_wiv7

Actually, it's not SMD components in particular. The failure mode for many MOSFETs and other semiconductor devices tends to be a short. They only tend to fail open if there was enough energy at hand to blow the short clear.

I've wondered if I'm unusual in finding white noise mentally exhausting.

I think one of the key flaws with a lot of bullpen setups is this: They're too big, and they include hallway area where people from unrelated teams walk through having irrelevant conversations all day. A much better solution would be maybe a ~500 sq ft (~50 m^2) big shared office with a window, populated with people that work on the same project.

A few years ago, I once met someone who worked on imaging devices for satellites for a military contractor, which was about all he would say about the specific work he did. He indicated that the building they did their work in had _no_ internet access. Generally, if they wanted to refer to things on the internet, they had to go to some internet-connected computers in another building, print out whatever they wanted and bring it back to the building they worked in.

Perhaps it's unrealistic to expect security without tradeoffs of convenience.