New HP calc, an idea? Message #1 Posted by Tom (UK) on 16 Sept 2002, 5:15 p.m.
All,
I think the market for old style HP's may have passed the point when multi national companies are interested but almost by accident LEGO(tm) came up with the mind-storm(tm?). A bunch of techies designed a challenge for them and LEGO supported the effort and sold lots more to make simple robots etc.
As I work sometimes in a lab the requirement to have a simple, stand alone, real time programmable unit that could also do sums and store info would be great. A PC is no good because it has this thing called an operating system that is anything but real time.
So for serious work and higher education why not have a 'grown up' lego mind-storm?
One for the lab or desk top, more buttons (but not qwerty), bigger display, built in scientific calculator, lots of memory, IRed, serial and 8 bit I/O etc. (may not get RPN, but FORTH would be fine, and was designed for 'miniture' operating systems)
Advantage of several markets:
Industrial control / logging, educational, engineering
Make it PC down load or 'key stroke' programmable.
Hey - if HP are not going to do it why not lobby the older toy / educational / calculator market?
PS I know this is a re-badged '41 with all the goodies but if we all keep that to ourselves and sell the IDEA and the potential MARKET and not the history perhaps we will get what we want by the back door?
Comments? - and send royalties to me please...
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