Why computers, printers, and cell phones seem relatively cheap

I often say to people that the reason why seemingly large-ticket items are so cheap these days is because they will really make their money back on the accessories and services - printers are a prime example.

The HP printer mentioned above sells on HP's site for $150. Ink cartridges run $20 for black to $35 for color. This means that if you go through 3 sets of ink in a year, you've already exceeded the purchase price for the printer. I am sure that the profit margins on the printer are most definitely a lot smaller than those on the ink - why - because price isn't based on cost, it's based on value.

This is why printers don't come with USB cables, and buying one in the store can cost you significantly more (say $20-30) than finding it on ebay (say $5-10). Because we perceive that price as being reasonable for the value we're getting.

I was once privvy to an invoice sheet at a major electronics chain and learned that the margin on the $300 printer I was buying was about $30 bucks - 10% while the $20 printer cable the margin was $18 - 1000%!!!!!!

The moral of your story - save those printer cables!

New twist on some old School technology...

I was testing a new photo printer at work. And I marveled at how easy it has become at printing photos without a computer.

I simply put my memory card into the printer's card slot and printed a contact sheet. The contact sheet came out SAT style - with a multiple-choice-answer-esque circle under each photo. At the bottom of the page their were two more sets of circles - one for the number of copies and one for the page layout. by simply filling in the right circles, and selecting 'Scan proof sheet' the printer immediately started my print job. - Kickass!

The photos were beautiful, and I would highly reccomend this printer if I didn't check the ink levels after printing - two 8x10s seem to eat up 10-15% of the ink on the printer.

Outsourcing - good or bad?

There has been a lot of hubbub these days about business process outsourcing. Many companies have started to outsource software development, customer service, and other processes. This has become a major election year issue, as many people are fearing for their jobs as forecasts predict that outsourcing will increase tremendously over the next few years. Unlike many factory workers who were laid off in the 80s and 90s, these workers are generally high-paid and middle class.

It's practically a no-brainer to outsource from a business' point of view - for the $80K you pay for a senior developer here, you can get 3 or 4 in Inidia or Russia. Obviously those of us who's jobs stand to be outsourced are worried.

But as much as I see jobs going overseas, I see new jobs staying here. For example - to maximize efficiencies, it makes sense to have somone in the US test the code that is written 8,9,10, or 11 hours away. Delhi is 11 hours ahead of New York so when a Q/A person leaves his or her office in New York the person in Delhi is starting his or her commute - and has bug reports waiting for them. 24/7 operations without paying someone extra to work a night shift.

I also think that even if companies outsource development, they will still need someone on site to gather requirements and manage the process - whether that person works for the outsourcer or outsourcee, it is still a job that is best filled on American soil - if not for anything else than logistical reasons.

In addition, people who started a company in 1999, would hire developers on the spot - requiring a lot more capital expenditure for in-house bodies. That same company could initially outsource the development, thereby saving start-up costs and spurring growth - which might lead to other types of jobs.

I also have heard from several colleagues that some companies (although not necessary explicitly) sell higher levels of service that are only staffed by americans. They realize that many people are willing to pay a premium for support engineers that are native speakers of their own language and not reading from a script. Because of the revenue associated with these sevices, support technicans get the opportunity to earn higher salaries as well.

I guess there is a silver lining to the looming gray cloud of IT outsourcing. The trick for those of us in the industry is to find an umbrella to wait out the rain with and we'll be okay.

A little annoyance...

I recently switched to one of those all-inclusive packages for local and long distance service, and I am enjoying the benefits of free caller ID. It is great to be able to screen my calls and it helps me decipher the messages that the nanny leaves for us when people call during the day (somehow, Ziggy became Vicky?).

My cell phone also has Caller ID as well. But here is the rub - why can't I get caller ID with name on my cell phone? Yes it will identify people that are in my address book with names and pictures and what not, but why can't I get the same caller info on my cell phone?

Lost in Translation...

Google has done a great job in globalizing its brand, as it has sites in a bunch of languages and specific to certain countries. They even have a Google for Israel in Hebrew.

However, some things just don't translate quite the same. The infamous "I'm feeling lucky button" has been replaced with a Hebrew phrase - yoter mazal m'saykhel - which literally means [i have] more luck than brains! (one of my favorite Israeli expressions).