a $70 cable for $7

Even after more than 25 years of personal computing, it is still filled with mysteries and snake oil. Case in point: the $70 cable. Since Jessica left for college, I rebuilt her old computer into a simple machine that could be used with our family room television. We hope to use the computer for surfing the Internet and playing back music.

To connect to the TV, I needed to purchase a "DVI" cable. <geek>The TV is a 65 DLP that supports 1920x1080 through a DVI connection.</geek> I visited several local stores, including the various Office * stores. In each case, I discovered that they only carried a $70 cable - but had advertised a much less expensive cable ($20) on their website. I was advised that the less expensive cable was an "Internet special only."

Realizing that the cable was hardly worth $20 to me, I elected to visit my most trusted on-line retailer - NewEgg.com. A quick search at NewEgg.com demonstrated the absurdity of the $70 cables - 54 different options, all but 4 under $40 (including some at 50 feet long), most less than $20. I found a name-brand, comparable cable for $7 at NewEgg.com. Shipping was $4. It will be at the house early next week with a total cost of $11.

If I could have found a cable for less than $20 locally, I would have purchased it. Instead, the local retailers get nothing. Beware the snake oil...