I get a kick out of the back-to-the-future aspect of
SMT packages,
considering the lineage/similarity of SMT to the flatpak IC cases
(TO-85,91,etc.) of the early '60s, which predated DIPs.
Ever notice that in the 60s and 70s, they did not use flatpacks all that
properly? For some reason, the philosophy was to have the leads quite
long. No real reason for that, is there?
The Japanese consumer market showed the world how to do it right.
William Donzelli
aw288 at
osfn.org