Apparently not even the hardware part was really finished... (or was borked)

You are sooooo right. I didn't really think they would be this disorganized though.

My biggest disappointment, small as it is compared to others, is the algebraic way you're supposed to view the keys 'x to the y', and nth root...both of which function backwards to all my other HP calculators from the Good Old Days. These are important keys for me and it's easier to simply let the Prime sit on a shelf and use a different HP.

And the function color selection on the white keys.

I don't see either of these things changing. Perhaps I'll simply sell mine as well.

Steve Simpkin · 06-05-2014, 12:44 AM

(06-04-2014 08:05 PM)semka Wrote:
(05-08-2014 05:45 AM)Steve Simpkin Wrote: Remember if you have access to a Windows computer you can download the HP Prime Virtual Calculator Emulator and try it out before buying one.
The direct link is:
http://ftp.ftp.hp.com/pub/calculators/Pr..._11_25.exe

From the HP Prime FTP site:
http://ftp.ftp.hp.com/pub/calculators/Prime/

These links don't work for me, all I get is "Server not found". Does anybody else have the same problem?

Thanks,
S.

Sorry about that. The corrected links (inside the single quotes) are:

The Virtual Calculator Emulator:
'ftp://ftp.hp.com/pub/calculators/Prime/HP_Prime_Virtual_Calculator_2014_03_31.exe'

and

The HP Prime FTP site:
'ftp://ftp.hp.com/pub/calculators/Prime/'