Octal

[woodelf]

M H Stein wrote:
> That's a pretty sweeping statement; their keyboard and display 
> are as good as the one you use every day, cut and paste is
> often handy for avoiding entry errors and you don't have another
> item on your (non-virtual) desktop; best of all, if you don't like anything
> out there you could presumably create your own.

Simple the calculator needs a mouse or hot keys all over the
computer keyboard. If you want to do any complex equation
or add more than 3 numbers the mouse or keyboard craps out on you.

> I'm obviously less demanding; I'm quite happy with my $1.00
> calculator: nice large LCD display, full size keys and solar-powered.
> Cheaply made, true, but that's why it cost $1.00, and it's served me
> well for 3 or 4 years; if it dies I guess I'll have to bite the bullet and
> spend another $1.00.

Hey just use a PDF file.:) One company I ordered from has the PDF file
order form that lets you do all the sums for the order total.
You still have to type in the line items and order #'s how ever.

> I for one am amazed and delighted that calculators, computers etc.
> can be manufactured as cheaply as they are while in general being 
> much more efficient/useful/powerful and just as reliable (or more so) 
> than the products of yore, which would presumably cost several orders 
> of magnitude more if manufactured the same way today and be 
> completely out of my reach pricewise.

Well I don't fit in with the mass market product for calculators.
I am also the one that still sends money orders for mail order products
rather than using a credit card on line. Mostly I need '1/x' and
scientific notation rather than all the scientific functions.