            Comments     Threshold   RE: Poor By Solandri on
5/12/2011 2:29:39 PM , Rating: 3 That $1200 keyboard isn't 99%
profit like you're thinking. The reason it costs $1200 is
because the government orders 1000 keyboards, but specifies that
they have to comply with a ridiculously long list of
specifications. Things you'd never think about requiring from a
regular keyboard. Has to work after 30 minutes of immersion in 3
feet of salt water. Must survive -100 to +250 F temps. Continues
to function after having 5 pounds of gravel and dirt dropped on
it, then shaken upside-down 3 times. Keys must provide 0.1
Newtons of friction when covered with a 0.01 mm layer of 10W-5
motor oil. etc.  The keyboard company gets these specs and the
guy in charge of the proposed contract scratches his head. He's
pretty sure his keyboards can meet the specs, but the government
wants proof before it'll pay him. So he tallies up the cost to
actually conduct these tests on a dozen of his keyboards, with
an allowance for redesign