A few weeks ago my boss ordered a laptop from a popular 4-letter computer maker. Some time later he got an e-mail telling him, there would be a _slight_ delay, 4 weeks. Anyhow he called and asked where the problem was and he promptly got the reply, it was the worldwide shortage of..... glass!

So it seems it's now even more important to recycle your bottles.

I've had a notebook with 17" hi-res screen on order from the same popular manufacturer since 04 July. Estimated delivery date was originally 13 July, delayed to 20 July, then 31 July, 16 August, and now 06 September. I was originally given the option to switch to the standard screen to guarantee delivery, but this now has the same problem.

I got the same reason for the delays: the manufacturers of the glass for LCD displays (of which there are "only two or three" in the world apparently) have run into a shortage which has hit the entire supply chain.

Bear in mind this PC manufacturer has also recently moved from direct sales into the supply channel in the U.S., and would have had to distribute a hell of a lot of stock (millions of units) to those suppliers.