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Tape Adding Machines - Bad Habit, Addiction Or Comfy Loafers?
By George
The next time you're in an office where personal computers are used, look on the desks. Chances are pretty good that you will see a mechanical tape adding machine sitting next to many of the computers. That makes no sense to me whatsoever. Why are such antiquated pieces of equipment, that do little more than simple arithmetic, sitting next to very powerful, perhaps very expensive computing devices?
In my opinion, the advantages of a full featured adding machine program should convince most people that mechanical adding machines are expensive dinosaurs that have long outlived their usefulness for personal computer users. To illustrate, here are a few of the advantages a person realizes from using a well written electronic paper tape (etape) program instead of a mechanical adding machine.
* An etape is editable. With a mechanical machine, an error on a printed tape often means re-running the entire tape. Etape entries can be changed, inserted and removed.
* Etapes can be saved to disc and reopened. There is no need to commit an electronic tape to paper unless needed. And etapes on disc can be shared with anyone in the world who has an email address.
* Etapes saved to disc are encrypted to prevent "back door" viewing and changes.
* Electronic tapes that must be stored to satisfy statutory requirements can be saved on media, such as CDs, that will ensure the integrity of the stored etapes almost indefinitely. In additon, multiple backup copies of stored etapes can easily be created. With backup copies stored off-site, the expense of fireproof storage can be avoided. (While the life expectancy for data stored on CDs is not yet known, I imagine an electronic tape saved on a CD may last longer than a tape printed on paper.)
* Editable notes can be added to each entry and subtotal on an etape. Each etape can also have a caption. Etapes saved on disc can be searched based on file names, captions and/or etape notes.
* Entire etapes and single etape values can be copied and then pasted into any other program that supports the clipboard. This means an electronic adding machine program works with just about all office and finance software.
* With a Master/Derived Value feature, a person can re-use multi-sectioned etapes for often performed calculations. To re-do a calculation, the re-usable etape is opened from disc and key values are changed. Linked subtotals cascade to following etape sections automatically so that all sections of the etape are correctly recalculated.
* An optional subtotal column on an etape displays
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