Rod Speed wrote:

Eeyore wrote
JoeSpareBedroom wrote

In 1988, personal computers used to cost almost as much as a small car.

No they didnt.

Economies of scale changed that.

There was much more involved in the price than that.

It wasn't so much economies of scale,

It wasnt economics of scale at all.

it was making the parts overseas in low-wage economies.

Nope. We saw an even more dramatic reduction in price with say
cpus and memory which have bugger all wage economics involved.

If that were so then why is chip packaging so often done in Malaysia /
Philipines etc ?

Can you imagine how much genuine US made drives used to cost ? Or power supplies
? Or cases ? Or generic peripherals ?

Why did a US made Microsoft mouse cost £20 when a far eastern one cost $3 ?


Maybe the same will happen with biodiesel,
if suppliers see a viable market.

The cheapest biodiesel will come from abroad.

Have fun explaining why the cheapest corn etc doesnt.

They won't use corn. More like palm oil and jatropha. These are far better
sources of suitable vegetable oil anyway.


The reason it doesnt is industrial scale agriculture
that doesnt happen in low wage economys.

So why is Malaysia gearing up for palm oil production then ?

Graham