Slightly tangential, but the supply of used notebooks appears to be tighter now, with higher prices than last year. Maybe people are getting smarter and holding on to their old ones longer; or are no longer buying new ones as frequently - instead buying used ones of Ebay and swap meets; or the huge oversupply last year from dead dotcoms and downsizing is now drying up; or savvy traders have mopped up quantity for exporting to Eastern Europe and China.
Whatever the reason, the supply *is* tighter and the prices higher. At the Foothills Swap Meet, there was considerable supply of barebones Thinkpad 760xl notebooks (166MMX, 12.1" TFT) for $40-$50 last year. This year - nada, zilch. What I found were 701c, 755cx, 360, etc. at much higher asking prices: $1-$2 per MHz, way higher than 0.25$ / MHz that I had got used to paying.
Heck, last year *new* overstock notebooks were going for 0.50$-0.60$ a Mhz at MicroCenter. What gives?
