Re:The decline of computers as a general-purpose technology
by ghaff on Thursday February 25, 2021 @09:02AM
(#26262789)
>I really miss having a place (back then we even had ad dozen of them in a few km distance) with a huge selection carrying every component you might ever need
That sounds very atypical. I live outside a major US metro and I know of one good computer store in the area (Micro Center). I imagine there a few small places that carry electronic components but not sure how many. And it wasn't much different 10 to 20 years ago unless you count Radio Shack which wasn't really all that great.
Re:The decline of computers as a general-purpose technology
by freeone3000 on Thursday February 25, 2021 @02:07PM
(#26266782)
I count RadioShack, because it was great. As late as 2016 they had their transisor, resistor, capacitor buckets and speaker wire. You couldn't get arbitrary ICs there, but for basic components or last-minute bodges they were key. And now they're no longer carried.
Re:The decline of computers as a general-purpose technology
by rjsw on Thursday February 25, 2021 @11:36AM
(#26264695)
There was only one store like that in my childhood city but it had everything you might want.
There would be a queue of people waiting on a Saturday to give their handwritten list of components to an employee to go find.
I really miss having a place (back then we even had ad dozen of them in a few km distance) with a huge selection carrying every component you might ever need, and with enough technical expertise that you could show your circuit diagram and get feedback how to improve it. This is something only seen in shenzhen today.
Now I just don't do any small projects anymore as there are no stores in the entire state left, and the extreme premium in shipping and waiting time of aliexpress just isn't worth it anymore.