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Why is it that all good calculator manufacturers also have a dark side? I have an RPN calculator made by HP, back in the day they made the holy Grail of RPNs the 32 SII. But they are the single worst thing that has happened to printer ink.
Because if you are a microchip manufacturer in the 70s:
- Calculators are a reasonably good revenue stream once you've developed a chip, but needs a ton of upfront investment
- Defence contractors have essentially unlimited budgets from DoD, need chips, and are more than willing to pay for all the R&D to get what they need
The entire US tech and aerospace industries are built on what is effectively massive government subsidies in the form of weapons contracts
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