41–50 of 57 posts
Fry's. Period. It's a west coast thing, but it should be a clue that the first one was in the heart of Silicon Valley. Aisle after aisle of computer components, electrical components, and truly random stuff (Mace next to hard drives, LED glowsticks next to cases, etc). An electrophile's dream.
"But his shop is a lone outpost; in a single generation, the American who built, repaired, and tinkered with technology has evolved into an entirely new species: the American who prefers to slip that technology out of his pocket and show off its killer apps. Once, we were makers. Now most of us are users." So humbling and true. Most people will throw out any given piece of technology rather than try and repair it. An…
Fry's. Period. It's a west coast thing, but it should be a clue that the first one was in the heart of Silicon Valley. Aisle after aisle of computer components, electrical components, and truly random stuff (Mace next to hard drives, LED glowsticks next to cases, etc). An electrophile's dream.
Fry's are not all the same. The only one that has a decent components section is in Palo Alto. Other stores, in San Jose, Mountain View etc do not have anything.
“You walk into a regular RadioShack and it’s become like a neurosis,” Cohen says. “‘Sir, can I sell you a cell phone today? How old is your cell phone? What about your family, do they have cell phones?’” Depressingly true. Of course they have to worry about the bottom line, but I really doubt the long-term future viability of becoming a mini Best Buy - if all they sell is mid-priced consumer goods, I have no incentiv…
I was reminded of why I don't go into Radio Shack when I had to go get a watch battery there the other day. They keep trying to foist a cell phone off on me. If I had wanted a cell phone I would have said "Hi, I would like to buy a cell phone." not, "Hi, I need a replacement for this battery." Do people actually buy phones because of this tactic? It's just plain rude to try to sell me a phone multiple times when I've…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
It's not the same as walking into a physical store. You get an awful lot of ideas by looking at what's available, kind of improvisation engineering. I am very happy to live within walking distance from São Paulo's "electronics district" (it's called Santa Efigênia, for the name of one of the streets around which lots of electronics (some of very uncertain origin), component and junkyards abound. Many items carry heav…
I think emerging economies in the world would take much stronger to the original concept of Radio Shack. Since we've grown a "throw away instead of fix" economy, the U.S. doesn't create nearly as much demand anymore... But there are plenty of places that would.
The internet and Digi-Key replaced RadioShack for me a long time ago. Digi-Key sells everything , and will let you buy in onesies and twosies without screwing you on the price. Maybe Monoprice for cables, but that's rare. The one time I needed a DB-9 gender changer in a hurry and paid freaking $20 for it was the day I decided I was done with RadioShack. You served a great purpose, dear friend, but times have changed.…
In addition to Digikey, Mouser and Newark similarly have diverse catalogs and allow single-unit orders of most parts. I've never ordered from Newark, but I do order from Digikey and Mouser, depending on who has the best price and availability on whatever it is I'm buying. http://www.mouser.com/ http://www.newark.com/ (and a clickable link for Digi-key: http://www.digikey.com/ )
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I think emerging economies in the world would take much stronger to the original concept of Radio Shack. Since we've grown a "throw away instead of fix" economy, the U.S. doesn't create nearly as much demand anymore... But there are plenty of places that would.
Sadly, "trow away instead of fix" is becoming the norm for any electronic device. Working with SMDs by hand is doeable, but whoever can do it should go to med school and become a brain surgeon.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I was reminded of why I don't go into Radio Shack when I had to go get a watch battery there the other day. They keep trying to foist a cell phone off on me. If I had wanted a cell phone I would have said "Hi, I would like to buy a cell phone." not, "Hi, I need a replacement for this battery." Do people actually buy phones because of this tactic? It's just plain rude to try to sell me a phone multiple times when I've…
I quit going to Radio Shack for batteries when I discovered they didn't have anything any more exotic than what was at Wal-mart for a fraction of the cost. And Wal-mart has better hours.
Really? There isn't a link to http://www.octopart.com here? Goddammit folks! Go find your parts on Octopart and help a YC company out.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
In addition to Digikey, Mouser and Newark similarly have diverse catalogs and allow single-unit orders of most parts. I've never ordered from Newark, but I do order from Digikey and Mouser, depending on who has the best price and availability on whatever it is I'm buying. http://www.mouser.com/ http://www.newark.com/ (and a clickable link for Digi-key: http://www.digikey.com/ )
You might like http://octopart.com , which searches all those sites.