Folks,
It seems that there is several year lag before many of "our"* concerns become mainstream. As an example, in December of 2005, I posted a note Re discussions I had with PC Magazine's famous "Cranky Geek" John Dvorak. As of that late date, a well informed chap like he, was not aware of RoHS. Now PC Magazine gives a green rating to all products Re their RoHS compliance and energy usage.
Also in late 2005 I discussed counterfeit components. The October 13, 2008 issue of Business Week has an article "Dangerous Fakes" . This article discusses the growing threat to the United States' military hardware from counterfeit components. Perhaps the most unsettling point in the article, was how easy it is for an inexperienced person to obtain a government supplier code and supply the pentagon with parts obtained through searches on the internet. The supplier is often unaware that they are occasionally supplying counterfeit components.
Many have worried about reliability of RoHS compliant electronics products. I believe that the increasing numbers of counterfeit components are creating a reliability risk that will dwarf any concerns about RoHS reliability.
Cheers,
Dr. Ron
* Our = those in the electronic assembly industry
The image is of a stealth fighter from http://timm84.files.wordpress.com/2008/06/stealth-bomber.jpg. By using this image, I'm not suggesting that this fighter has any counterfeit components in it.