On the fence

[Brad Barton]

(05-07-2014 09:29 PM)Craig Thomas Wrote:  It depends on what you want it for. If you're in your mid-20's with no previous experience of what HP as an engineering company used to produce, you'll likely be happy with it as it is.

My mid-20's was a long time ago; say mid-20 ago. I don't expect to ever see the quality we saw then, but there's more capability available today. Thought I might try to use the Prime's programming and graphics capability to assist in balancing rotating equipment.

Quote:How's your eyesight though?

Yeah, that might be a problem, but fairly easily overcome.

Quote:The sort-of RPN implementation will disappoint if you know what they used to make in this area.

Yeah, I've been reading up on it, and that aspect does look like a downer. I've got plenty of RPN/RPL machines around if I really get to missing it. I'm looking at the Prime as another iteration of HP calculators. I'm sure there'll be some adjustments to make on my part. I seem to remember the 49 took it on the chin pretty hard when it was released, but everyone seems to like 'em pretty well now.

Quote:Don't count on the firmware upgrade. Wait for the reviews.

That's probably the safest course, and the one I've been following for now. But I feel like I'm missing out on learning a new machine, and I'm pretty sure that TW and crew will keep working on improving it, even if the upcoming release doesn't hit all the marks. They might even get the RPN implementation straightened out.