Good morning Roger and Bill,
I'm not an engineer, just a field scientist (ecologist and geomorphologist)
who now prefers the label "eclectic naturalist". I tried HP and TI
calculators way back when, and I went with TI. I found the RPN of the HP
counter-intuitive and difficult to program. The TI was also about half the
price of the equivalent HP. I used my programmable TI-59 for many years, and
especially during a 15 months of field work in Antarctica, and it was pure
magic. I was able to write all the programs for reducing a range of surveys,
etc. I used the printer constantly, and I still have the printouts pasted in
my field books. A few years ago I gave the entire set of TI-59, printer,
programs, manuals and magnetic cards to a computer collector here in Sydney.
The whole lot fitted beautifully in a suitcase designed (of all things) to
carry lawn bowling balls.
HP vs TI; PC vs Mac: it's all a bit ho-hum. My criterion has always been if
I have a PC at work and I can get training, support and software free, then
that's what I use. My son who is a successful pro photographer continually
berates me for using PCs rather than Macs. As he rightly says, Macs are
definitely the tool of choice for high-end and heavy graphic use.
Like lots of people my superannuated age, I started with punch cards on a
mainframe, but I decided that I would never learn Fortran etc. I was a field
scientist: I could and did remove, overhaul and replace gearboxes in my Land
Rover, but I couldn't program x + y = z. There were experts who could do
that for me. My first PhD was on a small Australian-made PC called a
Microbee. It had all of 128k of memory (yep, 128k!), and it used 8"
floppies. By the time I got around to trying to transfer my punched cards to
disk, there was only one working card reader extant in Australia, and I
guess it's in a museum now. Now I'm thinking of putting a 1TB disk in my
desktop. Cost: < $AUD200. Almost unbelievable.
But the biggest change has been the explosion of fabulous software. Back in
the old days, if you wanted to do a regression analysis, you either wrote
the program yourself in Fortran, or got someone to do it for you. Now you
buy any one of a number of great software packages (e.g. Minitab) which come
with excellent help files and after-market books. It's a bit like GPSs. My
first field work was all with paper maps and using the Land Rover odometer
to determine location. Now I have a GPS connected to a notebook loaded with
maps or satellite images and I track my position in real time. Or I use a
hand-held for the same thing when I'm doing field work on foot. And all in
the comfort of a quiet air-conditioned Toyota Prado with 160L of fuel tanks
as standard instead of the noisy, blazing hot Land Rover with 45L of fuel.
Good old days?? You must be joking! But we had a lot of fun in the Land
Rover even if I had to carry full sets of open-end, ring and socket spanners
(wrenches for you benighted people who speak American instead of English) in
BSW, SAE, BA and metric. For the Toyota, it's one set: metric.
The job's the same, but as you say, the tools are infinitely better.
The real negative change has been the blanket of OH&S rules that are
stifling. I could go away for a month-long trip, and never make contact with
work. These days, carrying personal EPIRBs and call-backs every 24 h are
mandatory, and it is almost a disciplinary offence to miss a call. Am I
safer? Yes, but not because of this garbage which replaces common-sense and
experience with reliance on electronics. One of my favourite movies is
"Master and Commander" in which Russell Crowe is told to capture a French
frigate, and he heads off half-way round the world on the pursuit. No
contact with the Lords of the Admiralty except via rare despatches at some
ports. These days, he would be deluged with micro-management emails from a
bunch of oxygen thieves in head office who have nothing better to do that
demand constant reports solely to justify their own jobs. But them's the
rules, and if you take the pay, you accept the new rules. The nadir of this
is if you want to do field work in water catchment areas controlled by
Sydney Water. You have to call back EVERY time you change location, which
may be five times in a day. Are they kidding? For this, give me the good old
days when you told them where you were going, and called them when you got
back. No fuss, no muss, no drama.
Gee, I'm starting to sound like a grumpy old man. It must be the upcoming
summer solstice.
Love the Abbott and Costello routine! So I'll hit the Start button, and then
Log-off. Gotta love them PCs.
