2017 Hardware Thread

The question I have is this: So how much more expensive will memory get?
(I ask this, because, the first thing the buyer does after a large acquisition, is to recoup the $$$ they payed out as fast as possible)

21-Sep-17


Toshiba has sold its prized semiconductor business to a group led by US private equity firm Bain Capital in a bid to keep its struggling business afloat.
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Toshiba is the world's number two chipmaker and its Toshiba Memory unit accounts for about a quarter of its revenue.




Bain Capital has partnered with South Korea's SK Hynix Inc and brought in US buyers of Toshiba chips such as Apple and Dell in order to buy the division.
However, there is uncertainty over whether rival bidder Western Digital will walk away from the deal amicably.
The data storage firm - which runs a joint venture with Toshiba in the US - was tipped as favourite to buy the business as recently as this week.
"We are disappointed that Toshiba would take this action despite Western Digital's tireless efforts to reach a resolution that is in the best interests of all stakeholders," the company said in a statement on Wednesday.
It has previously taken legal action against Toshiba, arguing that the deal cannot happen without its consent.

Toshiba to sell chip unit for $18bn to plug losses - BBC News

sygnus21 said:

Not trying to be funny but I know plenty of people who worked in IT for many years but don't keep up with the latest tech. I also know plenty of college professors who teach but don't keep up with all aspects of the PC world so.... I know, I've talked to many as I was finishing up my Computer Information Systems degree last year.

Anyway the fact that you've been around IT for a long time doesn't qualify you as all knowing. None of us are; if we were, we'd fail to learn anything

Oh, and the "this really falls out the realm of enthusiast" doesn't mean people aren't interested. You might not, but others might

My nephew has a doctorate in computer science from Zurich university, Thought at a California university 5 years and he's a professor in a Dutch university right now but while he was here I had to put together a PC for him and his kids. He is a specialist in speech recognition logic and has no interest in HW.

Not surprising. I had a college professor who could teach network security in his sleep, but when it came to building a PC... lost.

It happens. People think because one knows about computers they know all there is. I simplify my response by telling them that just because a doctor is a heart surgeon, doesn't make them a brain surgeon. That as in medicine as in computers there are many different fields. And like a surgeon, you need to stay abreast of the latest techniques and trends or you find yourself behind.

No disrespect to pparks, but I can't tell you how many times I've been hit with "I've worked in the IT field for X-years and know all about PC's."... only to find they don't even know what the latest tech is because they've not been keeping up on with today's trends.

I was an aircraft mechanic in the Air Force for 26 years, but I ain't walking into an aircraft company now and getting a job because I've not worked the field in over 15 years. Though mechanics are the same, procedures have changed dramatically since I last worked the field. That's the point!

@sygnus21

I strongly agree!

I was a hardware and software enthusiast for about 10 years. During that time I knew pretty much anything there is to know about chips, CPUs, APUs, GPUs, MBs and software related to them, including BIOS/Kickstarters and OS. I had worked with almost all of them and the combination of them in some point of time. I could even modify (hardware and software MOD) a computer with little effort to gain better stability and better performance or to just make it different.

Then came a period of about 8 years, that I did nothing related to computers. During that time everything changed rapidly.

Now I've been working a lot with computers again. And it took me about 5 years to regain a fraction of the lost knowledge during my off-time. I still have a long way to go, and I am certain I will never completely catch up, no matter how much effort I would put in learning all the new stuff. The IT business simply evolves too rapidly for that to be possible.

So yes, if a so called IT-pro with 30 years experience says he knows it all, it makes me laugh. It's impossible to be that good. There is always something evolving so rapidly that it is impossible to keep up, unless your main focus is exactly on that particular progress. But then in the mean time something else might be evolving even more rapidly. So in the end one would be a few steps behind anyways. :)

The problem is not as much in new HW, it could all be found on internet, problem is to make as good system as budget allows without loosing your shirt on it.

I'm an IT guy and I love having and knowing about the latest hardware. I feel being well rounded in all areas is the best way to stay ahead in this industry. And guess who handles everything hardware at work? Me, I have a dozen chromebooks and a dozen PCs at my desk right now. I have also taught people to built PCs at work.

copiertech25 said:

I'm an IT guy and I love having and knowing about the latest hardware. I feel being well rounded in all areas is the best way to stay ahead in this industry. And guess who handles everything hardware at work? Me, I have a dozen chromebooks and a dozen PCs at my desk right now. I have also taught people to built PCs at work.

And some mooching relatives ?

CountMike said:

And some mooching relatives ?

Yes... I'm my families 24/7 tech support I guess.