Usage of surface mount and fewer but more integrated ICs are isn't what I would consider modern. Modern designs use those things, sure, but the technology and p

Usage of surface mount and fewer but more integrated ICs are isn't what I would consider modern. Modern designs use those things, sure, but the technology and practice is not modern. It's actually pretty dated. Maybe not as-dated as a through-hole and discrete component design, but certainly not exclusive to recent (read: modern) designs.