Hello All, I see a major change in our industry. The captive shops are almost all gone and this has left a void in the communication link between the end user and the manufacturers. Although quite a few experts feel this means a drop in technology communication I feel differently. In the last 4 to 5 years I've noticed a shift in the interest by our customers to understand "new technology". This has allowed us to make substantial changes (in cost or technology) in their products. Now we judge the technical advancement of a customer not by what they want to build today, but by what they understand they need for the future. It is getting better..... Joe Dickson Dir. of Engineering Tyco Santa Clara ############################################################## TechNet Mail List provided as a free service by IPC using LISTSERV 1.8c ############################################################## To subscribe/unsubscribe, send a message to [log in to unmask] with following text in the body: To subscribe: SUBSCRIBE TECHNET <your full name> To unsubscribe: SIGNOFF TECHNET ############################################################## Please visit IPC web site (http://www.ipc.org/html/forum.htm) for additional information. If you need assistance - contact Gayatri Sardeshpande at [log in to unmask] or 847-509-9700 ext.5365 ##############################################################