80% Is A Distant Dream On The Horizon

There's an uber-squint who works next door to squint central. He told us all about this wonderful site in China called Deal Extreme. They sell every kind of gadget/widget/cable/plug/converter you could ever want. More importanly their prices include shipping --- to Israel. So orders were sent out into the ether at the speed of light. I ordered a usb, firewire and various data card attachment that could replace the burned out USB connectors on my workstation. It took four weeks to arrive, and when I opened the padded envelope the black plastic box rattled with a suspicious "something's lose inside" rattle. I immediately opened it up. Check out the hot glue used to hold the wires in place. I never expected much for $9.70 (including shipping), but if this thing was made twice as well, it still would not get to 80%.