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The Museum of HP Calculators
My first HP calculator was a HP21 back in 1975. My
mother bought me this little marvel for college and
it cost a fortune: 510 French francs that was
approx. $110 back then.
I keep in memory (!) that my mother understood that this was the one I wanted. 510 FRF was definitely not the price to pay for a calculator, especially because having a calculator was not that often and because I was 14. Moreover, the level of expenses and earnings of a French family was not in the range that could allow for paying so much for a calculator.
Then for me started the "war" between RPN addicts and algebraic enemies...
The quality of presentation, the soft case, the unprecedented feeling of the keys when keying in calculations was definitely the touch of class to me.
I remember Polar and Rectangular conversions were great discoveries for me since I had this calculator precisely the year I studied trigonometry at school.
It's been stolen in my attaché-case during a mid-morning break-time at school and I was so upset I could have killed someone...
The Principal of the school didn't even want to hear about it: he said that I should never have come at school with such a high-priced item...
My 14-years-old daughter now has a Casio College that costs nothing and does the same, without the pleasure and pride.
I keep in memory (!) that my mother understood that this was the one I wanted. 510 FRF was definitely not the price to pay for a calculator, especially because having a calculator was not that often and because I was 14. Moreover, the level of expenses and earnings of a French family was not in the range that could allow for paying so much for a calculator.
Then for me started the "war" between RPN addicts and algebraic enemies...
The quality of presentation, the soft case, the unprecedented feeling of the keys when keying in calculations was definitely the touch of class to me.
I remember Polar and Rectangular conversions were great discoveries for me since I had this calculator precisely the year I studied trigonometry at school.
It's been stolen in my attaché-case during a mid-morning break-time at school and I was so upset I could have killed someone...
The Principal of the school didn't even want to hear about it: he said that I should never have come at school with such a high-priced item...
My 14-years-old daughter now has a Casio College that costs nothing and does the same, without the pleasure and pride.