Jake-S@cup.portal.com (Jake G Schwartz) (01/15/90)
Winter Consumer Electronics Show - HP Users' Meetings
Jan 6-7, 1990 - Las Vegas, Nevada
In conjunction with the Winter Consumer Electronics Show in
Las Vegas the 1990 annual HP handheld users' meeting was held at
our favorite meeting place [Denny's :-) ] on the evening of the
first day of the CES, Jan 6th, 1990. Although there was no HP
representation, it was an interesting time. Approximately a dozen
people were there to discuss past, present and future handhelds
and the state of the industry as well as hardware and software.
The discussions were roughly as follows:
1. Richard Nelson (formerly of PPC and CHHU and currently
employed by EduCalc) spoke on:
The new TI-78 V.A.R. run-only handheld computer
The forthcoming Sharp PC-E500 HHC (512K ROM, 32K RAM with
expansion ports, QWERTY keyboard, $249.00), which will be sold by
EduCalc in the coming months
The demise of the HP41 (which went off the HP price list as
of this CES) and HP-IL
Current EduCalc activities (catalog #47 forthcoming soon)
The possible impact of the new HP machine (whenever it
comes) on HP28 and HP41 users
RPN versus Forth-like RPL comparisons
The EduCalc swap-disc program status
The new HP17B-II, HP19B-II and new HP I/R thermal printer
Proposal of a June, 1990 calculator conference in
conjunction with Summer CES (June 2-6, 1990) to discuss any new
HP introductions
Graphics calculators in general (from TI, HP, Casio, Sharp)
"What's happening with CMT (Corvallis Micro Technology)
lately"
Used HP calculator supply and demand from EduCalc's point of
view
Rumors about new machines from HP, TI and Sharp
2. Jake Schwartz distributed copies of articles from the past
three months of Comp.Sys.Handhelds postings related to the HP28S
and other HP issues in general.
3. Brian Walsh discussed the current status of HPX and where he
sees it going in the coming months.
Overall, it was an enjoyable and intersting time. I videotaped
this 3 and 1/2 hour meeting on VHS equipment.
The following day, there was a meeting of (about ten) HP users
with two of HP's people (in product marketing) at HP's request to
have the users discuss their needs and utilization of handhelds.
The HP folks primarily requested discussion on the following
questions:
What is your current computational environment at work and at
home?
What shortcomings do you experience in your computational
environment?
Where do you see your compuational needs heading in the next 5
years?
The discussion varied greatly, but it was intersting to hear
people from different disciplines explain the ways they use the
machines and what they'd like to see HP provide in the future.
Apparently, this was the first of a handful of similar meetings
that the HP folks have decided to hold, in order to get the
technical user's point of view on where they should be going with
computational products.
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In the handheld area, the only new CES showings of interest from
the "big four" were:
The HP17B-II and HP19B-II (which differ from their
predecessors basically only in that the user can specify either
algebraic or RPN entry mode via their MODES menus) and new I/R
thermal printer from HP (same as the old "Redeye" printer plus
10-minute automatic shut-off, interline spacing and an LED power
light);
Some new application plug-in cards for the Sharp Wizard
(including a scientific calculator card which includes
programming in BASIC);
The new Casio BOSS models 7600SP (the 7500 plus Dictionary,
Speller, Thesaurus built in) and 9000 (the 8000 with no-key
keyboard like 7500 plus one port for plug-in cards - RAM or ROM).
Rumors say the more machines from TI and HP will appear in
the first half of 1990.
Jake Schwartz