TR Forums

A lot of us use Micron chips in RAM and they also make the well-regarded M3 and M4 SSDs:

http://bottomline.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2 ... lane-crash

Article says he had a wife and kids. My heart goes out to them.

In addition to RAM and SSDs they also make the Lexar line of flash media. Hopefully they've got someone else who can step up to the plate to fill his shoes; I'd hate for there to be less competition in the memory market.

Back in the day they also manufactured a line of highly regarded pre-built PCs. The last PC I owned that I didn't assemble myself was a Micron Pentium Pro system. Micron's PC division had top-notch customer support; both times I had something fail under warranty on that system they cross-shipped the replacement and paid the shipping both ways. That included overnighting me a replacement CRT monitor -- now *that's* customer service!

I remember seeing Micron PC adds in Computer Shopper - back when the publication was giving the telephone book a run for it's money. The last pre-assembled desktop I bought (and first) was a Quantex (Pentium II MMX) when I was going away to school @ 17.

I remember Quantex providing me with excellent service too. I had to send the PC in once for service within the first year (something failed on the motherboard). The machine originally came with an Intel i740 graphics card (yes, back when Intel was actually almost a competitor in 3D discrete graphics). I remember, when sending the PC in for motherboard service, complaining about the 3D performance of the i740. When I got the computer back, the i740 had been replaced with a Voodoo Banshee - at no extra charge. With service like that, it's not surprising they went out of business.

cynan wrote:

The last pre-assembled desktop I bought (and first) was a Quantex (Pentium II MMX) when I was going away to school @ 17.

Tangent to your tangent: My home firewall/router runs on an old Socket 754 Athlon 64, which is installed in an (even older) Quantex mid-tower case. The Quantex system was given to me a couple of years ago by a friend, when I said I was looking for a cheap case to stick the firewall in. The original guts of the Quantex are still sitting in a box somewhere (and yes I believe it was a Pentium II, or possibly a Pentium III).

I really don't understand how its legal for people to be able to own and fly small planes. I say that out of concern for their own safety as well as the safety of those caught in the area of the crash.

Oh Geez... and I live in frikkin Boise Idaho too... everyone is taking about it at work T_T.

Sunburn74 wrote:

I really don't understand how its legal for people to be able to own and fly small planes. I say that out of concern for their own safety as well as the safety of those caught in the area of the crash.

Why are people allowed to own and drive personal cars? They kill far more people each year than private aircraft have killed in the history of aviation.

just brew it! wrote:

In addition to RAM and SSDs they also make the Lexar line of flash media. Hopefully they've got someone else who can step up to the plate to fill his shoes; I'd hate for there to be less competition in the memory market.

They're a small, tightly-knit company. There are disadvantages to being in a small city well away from the hothouse of silicon valley, but that's one advantage. While this may actually be a bigger deal emotionally than it would be for larger, more impersonal companies with a less-devoted workforce, the executive suite is probably better able to stay the course (hurting all the while).

UberGerbil wrote:

just brew it! wrote:

In addition to RAM and SSDs they also make the Lexar line of flash media. Hopefully they've got someone else who can step up to the plate to fill his shoes; I'd hate for there to be less competition in the memory market.

They're a small, tightly-knit company. There are disadvantages to being in a small city well away from the hothouse of silicon valley, but that's one advantage. While this may actually be a bigger deal emotionally than it would be for larger, more impersonal companies with a less-devoted workforce, the executive suite is probably better able to stay the course (hurting all the while).

I know several people that work at Micron, and they love working there. Plus Micron is such a large part of Boise that it'll affect not just the company but the entire city and probably the state too. Truly a sad day.

UberGerbil wrote:

Sunburn74 wrote:

I really don't understand how its legal for people to be able to own and fly small planes. I say that out of concern for their own safety as well as the safety of those caught in the area of the crash.

Why are people allowed to own and drive personal cars? They kill far more people each year than private aircraft have killed in the history of aviation.

True but the issue is more upkeep. I have heard from people who own aircraft about how darn hard it is to keep those things properly maintained. A poorly maintained car doesn't kill. A poorly maintained aircraft does.

I just don't like the idea of a guy who flies a plane once every 3 or 4 months or more, getting into the cockpit of something that is extremely susceptible to turbulence, weather, visibility issues, etc and who's last inspection was a year ago (or maybe 6 months. I forget is small craft are annual or biannual inspection) and then being allowed to fly. Plus there's been a rash of small aircraft crashes in this last 2 or 3 months of notable people which doesn't help the case.

Accourding to the article the guy was good enough to fly at airshows, so I doubt his piloting had anything to do with it. So I guess accident. And maintence should be in any pilots self interrest so...

