26 Jun
2001
26 Jun
'01
4:28 a.m.
Just 'cuz ethernet cards are $9 now and mice sell
for as little as $1 doesn't
mean they always did. You gotta remember the 1% rule (although it applies
more to systems than peripherals) - ten years later, you can get a computer
for 1% of its original purchase price. There are exceptions, of course, and
much later, say, twenty years, it's not as cheap as 1% anymore, but that's
due to scarcity and eBay fever.
Not to mention that designing and producing a very low production board
such as the ethernet board for the IIGS surely isn't cheap. The volume just
isn't there to drive the price down. Michael Holley has finished the design
of a new floppy controller for the SS-50 bus machines and has a few examples
running and is testing them, but after paying for the fabrication of the PCB
and the various chips and other parts, the finished board is costing nearly
$100 in parts alone. I would imagine most on this list would balk at paying
that much but it certainly would fill a void if you were in desperate need
of a new floppy controller to get a machine up.
Jeff