Apparently, people frequently buy a HP 12c Platinum Financial Calculator, plus a copy of Mastering Financial Calculations: A Step-by-Step Guide to the Mathematics of Financial Market Instruments, and then a standard HP 12c Financial Calculator.

How many calculators do you need?

For those of you who fear that all the time you invested in learning Reverse Polish Notation (RPN) was wasted, prepare to rejoice. 

HP has announced that two of its classic calculators, the 12c financial calculator and the 15c scientific calculator, which will cost $14.99 and $29.99 respectively, will be available on the iPhone and iPod Touch.

While these prices are high for iPhone apps, they are cheap considering the physical 12c Platinum costs $66 on Amazon.

If you look in any financial institution, you will undoubtedly see “old timers” still toting their 12c’s around.  For many years it was the de facto standard of financial calculators.

Another nice touch was the inclusion of the quick reference guide, which can be accessed by tapping the HP logo.  This same reference guide is printed on the back of physical HP 12c’s.

The real power behind spreadsheets is not just how well they can crunch data, but how you can visually present the information in a variety of ways. Sometimes, however, you may want to give more attention to a particular area, or hide certain data if it’s not relevant. You often see conditional formatting applied to financial spreadsheets where positive values are in black or green, but negative values are always in “the red.” So how do you do that? It’s where conditional formatting, or formatting based on certain criteria, comes into play.

You can save Numbers ‘09 documents in a format compatible with Numbers ‘08, the option is just a little hidden.

Here’s how to make your Numbers documents compatible with the older version: First, choose File > Save as… Then, click the checkbox at the bottom labeled “Save copy as:” (the default is Excel Document). Finally, click the drop down menu (as shown below) and choose iWork ‘08.

The new file will have the same extension (.numbers) as the ‘09 file, but it will be saved as a “package” file, rather than a “flat” file.

For more explanation of the new file format, see yesterday’s post: File Compatibility Between Numbers ‘08 and Numbers ‘09.

Why did Apple do this?  Tom Reestman gives a good explanation over on the Apple Blog.  The short answer: it makes files easier to share across systems via email.

iWork ‘08 files were saved as packages, iWork ‘09 files are saved as flat files.

Released in April, 2009, iWork ‘09: The Missing Manual allows the reader to quickly learn about the entire iWork suite including Numbers, Pages, and Keynote.

Friendly and entertaining, iWork ‘09: The Missing Manual gives you crystal-clear and jargon-free explanations of iWork’s capabilities, its advantages over similar programs — and its limitations. You’ll see these programs through an objective lens that shows you which features work well and which don’t

iWork ‘09: The Missing Manual

I haven’t tried this yet, but it looks interesting. Anyone using Numbers for heavy statistical work?

Risk Engine for iWork Numbers

Risk Engine links into iWork Numbers and Microsoft Excel 2008 spreadsheet models to allow you to run detailed Monte Carlo analyses with multiple inputs and outputs. The input values for the Monte-Carlo simulation can be directly modified by the user within the spreadsheet interface to allow for maximum flexibility within the simulation.

New in version 1.2.1:

• Bug in exporting data into Microsoft Excel has been corrected
• Improved user entry of statistical parameters to allow greater decimal accuracy
• Improved export and reporting of output data by keeping the order of the data
• Added the ability to switch between Monte-Carlo data model and the original data model

Risk Engine 1.2.1

We are introducing a new template today: the Dinner Planner.

Planning your meals ahead can save you both time and money.  Trips to the grocery store are much easier because you know exactly what you need.

Planning your meals doesn’t have to be a burden, and that is where the dinner planner template is useful.

Download the Dinner Planner Template for Numbers

Note: This template requires Numbers ‘09 or higher

The new Grocery List template for Numbers allows a user to quickly put together their weekly shopping list in a convenient format.  Pre-entered items are grouped by section.

Additionally, the template includes quantity and price sections, so that the user can budget their purchases before they get to the store.

Lastly, the grocery list includes a check box by each item for marking completed items, as well as a comment section.

** Update: This template requires Numbers ‘09 or higher.

Download: Grocery List Template for Numbers

iWork ‘09 is now available for purchase on Amazon.