Yeah brother, me too. An fx-100D to be precise. I had to put new batteries in it ~8 years ago. I love the minimal UI. I use Real Calc on my phone when not near my fx-100D. Each time I'm infuriated by the overhead of: unlock phone, launch app, dismiss the "do you want to upgrade" banner.
Me too :), my one is the "College FX-100". I got it circa 1983 for my last year or so in high school. It's still a daily driver and the batteries last forever.
As of 2017, Casio FX-9860GII. Overkill for actual usage, but cheap -- so why not?
Before that, TI-30XS from 2013 and the TI-36X from 2011. The 36X is still in my laptop bag. Can't remember what I had before 2011 -- some old "programmer's calculator" from the 90s.
My wife (and various colleagues) thinks I'm crazy, but it's actually easier to grab the calculator from the desk and do a quick calculation than to open/use the calculator app.
It’s similar to how it’s easier to pick up a pen and start writing on a pad; then pick up your phone, open the note app and start a new note.
I just want a simple desktop calculator for the office. And that got me interested in the topic. But like you say, I t’s cheap enough to go for the overkill option these days.
I still often use a TI-89 I bought in 1999. I also bought my daughter a used TI-86 and she uses it daily. Both are way nicer to use than the calculators on our phones.
I agree. I have my TI-89 from college that I use at work. Unfortunately I work in a lab and spilled a solution on it after nearly 2 decades of use and now the + button doesn't respond most of the time. What a drag!
Graphing calculators are abusively priced and regular calculators lack visual history or GOOD recall. The best "calculator" I own is Excel, then whatever device I happen to be on except the iPad which doesn't have a real one in 2024 because some dead guy said it was a bad idea in 2009.
The Windows 11 calculator is a notable downgrade from its predecessor. Randomly takes forever to load, sometimes even spawning an update window instead, and never spawns on the same monitor as my mouse cursor. All for what? To add a bunch of "converters" that are still worse than Google let alone any LLM.
An RPN calculator is a must for almost everything I do, from real engineering, to startup finances and expenses, to making/3D printing, to home/landscape improvement. I keep a real HP emulator* pinned to the taskbar at all times, ready to be launched and used with just a touch (and yes the touchscreen works great with the emulators, if you upsize them a bit. Plus, an actual HP-41cv on my physical desktop, for the heavy lifting not easily handled by the emulators.
(Anything that can't be done on the HPs is going to need some code written, anyway...)
*Three, actually - an HP-15C Scientific pinned to the taskbar, and the default install links to the HP-12C Financial, and HP-16C Hex/Binary emulators in the apps menu. All are official exact HP emulations for Windows published by HP France some time ago. Alas, the link I had is dead, so I'm not sure where you can get them anymore...
Oh, and CreativeCreek's excellent MathU RPN on the iPhone, which feels insanely HP-like as it mashes together the functionality of several HP calculators in a very useful way. (It does the work of the 12C, 15C, and 16C quite well - at least all of what I use on each!)
MathU remains one of only three apps I've ever paid for. It is actually the last major thing keeping me from leaving the Apple ecosystem, since there's no Android version. Yes, it's that good.
You can also get official HP emulators for the iPhone. They were unmaintained for years but now they've been handed over to a new company who is updating them again.
I still use an HP-12C financial calculator, although somewhat sporadically now. It used to be an extremely useful companion when I worked with loan processing systems some years ago.
> Somehow for me using a calculator like that, rather than having to use screen space, or a phone …. Makes my workflow better.
Indeed. I can't explain why, but I feel the same. I wonder about the possible reasons. The tactile response? The focus (the device has a sole purpose)?
Absolutely! Depending what I’m doing an HP-12C (financial stuff) or a Casio fx-82 solar II (most other stuff). I have one of each at home and in the office.
Depends. For simple math I just have a SpeedCrunch window open somewhere, but for more complex equations or if I need to graph something (which is rare for me nowadays) my school Numworks is still on my desk
Yes, I have a desktop calculator primarily because I like using RPN, and there are very few software RPN calculators _that aren't just HP emulators._ In a pinch I will use PCalc in RPN mode on iPadOS, and Droid48 on Android, but those just can't beat the tactile sensation of real buttons.
