End of Surplus?

[Joe R.]

At 09:38 AM 4/26/05 -0400, Paul wrote:
>>>>>> "Joe" == Joe R <rigdonj at cfl.rr.com> writes:
>
> Joe> A couple of days ago several people were discussing their
> Joe> problems with a couple of DG Novas. I mentioned that I had just
> Joe> seen one in a scrap yard and a couple of people asked me to
> Joe> check on getting it for parts. I went back there today and the
> Joe> Nova was still there and it looks complete.  HOWEVER the owner
> Joe> of the yard informed me that he is no longer selling ANY surplus
> Joe> to anybody for any reason. I talked to him and found out that
> Joe> the US Government is now requiring all surplus and scrap dealers
> Joe> to keep DETAILED records of EVERY piece of equipment that they
> Joe> sell! Furthermore they must ensure that NONE of it goes
> Joe> overseas.
>
>It sounds like a severely scrambled interpretation of the export
>control regulations that have existed in the USA for many years --
>long before 9/11.  Yes, people often blame 9/11 for all sorts of
>things, and not too long ago there was a long thread on this list
>where export restrictions were wrongly blamed on 9/11.  
>
>Detailed records of everything sold?  Bizarre.
>
>Ensuring nothing gets overseas?  Makes no sense.  What DOES make sense
>is "if it goes out of the country, look at the export regulations".
>And for surplus equipment that can indeed be onerous, because it may
>not be clear what specific rule applies to, say, a 20 year old Cray,
>or even a 20 year old Nova.
>

   Hmm. That makes me wonder. I know there were export restrictions on
computers in the 60s that covered some of the HP desktop machines like the
9825. I wonder if those are still in effect. Do the restrictions every
expire automaticly or do they have to be lifted?  I'm told that HP used to
get around the restrictions on computers by calling their machines
"calculators".

   Joe