tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8070362.post114544540425544891..comments2023-11-02T19:19:15.129+05:30Comments on Death Ends Fun: Waling VillianDilip D'Souzahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08221707482541503243noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8070362.post-1145647515556534862006-04-22T00:55:00.000+05:302006-04-22T00:55:00.000+05:30As opposed to the past, didn't you know, when the ...<I>As opposed to the past, didn't you know, when the need was for expensive yet inferior technology</I><BR/><BR/>I am not sure if it's so much in the past or if it is only limited to technology, but people do want things which are expensive just because that makes them exclusive. And they don't necessarily have to be 'superior' or more useful than cheaper alternatives. The example of diamonds that Rahul brought up is an obvious one. MS Windows may be another :)veryconfuzedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13058579932271028353noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8070362.post-1145456554122519052006-04-19T19:52:00.000+05:302006-04-19T19:52:00.000+05:30Neela, you're absolutely right: when companies can...Neela, you're absolutely right: when companies can get away with charging high prices, they do. Consumer demand for low prices is not enough until those prices can be satisfied by other suppliers.<BR/><BR/>A classic example is diamonds: why are they expensive, when they're plentifully available in many places in Africa? Because the worldwide trade is controlled by a <A HREF="http://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/diamonds/sorting.html" REL="nofollow">cartel</A> set up by the De Beers company. They did this in 1934 precisely so that prices <I>wouldn't</I> crash, and to this day they'll go to <A HREF="http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/11.09/diamond_pr.html" REL="nofollow">great lengths</A> to protect that monopoly.<BR/><BR/>Another example is airlines -- look how prices dived once the skies were opened to Air Deccan et al. The same thing happened in Europe in the 1990s with EasyJet, RyanAir etc, and earlier in the US in the 1980s with Southwest etc. Before that, airline prices were ruinously high everywhere.Rahul Siddharthanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04809667965184094636noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8070362.post-1145455598239598462006-04-19T19:36:00.000+05:302006-04-19T19:36:00.000+05:30Well Dilip -- one can argue about the "need" in ot...Well Dilip -- one can argue about the "need" in other ways. Do we "need" ipods, smartphones, etc? I think the explosion of gadgetry, especially in the Indian context but even elsewhere, is a rather recent thing.<BR/><BR/>Just glanced at <A HREF="http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?NewsID=1024387" REL="nofollow">the article</A> in question, and it opens with the MotoRazr which I, at least, don't "need" (granted, if I did need it, I'd like low price and high quality) -- but apparently some people do need it, for some definition of "need". It is that newfound "need" that the market is catering to, and that the article is talking about, I think.Rahul Siddharthanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04809667965184094636noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8070362.post-1145454497400957292006-04-19T19:18:00.000+05:302006-04-19T19:18:00.000+05:30Aditya, actually my focus is on that word "need". ...Aditya, actually my focus is on that word "need". Whatever cynical corporations might have done, don't you think we always had a "need for cheap yet superior technology"? I mean, to me that's like saying the sun rises every day.Dilip D'Souzahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08221707482541503243noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8070362.post-1145447790762717262006-04-19T17:26:00.000+05:302006-04-19T17:26:00.000+05:30Good point, Rahul, and thanks for pulling me up on...Good point, Rahul, and thanks for pulling me up on that. I will change the tone of that right away.Dilip D'Souzahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08221707482541503243noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8070362.post-1145446645728626662006-04-19T17:07:00.000+05:302006-04-19T17:07:00.000+05:30What, I wonder, was all that about vindicating her...<I>What, I wonder, was all that about vindicating her honour and being a white lily under the villian's might?</I><BR/><BR/>Sounds like she may have died resisting a rapist, or something... anyway, not something to poke fun at.Rahul Siddharthanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04809667965184094636noreply@blogger.com