Ken Finney wrote:

The semiconductor industry is one of the most bizarre there is, but it
works for them. The average life cycle for an IC, from product
introduction to last time buy is something around 3 years, and most
forecasters think it will continue to decrease to between 12 and 18
months. I know of some parts that have had life cycles of less than
12 months. Welcome to the world of consumer electronics. When
a VCR manufacturer re-lays out his circuit board every two weeks
to take advantage of the lastest/greatest/lowest cost, why do
anything different?

On the other hand, you can still buy new 741 op amps, 2n series
transistors that have been in production for over 30 years, and the
venerable 555. ;-)
--


Michael A. Terrell
Central Florida