INTP Live

The world wide shortage of semiconductor chips is a thing. In the US, anyway, a shortage of lumber products is also a thing.

Has this affected you? What's your take? Are there any other serious shortages?

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My older sister who is doing a modest kitchen remodel (paint the cabinets, new backsplash, replace the counter) texted me today. Her original plan was new formica covered countertops - an inexpensive option. Her order was 'indefinitely delayed', as in forget about it! Living in the US, this is astounding since formica countertops rely on some pretty cheap wood products as the base (MDF?). So she was asking me about covering the existing countertops with epoxy as I'd done my own counters recently. Weird.

My wife's gaming pc is getting glitchy. At 5-6 years old, it seems a reasonable time to do a refresh. That's when I discovered the chip shortage. GPUs are insanely priced or impossible to get. She can make due for awhile, but seriously, we are consumers. We have rights! Sell us some GPUs at a reasonable price!

A very little digging shows the entire world's tech economy rests on a few chip factories in Taiwan. And bitcoin miners are cutting into our gaming so they can create cryptocurrency. Reminds me of Spanish conquistadores literally destroying civilizations to get their hands on a useless metal.

I recently heard of someone who ordered kitchen cabinets now, before the prices rise even more. I forgot how that works. Either because of upcoming increased demand or old stock running out and cabinet makers needing to by expensive wood.

It hasn't affected me except when the super checked up on what the noise from my apartment was, and asked why I'm cutting a chase in the wall instead of hiding the cable with molding, and I told him this is cheaper, he said "yeah" so maybe prices helped me get away with the noise a little. But I wouldn't have gotten molding anyway.

starjots wrote: ↑

Fri Jun 11, 2021 4:30 am

The world wide shortage of semiconductor chips is a thing. In the US, anyway, a shortage of lumber products is also a thing.

Has this affected you? What's your take?

I need a GPU for some research on question answering, which uses neural networks. Basically the sort of stuff that Siri and the likes do. But it's hard to find available GPUs. Google's Colab helps, but not is not enough.

Utisz wrote: ↑

Sun Jun 13, 2021 7:00 am

I need a GPU for some research on question answering, which uses neural networks. Basically the sort of stuff that Siri and the likes do. But it's hard to find available GPUs. Google's Colab helps, but not is not enough.

If you think it's bad now wait until Taiwan is under Chinese control.

Ferrus wrote: ↑

Mon Jun 14, 2021 6:02 pm

Utisz wrote: ↑

Sun Jun 13, 2021 7:00 am

I need a GPU for some research on question answering, which uses neural networks. Basically the sort of stuff that Siri and the likes do. But it's hard to find available GPUs. Google's Colab helps, but not is not enough.

If you think it's bad now wait until Taiwan is under Chinese control.

That's what worries me... never mind the people living in Taiwan. Does Europe have any significant semiconductor manufacturing? Seems like something the Swiss would excel at.

Ferrus wrote: ↑

Mon Jun 14, 2021 6:02 pm

Utisz wrote: ↑

Sun Jun 13, 2021 7:00 am

I need a GPU for some research on question answering, which uses neural networks. Basically the sort of stuff that Siri and the likes do. But it's hard to find available GPUs. Google's Colab helps, but not is not enough.

If you think it's bad now wait until Taiwan is under Chinese control.

Is that a thing?

Also I thought China were banning bitcoin or something.

Utisz wrote: ↑

Fri Jun 18, 2021 4:52 am

Is that a thing?

Also I thought China were banning bitcoin or something.

https://thediplomat.com/2020/12/taiwan- ... cs-part-1/
https://thediplomat.com/2020/12/would-c ... -for-tsmc/

Relevant

How the World Ran out of Everything

Finding furniture is going to be a pain in the ass.

This thread reminds me of when I went to this shop that sells household stuff. I asked them for something very basic - a set of plates - noticing they didn't have any of the many sets they always have on display. The salesman said, "We only have a white one", to which I replied, "Awesome, that's exactly what I'm looking for." He goes away and comes back with ONE white plate, which is also chipped. Uh. He says they hadn't been able to restock in a while.