Sunday, April 15, 2007

My first scientific calculator

My father is an electrical engineer, and when I was a kid I wanted to be one also. Along the way I decided that I should have a scientific calculator, so for a Christmas present my parents bought me a TI-30 calculator http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TI-30.

The original TI-30 was bulky compared to TI-30 derived LCD calculators you can buy today. It was wedge shaped (like a sports car) and had a red LED display. Mine came with a blue denim pattern zip case.

The calculator was fun to use. When you used an advanced math function it spun a digit around in the display to indicate it was thinking.

Probably the best part of the calculator wasn't the calculator at all, but The Great International Math on Keys Book (yes, that really is the title) that came with it. This was a really fun book full of interesting things to do with a pocket calculator.

So, this isn't really a microcomputer but it makes sense for me to start my journey with the TI-30.

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