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www.us- tech.com


Tech-Op-ed December, 2015


SOUNDING OFF


By Walter Salm Editor


Print Is Still Alive and Well


I


s print dead? Certainly not. US Tech continues its commitment to print — in addition to our large web site and digital editions, and a hefty archive of back issues. According to a recent report in The New York Times print


books are also alive and well, and one of the reasons it cited is that people like me read both print and electronic books. The rise of e-books has produced mixed results, primarily in the rise and all-encompassing worlds of Kindle and Nook. Some 20 years ago, I was looking for a tablet that could be used as an inexpensive e-book, but I found nothing that would work for me. The tech- nology was there, but the industry just wasn’t ready. Nor was there a readi- ly available selection of books in digital format. I was simply several years ahead of the e-trends. When Amazon introduced its first Kindle, I was enthralled, but I didn’t


buy it. I was put off by the collection of pushbuttons at the bottom of the tablet, reasoning that such mechanical contrivances were just asking for mal- functions. So I opted instead for the first Nook reader from Barnes & Noble, and that Nook reader really went through the wars with me. At the time, I was full-time RVing — living in a large Diesel-powered coach, and touring the USA with my wife, Elizabeth (B.J.). We were both working on US Tech on our computers, sending finished files to the magazine through a costly rooftop satellite dish. As RVers, a pressing issue for us was storage space, and my wife and I are both avid readers. When we finished reading books, we would give them away. My first major read when we first started on the road in 2003 was a hefty hard-cover edition of “The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich” by William L. Shirer, a brilliantly rendered history. It took me three months to read, and when I was finished, I mailed it to a friend of mine. In 2009, I pur- chased my first Nook reader and was delighted with how easy it was to hold as compared to hefty volumes like The Rise and Fall. I bought a later model for my wife, but she never developed an affinity for it. She preferred to read books of ink and paper. My Nook went everywhere with me. I get very impatient when waiting


on supermarket checkout lines, for doctor appointments, at the DMV, etc., so I read. A lot. Then tragedy struck. In the Spring of 2011, my Nook was stolen along with my fannie pouch while I was shopping in a Publix supermarket in Florida. I was able to recover it after about a month because the thief’s girl friend apparently decided she didn’t like it and pawned it. Big mistake, but then not all thieves are exceptionally bright. Nooks have serial numbers and she had to provide a photo ID at the pawn shop. I got a call from the detec- tive who was working the case, and I was soon re-united with my Nook, not much the worse for wear. They nabbed the thief and cut a deal for the return of the cash that had been in my pilfered wallet. Never did get back my dri- ver’s license or credit cards, though. The Nook served me well for another three years, surviving two battery replacements, until it finally died forever. Fortuitously, that same year, Barnes & Noble released a new Nook Reader by Samsung — in reality a tablet that had been sized down to fulfill its new role. I bought two of them in a “Black Friday” sale — one for me and one for my wife, who still doesn’t like reading electronic books. As a result, we still have a sizable collection of ink-and-paper books —


hard cover and paperbacks — usually purchased on sale and from remainder tables. These are the books that my wife and I both want to read, although I must confess that a used paperback on sale for one dollar or less certainly has a lot to commend it over a price tag of $9.99 or higher for an e-book. So I end up with a strange combination of hard copies and electronic books. I feel that we are helping drive the trend that keeps bookstores in business. I am cur- rently reading three different books. Don’t ask me how, but I’m helping to keep print still alive and well. r


PUBLISHER’S NOTE


By Jacob Fattal Publisher


The Latest and the Greatest


T


he end of the year comes relentlessly, reminding us of all the time and effort we have spent on producing those last nine issues of U.S. Tech, and we are looking ahead to what’s in store for us in 2016. We’ve made


a lot of changes during the year that is quickly slipping away: we have added new people to our staff, we have Phil Stoten’s monthly column on the state of contract manufacturing, and the highly informative new series on Supply Chain. We have watched nervously as the world’s financial markets took a nose-


dive in the wake of China’s renminbi devaluation, and then the equally un- precedented recovery. In the U.S., Wall Street has climbed back to just about where it was before the bottom fell out. None of this seemed to put a dent in the still burgeoning electronics manufacturing industry, although China con- tinues to chug along at a much slower growth rate than it has in the past. We have just finished a round of highly successful trade shows — SMTAI


and productronica have been everything we could possibly ask for. January kicks off the new year with the inevitable circus of the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, which shows off the technology that consumers will be buying during 2016. Then, right after that, come the manufacturing trade shows in February and March, notably Electronics West in Anaheim in Feb- ruary, and APEX returning to Las Vegas in March. These shows have been growing, and in fact the APEX Show moves into the enormous Las Vegas Con- vention Center for the first time. Onshoring has continued trending upward in the U.S. as companies con-


tinue to find that there are just too many hassles and costs involved with man- ufacturing in China, coupled with the ever-present threat of theft of intellec- tual property. And yet China still sources enormous quantities of consumer electronics made for shipment to the U.S. Expect to see the latest and greatest of new technologies at upcoming trade shows,


and read all about these developments in U.S. Tech. As always, it’s our pleasure to bring you news that will affect how you do business during the coming year. r


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