Welp, that happened: RadioShack expected to declare bankruptcy next month

(via The Old Computer)

Can't say that I'm terribly surprised by this. The only one I remember every going to was the one in my hometown and that store had nothing worth talking about. Still, it's a shame because RadioShack did have a place in the history of computers and electronics. They introduced the TRS-80 in 1977, one of the first PCs to be mass-produced. After they got out of the PC market, they just became a place to buy batteries.

(via Wikipedia)

Last year, they launched a new ad campaign that started off with one store getting blitzed by literally every figure and character from '80s pop culture and the store then getting updated to modern standards.




Holy crap, the California Raisins!

Unfortunately, that clearly didn't help them, even though their commercials after that were aimed at the DIY crowd with the tagline "Do It Together". I just wonder if they just did it wrong. I mean, one of the commercials featured a dad with a half dozen newborns buying a special remote with an earphone jack so that he could watch TV without waking them up. Another one has a guy asking about using wireless sensors to turn on stuff from his recliner and we get the comedic ending with his wife getting soaked by the sprinklers and the RadioShack employee pointing out that he could hook the sprinklers up to the sensors.

Those things are cool and all, but how are they DIY? The remote sensors in the second commercial are probably plug and play since they didn't give any indication if wiring was involved and the remote in the first commercial could probably be found at Walmart, so that's nothing special.