3 ms·

They also managed to kill off the electronics stores in the Bay area I'm sure Fry's had a lot to do with it, but a good deal of the problem is that "times are

They also managed to kill off the electronics stores in the Bay area I'm sure Fry's had a lot to do with it, but a good deal of the problem is that "times are changing". More stuff gets built exclusively in Asia nowadays, leaving fewer part overruns in the USA that can be sold to surplus companies that used to be in the Bay Area. As SoCs become more prevalent there is just less need for glue chips. This is all across the board. E.g. 20 years ago every desktop PC needed a graphics card, or at least a graphics chip. But now the vast majority of video needs are satisfied by Intel's on-die graphics. Same with USB, it's in the Intel chipset. No need for SATA cards or chips, it's all in the Intel chipset. So is ethernet. Etc. Plus in the old days hobbyists had a chance of being able to work with DIP components, or even SOICs. Nowadays the resistors and capacitors are almost too small to see without a stereo microscope. And BGA components can't easily be soldered or reworked without sophisticated equipment. With more stuff being designed, debugged, and manufactured in Asia, I'm not surprised that Fry's has a lot of older test equipment collecting dust. No demand for it anymore. We live in interesting times. Sucks for people who used to make a good living in electronics.

michaelt 11y ago
Compared to 30 years ago, I think the hobby electronics market has changed a lot. Partly it's because a lot of the kids who would have been assembling Heathkits in 1980 are now making minecraft mods. But even without that, there's been a shift in the electronics market. There are high demand, medium demand, and long tail components. Everyone has the high demand components at home. The long tail components aren't in high enough demand to stock in expensive-to-run high street stores, so they can only be mail ordered. The medium demand components are in between - the range is wide enough that people don't have them all already, but limited enough and in high enough demand that a high street store can satisfy demand and make enough money to stay in business. 30 years ago, medium demand components were things like 7400-series logic chips. Today, microprocessors like the arduino have most of that stuff built in, or can be programmed to do it. Nobody needs to go to the shops because they need a positive edge triggered dual D-type flip-flop and all they have at home is a dual master slave JK flip-flop.
- ChuckMcM 11y ago
  I tend to largely agree with this, although if there was a store that stocked what Sparkfun or Adafruit have in their online store that I could go into and browse, I'd probably spend $100 a week in there.

michaelt 11y ago

Compared to 30 years ago, I think the hobby electronics market has changed a lot. Partly it's because a lot of the kids who would have been assembling Heathkits in 1980 are now making minecraft mods. But even without that, there's been a shift in the electronics market. There are high demand, medium demand, and long tail components. Everyone has the high demand components at home. The long tail components aren't in high enough demand to stock in expensive-to-run high street stores, so they can only be mail ordered. The medium demand components are in between - the range is wide enough that people don't have them all already, but limited enough and in high enough demand that a high street store can satisfy demand and make enough money to stay in business. 30 years ago, medium demand components were things like 7400-series logic chips. Today, microprocessors like the arduino have most of that stuff built in, or can be programmed to do it. Nobody needs to go to the shops because they need a positive edge triggered dual D-type flip-flop and all they have at home is a dual master slave JK flip-flop.

ChuckMcM 11y ago
I tend to largely agree with this, although if there was a store that stocked what Sparkfun or Adafruit have in their online store that I could go into and browse, I'd probably spend $100 a week in there.