[ot] seeking usa vendor of two_year_old technology

[spellberg_robert]

i truly understand.

this morning,
   i decided to procrastinate
   [ before researching intel's site to identify suitable 945g boards ]
   by watching a dvd.
i tend to buy several dozen at a time so that
   they are available when i am,
   rather than hoping to "get lucky" with the cable tv channels.
"copacabana", 1947, republic pictures,
   groucho marx, carmen miranda,
   91 minutes, b/w [ this --should-- have been in technicolor ].
i had forgotten just how funny this is.
anyway, what's relevant to this discussion is the coincidence that,
   after i removed the plastic wrapper,
   i found a few remnants of a previous plastic wrapper.

ok - people return things [ btw, the dvd is fine ].
but
   [ this is what i don't like about mail order ],
   it's like forrest gump's box of chocolates.
was it returned working or broken ?
think about the socket contacts on the board.
does the vendor return the broken stuff or do they re_wrap it ?
sometimes it isn't easy to find out.

until a couple of years ago,
   there was a reliable local firm who supplied parts.
i kept buying from them.
they have decided to go into the custom server market,
   so they are no longer available for what i want.
the big_box stores do "consumer electronics".
they are good for blank disks.

in the long run [ end of '07 ? ],
   i'm just going to have to become a reseller/integrator,
   as part of the concept i'm launching in june.
in the short run,
   maybe i'll get lucky and discover that,
   when people return to the office on monday,
   a reader of this list can assist with procurement.

thanks for the input.
thanks especially for the story; i like stories.

rob



soralx at cydem.org wrote:
>>i --did-- find one vendor, "ncix",
>>[...]
> 
> 
> I'm not saying "stay away", but...

[ snip ]

> ... BTW, at the same time someone was also returning faulty memory stix ...

[ snip ]

> ... got a card that Just Works.

ah, yes; the Holy Grail [ sometimes, we actually find it ].

> Maybe the bright color LEDs on fans (WTF???)
> made it all look in rose-colored light.

i believe these to be popular with the teeny_boppers.
they are easily impressed.