Charles Shannon Hendrix wrote:

> It's a self-fulfilling prophecy when you say X can never happen and
> thus never try.


This argument can extend to a number of areas but we have to 
realize that people get paid to make decisions about what will or 
won't sell, given the market, and that sometimes means good 
products never see the light of day.

The corollary to that as I read this thread is that each dollar 
you spend or product you buy is a vote: you buy domestic products 
and support domestic industries, regardless of price or value 
received.

So take a look around: PC components are made where? China? Do we 
support China (or wherever)'s record on human rights or free trade 
or copyright protection?

How about the clothes we wear? We could all buy US-made stuff but 
it costs too much since we have to pay US workers a US wage: far 
cheaper to pay a Mauritian wage to a Mauritian. If you put a pair 
of socks or jeans from each country on the shelf, priced to make a 
comparable profit, I doubt the US-made ones would move as quickly. 
Is that wrong?

So what does this have to do with any of the foregoing? That these 
decisions are not problems with a single right answer: there's 
guesswork and risk and often mistakes. And yes, there are 
principles involved but they're rarely as bound up in moral and 
ethical concerns as this thread would have it: it's more to do 
with making enough of a return to keep the lights on another day. 
Think of the products that were clearly superior in their markets 
that failed nonetheless: the canonical example has always been 
beta vs vhs. Contrary to popular belief, beta equipment and media 
are still very much alive, but used by professionals. The quality 
of vhs was good enough or conversely, the quality of beta didn't 
justify its price.

Are you willing to pay the difference it would take to support 
someone providing a product or service? That's the bottom line, 
not fairness.