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Is MAXIM supporting call for an "american innovation "? — Parallax Forums

Is MAXIM supporting call for an "american innovation "?

vaclav_salvaclav_sal Posts: 451
edited 2011-05-22 07:06 in General Discussion
Someone started a thread here that Digikey will no longer publish paper catalog.
I would like to do follow up on this from a different angle.
I hope you guys do not mind another rant about irrelevant thing.

But - her it goes.
MAXIM no longer offers samples to non commercial e-mail addresses.
( I know this is not great English and they been doing that for a while anyway).

Here are my reasons I bring this up.

Anybody remember where industry “giants” started?
Boeing in a barn, A-Dec in Quonset hut, J. Fluke in garage. So did Microsoft , Tektronix – just to name few.

Recently our gab gifted president made a call for an “American innovation”.

I guess some white shirts and suits executives did not listen.

I do not call this outright boycott of tinkerers like us “supporting the American innovations”. I call it being cheap and “penny vise and dollar short”.

Maybe they need tax break like oil industry to be more generous with samples.
Maybe “not invented here” is still their motto.

Sorry for the rant. No reply is necessary - spent you time developing better mousetrap..

Cheers
Vaclav

Comments

  • schillschill Posts: 741
    edited 2011-05-20 07:41
    In the past, the main reason I had for getting free samples from Maxim was that they were often hard to get any other way. A lot of their chips were not carried by Digikey and Mouser. And Maxim themselves did not like to sell to individuals in small quantities. Dallas Semiconductor was the same way (before becoming part of Maxim) - when I tried to order just a few parts from them directly, they refused to sell them and insisted I take free samples instead :) .
  • JimInCAJimInCA Posts: 80
    edited 2011-05-20 08:12
    Vaclav,
    Could you please elaborate on why "innovation" is dependent on free stuff?
    Thanks...
    Jim...
  • ctwardellctwardell Posts: 1,716
    edited 2011-05-20 08:39
    I'm not sure if being "free" is so much of the issue as being available in small quantities to the average joe that wants to tinker.

    It seems like all to often the "cool" chips are only available in massive quantity, just look at some of the past issues with Parallax having trouble sourcing parts.

    C.W.
  • ElectricAyeElectricAye Posts: 4,561
    edited 2011-05-20 08:42
    vaclav_sal wrote: »
    ....
    Maybe “not invented here” is still their motto....

    Vaclav,

    Maybe because everyone is trying to cut costs these days, perhaps Digikey, etc. have asked them to stop giving away freebies now that Digikey, etc. have eliminated minimum orders?

    In any case, the barriers to being a tinkerer are nothing like they used to be. A couple decades ago, sales people wouldn't even talk to you unless they thought you were worth at least a couple thousand dollars of immediate business. It was very difficult to get parts and even catalogs were hard to come by. Very often companies had no other reason for not selling to you except "We just don't sell to individuals or companies we don't know."

    By comparison, nowadays you can download entire catalogs and "white papers" and as long as you have a credit card, you can buy almost anything from almost anyone and get it shipped to almost anywhere. For example, I get an idea, I make a sketch, I order parts at 11 PM and 12 hours later I've got those parts sitting on my doorstep from McMaster.com. I get things from Digikey and Parallax within a few days. I design a pcb and within a week or so I've got the boards made by Expresspcb.com sitting on my workbench. I attend online forums where people help me answer questions that would cost hours of my time and sometimes perhaps hundreds of dollars to get answered by paid professionals - not to mention I get a wide range of opinions on various topics. If I need scientific information, I can search for it on the internet, often downloading the papers I need to read or ordering books from the library to go through the inter-library loan system. Also, the used book market is an excellent resource.

    If all else fails, there's ebay, where sometimes very sophisticated equipment can be found for pennies on the dollar.

    There's never been a time like this in human history where a single person with a credit card and an internet connection can do so much no matter where he or she lives. You no longer have to live in major cities or be part of a major company to get things done. And you can link up with people in your field like never before.

    You need to wag more and bark less. :-)
  • JimInCAJimInCA Posts: 80
    edited 2011-05-20 09:19
    ElectricAye, very well stated...
    Jim...
  • vaclav_salvaclav_sal Posts: 451
    edited 2011-05-20 09:53
    Jim, you are right, if it is a sample it is almost implied that it is free.
    I shall edit my post.
  • stamptrolstamptrol Posts: 1,731
    edited 2011-05-20 09:56
    ElectricAye made the key point very well.......

    Never have so many been able to do so much with so little ......

    I say charge for samples what ever makes it worthwhile....just make them accessible!

    Cheers,
  • doggiedocdoggiedoc Posts: 2,245
    edited 2011-05-21 09:42
    vaclav_sal,

    I am honestly beginning to enjoy your rants! :) I look forward to the next one.

    Paul
  • vaclav_salvaclav_sal Posts: 451
    edited 2011-05-21 11:38
    Paul,
    thank you very much.
    My favorite boss used to say “one aw' s... wipes out 10 atta boys!”
    It this case it is just the opposite!
    Your atta boy heals many burns I have received here for not blindly following the crowds with their voodoo tactics and not having mainstream opinions.

    And to show that I just do not make barking noise here – I did send my rant to MAXIM and they replied that their “Director of Samples “ will contact me! I'll keep you all posted.
    Cheers
    Vaclav
  • doggiedocdoggiedoc Posts: 2,245
    edited 2011-05-21 13:54
    Bravo Sir! Bravo! If everyone one on these forums was the same it would be a boring place.

    Keep us posted on the reply from Maxim.

    Paul
  • ElectricAyeElectricAye Posts: 4,561
    edited 2011-05-21 17:58
    vaclav_sal wrote: »
    ...many burns I have received here for not blindly following the crowds with their voodoo tactics and not having mainstream opinions.....


    Your resistance is futile. Conform to our mainstream opinions or suffer the piercing pedantics of our Propeller pins...

    Bound-Voodoo-doll.JPG
  • vaclav_salvaclav_sal Posts: 451
    edited 2011-05-21 22:19
    The resemblance is astonishing.
    And I thought resent chest pain was something serious or bad pizza.
    I need to work on the mustache.
    PS Will you upgrade to Prop II pins soon?

    Vaclav ... ouch... ouch
  • doggiedocdoggiedoc Posts: 2,245
    edited 2011-05-22 06:53
    vaclav_sal wrote: »
    The resemblance is astonishing.
    And I thought resent chest pain was something serious or bad pizza.
    I need to work on the mustache.
    PS Will you upgrade to Prop II pins soon?

    Vaclav ... ouch... ouch


    Your funniest response EVER!!

    When I first saw the doll, I thought, "I wonder if that's what Vaclav looks like?" LOL


    Paul
  • ElectricAyeElectricAye Posts: 4,561
    edited 2011-05-22 07:06
    vaclav_sal wrote: »
    ..Will you upgrade to Prop II pins soon?

    ...

    Only if my Master, The Director of Samples, deems it necessary.
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