Now, much I would hate to take the view from the "dark side" (the OEMs), I have worked in that arena, worse still, as a salesman. One thing that needs to be kept in mind here is that, someone, ie the end user, has to pay for all the R+D, testing, etc before a product can be brought to use. This is not cheap, infact it is VERY expencive. How many years do you think it takes to develop and test a new medical device before it can be released to the market?..... years and millions of $$$$$$$ in some cases.
So, before you roundly condemn the OEMs (though there is no doubt that there are ripoff's) just because you could buy a screen for a monitor for 10% of what is asked, or a "trim knob" from RS instead of GE, ask yourself, how would this impact on future product research/development?
I share your iritation with the cost parts in our environment but the costs of development/research need to be funded from somewhere and, sadly, sometimes, the customer/public/tax payer is the one who has to pay.
