50g

> I am considering a 50g purchase. Has anyone here used the hard
> protective shell advertised at
> http://www.calculatorsource.com/ob-3000.html

Nope. It won't be fun to use though. If you are looking to use it for
something rugged you should get a case from http://pssllc.com, but the
case itself will run about 100$. It also gives you the ability to run
AA bateries, run it over with a truck, shoot it with a .22 cal rifle,
submerge it, etc. It isn't something to "protect" a calculator in your
bag.
 
> There is a link on that product page to a clear "soft" case which
> allows operation while in the case. How would you compare this soft
> case to a sealable plastic baggie?

You don't really need any additional case. It comes with a slip cover
and you remove it to use the calc.
 
> The HP website offers a ROM upgrade to version 92.

That is a mislabel. The latest ROM is 2.09.


> My OS is Kubuntu
> Linux 8.10. Does the supplied "connectivity kit" software work under
> Wine? Would you recommend I get an SD card reader/writer for my PC?

While you can use a connectivity kit, and there is an open source one
that runs on OSX and linux, don't bother. The SD card is much easier
to use and you will have less problems. Just get a card reader. They
can be had for a few dollars at most.

> is 2 GB the most memory in an SD card that the 50g can handle? Are
> there any specific dealers for an SD card that you would recommend?

Yes. You don't really need that much memory though. Any SD card maker
is fine. Don't buy one of the "super ultra high speed ones" as they
won't give any performance benefit. The regular ones are plenty fast.
 
> Is any rechargeable battery pack recommended?

Yes. AAA recharagables work great, but they do drain by themselves
while just sitting (all standard rechargables do) so if you only use
it a little bit a month, regular AAAs are the way to go.

> Is there a solar powered
> recharger which will recharge said battery pack, if one exists?

Nope. You could find a solar powered AAA charger, but it would be
expensive.

> Has anyone developed a power supply to run off of standard 110V AC for
> operation without batteries?

It runs off the miniUSB connector. Any AC->USB adapter plus the
standard mini USB cable will work fine.

TW