Transistors have come a long way. Like everything else electronic, they’ve become both better and cheaper. According to a recent IEEE article, a transistor cost about $8 in today’s money back in the ...

My first battery-powered radio — a ten-transistor Realtone — came from my Aunt Ina when I was about seven. I used to think I was ten, but the songs from 1973 would be wrong: I distinctly remember ...