Jake-S@cup.portal.com (Jake G Schwartz) (12/01/90)
Here, finally, is a complete list of all the topics of discussion
from the Philadelphia Area HP Handheld Club meeting on November
11th when Bill Wickes was our guest speaker:
1. A short HP28/48 development history
2. RPL language nuances
3. HP48 production plans at the beginning/ order rates at present
4. HP48 I/O to external devices via RS232 versus P.C.'s doing same
5. Calculators in mathematics education
6. HP48 directory structure origins
7. Will there be ROM versions beyond revision "E"? (Bugs in general)
8. Using the Equation Writer
9. Will HP speed up the Saturn or use another CPU in later models?
10.HP28-to-HP48 upgrade incompatibilities
11.Display "freezing" or "not freezing" in 28 and 48
12.The "HYDE" ("Bart Simpson" as he called it then) message library
13.Saturn internal development (hardware and software) system
14.The latest on support for outside software developers: a possible
"Advanced Programmer's Library" coming ???
15.How HP feels about releasing the HP48 O.S. to the world
16.Saturn-emulator PC software considerations
17.The software team: how they interact with each other to bounce around
ideas
18.Status of "HP48 Insights" book project and it's history
19.Matrix object/ array object comments
20.Symbolic matrix handling - why it isn't in the machine
21.Indefinite integration on the HP48
22.OS in ROM versus EPROM
23.Routines that didn't make the cut in HP48 ROM (due to space limits)
24.IEEE-standard math
25.HP48 least significant digit rounding behavior
26.Saturn CPU IC specs/design rules/hardware features
27.Hardware/software design with respect to no. of ports, address space, etc.
28.The 32K bank-switched (RAM overlaid) HP48 ROM contents
29.What is the trend of development at Corvallis?
30.Why did the HP71 and HP75 fail in the marketplace? Conversely, why were
the HP41, HP28 and HP48 successful?
31.Competition for the HP48 (Casio, TI, Sharp)
32.Performance tests of RPL running on a CMOS Intel 8088
33.Symbolic algebra systems on other handhelds
34.Can the HP48 user interface become a standard in the industry for math
packages?
35.How can HP help promote the small user groups?
36.Copyright infringement issues by publishing HP's code
37.Email from the outside world - how to answer questions without having to
field another ten followup questions
38.CHIP-48 is selling HP48 calculators
39.More "HYDE" message demos
40.An HP48 system-flag state browser demonstration
41.Library configuration behavior
42.System error-trapping and exceptions
43.Automatic RPN-to-algebraic expression conversion
44.RCL EVAL versus EVAL of lists containing paths to objects in other
directories
45.Directory object handling on the HP48 vs. HP28
46.Changing a directory object's contents while it is on the stack/ garbage
collection algorithms
47.Meta-object use for saving execution time
48.The two kinds of EVAL in the HP48
49.Can direct XLIB name references be made in strings and executed?
50.Using short-wordsize binary integers to save space instead of floating
point integer numbers
51.Modifying temporary menu contents in a program
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This meeting lasted just under 4 hours and had 17 attendees. I have
it available on VHS videotape (recorded in "middle" (LP) speed, allowing the
entire thing on one T-120 tape) for ten dollars, which includes postage plus
a copy of the 18-page handout that all attendees received. The evening was
quite interesting and enjoyable.
Jake Schwartz
135 Saxby Terrace
Cherry Hill, NJ 08003
609-751-1310 home
609-866-6268 work