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January 28, 2023 12:29 PM

The Calculator Drawer is the Internet Archive's new collection of emulated calculators (and, in some cases, manuals.)

Note that some of these (e.g., the TI-81) have to be virtually switched on. Also, The Number Muncher doesn't emulate the body of the device, so note the list of keyboard commands.

Internet Archive's Software Collection previouslies include the Historical Software Collection and The Old School Emulation Center (TOSEC) (by way of Digger.)

posted by ChurchHatesTucker (19 comments total)

So much RPN. It's crazy what vintage HP calculators are selling for, so this is appreciated, but that click when you hit the double-wide Enter button is SO nice.
posted by hwyengr at 1:16 PM on January 28, 2023 [2 favorites]

I see what you did there.
posted by Big Al 8000 at 1:58 PM on January 28, 2023 [4 favorites]

Should be an extra 5 in that title, no?
posted by Horace Rumpole at 2:23 PM on January 28, 2023

Don't click the "Recover Memory?" (Yes) option on the HP48s - it takes ages and does nothing useful. It still has the nicest units conversion I've ever seen, though. The 49g is best avoided: I had one, and it was slow and clunky. I now have many HP48s (real ones) plus my dad's old 11c.
posted by scruss at 2:25 PM on January 28, 2023

Of course the BS Casio graphic calculator that my mom got me instead of a TI isn't there, because it was a BS calculator. Thanks a lot, MOM.
posted by grumpybear69 at 3:08 PM on January 28, 2023

Nice! I have a soft spot for old calculators. My work desk calculator for the last 30 years has been a 1974 Texas Instruments TI-340 desk calculator. It has the loveliest buttons for doing calculations. No-one is walking off on me with that thing, and Reverse Polish Notation for the win!
posted by fimbulvetr at 3:38 PM on January 28, 2023

On my desk at the moment is my Casio fx-7500G, which I bought in 1989. It's such a lovely object. They produced the first graphing calculator, the fx-7000G in the standard Casio shape of the time. Then they went nuts and totally redesigned it as a clamshell that opens up to reveal an interface like the LCARS from Star Trek. My kids refused to believe it was over 30 years old.
posted by pipeski at 4:19 PM on January 28, 2023 [1 favorite]

Yeah, despite having a powerful number cruncher in my computer, and perfectly good calculator in pcalc, every now and then I look at one of the TI-84 + Python calculators and sort of wish I could justify it. Y'know, for like a tenth of the cost of my desktop.

Both my original TI-81 and TI-85 are still in my desk drawer, but I suspect some flavor of capacitor plague has really done a number on their screens over the past 30 years.
posted by Kyol at 6:36 PM on January 28, 2023

Memories of the TI92…
posted by jeffamaphone at 8:39 PM on January 28, 2023 [1 favorite]

Where are the ones with the red, glowing numbers?
posted by brachiopod at 8:46 PM on January 28, 2023 [3 favorites]

I remember being able to do anything with the TI-82 in AP Calc but was completely flummoxed at how to make it go today :)

Our high school bought one of these for every Calc student my year and I now understand the joy my teacher was exuding all year at being able to give uniform instruction in use of the calculator, versus the teachers trying to teach us simpler things when we all had different models and brands in previous years (or some kids had none). She would come in so excited with new programs to share with us. I also remember being able to use these things for "texting" with friends but we had to physically link up in the hallway and transfer the notes we'd written the previous period.

Oh boy this interface has just brought waves of 1995 back to me!
posted by Tandem Affinity at 9:00 PM on January 28, 2023

Saddened by the lack of HP-15C, but on the other hand I do have the privilege of owning one. I know no other device with as satisfying key feel as that particular calculator. I got it in the eighties, and only recently changed batteries for what I believe to be the second time. I also have a 48SX, but the 15C is clearly the sweet spot, though I do agree the unit calculations on the 48 are very nice.
posted by bouvin at 4:19 AM on January 29, 2023 [2 favorites]

- Finally, I can learn RPN.

- When I was a high school junior taking precalculus we were poor and didn't have a working car. My Mom walked over a mile to a store to buy me a TI-25 for Christmas. Not cheap at $28. (I was borrowing friends' calculators before that? Everyone had those red-LED TI-30s.) I still use that TI-25; I looked for it but couldn't find it a couple of weeks ago but it is here somewhere. I think I've replaced the battery twice. Thanks, Mom.
posted by neuron at 9:51 AM on January 29, 2023 [2 favorites]

For those of you with an actual calculator drawer, consider helping out:

A Calculated Move: Calculators Now Emulated at Internet Archive - Internet Archive Blogs

People are often inspired to want to help emulation efforts, since they’re the future of software’s history, but it can be daunting to find a place in, to ramp up to the mass of intricacies and standards of a decades-long project. But perhaps, out there, is someone, maybe even you, who would find it a delight to help acquire excellent photographs of vintage hardware, and collaborate on designing the layout files for them.

This effort will allow us to add more calculators, devices, and hardware out of MAME to be playable at the Internet Archive, and you’ll join the immortal names of the creation of this longstanding project.

posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 10:22 AM on January 29, 2023

I spent far too much of my maths lessons writing a quite involved text adventure game with a battle system including randomised loot drops on my TI-85.

It was nearly as popular as the program which simulated a full memory clear because this was in the times where we were allowed to bring our calculators into exams, but had to clear the memory to make sure we weren't cheating.
posted by Just this guy, y'know at 5:31 PM on January 29, 2023

Oh! I opened a link to a TI-85 on my phone and set to fullscreen. It totally works. It's like a tiny version of my original TI-85
posted by Just this guy, y'know at 5:44 PM on January 29, 2023

I have a mid-80s HP-12C on my desk, working as well as the day I got it. Maybe on the 4th set of batteries. It's faster than starting a program on my PC or an app on my phone for many things. I don't use it every day, but I sure use it every week.
posted by kjs3 at 6:45 AM on January 30, 2023

I had basically every science/engineering type HP through the 70's/early-80's. Dad was engineer, work paid for everything. I finally ended up going to school with the model just before the model that had the magnetic strips for saving programs and a printer. My very first program was a simple Lunar Lander game: altitude, velocity, fuel, (enter amount of fuel to burn), repeat, try to get altitude and velocity both very close to zero before you run out of fuel.

If all y'all were using programmable graphing calculators for you AP calculus class, it's no wonder the US's general math weakness.
posted by zengargoyle at 7:20 AM on January 30, 2023

Finally, I can learn RPN.

Be careful, that’s Pandora’s box. Once you start, you’ll soon forget how to use every other calculator widget out there.
posted by hwyengr at 4:41 AM on January 31, 2023 [1 favorite]