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If you don't have that kind of time, try a Bonsai Potato.

Try here

The cheapest laptops have been around $1000 forever now. When can I buy one for $500?

• Now. Go to eBay or Half.com and search for one.
• Nowadays, the major expensive (power and $$$) components of a laptop include the backlit color TFT display and the drives (and perhaps the RAM), not the CPU.
• The low end stagnates because of lack of applications for things that would otherwise trickle down from the high end. What do you need 1 GHz for (other than FPS playing or video editing, neither of which is reasonable in a mobile setting)?
• Computer != PC. Palm and CE devices are computers too; they just don't have rotating storage or a full-size keyboard. DVD players and several other devices contain contain DSPs.

Buy the paperback version of _Mission of Gravity_ at Half.com for way-cheap.

Just checked: seems the icky "before you buy" stuff is gone. Seems that google really has a clue: they actually managed to make the site less icky than it used to be! ;-)

They sold it to Half.com just after it was bought by eBay. And the cosmic dance cotinues, wtih companies going supernova and recoalescing into new companies...

Kevin Fox

Disclaimer: No, I am not one of the people selling this book there. I just happen to really like half.com.

Not to mention Tier 5 (Microsoft Headquarters, Half.com, Oregon and Hell).

The problem they have is with Amazon's marketing tactics. When someone searches for a new book, that they might otherwise buy, Amazon pops up a link to a used copy of the book as well. Which is a sort of encouragement to the person to buy the book used instead of new as they'd originally intended. i.e., Amazon seems like it's trying to talk people out of buying new books, and convince them to buy used books instead. This is what is driving the authors into a snit.

And I have to admit, I can see their point. As I said, used bookstores and libraries exist. They're factored into the equation already--that a certain amount of people will buy new; others will buy used; others will read in the library and not buy at all. But Amazon seems like it is trying to skew the equation, thus depriving those writers of their bread and butter.
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Right now I can buy a copy of Hannibal by Thomas Harris from Half.com for $2.98, which normally retails for $27.95. Now if I go to Amazon, it retails for $22.36, with the used version going for $6.99. They should be writing letters to Half.com! Amazon is not doing anything new. It's using the Internet to provide a marketplace for buyers and sellers (Hello, Ebay here), with a small handling fee. I'm sorry if the dead tree model gets slapped around a bit, but the Internet allows information to spread more efficiently and that's all it's doing here. Instead of looking how this will hurt them in the next 6 months, authors should be looking 6 YEARS ahead. The Internet is not going away, and trying to put artificial mechinisms in place are futile (make them scroll down for the link?!). Authors should find ways to use the Internet to connect with their readers, hype their dead tree versions, release sample chapters, something besides whining. Adapt people, things are just starting to get good.

At half.com : http://www.half.com/prod uct s/books/detail.cfm?item=211126

You could've bought it through half.com. There are paperback copies of the book available for as little as $1.50.
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Even better, check out www.half.com. During the month of August I didn't buy a *single* CD that gave money to an RIAA member. But, I still bought 5 CDs that month. 3 of them on half.com and 2 at my local CD-Whorehouse. I saved a ton of cash, got the bands I wanted, and still didn't give the RIAA fuckers a cent! I plan on continuing the boycott forever. They are going to have to pay me to buy their music from them. Muhahahahahahhahaha!!

Good point. Buying used cd's shouldn't show up on their sales reports. Selling your used cd's will help increase the supply so that people won't have to buy new ones! Plus it will give you some extra cash. I am currently selling my entire collection on Half.com, it's a great system.

half.com, no referral bullshit

I think, since it's not new, it's on half.com, not e-bay.

Look under "Used Crytography Machines" ...