I last went into a Radio Shack about ten years ago. As someone whose first computer experiences were on a TRS-80 Model III and Color Computer, I was mortified t

I last went into a Radio Shack about ten years ago. As someone whose first computer experiences were on a TRS-80 Model III and Color Computer, I was mortified to see them selling an HP branded Apple iPod (Yes, such a thing existed. I had to look it up to make sure my memory wasn't deceiving me. What a great example of adding cost with no value: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPod+HP http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPod+HP). The young sales clerk didn't understand my discomfort. I had to explain that Radio Shack formerly actually made things, they didn't just act as the last in a line of middlemen. I had to explain to him that HP also formerly made some really cool hardware. It says something that Apple was able to turn both of these companies into sales channels while building their own retail outlets.