I needed a 16VDC 1A power brick, with 2.5mm plug with a positive ground. You'll note that I knew *exactly* what I wanted - no waffling or vague descriptions. I suspected that it might be difficult to find, since 16V is not a common voltage. I never suspected that it might be difficult to find because asking for what you want, as opposed to describing in imprecise terms what it's to be used for, has become obsolete.

The thought occurred to me (as it did to several others) that Radio Shack might sell that. Their glory days are long past, but they do come through on a pretty regular basis for parts, so long as you know exactly what you want, and are prepared to fend off the clerk's surrealistic efforts to upsell you on a 20-pack of batteries and a new phone, because you'll obviously need those to go with that 1/4 watt resistor that you're buying. I decided to start with their website, and see if they had what I wanted, and, equally importantly, which local stores had them in stock.

I discovered that you can't actually tell what power supplies they sell, since the website wants you to use this wonderful 'wizard' that 'helps' you select the correct power supply. No more of that old-fashioned looking at a list, or entering the parametres that you want. The selection process consists of you answering questions about the device you're trying to power. After you pick from a seemingly endless series of 'not really what I want, but sort of close' choices, you're shown one or two power supplies. There's no way to get at the entire list, and just see what they've got.

I decided to just go to the physical the store on the way home from work, since it was on my way. I told the store manager what I wanted. She checked her stock, and didn't have it. No real surprise to either of us, since it's a tiny store. She helpfully offered to see if another store nearby might have it in stock, or if she could order it, assuming Radio Shack even carried those. After watching her search for five or so minutes, increasingly embarassed and frustrated, it became obvious that she had the exact same application that's on their website. She couldn't tell whether such a part even existed anymore than I could. Thus ended my adventure at Radio Shack.

This annoys me more than it should, I suspect. I remember when they had printed catalogues. I'd have turned to the correct page, examined the list of power bricks (laid out in logical order by voltage and amperage) and known in under a minute if they had what I needed. It's like living in some dystopian social SF novel anymore.