[talk] Brooklyn Micro Center...

[George Rosamond]

Isaac Levy:
> 
> 
>> On Apr 12, 2014, at 7:04 PM, George Neville-Neil <gnn at neville-neil.com> wrote:
>>
>>
>>> On Apr 12, 2014, at 18:59 , Isaac (.ike) Levy <ike at blackskyresearch.net> wrote:
>>>
>>>> On Apr 12, 2014, at 2:54 PM, George Neville-Neil <gnn at neville-neil.com> wrote:
>>>>
>>>> Howdy,
>>>>
>>>> This afternoon Kaz and I headed out to check out the new Micro Center in Brooklyn.
>>>> It’s easily reachable via th R train (25th or 36th St and then a 5-10 minute walk) and
>>>> they also seem to have free parking.
>>>>
>>>> Short version is I’m thrilled we finally have something like this in NYC.
>>>>
>>>> Longer version.  They have a really good “build your own PC” section with both low and high end
>>>> parts (Intel CPUs range from low power/cost i3 up through $500 XEON chips).  A good collection of
>>>> cases and the rest of the parts you’d expect to build a box from.  One of the nice things they do in this
>>>> section is have a board with their low price parts, and next to their price they list the NewEgg price
>>>> (usually a few dollars higher) for comparison.  I did not spot check their work but I thought it was amusing
>>>> as this is what people do in the store on their own anyway.
>>>>
>>>> Their networking section has an entire aisle for wired switches and an aisle for wireless APs.
>>>> They have cables in various lengths, quality and color.
>>>>
>>>> There are sections for laptops, and a Mac section, cases, and other various bits.
>>>>
>>>> The highlight, for me, is the wall of “starter kits” which is really 30’ of wall space dedicated
>>>> to Arduino, RPi, BeagleBone and the like.  They even have the Intel Galileo.  The same wall
>>>> has capes, extenders, some resistors, LEDs, and robot kits.  Very very cool.
>>>>
>>>> All the sections were well stocked and with good (not just cheap or low end) gear.
>>>>
>>>> The only thing I looked for, and even asked about, which they didn’t have was 4K montiors.
>>>> They had 4K TVs (50” and up) but no 4K montiors.
>>>>
>>>> They have a smattering of other consumer goods, such as cameras, but they seem to be
>>>> beside the point.
>>>>
>>>> All in all a fun trip and I’ll be going back at some point, as soon as I have space for some new
>>>> toys in the house.
>>>>
>>>> Later,
>>>> George
>>>>
>>>> http://www.microcenter.com/site/stores/brooklyn.aspx
>>>
>>> Thanks for posting this!  This is obviously very rad.
>>>
>>> I'm thinking of heading out there to grab some stuff next Saturday afternoon, if some NYC*BUG folks want to join...  It's 30 minutes from Suspenders if anyone wants to meet me there?
>>>
>>> Sat. Apr 19:
>>> Meet at Suspenders around 1pm for a drink, leave at 2:00pm sharp to go to Micro Center by subway.
>>>
>>> Anyone want to join me?
>>
>> I can’t, I’ll be traveling,
> 
> I have a feeling it won't be the last group run :)
> 
>> but, note that the R does not run from lower Manhattan to Brooklyn until October.
>>
>> Later,
>> George
> 
> We'll do 4 to the D train or something...
> 
> Just looking, it's 30min by bike from my place- this is too cool...

(ike killing me with the .jp character encoding... ;`)

I went there today...and spent some time and cash.

I happened to get the $20 tablet coupon as I was leaving for the store.

Picked up a bunch of little things that I've been meaning to get... a
small USB keyboard, compressed air, etc., plus found a $5 cable tester
replacing my 15 year old one which was $300 at the time.

Some good stuff, and a great selection on parts.  Glad to know it's
there.  A little pricier than online, but not significantly so.  The
typical frustrating issue arose of not finding a null modem
adapter/cable, yet finding three varieties of the Trendnet USB to DB9
male cables.

AbsoluteOpenBSD was in the book section, which was a pleasant surprise.

Definitely worth the trip, and glad it's here.  Much more exciting than
CompUSA opening in Manhattan in the early 90's.

g