Oh hell, is this what the world is coming to?

Onkel Neal · 04-09-17, 08:11 PM

Really? You must be much younger than me. In the 90s computer stores were everywhere; Circuit City, Radio Shack, CompUSA, Computer City, Incredible Universe.... and you could always count on support stock like tool kits, internals, and adapters. I guess Fry's is all that's left of the old world of computers.

ikalugin · 04-09-17, 08:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Onkel Neal

Really? You must be much younger than me. In the 90s computer stores were everywhere; Circuit City, Radio Shack, CompUSA, Computer City, Incredible Universe.... and you could always count on support stock like tool kits, internals, and adapters. I guess Fry's is all that's left of the old world of computers.

I was born in 1992, go figure. 1990s were a dark age for me, especially the short band between 1998 and 2000.

Onkel Neal · 04-09-17, 08:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ikalugin

I was born in 1992, go figure. 1990s were a dark age for me, especially the short band between 1998 and 2000.

Haha, I was in Russia before you

ikalugin · 04-09-17, 08:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Onkel Neal

Haha, I was in Russia before you

Technically RSFSR/USSR

Kptlt. Neuerburg · 04-09-17, 10:19 PM

Honestly as my family tech nerd, Best Buy is garbage when it comes to finding what are now considered "specialty computer items" like the toolkits and such. These days if I can't find it on Newegg then chances are there's no way in hell Best Buy would have it.

Buddahaid · 04-10-17, 01:23 AM

Jimbuna · 04-10-17, 05:08 AM

I believe there is a growing emphasis on buying a new replacement as opposed to repair on a rapidly growing list of everyday items.

I know that a breakdown in any of my household items (tv, washer, fridge etc. etc.) that is is not blatantly obvious and easy to repair leads me to the quick decision to simply replace new.

Rockin Robbins · 04-10-17, 10:16 AM

It's amazing. People are learning that if you go to a store you can get what they want to sell you. If you want to find what you want to buy go to the Internet.

Like you say, it wasn't always that way, so it's not a limitation that stores can't overcome. But shopper by shopper, stores are teaching us that we don't really want to go there. They blame it on the Internet. But they are teaching their customers that their business isn't wanted.

For something like that I'd put a padlock on my wallet to avoid impulse purchases and hazard a trip to Harbor Freight. They have mondo computer toolkits of great quality for just about nothing.

Platapus · 04-10-17, 04:24 PM

I would not consider Best Buy to be anything other than an electronic appliance store.

I would have recommended checking out the small local computer repair businesses as they would be more likely to have the specialized tools for sale, or they might let you borrow one.

But at Best Buy you are buying a box. What is inside that box is a mystery to the employees.

Buddahaid · 04-09-17, 08:26 PM

They do still exist.
https://www.santarosacomputers.com

vienna · 04-10-17, 06:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Onkel Neal

Really? You must be much younger than me. In the 90s computer stores were everywhere; Circuit City, Radio Shack, CompUSA, Computer City, Incredible Universe.... and you could always count on support stock like tool kits, internals, and adapters. I guess Fry's is all that's left of the old world of computers.

Even Fry's is getting king of sparse on a lot of the items you used to be able to depend on them having in stock; I was helping someone do a rebuild on a couple of old PCs and needed to replace some of the old fittings; there are three Fry's in our area and we had to go to all three before we found what had, up until then, been fairly stock items. It's the same with the big box hardware stores like Home Depot, or OSH; went looking for a small ball-peen hammer I needed quickly and none of the big boxes carried them anymore; I was lucky there was a small, independent hardware store here in Hollywood and they had several in stock. I think ValoWay has it right: if the brick and mortars, particularly the big ones, don't think something is going to be an 'everyday purchase', they just don't bother stocking them...

<O>

Catfish · 04-10-17, 07:14 AM

I am astonished that you can even change the battery, lots of Apple hardware and almost all newer mobile phones do not 'allow' that.
"Life circle terminated" or how those glowing apostles of sustainability call that

Yes, i hate that, too.

edit: is that device in the o. post a Dell or Apple? (MacBook?)

ikalugin · 04-10-17, 07:45 AM

You can't enjoy the good (capitalism) without the bad (consumerism or over production crisis - you pick).

