Plus42 Pricing and documentation

[Paalar]

Ok, so the majority of readers of this forum doesn't see the same value in the Plus42 that I do.
I think I've lamented this fact previously - that young people (12 - 20) today don't calculate anything. The affluent western society does not reward abilities and knowledge over appearance and social outreach. An expensive watch and a large Instagram following trumps being able to find the main room resonances in a lecture hall and estimate the Bl factor of the PA speakers needed to get the wanted SPL using a 300W amp.

And absolutely no-one has wandered how long it takes to empty a water tank when some cowboy shoots a hole in it with his '45 during the last 30 years. We simply stopped caring about such things. "Call 911" is the response nowadays. "They'll send someone to arrest the guy. And someone else to fix the water tank."

So why do I hold the Plus42 in such high esteem?
Well, I dabble in electronics and acoustics. And I suppose it's the same in any field governed by the laws of physics (or economics). We need best guesses and approximate answers at our fingertips. And the Plus42 gives us that. Simple function programming takes care of a lot of repetitive calculations, and the solver covers most of the other calculations. Programming needs to be highly intuitive for it to be a spontaneous exercise on the go and not a desktop chore over a weekend. That's the beauty of PRN programming and the fallacy of RPL programming. You need to program the way the calculator works - otherwise it's quicker to use your laptop or tablet and either use Mathematica or Python or whatever. RPL is an attempt to make a real programming environment on a calculator with its limited screen real estate and tiny keys, it was a dead end and should remain so.

The beauty of a RPN calculator is that once you learn how to use it, programming is an easy transition - you just have to learn control logic and off you go! And if and when the need arises, the Plus42 will build on that basic knowledge gained by simple programming by offering more complex functions and controls. The road from novice to adept user is free from the roadblocks of convoluted syntax, and God forbid, parenthesis.

You may use the solver as a RPN or as an algebraic one, so you progress as you want. This is the beauty of the 42 topology, and makes the Plus42 the pinnacle of the calculator era. I know what I paid for my 25C, and I appreciate the huge advances the Plus42 brings to the table. How to communicate this on Instagram? I have no idea!

[Eddie W. Shore]

Screenshots. I use screen shots to post pictures of Free42 and Plus42 on Instagram.

[pompito]

I have little use for what Plus42 has to offer beyond Free42 (there is is Julia, Octave, Python, etc for that), yet I just purchased Plus92 just to support the developer.

I believe the price is right when you consider that the alternatives for the professional are plenty, some are free and much more powerful. That leaves students who might be interested and should be considered if you want RPN to survive at all.