Today in Tech – 1981 - HP-41 calculator was the first calculator to have alphanumeric display capabilities April 12, 1981 – The HP-41 calculator was the first calculator to have alphanumeric display capabilities, and on this day in 1981 it was used on board NASA’s first space shuttle flight. The calculator helped astronauts calculate many important things, such as the exact angle at which they needed to re-enter Earth’s atmosphere safely, and the change to the center of gravity due to fuel consumption. I remember my dad buying a HP-41CV for me in 1983 when I went to university. I really loved this calculator and I wrote a number of software programs for it, and I took a video at https://youtu.be/wjCbcsCS_3k when I powered it up after many years of disuse (took two starts it powered up fine). See http://ift.tt/2o3kdVR
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