What's a good simple calculator for programmers? Easy entry/conversion of hex and binary but simple arithmetic with possible shifts. I don't need to do trigonometry.
I have one, bought it new many decades ago. If the SwissMicro clones have as good keys as the old HP originals then I wouldn't hesitate buying one of those if you're interested in a 16C.
SwissMicros make really good devices if you’re willing to pay the price. I carry my HP42 clone everywhere.
They make a clone of the programmer HP-16c that is pretty nice. Everything is open source too, so there’s modding potential if you are into that kind of thing.
Calculators are a relic of when we used to require separate single function devices to accomplish anything, like VCRs, Cameras, GPS receivers, music samplers, or transistor radios.
There is nothing a physical calculator can do that an IPython session can’t. And a physical calculator can’t copy paste the result where you want it (except modern phone camera OCR has I guess got to the point where you could probably grab the result off a calculator screen).
Outside of cases where you need dedicated pieces of hardware to accomplish a task, like motors or heating elements or something, there’s very little reason for preferring a dedicated device these days over a software or app equivalent. And even then, a version of the hardware that hooks up to a general purpose device to use its input and screen is likely the most useful form factor.
Modern ‘single function devices’ are most likely actually just low power multifunction computers running most of the functionality in software anyway.
Dedicated physical buttons are far superior to 'universal' touchscreen interfaces, if the thing you need fits on them.
And having a separate dedicated device helps having a workflow that doesn't invite distraction or context switching on a universal device, so having a dedicated device often is a reasonable intentional choice even if the same functionality is already available on another non-dedicated device.
I use a computer, and, as you mentioned later, one with a keyboard connected. However, except for simple stuff I still reach for my phone which has an HP emulator running, to do calculations with what looks like an actual calculator. Except that it doesn't have those very special old HP calculator buttons, so it's much worse than the real thing (I have an HP 16C laying around, but not a general style HP). But still preferable to the computer. So, here I am, with a computer and having used computers daily for close to half a century, and still grabbing for a dedicated thing for doing certain types of calculations.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HP-16C
Swiss Micro seems to be producing clones:
https://www.amazon.com/SwissMicros-DM16L/dp/B01DYTVZF2