Cheap electronics simply didn't exist 30 years ago, that's the difference. I own a 38 year old Marantz stereo receiver that will run circles around most modern big-box store receivers in terms of sound and build quality, I thought this was proof that quality has degraded over time until I researched the original cost of the unit. The receiver was positioned at the lower-mid range of the Marantz lineup at the time; it cost $450 in 1974 dollars which is about $2025 in 2012 dollars! You can buy a serious, near audiophile level piece gear for two grand that would put the old Marantz to shame (as much as I love it).

A $30 wireless router is an amazing piece of technology in its own right and really can't be compared to anything produced 30-40 years ago. I have Cisco routers that have been running 24x7 for the last 10 years and work perfectly, granted they cost 100x more than a Netgear with basically the same capability. As always you get what you pay for.

I'm not sure why this was modded funny, this is a very good idea. You can buy things like RAM and video cards sight unseen but most buyers like to demo laptops, TVs, tablets, speakers, etc prior to purchase. Best Buy could keep a wide variety, zero inventory, and ship to the store next day from distribution centers. Charge customers a $10 fee to walk into the showroom and refund it at time of purchase or charge a yearly membership similar to Costco.

Yeager was a phenomenally talented pilot who used skill and intuition to save himself and his expensive test aircraft on many occasions. Combine this with the fact that he has giant brass balls and you certainly have a candidate for the greatest pilot ever. The fact that he survived to break the sound barrier has little to do with luck.

"All the science I don't understand, its just my job five days a week" -Elton John

Incorrect, a cruise missile generates lift like an airplane, dipshit.

You mean you've never gotten stoned and talked to your dog? Try it! I promise he will have some very interesting things to say.

Let me guess...you work for Cessna?

What good is an optimized (if not lossess) format when played through and iPod with a digital to analog converter that costs 50 cents? My $40 Sansa Clip plays FLAC and has a better quality DAC than a $300 iPod. Why is Apple even bothering?

I've not heard of the 30 year car, except for in Cuba. Back then and up until the late 80's or so you were lucky if the car lasted until the last payment was due; if it made it to 100k miles without a major repair you went out and bought a lottery ticket.

Or don't compartmentalize. When the boss finds photos of your home S&M dungeon he will likely ask you to no longer participate in company-related social media activities. Problem solved.

That hasn't been my experience with Fry's employees, at least in the PC components section. Most of the employees I've encountered are geeks in their early 20's who have a genuine interest in technology who usually know much more than I do about what it is that I am shopping for. If I ask which CPU is the best bang for the buck they don't automatically point me to the most expensive one available but instead tell me which one has unlockable CPU cores, which ones dominate certain benchmarks etc. They know which motherboards are cheaply made crap and which ones last and what RAM to pair them with. This is knowledge that would take me many hours of online research to accumulate; I recently built a new PC and paid less than what I would have paid online and received solid advice in the process. As long as Fry's retains knowledgeable employees, keeps prices competitive with online retailers, and makes returns easy I don't have any reason to shop anywhere else. I wouldn't care if every Best Buy in the world went up in flames but I'd be bummed if my local Fry's ever shut their doors.

Why don't Foxconn's Apple employees commit suicide as often? Better working conditions? No. Too mainstream.

And not a moment too soon; it's reassuring to know we have N+1 evildoers to bomb if the whole Iran situation doesn't work out.

We are powerless unless you consider living without technology an option. I can't think of a single motherboard, monitor, laptop, smart phone, or tablet available today that isn't manufactured in mainland China or Taiwan. I'll go out on a limb and say that 5% of consumers would be willing to pay extra for technology made in the USA or another socially and environmentally responsible country - hell people are willing to pay stupid amounts of money for hybrid cars with dubious evnironmental benefits. Combined with a slick marketing campaign I suspect this could be a profitable niche.

Cisco is the Microsoft of networking...or should I say Apple?

That being said HP or Brocade/Foundry for enterprise grade stuff and ASUS or Buffalo for consumer grade.