Base Conversion & Logical Operations: Prime vs. 28S/28GX/50g on EASE OF USE

[JDW]

(08-17-2018 09:08 AM)Didier Lachieze Wrote:  So the Prime Base support is pretty extensive, the interaction is different from the RPL models but it’s quite powerfull.

Thank you for taking time to watch my video and offer detailed instructions with wonderful screenshots on how to perform the data entry and manipulations as best as the Prime can do it. I really appreciate your time in doing that! THANK YOU!

However, the fact remains, as anyone can see in my video, that in terms of sheer SPEED, the 28S/48G/50g (vintage RPL calculators) have the clear edge. Note in my video how I could switch between HEX and DEC and BIN and OCT in literally milliseconds by the press of a single button. And those manipulations affect ALL the #'d numbers on the stack. (On the Prime, you'd need to do that base conversion to numbers on your stack individually, eating up a huge amount of time, unnecessarily.) When you're a student taking a test, time is important. Also, vintage calculators like the 50g don't require you to set a "default base in settings" like the Prime does, making base conversions simpler, faster, and easier to understand and use overall.

Sure, one can adapt to the way the Prime requires you to do things, but I am not focused on adapting in this thread. I am focused on why can't the Prime do it faster and more efficiently, seeing such can be done on older calculator models. And no, I don't think it's a matter of "because the older calculators were RPL." Remember, the Prime allows RPN functionality at times. I am mainly speaking about the UI and how fast one gets from A to B.

So what I would like to see is a similar methodology on the Prime, when it comes to base conversions and logical operations, targeted at efficiency, speed, and ease of use. And just because no one has so boldly asked for this before doesn't mean it isn't needed or wanted. I assure you, if the process of base conversion and logical operations could be made faster and more efficient on the Prime, few would have much to complain about it.

Why do I even care? The reason should be obvious. HP no longer sells the 50g, so one cannot simply say, "Okay then, if you don't like the way the Prime does it, just pay $300 for a 50g, while they last." I don't view that as a proper attitude to have though. The Prime is what HP is pushing now and will be in the years to come. So it stands to reason that we should brainstorm how to make it better. And comparing the prime to calculators of the past is only logical and prudent. The Prime will perhaps never be all the old calculators were. But that doesn't mean the Prime cannot be made faster, easier and more elegant on the software side. Where there's a will, there's always a way.