Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1213413
FEBRUARY 2020 I PCB007 MAGAZINE 61 testing and precision 4-wire Kelvin measur- ing. High-speed data connections, cloud-based computing, and virtually infinite storage make manufacturing and testing almost effortless as compared to the early times. We move giga- bytes and terabytes of data effortlessly, while we copied data to a 360K floppy disk 30 years ago and prayed a sector didn't go bad so that the data could be retrieved tomorrow. With in- dustry specifications requiring data/record re- tention, it is only due to the advances in the digital age that this is possible. Otherwise, we would be renting warehouses to store boxes of paper for 7–10 years. The advances I've seen in my time are pret- ty staggering. I, for one, look forward to the continuing advances yet to come. Going digi- tal was inevitable as technology has advanced. For us, that has grown through the digital age, and it has been quite a ride. Now, it's a chal- lenge to be "unplugged" rather than the chal- lenge to "plug in" just 30 years ago. By the way, in the time it took you to read this column today, you just finished upload- ing 5 megabytes of data to your customer or manufacturer on a 1200 baud modem in 1988. Also, had it been 1988, I would need two flop- py disks just to save this column to disk. Oh, and the word processor I used didn't exist yet, so I guess I wouldn't have been able to write it. Embrace the digital age, but take time to un- plug daily. Information overload is hard on the biological hard drive—you. PCB007 Todd Kolmodin is VP of quality for Gardien Services USA and an expert in electrical test and reliability issues. To read past columns or contact Kolmodin, click here. Pete Starkey and Richard DePoto, from Uyemura USA, discuss the market acceptance of the RAIG heavy gold process, the demand for and the benefits of the ENEPIG process. Click the image to view video. Developments in Specialized Metallic Finishes