  Consumers benefit again      Comments     Threshold   Is the
Consumer Really Winning? By AntiTomZandmasher2 on 8/15/2006
11:37:50 PM , Rating: 2 Sure, hard drive prices will drop, but
will they go to ~$20 or so? Prices have been fairly constant;
capacity and speed have gone up. Why can't I get a recently
manufactured (not resold) 100 GB drive for super cheap? Planned
obsolescence and corporate profit margins make me sad. In the
end, I'll end up paying around the same if I want to get a new
machine.  By mindless1 on 8/16/2006 2:38:21 AM , Rating: 2 You
can't get one for super cheap because:  1) You're paying for
research, manufacturing, maintenance, shipping, advertising,
warranty coverage, etc. The least of the costs is actually a
2nd/3rd platter, another arm and pair of read heads. Single
platter drives are by far the best value except when there are
other goals like system data density.  2) There's still profit
margin, stores have to be mindful of handling and dedicate the
space.  3) Price per GB can't dr