From somebody that flew a acrobatic plane on my last trip and have been thinking of getting a certificate i think its good. Requires a whole lot of time to get a certificate though. And I know that many acrobatic pilots actually use older planes like the Pitts Special S2-A I flew on my holidy for the reason you mentioned. They are much easier to maintain and simpler in construction to newer ones.

Sunburn74 wrote:

True but the issue is more upkeep. I have heard from people who own aircraft about how darn hard it is to keep those things properly maintained. A poorly maintained car doesn't kill. A poorly maintained aircraft does.

A poorly maintained car most certainly *can* kill. Failing brakes, blown out tires, broken tie rods, etc. -- there are all manner of automotive mechanical failures which can cause catastrophic crashes.

Sunburn74 wrote:

I just don't like the idea of a guy who flies a plane once every 3 or 4 months or more, getting into the cockpit of something that is extremely susceptible to turbulence, weather, visibility issues, etc and who's last inspection was a year ago (or maybe 6 months. I forget is small craft are annual or biannual inspection) and then being allowed to fly. Plus there's been a rash of small aircraft crashes in this last 2 or 3 months of notable people which doesn't help the case.

On the other hand, a small aircraft enthusiast is going to tend to be very meticulous about maintaining their aircraft, because it is their hobby. I'll take that over some union mechanic who is just getting paid to do a job!

just brew it! wrote:

On the other hand, a small aircraft enthusiast is going to tend to be very meticulous about maintaining their aircraft, because it is their hobby.

He was flying a Lancair design. Lancairs are to aviation as Ferraris are to motoring amongst the set that can afford either. Beautiful & fast, yet completely unforgiving if something breaks.

Ninja Edit: Seems like Lancairs have some air safety issues. An elevated stall speed would definitely result in poor outcomes, since the story is that he immediately requested a landing right after he took off. If you can't make the turn and stay above stall speed your best bet is to find the best place to put it down without turning.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-02-0 ... -says.html

Sunburn74 wrote:

True but the issue is more upkeep. I have heard from people who own aircraft about how darn hard it is to keep those things properly maintained. A poorly maintained car doesn't kill. A poorly maintained aircraft does.

You're misinterpreting the complaint: they are protesting because the FAA generally requires frequent and rigorous maintenance and inspection intervals of both the airframe and the powerplant in order to maintain certification, and those are based on pure operation hours, not distance (as with a car odometer). There is no such thing as casual neglect the way there is with personal automobiles: if someone takes a poorly maintained aircraft into the sky, it requires a deliberate and usually illegal choice. My BIL is a pilot and also has multiple certifications as an aircraft mechanic. He is quite well aware of what a light aircraft has to go through in order to stay in service, and it's not trivial, or cheap.

If you look at where light aircraft accidents typically occur, I think you'll find that many (if not the majority) involve complications of pilot error and/or weather on or near a runway, or in an airshow, or in a freak middle-of-nowhere accident due to disorientation or an attempt at unqualified maneuvers. The risk that personal light aircraft are going to start dropping into urban and suburban landscapes like a London Blitz is, to put it mildly, a bit paranoid.

cynan wrote:

I remember seeing Micron PC adds in Computer Shopper - back when the publication was giving the telephone book a run for it's money. The last pre-assembled desktop I bought (and first) was a Quantex (Pentium II MMX) when I was going away to school @ 17.

I remember Quantex providing me with excellent service too. I had to send the PC in once for service within the first year (something failed on the motherboard). The machine originally came with an Intel i740 graphics card (yes, back when Intel was actually almost a competitor in 3D discrete graphics). I remember, when sending the PC in for motherboard service, complaining about the 3D performance of the i740. When I got the computer back, the i740 had been replaced with a Voodoo Banshee - at no extra charge. With service like that, it's not surprising they went out of business.

Man, I remember the golden age of Computer Shopper. That thing was, like, 4 inches thick. Mostly, it was just ads. This was back when companies like Swan, Zeos, Leading Edge, Compuadd, Compaq, Tandy, Micron, Sager, Gateway 2000 (back when it was a really cool, hip PC maker) and many more all made their own computers. There were editorials and columns in each issue, such as "Whatever happened to...?" and something about the Lab of Doom and Pepsi Cola, which was entertaining. But, as the computer market came to be less and less players, and Dell pretty much took over everything, I guess there was no real market for the magazine. Which is sad because you could leave it in the john and it'd take an entire month to make your way through it.

Ah, the good old days...

.

clone wrote:

then it's all about state of mind as they let things that don't matter to them go longer, are they in a rush, do they think they can get "one more out of it", I'm not saying it's the case with the Micron exec...

Yeah, it's unlikely he had the time to maintain the plane. I bet professionals were contracted to do it.