HP Forum Archive 14

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HP 39G+, your thoughts? Message #1 Posted by Eddie Shore on 2 Feb 2005, 9:54 a.m. I am going back to school to finish my math degree. I have a HP 49G+ and I want to designate a backup in case a CAS calculator is not allowed. I have an original 39G, but would it be worth it to get the 39G+? Thanks.

Re: HP 39G+, your thoughts? Message #2 Posted by bill platt on 2 Feb 2005, 10:48 a.m., in response to message #1 by Eddie Shore Hi Eddie, I enjoy your posts, but I am confused. What on earth would anyone doing an advanced math degree need a calculator for; can't you do it all in your head?;-) Seriously though, seems to me that a calculator is nothing but a crippled toy for a mathematician--you will have powerful comPuting power at your disposal when you need that sort of support. And math is, well, more like philosophy at high levels, yes? I am a number cruncher (engineer) so I use these devices. But in college, the math courses I took had absolutely no need for a calculator--- I have heard that the undergrads are using calculators now (we've heard a fair amount about it here) but at the graduate level, I would hope that there would be no need for such a crutch.... Maybe I am just a dinosaur, but I just cannot see the point. Best regards, BILL Edited: 2 Feb 2005, 11:09 a.m.

Re: HP 39G+, your thoughts? Message #3 Posted by Eddie Shore on 2 Feb 2005, 3:19 p.m., in response to message #2 by bill platt I too am a number cruncher. I will find out if the graduate courses are still calculator-independent. I expect to start school again in the Spring.

Re: HP 39G+, your thoughts? Message #4 Posted by Ron Ross on 2 Feb 2005, 11:00 a.m., in response to message #1 by Eddie Shore Well, I speak from the same experience you already possess about the newer Hp's. If you like the algebraic mode of the HP39G (and I like how the algebraic mode of the 39G works better than the Hp49G's algebraric mode), it may be worth it to buy. For me, though, I would rather purchase an Hp48G instead. You get a much more capable calculator (although slower) than the algeraic only Hp39G+. If you are using your Hp49G in algebraic mode, you might also consider a Ti-86. Both the Hp 48G and the Ti-86 offer quit a few extra features that are not available to a bare Hp39G.

Re: HP 39G+, your thoughts? Message #5 Posted by Eddie Shore on 2 Feb 2005, 3:20 p.m., in response to message #4 by Ron Ross Having possessing both 48G and a TI-86, I (tentatively) decided to use the 86 as the backup, although I may not need it much. Time will tell. Thank you Ron.

Re: HP 39G+, your thoughts? Message #6 Posted by Ron Ross on 2 Feb 2005, 3:41 p.m., in response to message #5 by Eddie Shore I did forget about the Statistics ability of the Hp39G+ as compared to the Hp48G or Ti-86. It is much better, but you can find downloads for either the 48 or 86 to bring both into compariable features of the Hp39G's stat functions.

Re: HP 39G+, your thoughts? Message #7 Posted by Tim Wessman on 2 Feb 2005, 4:30 p.m., in response to message #6 by Ron Ross And for the 39g+ you can download my stat pack to increase its capability substantially, and then it is much better than either the TI-83/84 or any other calculator. (minus StatPro49 )

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