20 Mar
2010
20 Mar
'10
12:26 p.m.
Dave wrote:
On Mar 19, 2010, at 8:44 PM, Ben wrote:
>> And now, I can get datasheets for pretty much any random component in
>> seconds, rather than having to wait for weeks to find a copy of a
>> databook that I don't have. I have nearly three thousand PDF
>> datasheets
>> now, and those are just for parts that I've been interested in for
>> one
>> reason or another. (curiosity, repair, use in new design, found a
>> chip
>> somewhere and wanted to know what it is, etc) I have about 35-40
>> databooks, and now I have FAR more useful information available to me
>> then when I used to use those databooks regularly.
>>
>> Not all change is automatically bad.
>
> 3 am I want to check a datasheet ... it is 30 seconds including the
> time
> I take to turn on the light switch.
> I need to use windows and the internet it is about 20 minutes later
> I may have the information.
That's because you use Windows. I get it in
seconds. Every time.
A couple random thoughts:
Google goes through phases where searching for a random TTL or CMOS
or old microprocessor or transistor part number returns 95%+ sponsored
spam links to places that don't have the part but want to sell you the part anyway.
At other points Google is working "nicely" and the top couple hits are to the
actual datasheet.
If the part is a "basic part" that is still available in some commercial form or
another
I find that going to Mouser or Digikey is often more effective today than going
through Google. And I say that being a big Google user.
Mouser and Digikey tend to keep parts in their search engines with links to datasheets for
maybe a decade
or two after they leave special order. And it's useful to know that yes, the CA3146
is being discontinued. Or that the CD4007 is actually the same as the CA3600 :-).
Lots of Windows installations have a zillion spyware things running that interfere
greatly with downloading the PDF after you find it. Sometimes these things
make you believe that they're actually toolbars, but they aren't. Usually the
download accelerators fall in this category too... launching 50 simultaneous
download sessions to fetch a 3 page datasheet is usually a big loss.
I know that I'm being OS-ist when I talk about Windows like that, but really
it's the unknowing users getting sucked into thinking "another toolbar? Hey,
I want that!" and "another download accelerator? Hey, I want that!" that
are at fault. When you see a web browser and literally 75% of the screen
is taken up by toolbars and download accelerators that really are actually
all spyware, something is seriously out of whack, but I'd estimate that probably
90% of Windows PC's that are not vigilantly patrolled end up that way.
Tim.