16 Dec 15
My point is that they are specialized touch screen computers. One would think that a smart phone would be just as good and having a bigger screen might be even better in some situations. I realise that if you do a lot of calculating (accountants for example) then a rugged old school calculator makes sense, but these seem to me to be expensive and likely rarely used. One would think that if you are really into graphs and stuff you would want to use a desktop computer. With basic calculators I am fine with a few figures, but for longer calculations I prefer a spreadsheet that lets you go back and adjust things.
16 Dec 15
1 edit
Originally posted by twhiteheadI did find this, looks like a smart phone (android) Prime emulator: $20 US
My point is that they are specialized touch screen computers. One would think that a smart phone would be just as good and having a bigger screen might be even better in some situations. I realise that if you do a lot of calculating (accountants for example) then a rugged old school calculator makes sense, but these seem to me to be expensive and likely r ...[text shortened]... res, but for longer calculations I prefer a spreadsheet that lets you go back and adjust things.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.hp.primecalculator&hl=en
There is a spreadsheet built in to Prime, don't know how extensive it is but it was shown in one of the video's.
20 Dec 15
Originally posted by sonhouseSomeone showed me an RPN calculator once and I swear, I thought he was April-fooling me.
I imagine someone out there has it. Here is a bit about RPN:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPKg_JtI-Ys
He says this is a better video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0xDo05UwkYU
Why would anyone put themselves through that?
20 Dec 15
1 edit
Originally posted by SuzianneRPN just makes things a bit simpler by not having to deal with parentheses, which can add up to quite a number in a complex calculation:
Someone showed me an RPN calculator once and I swear, I thought he was April-fooling me.
Why would anyone put themselves through that?
X=(R+(sqr(9*74.3) *(sin 12.5 degrees)+Pi*(87.3/23.5)))))
R=3.458
See all the parentheses in that calculation. RPN doesn't deal with those, instead doing calculations like we did in grade school:
3
+4
____
7
See, no parentheses, just 2 numbers and an operator, so in RPN you hit 3, enter, hit 4, then hit +, now the screen reads 7
When you hit enter you are pumping up the numbers in a 'stack', a pretend stack of number bins you think of as vertically oriented, and numbers pump up and down depending on whether an operator button was hit, -,+,*, Square, stuff like that pumps numbers down the stack while 'enter' pumps them up, so if you hit 3, ent, ent, ent, then + the result is 6 on the screen and now there are just 3 sets of three, another +, and the bottom stack, the screen now says 9 and there are just 2 sets of three left, another + and the screen goes 12, with one 3 left in the stack, another + and now the screen shows 15 with no more three's in any of the pretend stacks.
The best way to visualize it is to just use the RPN calculator. When you get skilled at it, calculations flow much faster than having to deal with parentheses.