HP50G Menus

[jonmoore]

It's not just about backwards compatibility to 48 generation programs. A large part of the reason that some prefer the 48GX over the 50g is that the MTH collection of soft menus is the default menu setup (this defaults to the Tool set of soft menus on the 50g).

The general UX on the 48 series of calculators is far more direct than the 50g. Its downside is that the soft menu labels can be cryptic at times, which can cause difficulties with new users.

Personally, I like both for different reasons. I tend to use the 48 more as a numerical calculator. Even with Meta Kernal (or SpeedUI), Erable and ALG48, the 50g offers a far more streamlined RPN CAS experience. But for typical engineering style calculations, the 48GX can be the faster environment from a pure UX/interaction design perspective. Plus, these days I find the Prime the best CAS solution (but only in algebraic mode). I use the 50g more than the Prime as I prefer accessing certain CAS functionality via an RPL user interaction modality for lots of my most common workflows, but the Prime CAS offers better options overall.

Going back to the 50g MTH set of soft menus, there are times when I use those as my main UX entry point, as they work particularly well when Flag 117 is checked (which makes the 50g default to 48 style soft menus). The main benefit here is that you cut out a lot of shift key acrobatics. But you have to know the menu structure and its occasional cryptic labelling to benefit. That's why it's primarily of benefit to those that spent many years with the 48 family of calculators.