Different blue HP 50g model variants

[rprosperi]

It is quite odd that the color scheme on the blue model always photographs poorly, yet is quite clear in person; Glad you see the same thing Jose.

I think the best color schemes, in terms of contrast and clarity, unfortunately came on 2 machines that very few MoHPC users ever use, or at least comment about.

The HP-39gs has a white body, with black and light blue (alpha) shifted key labels. Extremely easy to read, even in low light. But no serious user here would be caught dead using one.

The HP-48GII also has a very clear, high-contrast scheme, which is busier than the 39gs, but still quite easy to read. The layout is identical to a 49g+ or 50g, with a silver face and has red- and blue-shifts, plus green Alpha-shift. Overall, this is probably my favorite color scheme of any machine HP has made (in the RPL and Algebraic post-Pioneer series). But it's screen and RAM are crippled versions of the 50g, so again pretty useless.

Color schemes are a much harder thing to settle on than one might imagine, when designing products like these, because everyone (engineers, marketing folks, secretaries, Division Vice Presidents, etc.) has an equally informed opinion (even if they are not actually informed). The meetings to decide on mundane things like CAS syntax and numbers of significant figures for internal calculations fortunately have far fewer informed folks trying to inject their opinions.