Taking the Measure

Forbes magazine has discovered that Silicon Valley isn’t all “slick marketing pitches, shiny gadgets, and magical lines of code.” In an article titled “E-Trash into Cash,” writer Brian Caulfield notes that Jim Williams, frequent EDN contributor and Linear Technology staff scientist, “…knows where to find the real gears that make technology work.”

Caulfield continues, “When Williams needs inspiration, spare parts, or a good giggle, he knows where to find it: the badly lit recesses of a bland building not far from the Mineta San Jose International Airport” where he searches through “12-foot high stacks of old oscilloscopes and signal-conditioning gear.”

Adds Caulfield, “You'll find no better guide to Silicon Valley than Williams,” a “first-class junk-picker” who, when not wallowing in an analog backwater, trawls such establishments as Weird Stuff Warehouse.

Caulfield acknowledges Jim’s writing ability: “Part of his job is writing the clear, precise notes that lay out for engineers in hundreds of companies how to use the analog components Linear Technology makes to bring life to everything from hybrid cars to digital cameras. The better he can explain this stuff, the more parts Linear sells.”

Check out, by way of Paul Rako’s Anablog, our compendium of Williams articles published in EDN since 1994.