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toml_12953 · 09-30-2018, 10:27 AM

(09-30-2018 12:30 AM)TravisE Wrote: I always felt I was the odd one out back when I was growing up for deriving a lot of pleasure in reading manuals to… just about anything. But especially electronic devices. The more information they provided, the better!

I keep all my manuals. I have manuals for equipment I got rid of years ago!
I, too, like going over manuals. In the case of contemporary equipment, over a long period of use I sometimes find that I've inadvertently limited myself to a subset of commands available. Rereading the manual can refresh my memory and let me re-expand my repertoire.

TravisE · (This post was last modified: 09-30-2018 03:34 PM by TravisE.)

(09-30-2018 10:27 AM)toml_12953 Wrote: I keep all my manuals. I have manuals for equipment I got rid of years ago!

Same here. Smile

Sometimes I wonder why. But then again, with really old equipment and really old manuals, I feel they can have some historic value. There were a couple of times when I found manuals to equipment I vaguely remembered when I was little and found fascinating, and that was a gold mine to me because it helped me remember what that kind of stuff back then was like and how it worked. Also, it's nice to be able to go through and see if there are unobvious features I don't know about that I would find useful. Reading (good) manuals and learning about all the features allowed me to get the most out of the products I used.

pier4r · 09-30-2018, 05:04 PM

(09-30-2018 10:27 AM)toml_12953 Wrote: I sometimes find that I've inadvertently limited myself to a subset of commands available. Rereading the manual can refresh my memory and let me re-expand my repertoire.

Me too

Jlouis · 09-30-2018, 06:23 PM

I've just acquired a HP 10bII+, as a suggestion of Tim for some work with statistics and I promptly started to read the manual, even though that life is short and I am already at the 2nd third of the way.

That said, what intrigue me is the fact that, as the OP points out, most people don't want to waste time reading the manual, but, as I saw in the Amazon review of the mentioned calculator, many gave one star for it because:

-the calculator was not working correctly, given wrong answer
-the calculator is almost impossible to use
-the calculator gives an answer for 4^2=4 - This guy even took the time to make an YouTube video showing that.

What I mean is if life is short for read the manual why it is not short to make a stupid review, and making videos showing their stupidity? I'm not offending anyone, everybody is prone to err, but not reviewing and thinking what is wrong with a calculation and starting to spread the lack of knowledge of operating whatever it be is an act of stupidity.

pier4r · (This post was last modified: 09-30-2018 06:28 PM by pier4r.)

(09-30-2018 06:23 PM)Jlouis Wrote: What I mean is if life is short for read the manual why it is not short to make a stupid review, and making videos showing their stupidity? I'm not offending anyone, everybody is prone to err, but not reviewing and thinking what is wrong with a calculation and starting to spread the lack of knowledge of operating whatever it be is an act of stupidity.

Internet statistically has "proven" (at least to me) that that is not the exception. I read the messages of plenty of people that were wrong, at least using simple math, but they wouldn't accept it. I understand that when someone is wrong it is difficult to realize it (otherwise one wouldn't have made the error), but even after explanations and co, nothing to do. Some people think they make no mistakes. Let them disqualify themselves.

toml_12953 · 09-30-2018, 11:11 PM

(09-30-2018 06:23 PM)Jlouis Wrote: That said, what intrigue me is the fact that, as the OP points out, most people don't want to waste time reading the manual, but, as I saw in the Amazon review of the mentioned calculator, many gave one star for it because:

-the calculator was not working correctly, given wrong answer
-the calculator is almost impossible to use
-the calculator gives an answer for 4^2=4 - This guy even took the time to make an YouTube video showing that.

It looks like the user was trying to enter the problem as you would on an RPN machine with = being ENTER.

Jlouis · 09-30-2018, 11:54 PM

(09-30-2018 11:11 PM)toml_12953 Wrote: It looks like the user was trying to enter the problem as you would on an RPN machine with = being ENTER.

Exactly Tom.

And others didn't set period year correctly, thus thinking it's a wrong calculation.

Just a read in the manual and they would SET/operate it correctly. But life is too short to RTFM.

I wish a week full of readings, calculations and happiness to everybody!!

Cheers

JL

franz.b · (This post was last modified: 10-01-2018 06:46 AM by franz.b.)

(09-30-2018 06:23 PM)Jlouis Wrote: -the calculator gives an answer for 4^2=4 - This guy even took the time to make an YouTube video showing that.

I need to watch this video to pick up my Monday, can someone post the link? :-D

Didier Lachieze · 10-01-2018, 07:22 AM

(10-01-2018 06:46 AM)franz.b Wrote: can someone post the link? :-D

Enjoy

burkhard · 10-02-2018, 02:50 PM

(10-01-2018 07:22 AM)Didier Lachieze Wrote:
(10-01-2018 06:46 AM)franz.b Wrote: can someone post the link? :-D

Enjoy

That is bizarre. Usually when people screw up with an HP model it is because they are attempting to use an RPN model as if it were algebraic entry. In her case, she is treating the 10bII+ as if it were RPN. Clearly RPN is more intuitive to people who don't read the manual! :-)

Does the 10bII+ come with a manual? If I were to try a calculation that didn't work, I'd verify I was using the equipment correctly before spouting off and making a video. Such hubris people have today...

One of her other reviews includes the prophetic line: It's known amongst my friends that technology and I don't have a long lasting relationship.
You don't say?

Albert Chan · (This post was last modified: 10-02-2018 05:07 PM by Albert Chan.)

I have a trick to figure out unknown calculator input method

Do 1 + 2 * 3

Chain get 9, which in Cantonese, sound like OLD
AOS get 7, in Cantonese, sound like a swear word (see below)
RPN get 3, which sound like RAW (very nice description for RPN !)

If you get a 4 (say, from Gaxio), it meant DEAD

Hong Kong "election" 2017 for chief executive ... 777 votes Big Grin

https://www.hongkongfp.com/2017/03/26/77...nese-puns/

ijabbott · 10-02-2018, 05:16 PM

(10-02-2018 02:50 PM)burkhard Wrote:
(10-01-2018 07:22 AM)Didier Lachieze Wrote: Enjoy

That is bizarre. Usually when people screw up with an HP model it is because they are attempting to use an RPN model as if it were algebraic entry. In her case, she is treating the 10bII+ as if it were RPN. Clearly RPN is more intuitive to people who don't read the manual! :-)

The weird part is that she'd already been using the calculator for six months before she discovered the "malfunction" with exponentiation.

John Keith · 10-03-2018, 01:29 PM

We're not the only ones thinking about this:
slashdot.org

burkhard · (This post was last modified: 10-03-2018 02:03 PM by burkhard.)

I saw this yesterday looking at the manual for the HP45. It made me think of this thread. Those manuals were actually entertaining, written by people (probably professional writers who enjoyed their work.

toml_12953 · 10-03-2018, 03:09 PM

(10-02-2018 04:54 PM)Albert Chan Wrote: I have a trick to figure out unknown calculator input method

Do 1 + 2 * 3

Chain get 9, which in Cantonese, sound like OLD
AOS get 7, in Cantonese, sound like a swear word (see below)
RPN get 3, which sound like RAW (very nice description for RPN !)

If you get a 4 (say, from Gaxio), it meant DEAD

Hong Kong "election" 2017 for chief executive ... 777 votes
https://www.hongkongfp.com/2017/03/26/77...nese-puns/

Is there any number that DOESN'T sound like a word in Chinese? Smile

I've heard that in Japan, Speed Racer's car is Mach 5 and "Go, Speed Racer, Go!" is sort of a pun because Go is the number 5.