Newsgroups: sci.electronics
Path: utzoo!henry
From: henry@utzoo.uucp (Henry Spencer)
Subject: Re: Radio Shack
Message-ID: <1988Feb23.175954.5465@utzoo.uucp>
Organization: U of Toronto Zoology
References: <5431@burdvax.PRC.Unisys.COM> <6654@sol.ARPA> <832@astroatc.UUCP>, <305@nvuxj.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 23-Feb-88 17:59:50 EST

> And everything is in the IC's today--so you aren't going to be building
> circuits like the hobbyist of 20 years ago, only wiring up IC's to
> switches, etc. with a few other discrete components.

"Why, sonny, hobbyists twenty years ago didn't really *build circuits*.
Oh sure, they strung together components here and there, but they bought
all them components at a store.  Back when hobbyists was real hobbyists,
we had to *make* most of our components...  You can't call it "building"
circuits when you just buy the parts and wire them together!"

Yes, ICs do more for you than transistors did.  And transistors were just
a bit easier to work with than a hunk of galena and a catwhisker, too.
Having ICs to use just means that you don't have to spend two days building
and debugging a NAND gate before doing something *useful* with it.
-- 
Those who do not understand Unix are |  Henry Spencer @ U of Toronto Zoology
condemned to reinvent it, poorly.    | {allegra,ihnp4,decvax,utai}!utzoo!henry