Cheers, John
John Pickard
Sunny and hot Sydney, Australia
[email protected]
----- Original Message -----
From: "Roger Bailey" <[email protected]>
To: "Bill Gottesman" <[email protected]>; <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, December 13, 2010 3:37 PM
Subject: Re: stop the earth: TI 59 PPX; No No Nooooooo!
Yes, I am on the dark side, not a HP-65 HP 67 kind of guy. TI vs HP, PC vs
Mac. The nerd wars continue. I enjoyed your comment as it brought back all
the discussions at that time. I could smile and enjoy sharing the memory
with you. Or I could react and defend my position on the SML Neither were
appropriate as your comment was an accurate assessment and the appropriate
response is personal. I am who I am, definitely not a HP-65 guy. Now I am
a PC guy, I don't do Mac's.
I am an engineer. For me, math is a tool rather than an art. I am a person
who believes in equality. In mathematical and human philosophical terms
"equal" is an important concept. I am not a machine. I like the equal
sign, even is if it means "is replaced by". I do not like Reversed Polish
Notation and pushing and popping stacks. I am linear. Algebraic logic
works. These are old forgotten wars. What about today?
You may remember Abbott and Costello, and appreciate this as it says a lot
about us us computer users. If Bud Abbott and Lou Costello were alive
today, their infamous sketch, 'Who's on First?' might have turned out
something like this: But I am still a PC guy.
Regards Roger
COSTELLO CALLS TO BUY A COMPUTER FROM ABBOTT
ABBOTT: Super Duper computer store. Can I help you?
COSTELLO: Thanks I'm setting up an office in my den and I'm thinking about
buying a computer.
ABBOTT: Mac?
COSTELLO: No, the name's Lou.
ABBOTT: Your computer?
COSTELLO: I don't own a computer. I want to buy one.
ABBOTT: Mac?
COSTELLO: I told you, my name's Lou.
ABBOTT: What about Windows?
COSTELLO: Why? Will it get stuffy in here?
ABBOTT: Do you want a computer with Windows?
COSTELLO: I don't know. What will I see when I look at the windows?
ABBOTT: Wallpaper.
COSTELLO: Never mind the windows. I need a computer and software.
ABBOTT: Software for Windows?
COSTELLO: No. On the computer! I need something I can use to write
proposals, track expenses and run my business. What do you have?
ABBOTT: Office.
COSTELLO: Yeah, for my office. Can you recommend anything?
ABBOTT: I just did.
COSTELLO: You just did what?
ABBOTT: Recommend something.
COSTELLO: You recommended something?
ABBOTT: Yes.
COSTELLO: For my office?
ABBOTT: Yes.
COSTELLO: OK, what did you recommend for my office?
ABBOTT: Office.
COSTELLO: Yes, for my office!
ABBOTT: I recommend Office with Windows.
COSTELLO: I already have an office with windows! OK, let's just say I'm
sitting at my computer and I want to type a proposal. What do I need?
ABBOTT: Word.
COSTELLO: What word?
ABBOTT: Word in Office.
COSTELLO: The only word in office is office.
ABBOTT: The Word in Office for Windows.
COSTELLO: Which word in office for windows?
ABBOTT: The Word you get when you click the blue 'W'.
COSTELLO: I'm going to click your blue 'w' if you don't start with some
straight answers. What about financial bookkeeping? You have anything I
can track my money with?
ABBOTT: Money.
COSTELLO: That's right. What do you have?
ABBOTT: Money.
COSTELLO: I need money to track my money?
ABBOTT: It comes bundled with your computer.
COSTELLO: What's bundled with my computer?
ABBOTT: Money.
COSTELLO: Money comes with my computer?
ABBOTT: Yes. No extra charge.
COSTELLO: I get a bundle of money with my computer? How much?
ABBOTT: One copy.
COSTELLO: Isn't it illegal to copy money?
ABBOTT: Microsoft gave us a license to copy Money.
COSTELLO: They can give you a license to copy money?
ABBOTT: Why not? THEY OWN IT!
(A few days later)
ABBOTT: Super Duper computer store. Can I help you?
COSTELLO: How do I turn my computer off?
ABBOTT: Click on 'START'.............
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