zlraa@marlin.jcu.edu.au (Ross Alford) (06/10/91)
Now that a few of you have had HP95s for a while, how do you really find the keyboards? I'm thinking about getting one when they eventually become available here, but do have my doubts about the keyboard. I am a fast 3-4 finger typist on standard keyboards, have tried a Portfolio and could get by on that except for the little ridge below the space bar which gets in the way of my thumb, and would like to be able to write letters etc. on a small machine. By the way, perhaps the Byte reference to the HP95 being the first machine to run 123 really meant 123? The spreadsheet in the Pofo is all right, but lacks what to me is the most useful part of 123--the graphics. I use 123 mostly to play with equations, doing small simulations of difference equation systems and such, and find that without graphics this is not nearly as interesting. Ross -- Ross A. Alford Department of Zoology Internet: zlraa@marlin.jcu.edu.au James Cook University Phone: +61 77 81 4732 Townsville, Qld 4811 Australia
fin@norge.unet.umn.edu (Craig A. Finseth) (06/10/91)
In article <1991Jun10.063838.20847@marlin.jcu.edu.au> zlraa@marlin.jcu.edu.au (Ross Alford) writes: >Now that a few of you have had HP95s for a while, how do you really find >the keyboards? I'm thinking about getting one when they eventually >become available here, but do have my doubts about the keyboard. I am a ... My quick summary is "unexpectedly good." I have both a 48 and a 95 (plus a dozen others, but that is a different article). I believe the experts who say that the construction on the 48 and 95 keyboards is the same and so they *should* feel the same. However, I find the 95's keyboard to be much better. Why? I use the 48 as a calculator. In that mode, I (mostly) press a button and see the results, then press another button. It does the job fine. Speed typing is simply not an issue on this device. However, I find it difficult to type alpha stuff. Basically, I press ALPHA / letter / ALPHA / letter / etc. (I am left-handed, so holding down the ALPHA key is clumsy.) On the other hand, I use the 95 as a notepad (I am running an Emacs-type text editor, not the built-in applications). Typing text goes very smoothly. The horizontal format and QWERTY layout makes it very easy to find the keys. In addition, I can fit about 1 1/2 hands on the keyboard, so I can almost touch-type. Yes, I find the keyboard a little tight but I am willing to live with that in exchange for having something that I can have with me instead of in my briefcase. Craig A. Finseth fin@unet.umn.edu [CAF13] University Networking Services +1 612 624 3375 desk University of Minnesota +1 612 625 0006 problems 130 Lind Hall, 207 Church St SE +1 612 626 1002 FAX Minneapolis MN 55455-0134, USA
pmh@cutie.ka.sub.org (Patrick M. Hausen) (06/13/91)
In article <4252@uc.msc.umn.edu> fin@norge.unet.umn.edu (Craig A. Finseth) writes: > In article <1991Jun10.063838.20847@marlin.jcu.edu.au> zlraa@marlin.jcu.edu.au (Ross Alford) writes: > >Now that a few of you have had HP95s for a while, how do you really find > >the keyboards? I'm thinking about getting one when they eventually > >become available here, but do have my doubts about the keyboard. I am a > ... > [... stuff about HP48SX deleted ...] > > However, I find it difficult to type alpha stuff. Basically, I press > ALPHA / letter / ALPHA / letter / etc. (I am left-handed, so holding > down the ALPHA key is clumsy.) Ever tried ALPHA / ALPHA / letter / letter / letter / l... ? You can also configure ALPHA to work as on the 41: toggle alpha-mode on or off. Cheers, PMH -- ||| Patrick M. Hausen | phone : +49 721 699234 (voice and carrier) ||| Gerwigstr. 11 | e-mail: pmh@cutie.ka.sub.org (UUCP) / | \ D-7500 Karlsruhe 1, Germany | uk9u@dkauni2 (BITNET) "Well they say your folks are telling you to be a super star, but I tell you just be satisfied to stay right where you are. Keep yourself alive." (QUEEN)