[JohnSmithee]

"Nonsense.
I've rebuilt/repaired machines as old as 286's."

Have you tried pricing repair costs? Often the cost to repair a computer exceeds the cost to replace it after taking into consideration Moore's law. As far as using a 286, I just can't imagine what *I* could possibly do with something like that. YMMV.

Upgrading is a total seperate issue, which I did nothing to address.

[visualops]

There are smaller shops and folks at home like my husband and myself who can repair all sorts of machines for considerably less than the big stores.
And, the cost to repair vs replace all boils down to money in hand at the time. Plenty of people either don't need a new machine or can't afford it, whereas a new drive, more ram, etc etc are affordable. What we've also done is built machines from parts rescued from other machines.
Regarding the 286, did I say you should use one? No. You stated a machine out of warranty that needs repair is a doorstop. I disagreed.
To some kid in Appalachia who's never had a computer, a 486 or first generation Pentium running 95 or 98, is something special. To some low income country folks around here, getting the P75 up and running with AOL and some kids games is good enough for them.