BlackRose#29
"Consider the following example. In 2006, the Czech Parliament decided to buy 220 laptop computers. Four companies competed for a contract that was, in the end, awarded to a Czech firm called Autocont. Dell, a U.S. company, offered the best deal. Dell met all the technical specifications and offered to pay the
highest late-delivery fee. The company also offered the lowest price of $160,000. In contrast, Autocont’s price tag was more than twice as high. What made the difference between the losing and winning bids? On the Dell laptops,
wireless connection to the Internet was to be activated with a button, Autocont’s with a lever. The public official in charge of the deal argued that pulling the lever was more difficult than pressing the button, which would prevent the MPs from accidentally accessing the Internet and inadvertently disseminating sensitive information. The bids were evaluated on a point scale that was suspiciously skewed in favor of Autocont. For example, the higher processing speed of Dell’s computers was worth 1 point, whereas Autocont’s lever was worth 15 points."