This sounds like an advertisement in 2020 for a phone app. Logic squabbles aside, the 12C is a hit because it produces useful information anywhere you need it with the press of a button. Think of it like this: to a 12C user, RPN is easier and more logical than standard algebraic notation, much like the political preferences of a liberal are more logical to a liberal than for a conservative, or vice versa. Frankly, after I got used to RPN, operating a regular calculator became awkward and frustrating. RPN lovers will have endless debates with RPN haters. At least that’s how the argument for RPN goes. This streamlines data entry and computation for long, complex expressions and helps to identify errors as they occur instead of at the end of the stream. When punching in data, the operators go before or after the operands. RPN turned out to be handy for computer-calculated math because expressions don’t need parentheses. (I can say that because I’m part Polish.) RPN actually was named in honor of Jan Lukasiewicz, a Polish logician and philosopher who invented the core concept in the 1920s. If you’re used to a normal calculator, RPN feels as foreign to a native English speaker as conversing in a language like Polish. (Who keeps a manual for 39 years?) It devotes considerable space to the 12C logic system called Reverse Polish Notation. Probably why the body is so beat up.Īs for other accessories, I still have the user manual. The wear is a badge of honor, like the pride felt by a guitarist whose non-factory applied Road Wear helps his axe make him feel and look like Stevie Ray Vaughn. You pull this baby out in a meeting (when we had physical meetings), lay it on the table, and everyone knows the owner of this device is a serious cat who’s put in at least ten thousand hours of calculating. One cannot not be embarrassed by the unique casual-chic look. It’s the kind of wear earned by many calculations. The backside shows considerable wear where etched instructions are rubbed out. Keys are in fair shape, but the metal case around the LCD is scratched and dented. Like the Energizer Bunny, the 12C just keeps on calculating.Įxcept for my 12C, which is now dead and looks like it could have died years ago. With daily use, my 12C’s first battery change was seven years after purchase! The internet says several owners have reported their 12Cs are running on original batteries after 20–22 years. Would this be true for today’s mobile devices. In plain English, the engineers believed this would let the 12C run for one year on three small silver oxide batteries. 25 milliwatts standby leakage was five or ten nanoamperes. HP engineers designed it for low-power consumption. ![]() Not the 12C it’s a model of stellar battery performance. We worry more about charging our batteries before leaving the house than eating a proper breakfast. Batteries always crap out at the wrong moment. Perhaps you smirk at these Paleolithic features, but note the 12C also included a low-battery detector on the chip. The LCD driver powered a one-line, 10-digit display. Under the hood, the CPU had 61Kbits of ROM and 2.2Kbits of RAM. ![]() Built-like-a-brick, the 12C was poised for any numeric challenge. 039 Bitcoin.Īnd what a beauty it was! With bespoke horizontal elegance, the 5.1” x 3.1” x 0.6” device weighed just four ounces. Retail price was $150, which is equal to $447.05 in today’s money, or. ![]() I bought my 12C before it was made, pre-ordered in 1981 in great anticipation of the Best Calculator Ever. But it’s still HP’s best-selling product and has been in continual production since its debut in 1981. Yes, the technology is old and the form factor is antiquated. It’s a tool for Old-ie Time-ies and TicTokers alike because it provides a simple way to get financial insight. The 12C is a superstar in the world of financial calculation. ![]() And there are many of you, tens of millions by some accounts. If you own a 12C, be forewarned this sense of loss may strike when your calculator dies. One more thing in a year not to remember: Covid. My oldest friend died today, an HP-12C financial calculator that’s been my daily pal for 39 years.
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