04-09-17, 08:11 PM	#1
Onkel Neal Born to Run Silent Join Date: Jan 1997 Location: Cougar Trap, Texas Posts: 21,385 Downloads: 541 Uploads: 224	Really? You must be much younger than me. In the 90s computer stores were everywhere; Circuit City, Radio Shack, CompUSA, Computer City, Incredible Universe.... and you could always count on support stock like tool kits, internals, and adapters. I guess Fry's is all that's left of the old world of computers. __________________ SUBSIM - 26 Years on the Web

04-09-17, 10:19 PM	#5
Kptlt. Neuerburg Admiral Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Florida Posts: 2,279 Downloads: 54 Uploads: 0	Honestly as my family tech nerd, Best Buy is garbage when it comes to finding what are now considered "specialty computer items" like the toolkits and such. These days if I can't find it on Newegg then chances are there's no way in hell Best Buy would have it. __________________ "When you're born into this world, you're given a ticket to the freak show. If you're born in America you get a front row seat." - George Carlin

04-10-17, 01:23 AM	#6
Buddahaid Shark above Space Chicken Join Date: Jun 2008 Posts: 9,328 Downloads: 162 Uploads: 0	__________________ "However vast the darkness, we must provide our own light." Stanley Kubrick "Tomorrow belongs to those who can hear it coming." David Bowie

04-10-17, 05:08 AM	#7
Jimbuna Chief of the Boat Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: 250 metres below the surface Posts: 190,678 Downloads: 63 Uploads: 13	I believe there is a growing emphasis on buying a new replacement as opposed to repair on a rapidly growing list of everyday items. I know that a breakdown in any of my household items (tv, washer, fridge etc. etc.) that is is not blatantly obvious and easy to repair leads me to the quick decision to simply replace new. __________________ Wise men speak because they have something to say; Fools because they have to say something. Oh my God, not again!!

04-10-17, 10:16 AM	#8
Rockin Robbins Navy Seal Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: DeLand, FL Posts: 8,900 Downloads: 135 Uploads: 52	It's amazing. People are learning that if you go to a store you can get what they want to sell you. If you want to find what you want to buy go to the Internet. Like you say, it wasn't always that way, so it's not a limitation that stores can't overcome. But shopper by shopper, stores are teaching us that we don't really want to go there. They blame it on the Internet. But they are teaching their customers that their business isn't wanted. For something like that I'd put a padlock on my wallet to avoid impulse purchases and hazard a trip to Harbor Freight. They have mondo computer toolkits of great quality for just about nothing. __________________ Sub Skipper's Bag of Tricks, Slightly Subnuclear Mk 14 & Cutie, Slightly Subnuclear Deck Gun, EZPlot 2.0, TMOPlot, TMOKeys, SH4CMS

04-10-17, 04:24 PM	#9
Platapus Fleet Admiral Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 19,381 Downloads: 63 Uploads: 0	I would not consider Best Buy to be anything other than an electronic appliance store. I would have recommended checking out the small local computer repair businesses as they would be more likely to have the specialized tools for sale, or they might let you borrow one. But at Best Buy you are buying a box. What is inside that box is a mystery to the employees. __________________ abusus non tollit usum - A right should NOT be withheld from people on the basis that some tend to abuse that right.

04-09-17, 08:26 PM	#10
Buddahaid Shark above Space Chicken Join Date: Jun 2008 Posts: 9,328 Downloads: 162 Uploads: 0	They do still exist. https://www.santarosacomputers.com __________________ "However vast the darkness, we must provide our own light." Stanley Kubrick "Tomorrow belongs to those who can hear it coming." David Bowie

04-10-17, 07:14 AM	#12
Catfish Dipped Squirrel Operative Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: ..where the ocean meets the sky Posts: 17,776 Downloads: 38 Uploads: 0	I am astonished that you can even change the battery, lots of Apple hardware and almost all newer mobile phones do not 'allow' that. "Life circle terminated" or how those glowing apostles of sustainability call that Yes, i hate that, too. edit: is that device in the o. post a Dell or Apple? (MacBook?) __________________ >^..^<*)))>{ All generalizations are wrong.

04-10-17, 07:45 AM	#13
ikalugin Ocean Warrior Join Date: Aug 2014 Location: Moscow, Russia Posts: 3,212 Downloads: 8 Uploads: 0	You can't enjoy the good (capitalism) without the bad (consumerism or over production crisis - you pick). __________________ Grumpy as always.

Thread Tools
Show Printable Version Email this Page
Display Modes
Switch to Linear Mode Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode