Re: Milestones:List of IEEE Milestones -> HP-35 Message #4 Posted by Jim Horn on 27 Nov 2013, 12:03 a.m., in response to message #3 by Marcel Samek
Thank you for a fine description of the quality of early machines! I came into this early on - my first was an HP-25 when first announced, a month after graduating from college in 1975. That poor machine never got a moments rest in my engineering and enthusiasm. When the HP-67 came out, I borrowed a co-worker's VW minibus and rocketed across the Los Angeles basin to get one of the first to arrive at Olympic Sales in 1976. I used it so much I'd program it by feel while driving cross-country at night to stay alert, and later added a speed-up switch and phase zero interrupt switch to allow synthetic programming, useful for exploring the architecture of the HP-41 via its card reader later.
No, I don't want to go back to two hour battery lives, 49 or 224 step program memories, etc. But those early machines (and my HP-41C) still have a panache that is unmatched. That Tim and company are still pushing the envelope with the Prime - which I am ill suited to find the limits with my aging brain - fills me with delight. And the productive banter of those on this board shows how cooperation can overcome tremendous obstacles.
Thanks to all for a terrific community!
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