I bought a SwissMicros DM42: the build quality is great, the e-ink display works really nice for a calculator, and it sips power compared to more recent graphing calculators. (I've had this thing for over a year and it's still showing a full charge on the CR2032 battery it shipped with. My HP 50g used to demolish a set of like 3 or 4x AAA batteries every 2-3 months.) My only complaint is the rubber feet have exposed my office desk as not being a truly flat surface.[1] (I also have access to an HP-15C (both the original and a clone), but I like being able to see the whole stack in XYZT mode. I have no mind's eye, so seeing only the one register is torture for me.)
You stored 3.14159 in register i and removed it from the top of the main stack. Then you tried to print the top of the empty stack with n and pop it. That's why you got the stack empty error.
The only real way to understand it is to read the man page. That said, once you get the hang of it, you can sum all numbers on the stack with the following program
[ + z 1 <s ] ss ls x p
The [ and ] delimit the macro definition that's placed on top of the stack. ss stores the just defined macro in register s and removes it from the top of the main stack. ls loads the macro from register s and places it on the top of the main stack. x executes the macro and p prints the final result.
As for the macro, + pops the top two elements on the stack, adds them and places the result on the top of the stack. z pushes the stack size on top of the stack. 1 pushes 1 on top of the stack. <s pops the top two elemenets on the stack, compares them, and if the top element is less than the the second element, it executes the macro stored in register s. Otherwise, it doesn't do anything.
The macro will execute as long as the stack size is greater than 1. Once the stack size is 1, it will terminate and the p command prints the sum of all the numbers on the stack.
same same. but i have parked the DM42 and stick to my 50g and 11c. i also have the hp that has hex and binary mode but it’s more of a novelty than my daily driver.
thank you, that is the one! unlike the others, i never owned it originally. i bought it maybe 6 or 8 years ago on ebay. back in the age of apple ][, DOS and the like, i can imagine how it might have been quite a useful tool calculator.
oh, i also have a machinists calculator. it can do specific calcs like speeds and feeds, bolt pattern spacing, inch/metric conversion, etc. i rarely use that one too, but it's nice. i love how it has "adj", "opp", "hyp" markings for trig functions.
yeah, I keep and use a TI-85 and an HP financial calculator. I was trained in the use of both (one in college and the other a job) so it is easier for me to just grab one of those than look up the calculator app.
Yes. There are some things that just work better with a dedicated tool. Sure, my computer has a calculator app, but it's fiddly, the keyboard doesn't physically have buttons for all the operations, so I have to go and click on things. If I need to compute something and copy data to/from other windows, I have to deal with moving windows around to make room.
I do use the calculator on my computer. Quite a lot, in fact. But it's just annoying enough that I keep a pocket calculator on my desk at all times.
It's really great for when I'm doing calculations in my head and need to quickly do some operations. It's just ever so slightly easier to slide over my physical calculator and punch some buttons. It helps me stay in flow and keep all the numbers in my head. The calculator app is just a little bit too annoying and the physical calculator is just a little bit more functional.
As for model, no idea. Some Casio scientific calculator. I bought it because it advertised it could operate with hex or binary representation, but I never figured out how to make that work.
I would prefer a TI-84 or one of its decendants any day. I used to use a TI Nspire, it was really good. It even did 3D graphing and calculus.
224 comments
[ 5.4 ms ] story [ 326 ms ] threadBefore that, TI-30XS from 2013 and the TI-36X from 2011. The 36X is still in my laptop bag. Can't remember what I had before 2011 -- some old "programmer's calculator" from the 90s.
My wife (and various colleagues) thinks I'm crazy, but it's actually easier to grab the calculator from the desk and do a quick calculation than to open/use the calculator app.
It’s similar to how it’s easier to pick up a pen and start writing on a pad; then pick up your phone, open the note app and start a new note.
I just want a simple desktop calculator for the office. And that got me interested in the topic. But like you say, I t’s cheap enough to go for the overkill option these days.
If you have the money for a "guilty pleasure", check out the HP 15c Collector's Edition. I might indulge myself.
But when I do: an old HP-32Sii
Graphing calculators are abusively priced and regular calculators lack visual history or GOOD recall. The best "calculator" I own is Excel, then whatever device I happen to be on except the iPad which doesn't have a real one in 2024 because some dead guy said it was a bad idea in 2009.
