Release Pandora-X48: A Hp48 Calculator Emulator V1.0.1

[dgame]

Damn those calculators look impressive, but how would they stack up to software like GraphCalc? http://www.graphcalc.com/ It says 'Windows', but it's open source: http://sourceforge.net/projects/gcalc/ - Nice 3D graphs but I can only guess at how much functionality it doesn't have that those TI and HP calcs do.

These calculators are more than just calculators. Many have vibrant communities and extensive libraries. Many of us had to use them at one point or another in school or at work. Some are legendary (HP 12C) and others are revolutionary (HP 48 series). It is similar to the love we have for classic computers and video game systems. So while modern software may have similar or even better features than these old calculators, it does not have the same sense of history or familiarity. People can be passionate about there calcs. I generally prefer HP calculators, but I could not have gotten through Statistics 101 without the TI-36X Solar.

 

[jasay]

Awesome! I am still using my HP48G. Even I have extended it to 256kb memory And installed lots of useful libs, like SpeedUI and Erable

256kB! Here I am using 32kB like smuck and I lost my cable so no new software.

 

[fearofshorts]

I know that this isn't the same sort of retro calculator that you are all talking about, but there's something in recent calculator technology that I couldn't live without: CAS (Computer Algebra System).
Of course, I can still do it all by hand, but I like the amazing features that CAS has to offer (and believe me- it offers a lot more in real life than it seems to on paper).

So, I was wondering if anyone has any idea whether there is an emulator for one of the calculators that runs this (the two best are the T-Nspire by TI and the Classpad 330 by HP). Or just a program which has CAS capabilities.

EDIT: I just read up on earlier CAS systems and now I understand that the HP-28 actually had a basic version of this. But believe me when I say that the modern version of CAS is incredible- you can solve any equation- think one with eight terms and four or five functions used in chain per term- and get all of the exact solutions.

 

[jasay]

wxMaxima seems to be a good open source computer algebra system.

 

[God Ginrai]

I did not even dream of such an emulator on the Pandora, really did not thought there were enough interesst! I am a geniune of these timeless RPN calculators, I grew up with the 48-, 28- and 16-series and own a 50G myself. I even thought about coding my own RPN calculator, just for the sake of it!

Great work!

Oftentimes it is not the amount of interest that gets an emulator on a system, but the presence of an interested coder.

Damn those calculators look impressive, but how would they stack up to software like GraphCalc? http://www.graphcalc.com/ It says 'Windows', but it's open source: http://sourceforge.net/projects/gcalc/ - Nice 3D graphs but I can only guess at how much functionality it doesn't have that those TI and HP calcs do.

These calculators are more than just calculators. Many have vibrant communities and extensive libraries. Many of us had to use them at one point or another in school or at work.

I know what you mean. I don't think there is a single person who used a TI-83, during the time between Middle School and High School, who doesn't know what Mirage OS is, for example. ;P

-God Ginrai

 

[Nikolai]

But believe me when I say that the modern version of CAS is incredible- you can solve any equation- think one with eight terms and four or five functions used in chain per term- and get all of the exact solutions.

The equation editor in the HP48, 49, and 50 series also had this. You can put in any equation, or series of equations, plug in all the known values, and solve for any or all unknowns. You could also solve symbolically, so if you had an equation in terms of one variable, you could represent it in terms of another.

I use my 50g almost exclusively, still, thanks to the 1-Gb SD card, USB connectivity, and available GNU C compiler that allows you to run code compiled for the (ARM) processor at blazing speed if that's what you need (and not, say, SysRPL).

 

[metallurge]

Hmm, thinking further about this, I wonder about the practicality of using the base hardware of the Pandora, perhaps with an appropriate custom-printed keyboard, into a sortof next-gen HP-esque scientific calculator...

I really really loved the clamshell design of the HP-28C/S, but doing it in "landscape" would rock even more...

 

[-Tj-]

Wow, this is awesome! Yet another thing I will be able to use my Pandora for instead of my phone.

Question: Would it be possible to do a portrait-style orientation of it, to be used book-style? I don't have my Pandora yet so I don't know if this would work well, but some of the screenshots I saw of the emulator seemed to fit fine within Pandora's screen size.