20 Mar
2010
20 Mar
'10
11:23 a.m.
On Mar 19, 2010, at 4:54 PM, Tony Duell wrote:
Err no. At one time we had these wonderful things called 'data
books' I'd
flip through them to see what chips were available, their featurs,
etc. I
bought a lot of said books.
You can do that on their websites, without killing trees. (not
No I can't (and this has nothing to do with the machine I run here). Even
when I use a modern PC running something standard I find I can't 'flip
through' a website like I can flip through a data book. In fact I find
trying to read any sort of techncial documentation from a screen to be
very annoying..
Even with a modern machine and a fast internet connection it simply takes
too ling to 'flip through' a collection of data sheets.
I am talking about microcontrollers, not desktop
computer CPUs...
Have you looked at some of the high-end microcontrollers lately? that I care personally, but..) The searching and
browsing
Well, I have long been of the opinion that 'green means naive, and that's
not changed recently':-), but since you raised it, I wonder... Since I am
likely to use a databook for many years (I routinely use a data book
that's over 30 years old), I wonder if the environmental damage caused by
said book is more than the damage caused by using a computer to download,
store, and view the data sheet every time I need it.
capabilities of some of the manufacturers'
websites are getting
better every year.
Seeaching is fine if you know what to search for and what terms are used.
It does not replace reading data sheets and thinking 'Hey, that's a nice
feature'.
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
There are 2 issues here.
Firstly, there are components that I have used for which I can't find the
data sheets in any archive on the web. An example would be the SAA5070
(and yes it is used in classic computers). OK, _current_ device data
sheets are probably available, but I wonder if anyone is archiving those.
The second issue is that yes, I will agree that being able to download
data wheets is a Good Thing. But that doesn't mean this has to _replace_
data books. It is a very common falacy that because <a> is better than
<b> for some application, it has to be better for all applications [1].
And as for 'wait a few weeks', when I was buing databooks about 10 or 20
years ago, they generally came next day. Quite a few companies also kept
archives of their old data sheets and would send a hptocopy next day
(free or for a nominal charge).
[1] A trivial example is digital photography. You will get no argument
from me if you claim that digital photography is useful
for press work
wne you need to take a picture and print it quickly, and maybe send
it
across the world. But this doesn't mean it's superior for all types of
photography -- in fact I would claim it most certainly isn't.
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.
True, but I think this one is. And I am actually still trying to think of
a change in the last 20 years that's been for the better...
-tony