Author Archives: Mike

About Mike

Mike Buetow is editor-in-chief of Circuits Assembly magazine, the leading publication for electronics manufacturing, and editorial director of UP Media Group, for which he oversees all editorial and production aspects. He has more than 20 years' experience in the electronics industry, including six years at IPC, an electronics trade association, at which he was a technical projects manager and communications director. He has also held editorial positions at SMT Magazine, community newspapers and in book publishing. He is a graduate of the University of Illinois. Follow Mike on Twitter: @mikebuetow

Wistron On the Move

Posted on June 17, 2013 by Mike

We’ve said it before, we’ll say it again: EMS companies don’t sit still. Notebook ODMs, faced with falling demand and profits, are not going gently into the good night. Flextronics dumped the PC ODM business a couple years ago to … Continue reading →

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Hack-tastic Failure

Posted on May 28, 2013 by Mike

What’s distressing about reports of the US military plans being hacked is not so much who is doing it (China, Russia and probably anyone else with a PC and an internet connection), but why those plans are on public networks … Continue reading →

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Where’d Design East Go?

Posted on May 21, 2013 by Mike

As recently as February, United Business Media staff were promoting the then-upcoming Design East trade show. Big changes and improvements were promised, and given last year’s flat turnout and buzz, they would have been a welcome shot in the arm. … Continue reading →

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Printing Money

Posted on May 17, 2013 by Mike

Per a new report from IDTechEx, printed electronics are expected to really take off … some day. The latest data from the research firm targets an attractive 15.3% CAGR over the next decade, mostly driven by OLEDs. That will push … Continue reading →

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Believing Foxconn Means Suspending Belief

Posted on May 8, 2013 by Mike

The Foxconn makeover is in full swing, with the latest this piece from the New York Times that supposes that the world’s largest ODM is worried that Apple — yes, Apple — might be bringing it down. When Apple was … Continue reading →

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All Quiet on the Wilsonville Front

Posted on May 8, 2013 by Mike

A timely piece from the hometown paper of Mentor Graphics looks at how Carl Icahn has calmed down now that Mentor’s stock price has doubled since he started accumulating shares of the company a couple years ago. The legendary investor … Continue reading →

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‘Innovate or Die’

Posted on May 6, 2013 by Mike

While not directly related to printed circuit boards, this piece from Time Magazine on the Japan’s Uniqlo shows how one entrepreneur had the vision and courage to cast off decades of cultural aversion to risk to build one of the … Continue reading →

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Headline Humor

Posted on May 1, 2013 by Mike

“Foxconn Has No Plans To Make Apple Products in New Indonesia Factory” – Tech in Asia, April 30, 2013 “Foxconn to Expand to Indonesia to Make Up for Apple Shortfall” – VR-Zone, April 30, 2013

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Collins Closing

Posted on April 29, 2013 by Mike

Count me among those sorry to hear the news that Rockwell is closing its printed circuit board fabrication plant. I’ve been through that plant and this is sad to see. I wrote a profile of the plant for PC FAB … Continue reading →

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Round and Round

Posted on April 26, 2013 by Mike

I had a great time keynoting last week’s SMTA Atlanta trade show, but the best part was sitting in the Designer’s Roundtable, where local board designers and engineers talked freely about the good and bad of their profession. Read the … Continue reading →

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