Tim Harford, a columnist for the Financial Times and author of The Undercover Economist (a book I'm hoping Santa will deliver to me), has published an article for Slate entitled, The Great Xbox Shortage of 2005 - Why you can't buy the one present you really need. In it, Harford compares the Xbox 360 shortage to the great Cabbage Patch shortage of 1985, the Tickle Me Elmo shortage of 1996, the Nintendo cartridge shortage of 1988, and even the PS2 slimline shortage of 2004. He ponders why such shortages don't merit price hikes, and finally reminds us of one of Napoleon's best quotes, "Never attribute to conspiracy that which can be explained by incompetence." It's a good read. Have fun with it.