The 50G, this wonder...

[Tugdual]

No specific topic here, just a quick testimony...
I keep being surprised by the 50g. Basically whatever topic I touch I find a usage for it. I was recently developing a booking software and found myself heavily working on dates. While checking the software, I found that the 50g had this incredible Time menu with # of days between two dates or calculating the date after a certain number of days. Do you know many calculators with this feature ? - all right coding a Julian calendar might not be that difficult but still... features are there. Add to this the great menu + function keys and again you see that the 50g is not only powerful but also easy and quick to use. I keep being impressed by this calculator that has a use in so many occasions. Despite its indecent size I keep carrying it with me and you'll often find it on my desk.
Open question: does any other calc, any brand, compete with that one?

[Hlib]

(04-27-2016 08:04 PM)Tugdual Wrote:  ...
Open question: does any other calc, any brand, compete with that one?

Not a single calculator presently can compete with HP - 50g (49g+, 48gii). At all my preconceived attitude toward the products of HP, I accept fact : HP - 50 is the best among calculators.

[Massimo Gnerucci]

(04-27-2016 08:04 PM)Tugdual Wrote:  No specific topic here, just a quick testimony...
I keep being surprised by the 50g. Basically whatever topic I touch I find a usage for it. I was recently developing a booking software and found myself heavily working on dates. While checking the software, I found that the 50g had this incredible Time menu with # of days between two dates or calculating the date after a certain number of days. Do you know many calculators with this feature ? -

This one

[PANAMATIK]

(04-27-2016 08:04 PM)Tugdual Wrote:  No specific topic here, just a quick testimony...
I keep being surprised by the 50g. Basically whatever topic I touch I find a usage for it. I was recently developing a booking software and found myself heavily working on dates. While checking the software, I found that the 50g had this incredible Time menu with # of days between two dates or calculating the date after a certain number of days. Do you know many calculators with this feature ?

HP-01

Bernhard

[Dieter]

(04-27-2016 08:04 PM)Tugdual Wrote:  While checking the software, I found that the 50g had this incredible Time menu with # of days between two dates or calculating the date after a certain number of days. Do you know many calculators with this feature ?

That's a standard feature of many financial calculators (ΔDAYS, DAYS+).
Sometimes even optionally based on a 360-days-calendar.

And of course the 34s offers a comprehensive set of date functions, including ΔDAYS, DAYS+, conversions between date and Julian day number, two different Julian/Gregorian switch dates, day of week function, three different date formats and more.

(04-27-2016 08:04 PM)Tugdual Wrote:  - all right coding a Julian calendar might not be that difficult

I assume the 50G date functions are based on the the more common Gregorian calendar. ;-)

Dieter

[Steve Simpkin]

(04-27-2016 08:04 PM)Tugdual Wrote:  Not a single calculator presently can compete with HP - 50g (49g+, 48gii). At all my preconceived attitude toward the products of HP, I accept fact : HP - 50 is the best among calculators.

It is a shame it is being discontinued...

[Thomas Radtke]

(04-27-2016 10:30 PM)Steve Simpkin Wrote:  It is a shame it is being discontinued...

It's a shame RPL has been abandoned.

[Gilles]

(04-27-2016 08:54 PM)Hlib Wrote:  HP - 50 is the best among calculators.

I totally agree.

[Tugdual]

(04-27-2016 09:51 PM)Dieter Wrote:  I assume the 50G date functions are based on the the more common Gregorian calendar. ;-)

The Julian calendar has a distinct number for each day that makes it easy to calculate date day differences. It is very likely that Gregorian is only used for the user interface.

[Michael Lopez]

I also fully agree that the HP 50G is the best calculator in the field that I work in (Engineering).

Keep dreaming about HP Calculator Group repurposing the HP Prime to run RPL & all the software previously developed for the HP48-50 series :-).

Cheers,

Michael

[Marcio]

(04-28-2016 09:46 AM)Michael Lopez Wrote:  I also fully agree that the HP 50G is the best calculator in the field that I work in (Engineering).

Keep dreaming about HP Calculator Group repurposing the HP Prime to run RPL & all the software previously developed for the HP48-50 series :-).

