Algorithmic pricing gone critical - Re: PDP-10 programming [was RE: Dumb Terminal games (was Re: Looking for a small fast VAX development machine)]

[Warner Losh]

On Wed, Mar 2, 2016 at 12:59 PM, Robert Jarratt <robert.jarratt at ntlworld.com
> wrote:

>
>
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: cctalk [mailto:cctalk-bounces at classiccmp.org] On Behalf Of william
> > degnan
> > Sent: 02 March 2016 03:30
> > To: General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts
> > <cctalk at classiccmp.org>
> > Subject: Re: Algorithmic pricing gone critical - Re: PDP-10 programming
> [was
> > RE: Dumb Terminal games (was Re: Looking for a small fast VAX development
> > machine)]
> >
> > On Mar 1, 2016 8:19 PM, "Toby Thain" <toby at telegraphics.com.au> wrote:
> > >
> > > On 2016-03-01 7:36 PM, Sean Conner wrote:
> > >>
> > >> It was thus said that the Great Rich Alderson once stated:
> > >>>
> > >>>
> > >>> For most hobbyists, even $100 is too much.  I was simply astounded
> > >>> at
> > the
> > >>> chutzpah of the seller--right there on the Amazon list--who was
> > >>> asking nearly $1500 for a copy.
> > >>
> > >>
> > >>    I think that comes from an unchecked computer algorithm, not
> > >> simple
> > greed.
> > >> I think what's happening here is someone (some Amazon third party)
> > offered
> > >> the book for, say, $5.  Another third party scans Amazon for such
> > >> books,
> > and
> > >> offers it for say, $6, with the hope that you (the potential buyer)
> > >> will only see their their offer for $6 and buy from them, at which
> > >> point they will buy it for $5 from the original seller, sell it to
> > >> you for $6 and pocket the $1 profit.  The problem comes when a third
> > >> third-party seller sees the offer for $6 and does the same thing as
> > >> the second one, only now they're offering it for $7, will pay $6 for
> it and
> > pocket $1 profit.
> > >>
> > >>    Keep repeating that process and you end up with books selling for
> > $1500.
> > >
> > >
> > > Or more:
> > > http://www.michaeleisen.org/blog/?p=358
> > > etc.
> > >
> > > Remind me why HFT is a great idea...
> > >
> > >>
> > >>    -spc (Who knows?  If you keep searching, you might find the
> original
> > >>         seller selling it for $5 ... )
> > >>
> > >
> >
> > I would think pdp 10 original books / manuals are hard to find.
>
> I still have my copy of the book by Michael Singer:
> http://www.amazon.co.uk/Introduction-DECsystem-10-assembler-language-programming/dp/B0007AJF54/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1456948533&sr=8-1&keywords=singer+decsystem.
> This is the book I used to program a DECSYSTEM20 in assembler, although I
> must have used other resources to help me along that I no longer recall.
> The book is available at a much more reasonable price than the Gorin book
> (which I don't have).
>

There's at least two others available from Amazon US for < US$15.

Warner