HP 12c calculator turns 25

REMEMBER THE HP 12c calculators? Those lovable but usually hated RPN calculators the nerdy kids, aka you, always lusted after, the ones the rich kids had but didn't know how to use? Those who have been anywhere near an engineer have no doubt seen the familiar gold on black color scheme time and time again.

Those venerable tools have something new this year, a 25th birthday. Yup, the HP 12c was introduced in 1981 at a list price of around $150, a price my grandfather tells me would buy a 'very nice car' at the dawn of the big hair era. Has it really been that long? Either way, HP has been selling them since then, and they are still quite popular, having lost none of the functionality. It just goes to show a great design is almost timeless. Happy birthday 12c.

In a move akin to minor heresy, HP introduced the upgraded Platinum 12c in 2003. It looks almost the same, but has a silver keyboard instead of the warm color scheme of the old one. That isn't the problem though, this one is aimed at 'financial types', not the usual pocket protector set. This means that is has lost RPN and instead uses the 'normal' 1 + 1 = format. Aaargh, get the pitchforks and torches people, we have to storm Cupertino and cleanse this affront to engineering.µ