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Sonos
Sept 30, 2016 8:02:14 GMT
Post by crankcase on Sept 30, 2016 8:02:14 GMT
Ah, calculators. There's some memories in this thread.
I recall as a schoolboy saving and saving and SAVING my money to get an enormous £20 for a funky new Casio of some sort, which did indeed do fractions. I loved it from the moment I got it, and took it to school, where I was informed by Sir that pristine and new as it was, it had to have my name on it, and no, it couldn't wait until I got home and put a sticky label on it, and yes, he really did mean I had to SCRATCH my name on the back with the point of a compass, and do it NOW. I never forgave him.
And then a couple of years later, a programmable TI of some sort. My first introduction to programming, and I was hooked. Did one of those "rabbits and foxes" things in a day or two as the first project, and oh the excitements and the endless what ifs as I changed the initial population, or the birth rate, or threw in a disease after a year. Somehow the imagination of the story going on in this little box in the palm of my hand led to a greater almost visceral experience than almost any other video game later, pretty though they are. I owned that little world, and I had created it. Sigh.
I guess it was a radio version of video gaming, in a way, if you see what I mean. Anyway, that one was stolen eventually, and I still miss it. It was so physical, with little clicky buttons and a shimmering red display.
Sorry, I wandered off there for a moment.
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Sonos
Sept 30, 2016 9:00:38 GMT
Post by tyrednexited on Sept 30, 2016 9:00:38 GMT
...when I was at university, my best friend, who ended up staying on at school an extra year, won the "Spot the Ball" competition in the local rag. The monetary prize wasn't insubstantial, and he blew a large chunk of it on the newly-released and, in context, very expensive Sinclair Executive calculator. I have to think that, at that age, I'd have found something a bit more exciting.......
I do remember that in my temporary summer work before going to uni, I occasionally was given custody of the office calculator, which was a mains, Casio thing (and probably vacuum tube if I'm not mistaken).
At university itself, I had to make do with a guessing-stick (slide-rule for the uninitiated).
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Sonos
Sept 30, 2016 9:17:49 GMT
Post by crankcase on Sept 30, 2016 9:17:49 GMT
Mm, we had slide rules at school too, just before the calculator revolution. I really enjoyed that too; some sort of magic in reading off logs. I kept it for years into adulthood, and still occasionally "did stuff" on it just because.
I must get me a set of Napier's bones.
Sinclair Executive I never got to see. If it was anything like the Black Watch then you asked the time twice and the battery was dead.
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WDB
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Sonos
Sept 30, 2016 9:53:28 GMT
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Post by WDB on Sept 30, 2016 9:53:28 GMT
I was in the prime target age group for the ZX80 and its successors, but my dad's opinion of Sinclair, based in its calculator and watch offerings of the 70s, was so low that he wouldn't buy us anything with that name on it. Our loss, probably.
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Deleted
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Sonos
Sept 30, 2016 9:58:51 GMT
Post by Deleted on Sept 30, 2016 9:58:51 GMT
My 16k Spectrum (plus 32k RAM pack) is in my loft. I wonder if it still works. Thinking about it, I can't remember how it was plugged in to the TV. Must have been the aerial socket. I wonder if it would work with a modern plasma? I'm half tempted to give it a try. I've still got a CRT in my bedroom though if it needs one of them.
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Sonos
Sept 30, 2016 10:14:50 GMT
Post by crankcase on Sept 30, 2016 10:14:50 GMT
With luck and a following wind you might expect to get £50 for a 48K Spectrum on the bay.
Which of course is actually going to turn out to be £30.
Minus fees, leaving you £5.
Minus postage, leaving you ten shiny pennies.
Hmm. Actually, I'd suggest you spend an evening getting your Jet Set Willy out instead.
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Deleted
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Sonos
Sept 30, 2016 10:19:11 GMT
Post by Deleted on Sept 30, 2016 10:19:11 GMT
Er, I didn't mention selling it. Thought never crossed my mind. Was just wondering if it worked. I have no cassette player with which to load any games, in fact I don't know if I've even got any game tapes still.
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Sonos
Sept 30, 2016 10:23:53 GMT
Post by crankcase on Sept 30, 2016 10:23:53 GMT
No, you didn't, but I was just saying it has a little value if it's there because it's forgotten or unloved.
I sometimes find old stuff in the loft long forgotten, and think I'll just check the price on the bay before binning it and then have a "cor crikey" moment. I sold off a "turbo" processor chip add-on from my old Amiga 1200 that way once, and got about £200, which was a welcome little fillip.
At one point my gen2 Apple TV was going on the bay for double what I paid for it, for example, which came as a surprise.
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Deleted
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Sept 30, 2016 10:43:27 GMT
Post by Deleted on Sept 30, 2016 10:43:27 GMT
Ah, OK. I would be utterly staggered if any of the junk in my loft was worth more than thruppence farthing. Never even think about it. Suppose I ought to check though if I ever decide to have a clear out.
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Sonos
Sept 30, 2016 19:01:27 GMT
Post by Hofmeister on Sept 30, 2016 19:01:27 GMT
I cannot conceive that grown men in 2016, store, covet and use "calculators" let alone go misty eyed over examples of old ones.
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WDB
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Sept 30, 2016 19:09:08 GMT
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Post by WDB on Sept 30, 2016 19:09:08 GMT
I do use one at work. Even with Windows desktop extended on to a 24-inch monitor, it can get busy and I don't always want to jump into another window to do a quick check calculation. So a calculator in the drawer is handy. Doesn't matter too much what calculator, so it pleases me that a 30-year-old device is still up to the job.
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Rob
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Sonos
Sept 30, 2016 19:35:53 GMT
Post by Rob on Sept 30, 2016 19:35:53 GMT
But going misty eyed over trains is okay?
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Sonos
Sept 30, 2016 19:51:04 GMT
Post by Hofmeister on Sept 30, 2016 19:51:04 GMT
But going misty eyed over trains is okay? A hot, noisy, smelly, fast means of transport has more presence than a casio calculator. |
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Deleted
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Sept 30, 2016 20:38:54 GMT
Post by Deleted on Sept 30, 2016 20:38:54 GMT
You can't spell "hells bells" on a train. Or "boobs".
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Sonos
Sept 30, 2016 21:03:54 GMT
Post by Hofmeister on Sept 30, 2016 21:03:54 GMT
You can't spell "hells bells" on a train. Or "boobs". A calculator wont squash your penny into a thin sheet of metal |
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