The Museum of HP Calculators

HP Forum Archive 13

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Mr. Hicks how about a screen saver
Message #1 Posted by Norm on 11 June 2003, 3:36 a.m.

I wonder if Mr. Hicks could build us a screen saver. It would have a slide show of HP classic calculators.

Anybody who wants to give thumbs down to the Kinpo/Carly stuff, would download the screen saver and let it run. Esp. at HP headquarters.

Imagine the warfare on this chat board, over which calculators should be included in the slide show !!

I could imagine a near replica of the 25C owner's manual. That is, a 25C silhouetted against the earth shot from space. Then perhaps a 'people' shot of some famous-type guy posing next to one of the suitcase models, in the 70's.

Of course, I would design the screen saver as follows:

First would come the face-on view of the 34C......... then would come the 3/4 view of the 34C....... then would come the 34C framed next to its owner's manual .... then a 34C superimposed atop an engineering marvel such as the 747... then an interior view of the 34C circuit board ........

      
Re: Mr. Hicks how about a screen saver
Message #2 Posted by Jürgen (CH) on 11 June 2003, 8:58 a.m.,
in response to message #1 by Norm

Great idea, although the design has to be discussed ;-) I suggest the screen saver has to be highly customizable to meet the collector's individual preferences.
Let me know if Windows programming skills are required. I would be proud of participating this project.

            
Re: Mr. Hicks how about a screen saver
Message #3 Posted by Juan-J on 11 June 2003, 11:43 a.m.,
in response to message #2 by Jürgen (CH)

Just wondering, about HP calculators and engineering marvels... What about the HP-41/Space Shuttle ads? The 65 and the Apollo-Soyuz mission? Or perhaps the 9810/20 (not really sure on this) and the Pioneer 10?

It would be great. So many themes on screen savers, some of them hardly attractive, why not HPs?

A little bit off-topic, I once read that Stanley Kubrick had an HP-35 and liked it very much, that's all I remember and have not found the original paper. Has anyone heard about this story or know more about it?

                  
Re: Mr. Hicks how about a screen saver
Message #4 Posted by Valentin Albillo on 11 June 2003, 12:02 p.m.,
in response to message #3 by Juan-J

Juan-J posted:

"A little bit off-topic, I once read that Stanley Kubrick had an HP-35 and liked it very much, that's all I remember and have not found the original paper. Has anyone heard about this story or know more about it? "

Don't know about Stanley Kubrick himself, but famous sci-fi writer Arthur Clarke (who worked with Stanley Kubrick in the making of "2001 A Space Odyssey") did mention a number of times that he owned (and loved) an HP-9825 programmable calculator. Also, Wendy Carlos (Tron's OST, etc) owns another HP-9825 and does some amazing things with it. See:

http://www.wendycarlos.com/maps.html

Perhaps some forum contributors could name other celebrities owning classic HP calculators/computers ?

                        
MORE screen saver slide show ideas
Message #5 Posted by Norm on 11 June 2003, 4:58 p.m.,
in response to message #4 by Valentin Albillo

MORE screen saver slide show ideas

slide pictures of......

34C in front of space shuttle

34C orbiting planet Earth,

34C with Albert Einstein

34C tucked into shirt pocket of Admiral of U.S. Navy

34C in companion shot with 41C, 34C in foreground, 41C in background...

34C next to Rolls Royce jet engine

34C in truck driver's pocket, 48G+ underneath truck tire

34C in technician's hand at main console of atomic reactor station.........

34C being typed on by Nobel peace prize winner, President Bush in background.

C'mon Jurgen...... you can code it for us !!!! I'm ready !!!! C'mon screen saver !!

                              
no slides, plz..
Message #6 Posted by Hans Brueggemann [GER] on 12 June 2003, 10:25 a.m.,
in response to message #5 by Norm

instead, i want a 'matrix style' one calculating primes or whatever senseless stuff with optional LEDs or 41C-style LCD characters.

cheers, hans

                        
Kubrick and Clarke (Long)
Message #7 Posted by Michael F. Coyle on 11 June 2003, 11:04 p.m.,
in response to message #4 by Valentin Albillo

Some information about Stanley Kubrick and Arthur C. Clarke and their HP Calculators you might find of interest:

The HP Digest, Volume 2 (1977) has an article by Bernard Oliver. At the end, he says,

Quote:
Stanley Kubrick, director of 2001, A Space Odyssey, was an early purchaser of an HP-35. He wrote me a letter of praise and ended by saying that the HP-35 would do for now, but what he really wanted was a pocket machine that told him what to do next. Even at the present rate of progress, I doubt if Kubrick can ever have that machine.

(This article is on Disk 4 of the MoHPC set. It is fascinating and well worth reading.)

Arthur C. Clark tells a interesting story about how he got his first HP Calculator. In 1968 he received a postcard from a magazine; they were preparing an article for their Christmas issue. They sent cards to many celebrities asking them what they wanted for Christmas; the best ones would be compiled and published as an article. Clarke threw the card out, then retreived it and wrote "Hewlett-Packard Calculator." The 9100A had just come out and he was impressed with its capabilities. He eventually did get the 9100 -- HP engineers saw the article and took up a collection to buy it for him. (2001 had just come out, and I guess the calculator was sort of a thank-you.)

This story is told in a book called Ascent to Orbit, a collection of Clarke's non-fiction writings published in 1984. It introduces an article called "Hal Jr. vs. the Integers," in which he uses his 9100 to do some mathematical exploration, the details of which I've forgotten.

Just thought you'd like to know.

