Low balling by design for a design

Browsing the computer hardware section as usual, I came across this ad. Now, this isn’t the usual fare for DBTC, but I thought it worth ranting about.

The Ad. Click for full version.

Ad Text

Hello,
My name is Ro and I looking for someone who can build me a website. I’m looking for someone with the following skills:-Building a squeeze page with shopping cart, autoresponder, affiliate links, email submit button, a few video/audio, opt-in page, blogger, float-in….
-Recommend a good free hosting site
-Help registering a domain
-4 to 5 hours monthly maintenance

Please also let me know your pricing…

Thank you.
Ro

Everything about this ad bothers me.

Computer Gigs is probably more appropriate for this kind of thing. Still, go where the eyeballs are I guess.

They are going to need a designer/developer to build in all of these features. One could probably whip them together pretty quickly in Drupal or WordPress, but that’s not the point.

It also smells like somebody whispered in their ear that they could make tons of money from home by setting up an “links/affiliate/made for adsense” site that guarantees them instant riches overnight. Registering a domain is nearly a mainstream thing these days. Yet, it still amazes me how many local businesses still want you to email them at their hotmail, aol, or juno accounts. However, that’s a rant saved for another day.

Finally, ask yourself this. How much are you going to get paid by someone that wants to setup a spammy link site on a free web host? Webhosting is dirt cheap these days. You can even get free domains with a hosting purchase at most places.

Maybe I got it all wrong. Perhaps my cynical side gets tripped too easily these days. Regardless, this deal could go to hell real quick.

/rant

Linux Tax

I’ve heard of the Microsoft tax before, but this seller thinks it applies to Linux computers too.  This hardware is way overpriced, regardless of the Operating System. I’ll leave it up to the reader to see just how old RH 4.2 is.

The Ad. Click for full version.

Ad Text

Linux with Red Hat 3.4, 4.2, 3.5 inch Floppy 1.4 Meg. Ethernet card (DSL and Networking) 56k Modem, 40 G.bite Hard drive, 2.4 GHz processor, 512 Meg. RAM, 32 Meg. Video Card, CD Read/Write 700 Meg.. Comes with mouse, SanDisk Flash Reader, Keyboard and NEC LCD 1715 17 inch Flat Screen Monitor, dual Speakers and All Cabling. Excellent Condition. Fully Functional. Ready to use. Paid $1,700.00 will sell for $500.00 Cash, Firm price.