rob@ireta.cynic.wimsey.bc.ca (Rob Prior) (02/18/91)
TNA32@CCVAX.IASTATE.EDU (FRINGE) writes: > HP says they just toss the calculators. There is no way to get the case open > it snaps shut when they build them with 48 (i think that was the number) litt > snap clamps. The keyboard is actually part fo the case (the shole top half o > the calculator is one peice) They just toss 'em, they don't even recycle the > displays. When yours goes in for repair (it broke) or replacement (you've go > an A or any of the others that they are replacing now) they chuck it and give > you a brand new calculator. [text deleted] So why doesn't here who lives near the factory just go in and raid the dump- sters outside? Good way to get a used Rev. D rom... :) Rob +------------ | rob@ireta.cynic.wimsey.bc.ca | Rob Prior, President, Still Animation Logo Design +------------------------------------------------------------
TDSTRONG%MTUS5.BITNET@CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU (02/19/91)
> >I am scheduled to send my HP48 in to HP for a Rev E upgrade. >After hearing about at least 2 cases of the loss of tactile feedback >on the keyboard, I'm wondering if I should just keep my Rev A. >Does anybody know if HP replaces your calculator with a *NEW* machine, >or do you get someone elses REV A that has been upgraded to a REV E? >I could much easier live with the Rev A "bugs" than I could with a >"mushy" keyboard. Boy.....what a choice! From what I know you get a new machine. The HP48 is glued shut with surface mount devices on its circuit boards. In short there is no way to fix the ROM, you just throw it (the calculator) away. I suppose they might recycle the displays or something but I doubt it. ====================================================================== ___ I__) _ _I _ _ TIM STRONG <TDSTRONG%MTUS5.BITNET@CUNYVM.EDU> I \ (_I (_I (_I I MICHIGAN TECH. HOUGHTON, MICHIGAN ======================================================================
TNA32@CCVAX.IASTATE.EDU (FRINGE) (02/19/91)
HP says they just toss the calculators. There is no way to get the case open, it snaps shut when they build them with 48 (i think that was the number) little snap clamps. The keyboard is actually part fo the case (the shole top half of the calculator is one peice) They just toss 'em, they don't even recycle the displays. When yours goes in for repair (it broke) or replacement (you've got an A or any of the others that they are replacing now) they chuck it and give you a brand new calculator. That's a big reason why it takes such a short amount of time to send out the replacements. Also why they tell you to back it up before you send it in. My E, a replacement for an A DOES have a different feel to it's keys, but I wouldn't call it "sticky" in the least bit. The tactile is still there, it just doesn't make any noise.
pashdown@javelin.es.com (Pete Ashdown) (02/19/91)
TNA32@CCVAX.IASTATE.EDU (FRINGE) writes: >HP says they just toss the calculators. >They just toss 'em, they don't even recycle the displays. Has anyone been wandering around the Corvallis city dump? ;-) -- "If the real Jesus Christ were to stand up today He'd be gunned down cold by the CIA" - The The Pete Ashdown pashdown@javelin.sim.es.com ...uunet!javelin.sim.es.com!pashdown
lishka@uwslh.slh.wisc.edu (a.k.a. Chri) (02/20/91)
TNA32@CCVAX.IASTATE.EDU (FRINGE) writes: >HP says they just toss the calculators. There is no way to get the case open, >it snaps shut when they build them with 48 (i think that was the number) little >snap clamps. The keyboard is actually part fo the case (the shole top half of >the calculator is one peice) They just toss 'em, they don't even recycle the >displays. Does anyone know what HP is doing with all those revision A, B, and C machines that are being upgraded to revision E? I sort of assumed that instead of just throwing them away HP might actually be giving a whole bunch away to some "charitable organization" (like a school). It seems a shame to throw away a whole bunch of state-of-the-art calculators with a few software bugs. -- Christopher Lishka 608-262-4485 We carry in our hearts the true country, Wisconsin State Lab. of Hygiene And that cannot be stolen. lishka@uwslh.slh.wisc.edu We follow in the steps of our ancestry, uunet!uwvax!uwslh!lishka And that cannot be broken. -- Midnight Oil
tomm@voodoo.UUCP (Tom Mackey) (02/20/91)
In article <D74A50CF600037C1@gacvx2.gac.edu> TDSTRONG%MTUS5.BITNET@CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU writes:
+>
+>I am scheduled to send my HP48 in to HP for a Rev E upgrade.
+>After hearing about at least 2 cases of the loss of tactile feedback
+>on the keyboard, I'm wondering if I should just keep my Rev A.
+>Does anybody know if HP replaces your calculator with a *NEW* machine,
+>or do you get someone elses REV A that has been upgraded to a REV E?
+>I could much easier live with the Rev A "bugs" than I could with a
+>"mushy" keyboard. Boy.....what a choice!
+
+From what I know you get a new machine. The HP48 is glued shut with
+surface mount devices on its circuit boards. In short there is no way to
+fix the ROM, you just throw it (the calculator) away. I suppose they might
+recycle the displays or something but I doubt it.
