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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 in case they fail a couple tests.

Total price for all these tests, safety margins, and labor comes out to $1.18 million. Add in the $13 cost per keyboard and you're at $1.193 million. Call it $1.2 million even. Divide it over 1000 keyboards, and you're at $1200 per keyboard.

The government isn't being ripped off by these $1200 keyboards and $800 hammers. They're getting exactly what they requested; they're just a lot more (a whole lot more) specific about what they request than the typical buyer. (To be fair, the military operates on the assumption that if a keyboard breaks in combat, you're not going to be able to run down to Staples and pick up another one for $13. That keyboard has to work, period.)

RE: Poor
By youdope on 5/12/2011 2:39:33 PM , Rating: 2
The keyboard broke from being typed on too much. It's just an ordinary keyboard.

RE: Poor
By Manch on 5/12/2011 2:57:21 PM , Rating: 2
link please

RE: Poor
By youdope on 5/12/2011 2:53:58 PM , Rating: 2

It looks like this one. I would of rather used this one anyways since the miilitary mandatory keyboard breaks all the time.

