Audio slideshow: Moving forward with Halted
For almost 50 years, whenever Silicon Valley's budding entrepreneurs, engineers, and start-ups have needed parts for their latest electronics innovations, they've turned to the eclectic electronics surplus superstore, HSC Electronics--also known as Halted--to power their inventions.
Tech pioneers like Apple's Steve Wozniak, Atari's Nolan Bushnell, Intel's Ted Hoff, who helped develop the microprocessor, have all searched through Halted's vast inventory in search of the capacitors, inductors, wires, and transistors to bring their ideas to life.
Like the creative minds that have come here in search of success, the long shelves and deep boxes are a chaotic mix of enterprising history and wild imagination. Step inside the DIY heaven that is Halted.
James is a photographer for CNET News. 
Another place is Weird Stuff in Sunnyvale (www.weirdstuff.com). They tend to specialize in computers rather than components.