Preface

Several years ago, when we first started to kick around the idea of an information column in the JDR catalog, much of the discussion revolved around three key questions. First, and probably least important at the time, was the question of authorship. Who would write the column, would the author's name appear in the column, and should we use a picture of someone, or like "Betty Crocker", just a drawing?

Second was the question of "dry and factual" versus "factual and opinionated", and last, if opinions were allowed, could we also have some fun?

I am happy to say, at least from my point of view, that we decided to use the real picture of the author, me, and that I was given nearly free reign to write as I thought and felt. At no time throughout the process have I ever received more than a gentle nudge about column content.

Usually, the process goes something like this. Ray, the person with overall responsibility for seeing that the catalog gets done, gives me a list of white spaces and the focus of the pages where the openings occur. He and I then discuss the information we might provide and, usually, settle on a topic. From there on, the task is mine.

Like most people who have occasion to write, I don't have one fixed method. If I can, I prefer to come up with a title first. Usually the title sets the tone for the rest of the piece. Other times, the column comes first. In either case, I give the completed work to Ray, and that is usually the last I hear of it until the catalog proofs arrive.

When you consider the number of times I have discouraged certain purchases and caused people to put off other purchases until the "dust settles" on some standards issues, I think it is surprising that no one has tried to "clip my wings".

On the other hand, maybe it isn't so surprising. Jeffrey David Rose, the JDR in JDR Microdevices, has created a working environment second to none. About the same time this column started, we, management and employees, gathered together to compose a statement of the JDR mission. Over the course of several meetings and a few weeks we hammered out what we believed were the guiding principles we wanted to follow.

"JDR is dedicated to becoming the leader in the electronics distribution industry by maintaining complete customer satisfaction through superior services, a friendly and knowledgeable staff, quality merchandise and the best values in leading-edge technology." That certainly looks better, and expresses our objective more clearly than the defacto motto we used to joke about. Before we created the mission statement you just read, we used to say we were here to "Make Money and Have Fun." There is nothing wrong with that second goal, but it left out a lot of what makes this company tick.

From the top down, the team of JDR employees are here to serve. Some provide a service directly to the customer, others support the internal operations, but all of them are constantly aware of the need to satisfy the customers' requirements and provide quality support. Great latitude is given to allow our support people the opportunity to keep you, the customer, happy, and as long as we can keep you coming back, we intend to continue that practice! I hope you will enjoy this compilation of past columns, and that they may be of some educational benefit. If you don't learn anything,

I hope you will enjoy my peculiar sense of humor. The oldest "blurbs" are generally the most factual, and therefore most likely to be obsolete, while the most recent are usually more opinionated and therefore likely to be contradicted.

That's how it is, obsolete and contradictory! I can't win!

Please enjoy,

Derick Moore