Now where the heck did this calc come from?...a hint, perhaps?

[Dallas Osborne]

I just received a newsletter from HP and noticed an odd calculator in one of the images.

I thought this might spark a little conversation or someone could set me straight that this is something normal that I have just overlooked.

Regards, Dallas

The Newsletter...check out the image near the top. They really wouldn't tease us like that...would they?

[Eric Smith]

I don't know about that, but their online RPN calculator demo doesn't retain T when the stack drops. T becomes zero. :-(

The ENTER key behaves more like an RPL enter than an RPN enter.

They're missing CLx; they have a "Clear" that clears everything.

Their factorial key works on non-integers, but it does NOT implement the Gamma(x-1) function.

And of course they're not using BCD arithmetic. They use whatever arithmetic Javascript provides, which is usually the host's IEEE floating point. While they detect trying to use the square root key with a negative argument, doing 4 CHS .5 y%x yields "NaN".

I'm a bit surprised that they didn't want their demo to work more like a simplified version of one of their actual calculators, like a 35s. Still, I guess we should be happy that they're trying to promote RPN at all. For many years they didn't.

Edited: 4 Feb 2008, 9:00 p.m.

[Dallas Osborne]

True, those points aside, I was really most curious about the actual calculator image on the main page.

Check out that picture, Mate!

It seems to have the similar style of the 35s, but the keys have the same layout as the 42s. If this is really something other than a pipedream sparked by an artist's cruel joke, then I see that this design, at least, embodies the professional understatement the 42s possessed.

[Walter B]

Dallas, Eric, all,

I second Eric's opinion it's encouraging they start such an el. newsletter at all. Some promotion at least for their calcs with that strange input logic :)

The Dallas teaser calc ;) may well be the one Don suggested, if pictured in an all black surrounding.

Let's proceed to the dark side: To me, with its input line and its DROP key, this online calc they provide is a downgraded *RPL* demo though called RPN by HP itself more than once. It's sad to see the manufacturer (? I know, but can't find a better word) of these very calcs cannot put things right in this basic topic. IMHO they shall correct this asap. But IIRC this demo calc was discussed here some (many?) months ago already.

Nevertheless, there may be more to come - as I interprete the cryptic rumours evaporating from our "sealed" HHC participants. Whether HP is going to reuse the housing of the 35s or of the new 17bii+ or create a new one (we've seen some proposals here), I don't know. But I may hope :)

Edited: 5 Feb 2008, 2:02 a.m.

[Don Shepherd]

Dallas, it appears to be the new 17bii+ silver edition financial calc.

[Dallas Osborne]

Sorry about that then... I am crawling back under my rock for more dream-time.