Cheers,

Michael

As the 50g is an emulation itself, I don't think it would be very difficult for the Prime to emulate the 50g as a side environment (running side-by-side with Home and CAS views of today in the Prime). That would give the 50g speed (!!!) and eliminate the need to buy batteries every 15 days - if you're a power user.

If I were asked if that is a good idea, I would say no. Best leave the 50g alone and move on with the Prime. The money is in education (and cartridges!!!) anyway.

Best.

Marcio

[Dieter]

(04-28-2016 09:45 AM)Tugdual Wrote:  The Julian calendar has a distinct number for each day that makes it easy to calculate date day differences.

You are probably confusing Julian Day Numbers (JDNs, consecutive numbers for every day) and the Julian Calendar, the one that was used until the 16th century, with one leap year every four years. As opposed to the Gregorian calendar with a more precise rule for leap years.

(04-28-2016 09:45 AM)Tugdual Wrote:  It is very likely that Gregorian is only used for the user interface.

As far as I know the 48/49/50 has no special "date" data type. That's why dates are entered and returned as reals (mm.ddyyyy etc.).

Of course the date related functions are evaluated by converting the dates to JDNs, adding/subtracting the desired number of days and converting the resulting JDN back to day, month and year.

Dieter

[Claudio L.]

(04-28-2016 07:28 AM)Thomas Radtke Wrote:  

(04-27-2016 10:30 PM)Steve Simpkin Wrote:  It is a shame it is being discontinued...

It's a shame RPL has been abandoned.

Abandoned by HP you mean. newRPL will keep that legacy alive for this community, and RPL will live on.

[Thomas Radtke]

(04-28-2016 02:55 PM)Claudio L. Wrote:  Abandoned by HP you mean.

Yes.

In a perfect world the 43s-team would deliver hardware for your OS instead of writing the next 'traditional' (as in obsolete) RPN firmware. But I know, we talked about this *sigh*.

[Jlouis]

(04-28-2016 02:55 PM)Claudio L. Wrote:  

(04-28-2016 07:28 AM)Thomas Radtke Wrote:  It's a shame RPL has been abandoned.

Abandoned by HP you mean. newRPL will keep that legacy alive for this community, and RPL will live on.

Could newRPL be ported to the Prime?

[Vtile]

[/quote]
That would give the 50g speed (!!!) and eliminate the need to buy batteries every 15 days - if you're a power user.

If I were asked if that is a good idea, I would say no. Best leave the 50g alone and move on with the Prime. The money is in education (and cartridges!!!) anyway.

Best.

Marcio
[/quote]

If you are poweruser of 50g in the level that you need fresh batteries in 15 day cycles, do all means hack a LiPo cell to the unit.. Or use NiMh cells (which have taken enormaus jump in capacity in past 10..15 years what I have been following inregularly, before LiPo did came a mainstream of new gadgets.)

[Hlib]

(04-27-2016 08:04 PM)Tugdual Wrote:  ...I keep being surprised by the 50g... I keep being impressed by this calculator...

I never stopped to delight in this masterpiece (meaning the software, not embodiment in hardware).

(04-30-2016 10:22 AM)Jlouis Wrote:  Could newRPL be ported to the Prime?

There is no reason to change HP-Prime for the sake of RPL. HP-50g must be accessible on sale, that we could always have the opportunity of it to buy. But problem is with SD 2Gb - where can we purchase them now and in the future?

[Thomas Radtke]

(04-28-2016 11:31 AM)Marcio Wrote:  Best leave the 50g alone and move on with the Prime.

Best for HP, as long as they want to produce calculators that is. I tried the Prime software and it's not made for me, which makes perfectly sense as it is targeted towards education and I'm just a user, not a student.

[Tugdual]

(04-30-2016 12:25 PM)Thomas Radtke Wrote:  

(04-28-2016 11:31 AM)Marcio Wrote:  Best leave the 50g alone and move on with the Prime.

Best for HP, as long as they want to produce calculators that is. I tried the Prime software and it's not made for me, which makes perfectly sense as it is targeted towards education and I'm just a user, not a student.

Same here. I actually started with a Prime and moved on the 50g. For the same reasons but also because the Prime had a trend to hard lock all the time. But if we could have a 50g in the body of a Prime that would be an ultimate achievement for sure.

[Marcel]

Hi!

All the time and date functions are in AstroLab 4 with the Prime!

Marcel