- Michael

                              
Re: Kubrick and Clarke (Long)
Message #8 Posted by Ernie Malaga on 12 June 2003, 11:05 a.m.,
in response to message #7 by Michael F. Coyle

I've often wondered whether Sir Arthur ever upgraded or is still using the 9100A. If he still uses it, it must be one of the oldest HP calculators still in use.

The reason why I don't dismiss the possibility of Clarke still using the 9100A is because of a parallel with Isaac Asimov: Asimov never stopped using his TRS-80 computer till the day he died. Of course, Asimov (as much as I respect him) was a total klutz with gadgets. Once he called for repairs when his TRS-80 wouldn't boot up. The technician came to his home, flipped on the wall switch, and the TRS-80 started up as usual.

Man!

-Ernie

                        
to valentine:
Message #9 Posted by db(martinez,california) on 12 June 2003, 1:01 a.m.,
in response to message #4 by Valentin Albillo

w. carlos does amazing things with equipment period. amusing too.

Edited: 12 June 2003, 1:04 a.m.

      
Re: Mr. Hicks how about a screen saver
Message #10 Posted by Michael F. Coyle on 11 June 2003, 11:15 p.m.,
in response to message #1 by Norm

Great idea!

You know, you could also get a little subversive -- in addition to the calculator pictures, also scan the introduction inside the manual -- with the statement about how HP's mission is to provide high-quality products with service and support...you know the one I mean. Just imagine if that popped up along with the photos on the screens of the PCs at HP. It would be a constant reminder of how HP served their customers back in the good old days, and they couldn't repudiate it, since it's a direct quote from their own manual!

- Michael

      
Re: Mr. Hicks how about a screen saver
Message #11 Posted by Dave Hicks on 12 June 2003, 1:45 a.m.,
in response to message #1 by Norm

I don't use screen savers myself but if someone can point me to a simple screen saver developer kit which generates screen savers for at least the common platforms like Windows, Mac OS, Linux, and FreeBSD* I'll take a look at it. I'm just thinking in terms of a slide show - hopefully no need to write anything remotely platform-specific.

*And preferably some not so common ones too like AmigaDOS since I know we have at least one AmigaDos user.

            
still even more slides ...
Message #12 Posted by Norm on 12 June 2003, 2:30 a.m.,
in response to message #11 by Dave Hicks

even more slides ...

34C with smiling Mr. Hewlett and Mr. Packard standing nearby ...

34C with 1979 HP corporate policy boldly stated underneath...

34C silhouetted against close-up of the moon

34C silhouetted against Milky way galaxy

close-up of "0.0000" of RED LED's of 34C display

34C with Obi Wan Kenobi

34C with James T. Kirk

34C with Neil Armstrong

34C with Darth Vader

close-up of just the "Enter" key of 34C

34C and Hewlett Packard 1980's headquarters

34C silhouetted with John Ashcroft

34C and President Bush Jr.

34C on deck of U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln etc etc

etc etc etc

                  
Re: still even more slides ...
Message #13 Posted by Juergen (CH) on 12 June 2003, 4:43 a.m.,
in response to message #12 by Norm

You forgot an important one ;-)

Norm (the greatest 34C fan), with shiny eyes, surrounded by dozens of 34C

                        
Oh yah that's a good one...
Message #14 Posted by Norm on 12 June 2003, 3:23 p.m.,
in response to message #13 by Juergen (CH)

a screen saver starts out with my big grinning face

more and more and more HP34C's keep appearing at varying angles and sizes, until finally my whole face disappears behind all the 34C's

then it repeats.

                  
Re: still even more slides ...
Message #15 Posted by Michael F. Coyle on 12 June 2003, 12:14 p.m.,
in response to message #12 by Norm

Hi Norm!

You wrote:

Quote:
34C with smiling Mr. Hewlett and Mr. Packard standing nearby ...

34C with 1979 HP corporate policy boldly stated underneath...

34C silhouetted against close-up of the moon

34C silhouetted against Milky way galaxy

close-up of "0.0000" of RED LED's of 34C display

34C with Obi Wan Kenobi


...and much much more in the same vein.

Reading your post is like reading the menu at the restaurant that serves Spam with everything. (For details, see http://www.ironworks.com/comedy/python/spam.htm)

Aargh! Enough!

- Michael "That's not got much spam in it" Coyle

                  
You forgot......
Message #16 Posted by james (UK) on 13 June 2003, 3:56 a.m.,
in response to message #12 by Norm

34C falling on Carly from a great height

34C placing Carly on the railroad tracks...

                        
Bad idea...
Message #17 Posted by Juergen (CH) on 13 June 2003, 10:38 a.m.,
in response to message #16 by james (UK)

> 34C falling on Carly from a great height

Bad idea, the 34C may be hurt!

                              
Yah,
Message #18 Posted by Norm on 14 June 2003, 4:49 a.m.,
in response to message #17 by Juergen (CH)

Yah,

use a grey paver brick, not a 34C.

Gotta feel sorry about maybe damaging that brick though !!

What about some 'Monty Python' animation to the screen saver, complete with circus music. 34C's marching across the screen, then Carly's big foot comes down to smash them, with a raspberry sound

PLPLPLPLPBBB!!

            
Re: Mr. Hicks how about a screen saver
Message #19 Posted by Meindert Kuipers on 12 June 2003, 6:01 a.m.,
in response to message #11 by Dave Hicks

For those few who still use Windows (at least it works om my XP machine) is is very simple to setup a slide show from the My Pictures folder (or any other folder ...) with the standard tools


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