INTL 3:770/1 3:770/3   
   REPLYADDR not@telling.you.invalid   
   REPLYTO 3:770/3.0 UUCP   
   MSGID: <66945da1@news.ausics.net> d413a875   
   REPLY:  18ebb4cb   
   PID: SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
   Deloptes  wrote:   
   >   
   > I bought Acresser devices in 2007/2008 right before the financial melt down.   
   > They cost 250 US and were kind of picky to set up. Last year one of them   
   > died (well the ide-to-CF controller gave up). The cool thing about those   
   > were that they used max.12W. I started looking everywhere (in the west). I   
   > couldn't find anything useful. Min. power consumption >60W and costs >600,-   
   > ... and then I went to Alibaba/AliExpres ... it felt like I found a   
   > treasury.   
      
   Ah but will they last so long? A SBC at half the price costs you more   
   if you have to buy three replacements over the lifespan of the   
   expensive one. Then there's the many hours wasted working around the   
   failure and re-ordering, after which you'll be inclined to buy a   
   second one as a spare anyway.   
      
   Many years ago I experimented with buying computer-related devices   
   off AliExpress and Chinese Ebay sellers. Most failed much sooner   
   than I expect from such gear, if they worked at all. When looking   
   for a saving now my preference has turned to buying second-hand   
   models from a good brand off Ebay or similar websites. Even used   
   devices have proven more reliable than AliExpress standard stuff,   
   plus the used sellers aren't so busy trying to trick you into   
   thinking you're buying something you're not (and sometimes not   
   sending your order if you pick a good deal that they listed by   
   accident!) like on AliExpress. Often it's actually cheaper too,   
   if you have the patience to wait for the right listing to come   
   along.   
      
   For things without electronics in them like cables and connectors,   
   I use AliExpress a lot though. I just don't trust them with a   
   transistor. Though I did buy some allegedly (and authentic looking)   
   second-hand known-brand RAM from China on Ebay and that has lasted   
   well.   
      
   > BTW the NUC and the kind of are not bad - but non had more than one LAN port   
   > + power consumption + price.   
      
   Yeah I ruled out the NUCs on power consumption, but now I see from   
   the mentioned spreadsheet that the idle power can be far below the   
   PSU specs, they're back as an option.   
      
   --   
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   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
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