Good IC / Electronic Component Inventory Software?

Smerky writes "As I've been getting more and more into hobby electronics I have been finding it difficult to keep track of all the different ICs and other electronics that I have (resistors, capacitors, etc.). What are Slashdotters' recommendations for some inventory software? Certain qualifications that I'd be looking for personally are that it has to run on Linux/OSX well or be web-based (to run well on an Apache2 server)."

Comments

Why?

[Lunix Nutcase]

Why do you need something like that when you can just buy some plastic compartments?

The solution is well organized physical storage.

[Dzimas]

Forget the software. I purchased a set of storage racks from a hardware store - the kind with 30 little drawers of varying sizes. They're stackable, so you can combine them into a fairly impressive wall of drawers on the back of your workbench. The drawers are somewhat transparent, so it's possible to see when they're empty. I use a label maker to run off stickers for the drawers that say things like "5.6K res" and "10 uF cap."

The reality of electronics is that there are some pieces (dip sockets, 0.1uF caps, 220 ohm resistors, 1N4148 diodes, 7805 voltage regulators) that get used over and over again, so it makes sense just to build a well stocked physical rack. Checking inventory levels periodically is simply a matter of peeking into the drawers and seeing what needs re-ordering. I tend to order resistors, caps and diodes in quantities of at least 100 anyway, just to get more reasonable pricing.