HP's not cool? (was Re: pdp-11/60 Semi-Rescue)

"Tony Duell" wrote: Like others, I also disagree, at least in part. I think that it is pretty clear that "consumer electronics" HP products that are marketed for home use (Pavillions, IDE CDrom burners and the like) are awful in terms of quality. One of the most deplorable products that they have ever put out is the craddle for the HP 320LX and other such palmtops. Due to a design flaw, it can be easily bent along a certain axis, resulting in poor, intermittent connection and corresponding profanity by the user. Easily the worst mechanical design I have ever seen. But the enterprise-level stuff is still pretty robust (and, as always, $$pricey$$ ). In the computer and electronics labs here, where stuff undergoes inhumane abuse by students, it is still the HP equipment that lasts longest. Most, if not all, of the 715's and 720's that were bought ca. 1993 are still working. I don't remember any that was retired due to malfunction; rather, people upgraded. I have a stand-alone 735 that has been down two times since 1995, once because of a power failure that downed every machine in the building and another because of an OS upgrade. The newer workstations seem to be just as reliable by the account of my colleagues. Regarding your hp49, isn't this the first model churned out by the calculator division after its relocation to Australia? I agree that materials and durability have been downgraded; the 48SX is known for its easy-to-crack LCD, and I imagine that the 49 is worse. Like Joe, the last hp calculator that I really like is the hp71b. Which "advertised feature" did you not find in the 49? -- Carlos Murillo-Sanchez email: cem14(a)cornell.edu 428 Phillips Hall, Electrical Engineering Department Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853