Re: Note : Pi 2 Zero W Now RIP-OFF Price on Amazon

On Thu, 06 Aug 2026 11:12:09 +0200, s|b wrote:

> On Wed, 5 Aug 2026 19:49:58 +0100, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
> 
>> PSUs are generic But Pi zeros are unobtanium right now, except at silly
>> money
>> 
>> I can wait. I think I have a spare one somewhere
> 
> 'unobtanium', I love it when I learn a new word/expression. If I could
> only remember it, so I can use it myself some day. (-:

The word has a long history. There is a nuance. 'Vaproware' is a product 
that is announced but doesn't exist. The prime example is when Osborne 
announced the successor to the Osborne 1, killing the sales of the 
existing product without having the replacement in hand. Intel's 432 and 
Microsoft's Xenix may fall into that category.

'Unobtanium' is a device that exists but you can't buy at the present 
time. The Zero is a current example. In the early '80s vendors were 
quoting similar lead times of over a year on commodity chips. That, in 
part, impacted IBM's PC design.