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A comment on Reversing Sinclair's 1974 calculator hack (2013).

Re:Reversing Sinclair's 1974 calculator hack (2013) by bambax on Friday September 17, 2021 @02:42AM (#28562026)
> Scientific calculators usually provide constants such as e and π but there was no space in the ROM for these constants. The Sinclair Scientific used the brilliant solution of printing the constants on the calculator's case

I love this so much. I sometimes wonder what single-purpose electronic devices could be replaced with a piece of paper or a purely mechanical instrument.

Could one make a countdown timer with no spring, just having a ball fall down a kind of maze for instance?

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Re:Reversing Sinclair's 1974 calculator hack (2013) by rvba on Friday September 17, 2021 @06:05AM (#28563374)
You mean a hourglass, like the ones used as timers in kitchen?
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Re:Reversing Sinclair's 1974 calculator hack (2013) by bambax on Friday September 17, 2021 @10:08AM (#28565660)
Yes sure an hourglass is that, but I was thinking of a marble drop game were you would have to select a path for each specific time. Anyway.
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Re:Reversing Sinclair's 1974 calculator hack (2013) by thehappypm on Friday September 17, 2021 @11:24AM (#28566548)
That actually sounds pretty neat. A hot wheels track timer!
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