John,
You might be interested in the following link:
http://userwww.sfsu.edu/~meredith/X(PLORE)/xplorepg.html
I used this program already on my first pc under msdos. This is the
Windwos version that also runs on xp maxhines and win7 in the 'xp-mode'.
After using my TI-59 and the programs I wrote this was an easier step
then fully design a program to solve my math problem.
And it is free!
Thibaud
At 23:35 13-12-2010, John Pickard wrote:
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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