Rod Speed wrote:

Eeyore wrote
Rod Speed wrote
Eeyore wrote
Rod Speed wrote
Eeyore wrote
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 ?

Thats a tiny part of the price.

Not if it's done in the West !

Yes it is, because its automated and you just need a machine
minding monkey, and bugger all hours of its wages for each
item, so its undoubtedly high wages dont add much at all to
the cost of what is packaged with it minding the machine.

You're mistaken.

Nope.

Automation is widely used both in the west and in asia.

Irrelevant to how much of the cost of the final item is wages
when its done in the first world with chip packaging.

The lower overhead costs in asia make it cheaper overall.

The cost of the packaging is STILL a tiny part of the final price.

You'd be surprised how much all those 'bugger alls' mount up to.

Wrong again.

No sunshine, *you* are.

Have you ever been to China ? To see the factories ? What do you reckon the gate
price of a $30 dollar DVD player is for example ?

Graham