Geeky rant.
When did pocket calculators all go wrong?

I use a scientific calculator quite often for my my work. The trusty 1995 Canon broke last week, and replacements I can't use. -They have gone all sort of "literal" on us. When did this happen?

So to calculate (for example) sin(10 log (5^-3))
Old machine I would have input: 5 exp 3 +- = log * 10 = sin. Common sense to someone who has done that for 30 years.
Can I use this bloody new calculator I bought? hell no. It's like a different language. It all has to be the same as you'd write it down.

Does anyone else have this problem?

No……just moved with the times – i used the same calc from 98 (first year at high school)to first year at uni some sharp job…. At uni i was told i had to get a new one to sit my exams….a casio of some kind. …..what a revelation compared to the sharp ….

so you can't deal with a more literal, logical input mechanism….

sound like a fault with the user, not the hardware.

I'd say it was about a year after you bought yours, there were probably forward logic ones available when you bought yours, so you should've got one then you backwards fool! 😉

Wetware failure.

Luddite! 😉

I absolutely love the literal input system & the ability to look back through previous lines of calcs. Really makes doing work, checking it and correcting it a lot easier.

It's like a different language. It all has to be the same as you'd write it down.

So err not like a different language at all then?

Apparently HP calculators support Reverse Polish Notation if you are that way inclined.

RPN is evil. At Uni we used to refer to it as "egdelP" (think about it).

This might be of interest to the OP; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calculator_input_methods

It all has to be the same as you'd write it down.

How is anyone ever going to cope??

Old machine I would have input: 5 exp 3 +- = log * 10 = sin

I didn't know abacuses had sin functions.

Always used scientific calculator but found some new mobile apps using science mode too.