China Quickly Becomming Technology World Leader (en.wikipedia.org)
posted by Xiao Hu on June 7, 2011 | 9 comments
I've recently been delving into Chinese Technology and was interested to discover the Loongson Microprocessor AKA the Godson Processor.It seems to me, as I've been telling the skeptics again and again, that China is in same place as Japan of the 1950's and 60's, domestic products are of inconistent quality, but coming up in the world and ready to make a big breakthrough.Chinese companies like Haier and Lenovo are making a big splash, other companies are following suit, commiting to quality control and working to develop world class products.In the world of automobiles, companies like BYD 比亚迪, Brilliance China Automotive 中华 and Chang' An Automotive 长安 are really making their moves on the world stage.My question is, does anyone here own and Chinese electronics product or automobile? How would you rate your satisfaction? What are some changes that need to be made before Chinese domestic products can make the quantum leap forward to complete head to head with world leaders like Apple, Sony, HP, Toyota, Honda, BMW etc.?
@Xiao Hu,据我所知，很多中国的电子产品、食物、服装厂商都生产两种质量不同的产品，好的用来出口，质量差的在国内销售，因为出口的检查规格更严......--Echoecho@popupchinese.com
The Chinese appliances and electronics I've bought have been either great or absolute crap, although the worst offenders are digital things like USB sticks and MP3 players where they're just knocking stuff off -- MP3 players that look like iPods.As for the rest... I'd vote for Haier for appliances because they don't *need* to be tech-intensive to do well -- they just need to leverage the huge China market and keep manufacturing costs somewhat low. But the other companies? Prefab cars have got a shot in Africa and the Middle East (I read about that being Cherry's strategy), but are probably DOA in the United States and Europe and environmental restrictions will keep them behind homegrown companies for long enough that the shift to electric will probably make them uncompetitive.Be curious to see what happens with the Loongson chip. Cool article raving about it on the Reg here. Only question I have is... if they're supposed to be so cheap why aren't they in consumer goods yet? If the thing runs Linux it should be possible to find big markets for it in embedded stuff already:http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/02/25/ict_godson_3b_chip/
Oddly enough, I used to use Ubuntu exclusively and would love to have a Loongson laptop. My issue with most of the Chinese PC clones (and the reason we're on Mac now) is build quality. The last time I was looking for a new machine every single non-Mac in the local 百脑汇 was packaged in a cheap plastic mold.I don't know if that's because of price competition, but I'm surprised there's not at least one Chinese laptop manufacturer going for a more rugged aluminum casing. Suspect not supporting Windows is the real killer though.
I've used Ubantu before and like it very much, if there's a Loongson laptop that I like, I might just invest in it. The problem there is that, like you mentioned, the allure of Apple is so great, the quality is so good and everything is set to work flawlessly that it almost doesn't make sense to go with anything BUT Apple.I'll have to go to the local 电脑城 and check out the Loongson laptops, see if there's anything that can 通过我的批准.
drummerboy on June 15, 2011 | reply
Once you use a Mac you never want to go back. I love my MacBook Air and Ipad. It never crashes, locks up, and never has virus issues. For years I was reluctant to take the plunge due to its price, now?... I will NEVER purchase a PC again. The Apple products are worth every penny!
Another MacBook Air user here! Although I lost my system password once without doing anything, I still enjoy its fast speed and lightness. Can't stand any heavier computers anymore....
--Echo
echo@popupchinese.com
I've used Ubantu before and like it very much, if there's a Loongson laptop that I like, I might just invest in it. The problem there is that, like you mentioned, the allure of Apple is so great, the quality is so good and everything is set to work flawlessly that it almost doesn't make sense to go with anything BUT Apple.I'll have to go to the local 电脑城 and check out the Loongson laptops, see if there's anything that can 通过我的批准.