Gee. If this is true, and since my needs are rather plebeian in comparison
to what seems to be the vocal majority in this group, I'd be happy to
accept a Revesion 1[BCD] ROM equipped HP48SX clearly stenciled:
"UseNet Early ROM Special, No Guarantee, No Return"
plus documentation for a modest sum, say $75.00......
--
Tom Mackey (206) 865-6575 tomm@voodoo.boeing.com
Boeing Computer Services ....uunet!bcstec!voodoo!tomm
M/S 7K-20, P.O. Box 24346, Seattle, WA 98124-0346tomm@voodoo.UUCP (Tom Mackey) (02/20/91)
In article <999@voodoo.UUCP> tomm@voodoo.UUCP (Tom Mackey) writes:
+Gee. If this is true, and since my needs are rather plebeian in comparison
+to what seems to be the vocal majority in this group, I'd be happy to
+accept a Revesion 1[BCD] ROM equipped HP48SX clearly stenciled:
+ "UseNet Early ROM Special, No Guarantee, No Return"
+plus documentation for a modest sum, say $75.00......
Ouch.... I spell 'plebeian' correctly, then mess up on 'Revesion' (sic)....
Don't ya just hate it when that happens?!
Slinking back to his dictionary,
--
Tom Mackey (206) 865-6575 tomm@voodoo.boeing.com
Boeing Computer Services ....uunet!bcstec!voodoo!tomm
M/S 7K-20, P.O. Box 24346, Seattle, WA 98124-0346woodhams@phoenix.Princeton.EDU (Michael Woodhams) (02/20/91)
In article <B906E62F159F404B45@ISUVAX.BITNET> TNA32@CCVAX.IASTATE.EDU (FRINGE) writes: >HP says they just toss the calculators. There is no way to get the case open, >it snaps shut when they build them with 48 (i think that was the number) little >snap clamps. The keyboard is actually part fo the case (the shole top half of >the calculator is one peice) They just toss 'em, they don't even recycle the >displays. This seems an extreemly strange way to design a $300 calculator. Can anyone at HP give an explanation why it was done like this, particularly as the need to replace ROMs was one which could have been forseen? Since they are just going to throw away my rev A 48 when I send it in for replacement with a rev E, would it be OK if I broke it open first to have a look at the insides, and then sent the pieces in a bag?
janl@ifi.uio.no (Nicolai Langfeldt) (02/20/91)
In article <1991Feb19.162623.12234@uwslh.slh.wisc.edu>, lishka@uwslh.slh.wisc.edu (a.k.a. Chri) writes: > Does anyone know what HP is doing with all those revision A, B, and C > machines that are being upgraded to revision E? I sort of assumed > that instead of just throwing them away HP might actually be giving a > whole bunch away to some "charitable organization" (like a school). > It seems a shame to throw away a whole bunch of state-of-the-art > calculators with a few software bugs. On the other hand they could store them and use them for extra parts. Or clean them up and sell them (if in good condition). Nicolai Langfeldt
ervin@pinbot.enet.dec.com (Joseph James Ervin) (02/20/91)
> Does anyone know what HP is doing with all those revision A, B, and C > machines that are being upgraded to revision E? I sort of assumed > that instead of just throwing them away HP might actually be giving a > whole bunch away to some "charitable organization" (like a school). > It seems a shame to throw away a whole bunch of state-of-the-art > calculators with a few software bugs. >>On the other hand they could store them and use them for extra parts. Or >>clean them up and sell them (if in good condition). >>Nicolai Langfeldt People seem to have a problem with the thought of HP throwing out the old rev 48SX's that they receive for upgrades. Realistically speaking, this is the only reasonable think to do. Face it, none of the components in there are particularly valuable. It's my guess that the materials for the whole calculator probably only cost HP around $50-$75. Given that most of those would be destroyed in any effort to salvage the old rev calculators, there is very little reason to do anything but throw them out. Also, in terms of profits it makes verylittle sense to give them out. Giving the calculators away doesn't make sense in my mind. The 48SX is a terribly (wonderfully) complicated machine, and the only people who are going to take the time to learn how to use it are the people who would probably go out and buy one anyway (my opinion). Also, from an engineering perspective, engineers generally don't like to have old revs of software out in the field, and certainly a company like HP would not want to distribute machines that they were not "up to snuff". This is bad advertising, even if the customer is receiving a free machine. Still, I would love to find 10 or 20 of them in the trash. I'll bet HP must have to watch their trash very carefully these days. :-) >>>Joe Ervin
sjthomas@cup.portal.com (Stephen J Thomas) (02/21/91)
Remember when the 28S came out, EduCALC offered a trade-in credit if you sent them your old 28C, which they resold for $70 or $80 or so. Anyway, the demand for the old 28C's was much greater than the supply. HP could probably recoup a lot of the money they would otherwise lose if they offered the "old" 48SX models for sale as-is, say for $99 or $129, or something. The 28C had a lot more bugs than the early 48's do, and I think a lot of people would be willing to live with the bugs if they knew they got a really good deal on the calculator. Yet another $0.02 from me. (HP, feel free to use this idea for the low, low cost of only 10% of the gross sales :-) ). Stephen Thomas sjthomas@cup.portal.com