[Leica] IMG: Skeuomorphic

[Howard Ritter]

Peter—

Actually, they do. HP still makes a line of scientific calculators and AFAIK, they even use RPN. I’ve had the 41CX app on my iPhone for years. I didn’t know about the 42S app until now. Looks much the same, but with a 2-line display. I’ll check it out. (Is that your smartphone in the picture? Battery’s about dead!)

And your photo did raise my cardiac temperature! I got my first calculator, an HP55, 40 years ago. Still have it, case, manuals, power supply, and all. Battery’s long gone and it doesn’t light up when connected to the PS, so it’s probably dead. I’ve always had a fascination for HP calculators, and in fact, I just bought their fanciest, an HP Prime color graphing calculator, even though I could do without one. It cost just over $100, about one-fifth of what the 55 cost in 1974—one-twentieth, corrected for inflation. Looking back, I can hardly believe that as an intern at an Air Force hospital, I could afford the equivalent of $2200 today. 

There are some beautiful, and beautifully functional, toys that I never could resist. That’s why, now that the second version has acquired most of the attributes that I said it would take to get me to buy one, I’ll probably get the new MM. I hasten to add that, while the term can mean something frivolously enjoyable, some “toys” serve very serious purposes in life. Leicas.

Thanks for posting the picture. Sorry I went off woolgathering.

—howard


> On May 21, 2015, at 4:44 AM, Peter Klein <boulanger.croissant at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> This ought to warm the cockles of some of your hearts.
> https://www.flickr.com/photos/24844563@N04/17911267022/
> 
> They don't make 'em like that anymore, but at least there's an app.
> 
> --Peter
> 
> _______________________________________________
> Leica Users Group.
> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information