[Off-topic] HP Prime is for students... What about professionals?

[TravisE]

(10-17-2017 03:13 PM)Brad Barton Wrote:  Tim, thanks for weighing in here. I think its both important for the project and fortunate for the users that you're (and HP by proxy) willing to listen. This is a touchy subject for a lot of people because obviously many of us are somewhat stuck in the past, having so thoroughly enjoyed what our favorite machines could do for us. Although some of my comments may sound a little snarky, please realize that they're intended to improve the Prime user's experience.

Well said, and that's exactly how I feel. The 50g was one of the most fun and pleasurable calculators I had ever encountered, seemingly designed perfectly for the most efficient possible customization, setup, and use, once one put in the time to get to know it. I found it a very handy device for managing all sorts of data processing, much more convenient for many tasks than a desktop computer, tablet, or even phone. Almost the only remaining thing that held it back, I feel, was the unfortunate need to stick to legacy hardware emulation for the sake of software compatibility (since the maturity and solidity of the software base came at the price of it being quite dated by now).

I really want to love the Prime; it has a ton of potential, especially the hardware. But it's very difficult to adapt to something so different, something that feels much less efficient or even vastly more limited in certain ways (especially given that the calculator also has to cater to all the testing authorities, because sadly that's apparently the only way to actually sell calculators anymore). I can appreciate the challenge of designing a brand new calculator from the ground up with barely a fraction of the budget originally allotted the 48g/49g/50g (not to mention the overall development and refinement period of those calculators, as I understand, can now be measured in decades), and I'm grateful that you guys are still accepting feedback and are interested in continuing to make improvements, despite the immense amount of work left to be done. Despite my disappointments with the Prime, I realize that matching the “classic” HP calculators makes for a very high bar to have to meet.

Also, I agree with all the other points Brad made, which are probably more relevant and to the point than my long post earlier in this thread, in which I still feel like I probably went a bit overboard going off on an esoteric technical tangent.