The Windows 11 calculator is a notable downgrade from its predecessor. Randomly takes forever to load, sometimes even spawning an update window instead, and never spawns on the same monitor as my mouse cursor. All for what? To add a bunch of "converters" that are still worse than Google let alone any LLM.
SpeedCrunch on Windows: https://heldercorreia.bitbucket.io/speedcrunch/
*Three, actually - an HP-15C Scientific pinned to the taskbar, and the default install links to the HP-12C Financial, and HP-16C Hex/Binary emulators in the apps menu. All are official exact HP emulations for Windows published by HP France some time ago. Alas, the link I had is dead, so I'm not sure where you can get them anymore...
MathU remains one of only three apps I've ever paid for. It is actually the last major thing keeping me from leaving the Apple ecosystem, since there's no Android version. Yes, it's that good.
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/hp-15c-calculator/id503720774
I also have a calculator button on my keyboard right above the number pad which is very useful. I use it for quick maths every day.
Very handy even when a laptop is out or during a board meeting.
Somehow for me using a calculator like that, rather than having to use screen space, or a phone …. Makes my workflow better.
Indeed. I can't explain why, but I feel the same. I wonder about the possible reasons. The tactile response? The focus (the device has a sole purpose)?
If it's something I need to type up in a report, or copy-paste into a config file. I'll usually fiddle around with bc or python.
Have owned it since school, and I vastly prefer it for quick maths to a phone or a computer-based calculator.
I keep looking for something similarly basic and affordable that has a backlit display, so far no hits!
I use "bc" actually. I should probably figure out a better solution, but it has worked for quick calculations for me.
I do circuit design/trouble shooting and very often scribble stuff down on paper and solve with a basic calc.
I bought a SwissMicros DM42: the build quality is great, the e-ink display works really nice for a calculator, and it sips power compared to more recent graphing calculators. (I've had this thing for over a year and it's still showing a full charge on the CR2032 battery it shipped with. My HP 50g used to demolish a set of like 3 or 4x AAA batteries every 2-3 months.) My only complaint is the rubber feet have exposed my office desk as not being a truly flat surface.[1] (I also have access to an HP-15C (both the original and a clone), but I like being able to see the whole stack in XYZT mode. I have no mind's eye, so seeing only the one register is torture for me.)
[1]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ji41DzipIU
What about dc?
wtf ok i'm going back to my HP49 emulator
As for the macro, + pops the top two elements on the stack, adds them and places the result on the top of the stack. z pushes the stack size on top of the stack. 1 pushes 1 on top of the stack. <s pops the top two elemenets on the stack, compares them, and if the top element is less than the the second element, it executes the macro stored in register s. Otherwise, it doesn't do anything.
The macro will execute as long as the stack size is greater than 1. Once the stack size is 1, it will terminate and the p command prints the sum of all the numbers on the stack.
oh, i also have a machinists calculator. it can do specific calcs like speeds and feeds, bolt pattern spacing, inch/metric conversion, etc. i rarely use that one too, but it's nice. i love how it has "adj", "opp", "hyp" markings for trig functions.
https://yiyus.info/bqrpn/
Definitively not an HP emulator.
Command line: orpie [https://github.com/pelzlpj/orpie] is okay; it has math functions that dc doesn't have.
GUI: galculator, in RPN mode
Mine is RPN though.
But that's it. Otherwise, it's either the built-in app on my phone or Spotlight on macOS.
EDIT sorry it is an 83 not 85
The killer pre-defined functions? copy(x) and paste(). You can guess what they do.
I do use the calculator on my computer. Quite a lot, in fact. But it's just annoying enough that I keep a pocket calculator on my desk at all times.
It's really great for when I'm doing calculations in my head and need to quickly do some operations. It's just ever so slightly easier to slide over my physical calculator and punch some buttons. It helps me stay in flow and keep all the numbers in my head. The calculator app is just a little bit too annoying and the physical calculator is just a little bit more functional.
As for model, no idea. Some Casio scientific calculator. I bought it because it advertised it could operate with hex or binary representation, but I never figured out how to make that work.
I would prefer a TI-84 or one of its decendants any day. I used to use a TI Nspire, it was really good. It even did 3D graphing and calculus.