1 Jul
1999
1 Jul
'99
2:02 p.m.
On Thu, 1 Jul 1999, Richard Erlacher wrote:
This argument is getting to where it's pretty
silly.
I don't see how anyone can complain about buying used computer hardware for
considerably less than it cost when new.
It's called "inflation". Look it up.
The mythical "free Altair" which pops up
again and again is generally sold,
even in "better than new" (properly assembled and functional) condition for
significantly less than what it cost new, in "real" dollars. -- YES -- even
on eBay!
Would you buy a 1967 model Beetle for what a 1999 model costs?
In a recent auction on eBay, a MITS Floppy Disk Drive
was auctioned off at
$565. "WOW!" you may say, but that unit cost $1300 when new, and that was
in dollars that were a DOLLAR, and not just the price of a candy bar. I'm
presently in the process of selling off excess 8" floppy drives for $5 each,
functionally tested and aligned, plus the estimated cost of packaging and
shipping, since I don't want more work on top of the alignment and testing,
estimated by Mailboxes, etc, which is where I'll have them boxed and
shipped. I've offered these same drives to people, as is, for just the cost
of shipping, and most wouldn't pay even for the shipping.
Which may very well prove one point being brought up, that some people are
not collecting to use or preserve, but merely to display and trophy.
Still, your price comparisons are nonsense.
When I bought my first pair of 8" floppy drives
they cost $675 each. The
last pair I bought cost $470 each in 1981. In 1980, it seems to me, a
typical S-100 CPU cost $250. A floppy controller cost about the same, and a
terminal cost $750.
Yeah, but today I can get a 3.5" floppy drive that holds more data and is
faster, for $35. I can get a Pentium-II CPU at 350Mhz for certainly less
than $250, and a floppy controller is built into the motherboard I buy for
under $100. So how does your price comparison stand up now?
P.S. It would be nice if you'd edit the superfluous quoted reply out of
your message before sending it. Bandwidth is a precious commodity in
third world countries.
Sellam Alternate e-mail: dastar(a)siconic.com
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