Quote:
On 2002-05-15 12:07, Tom wrote:
Basically, it seems silly to scrounge on ebay when the parts are available at, say, jameco, in quantities. New. Our tax dollars at work?
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I'm sure that would be ok for some items, like the more common processors, but there are probably other things that NASA needs and nobody is selling anymore. That's when you really need to scrounge.
Or maybe they have just discovered that it's easier or cheaper to go this route than to go through traditional suppliers.
The article makes it clear that they generally aren't hunting for old individual PC's or such to tear chips out of. I think the point of it is more that, when looking for out-of-date merchandise like this, they are now using the internet's resources, such as Ebay, to find what they need.
Most likely Ebay was specifically mentioned because this is the exact kind of thing you can find there; bulk quantities of older parts being auctioned off to the highest bidder. And they are probably being auctioned by the very companies that used to try to sell the stuff direct.
When you really need it now, then Ebay may be the best place to start.