HP 35s missing keystrokes

[MarkHaysHarris777]

(01-26-2015 06:48 PM)Jeff O. Wrote:  Its most unforgivable sin was that it was so close to being so much better, were it not for the bugs that seemingly could have or should have been caught before the design was almost literally carved in stone. (Carved in silicon, I guess.)

I agree, to a point. The most unforgivable sin from HP in 2007 was that they chose to use an embedded 8502 core for their 'most powerful non graphing scientific calculator' instead of competing with state-of-the-art technology. The 8502 is the problem, frankly, with most of what gripes folks about the 35s. HP was trying to compete with the Casio and TI student markets (and just can't do it). My FX115ex Plus cost me a whole $13 (on-line). You can purchase the TI 36x Pro for $24 retail and about $17 on-line. HP simply cannot compete in that market; hence, the embedded 8502 from Kinpo Taiwan. That was the sin. But we DO have a relatively inexpensive programmable scientific which is for the most part pretty fabulous and its allowed on the U.S. exams... why keep beating it up because we're mifft at HP, rather than helping students get to know the 35s? And another thing, there might then be an opportunity to introduce them to the WP34s... trust me... getting folks to move from the 35s to the 34s is going to be way better than trying to get them to move to the 34s from the 36x Pro!

We need to clarify the difference between 'cause' and correlation'. Correlation is not causation. The cause of the lock-ups is NOT placing an equation in a loop as a 'pause' for input/ the cause is that the machine entered an infinite loop (and a tight loop to-boot) without access to its software interrupt for scanning the keyboard, and its easily fixed by placing a PSE opcode immediately after the equation prompt (or [R/S] ). Here is another point: Once you have a work-around for a severe bug, its no longer a severe bug... its now an annoyance, or maybe better a 'rule' for new normal operation. Once the community understands the step for recreating a bug (and folks avoid it) what's the problem? I don't use equations to prompt for user input (without a PSE or STOP) and I don't allow my programs to enter an infinite loop (very careful about that) and my machine has never locked up... not even once. So, granted, I have only been playing with this particular processor for a few hundred hours... so I may not have pressed every function finding button and\or scenario yet... but close.

True story---> my son is an engineering student as ISU this year/ NROTC studying CE (and having a blast). The engineering department handed out calculators (yeah, I know the parents paid for them) and guess which one they handed out? Do you think it was an HP anything? Nope. TI 36x Pro. <=== the students are not permitted to use their graphing calcs (83 84 89 50g &c) in most of their classes (for the same reason that NCEES does not allow them either!) So, his calc collection stays in the dorm room and he hauls the 36x Pro around (no RPN, RPL, and NOT programmable!) And he's studying engineering ! What is wrong with that picture?

Again, all I'm really saying is that now that HP knows we're mifft, well, we can rewrite the bug-list to reflect a little more balanced approach to the unit. Yes, its got a couple of glitches, one gotcha, and you'll need to load the communities R<>P and trig utilities, but hey, it works, its fun, its functional, and its allowed on the NCEES FE PE PS exams! ... which means, you need to understand it, but hey, you can trust it and rely on it.

PS Having said all of that!--- based on my work with the 34s emulator, the 35s doesn't hold a candle to it functionally (especially the programming paradigms) but again... my son isn't going to be able to use the WP34s I'm repurposing for him on the NCEES exam. Its sad, but true. so... what's an engineering father to do...?

Cheers