Screw You, Dick Smith

When I was just a nipper, I liked doing nerdy things like making electronic circuits. While the other kids were smashing bottles and beating up old ladies, or whatever it was they did with their empty time, I was actually filling my mind with a cool and marketable skill. I was lightyears ahead of my peers in the intelligence stakes.

Integral to this process was Dick Smith Electronics (DSE) -- a chain of electronics stores, which, as its name suggests, specialised in selling electronics for the hobbyist. These included DYI kits and educational materials (who remember the good ol' "Funway into Electronics" series), reference books, components, tools, magazines, and larger commodities. It was a geek's paradise.

Alas when Big-W bought out DSE in 1982 and moved into mainstream consumer items and computers, everybody lamented -- but to their credit, DSE maintained its existing line of specialised electronics and remained true to the hobbyist.

This tradition continued down the years; even as more and more consumer goods cluttered the shelves, yet the hobbyist electronics could still be found, albeit pushed into the dark, hidden corners of the store. I mean, the "Funway" books were all very much in print from inception in 1979 until the present day. Or almost the present day.

So DSE, or "Tricky Dicky's" as it is affectionately known, maintains a warm and fuzzy place in my psyche.

That was, until the other day.

Now I had a mind to plug my car's engine management system into my computer. Why? Because it's there. Trawling the internet I found a simple circuit and bit of software to do just that, for my car's make/model. Great, I said. All I need do is amble down to DSE and buy the required components. Yep, good old Tricky Dicky's won't let me down.

Oh boy did it let me down.

Going into my local store, the first thing I noticed was there were a lot fewer shelves. I also noticed the store was a lot brighter. There was a good reason for that. Where the hobbyist electronic items used to live -- rows upon rows of resistors, capacitors, LEDs, connectors, boards -- all had been swept away. And replaced with TVs. Lots of TVs. Bloody TVs everywhere, their bright plasma and LCD panels whitewashing the store like a goddam mental ward.

I stumped through the store three times. Not a single electronic component, DYI kit, or reference manual anywhere. Nothing but TVs, stereos, computers, satnavs, and PC games. A consumerist jungle. Even the beloved "Funway" books were sadly absent.

So that's it, huh. DSE has gone fully consumer, and not a thimble full of piss for the electronic hobbyist.

This is just f**ked. Dick Smith's was about the last place still selling hobbyist electronics in this drab country. But not any more. I mean, it's not like you can't find consumer items anywhere. Every second goddam store you come across is packed with consumer electronics. You got your Harvey Norman, JB Hi-Fi, Chandlers, Retravision, Good Guys, plus all the department stores. You can't walk into a f**kin store without being roasted by the heat from all the TVs, or your ear drums busted from the stereos. It's friggin' ridiculous.

I don't begrudge DSE selling popular consumer items and making a buck. But why get rid of the specialist stuff? Why not have both, and cater to people with an actual brain? What you've done, DSE, is told all those hobbyists who've been loyal customers for years, to bend over and cop an elephant's foot right up the you-know-what. You have fully screwed the electronics hobbyist and joined the overblown ranks of money-grubbing consumerist dirtbags.

That's the last time I walk into a DSE store, you pack of arseholes. But I guess that's the way the wind's blowing: we're living in a country that doesn't support anyone with any intelligence. I'm sick of it. We're nothing but a bunch of drooling, slack-jawed, beer-sucking, cricket-watching morons with smarts enough to press the "on/off" button, as long as it's clearly marked. I swear to god, being "technically savvy" these days means knowing how to change the aspect ratio on your new 1080i 50" plasma.

F**kwits.