Re: Suppressed inventions

Michael Lorrey (retroman@tpk.net)
Tue, 29 Apr 1997 21:16:12 -0400


Robert Schrader wrote:
>
> Also, why are we being so generous selling a device for $80 that saves
> the buyer $300 per year? Does it only last for three months? It seems
> if it has a mean lifespan of several years minimum like most appliances,
> the minimum selling price should be upwards of $500.
>
> I suspect that it hasn't happened.

It all has to do with discounting the future savings. Money in your
pocket today is worth more than the same amount 4,6, or 12 months later.
People who live tightly or in the red discount future earnings heavily.

Additionally, if there is an option that cost half as much but saves
more than half or even just half of the savings, then one is more likely
to invest in the cheaper option due to the lower cost of entry.

-- 
TANSTAAFL!!!
			Michael Lorrey
------------------------------------------------------------
mailto:retroman@tpk.net		Inventor of the Lorrey Drive
Agent Lorrey@ThePentagon.com
Silo_1013@ThePentagon.com	http://www.tpk.net/~retroman/

Mikey's Animatronic Factory My Own Nuclear Espionage Agency (MONEA) MIKEYMAS(tm): The New Internet Holiday Transhumans of New Hampshire (>HNH) ------------------------------------------------------------ #!/usr/local/bin/perl-0777---export-a-crypto-system-sig-RC4-3-lines-PERL @k=unpack('C*',pack('H*',shift));for(@t=@s=0..255){$y=($k[$_%@k]+$s[$x=$_ ]+$y)%256;&S}$x=$y=0;for(unpack('C*',<>)){$x++;$y=($s[$x%=256]+$y)%256; &S;print pack(C,$_^=$s[($s[$x]+$s[$y])%256])}sub S{@s[$x,$y]=@s[$y,$x]}