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China's Superior Technologies
paRcat writes "Still think China is a land too far away from everything? This article compares some of China's common uses of technology to what we're accustomed to in the West. With the genius traffic lights and the cell phone coverage... I'm kinda jealous."
If you consider the growth of infrastructure in China to the rate of upgrading in the west is it any wonder they are ahead?
They are clearly putting in far more effort than any western government to modernize their country.
A government for the people, what a novel thought.
Just watch.
The USA refuses to adopt alternative fuels and prices are rising as fuel needs go up. Watch for china to lead the way in alternative fuel development and be the sole leader in the world. They need a cheap fuel soure to reach their goals of being a (or the) superpower.
Our dependency because we are lapdogs of Saudi Arabia is going to bite us in the ass. We will be the ones buying the technology from the Chinese.
technology isn't just computers. it can be coats and the materials they are made of or how they are made. all, uses of things can be technology. technology is a broad term
Evolution or ID?
Hey, isn't the whole US economic-religion based on competition above all else? How come when you start losing you turn into communists?
I must say they have adopted better uses for the technology. Technology is supposed to make your life easier and that is somethign they are doing that western culture isn't.
China has something western society should model after. It kills me how often I hear, "We have always done it that way, why change"
Evolution or ID?
Almost every developing nation has a higher rate of cell-phone coverage than the US (and many other "western" nations.)
The Bell System and the various state-owned monopolies built reliable, universal landline networks across these countries almost a century ago. Since the majority of the infrastructure has already been made and paid off decades ago, use of these networks today is commonplace (and very affordable.) The technology is often proven, well tested, and reliable (often regulated.) Cell phones, on the other hand, are more expensive and less reliable.
In developing nations, the landline systems are often unreliable and not much cheaper (if at all) than mobile systems. Users in these countries have every reason to invest in mobile phones. I wonder if this will continue to be the case with the deployment of VoIP systems.
What about Western Europe? There is much more existing infrastructure in the Western European countries than in the U.S. However, they also seem to embrace technology faster than the U.S. I feel it is due to population density. The U.S. has a low population density. The denser the population the greater your market in a particular area. No surprise that technology hits those types of markets sooner than later.
They have some cool ideas in China. The Styrofoam in the super markets might not work in the US because people might find it unsanitary. I like the traffic light idea and I've always thought about the system of identifying free parking spots every time I'm hunting for one in a large, crowded lot.
However, some of these seem great because they didn't have to replace old technology. They mentioned how landlines were never popular, so they went from no phones straight to cell phones. The US had to piggy back the new system on the old system.
So in 20 years, will they still be cutting edge, or will they be surpassed by other countries that either are just technologically developing or have been developed for a while and are "upgrading".
Hey, isn't the whole US economic-religion based on competition above all else?
No. In each industry there are only a few companies. The economy is based on 40000% markups, a regular campaign of vigorous layoffs, and constant blatantly manipulative advertising.
Business isn't willing to pay for products, innovation and careers, so we get brands, mortgage commercials and layoffs.
Another topic where half the posts will be comments that contain nothing but jingoism and nationalist comments rather than examine China's genuine potential for growth.
Remember people, this is the world's biggest nation (by population), with the real potential to be the world's biggest manufacturer and the world's biggest marketplace. And, remember, that that potential is starting to be realised: China already has a import surplus of billions with most Western countries, including the US, and China is now starting to become a real consumer culture in its own right.
They may have given everyone else a head-start but then so did Japan and Germany post-WWII, and look at how powerful their economies have become.
"Accept that some days you are the pigeon, and some days you are the statue." - David Brent, Wernham Hogg
it is superior use of existing technology and better organization. Sadly we're far behind in many aspects. Hopefully we can catch up.
For instance, the traffic light is new. However, there version could be viewed as an improvement. BUT, they had something to build on. I'm sure that in other countries, different and better (than what those countries currently use) traffic lights have been invented. But, there is a standard already in place - one that must be changed slowly due to it's nature.
This is not to say China does not have better tech, just wondering what the impact is of having a different starting point, etc.
I actually cancelled my subscription to the Globe and Mail for sponsoring her articles about 7 years ago. Mean and vindictive, she had no place in journalism. She's a shrew and a thoroughly despicable person. Although it might be only me, I remember getting the impression that she was a bit of a Chinese communist sympathiser, so her writing an article on the technology 'innovations' of China does not surprise me.
Regarding innovation, you are 100% correct -- that is the US' prime advantage. That plus abundant natural resources which can be exported, or at least support self-sufficiency. Even regarding oil, I believe the US only gets 30% of its supply from OPEC.
Fortunately China is beholden to the US still in many regards. Its needs the US markets to sell products too; it relies upon the US currency to supply economic stability and prevent inflation in China while they go through this boom; and they need North America to provide raw materials and resources. We're a long way from the sunsetting of the American empire, but the US will be facing a new world power as a competitor (if its not already).
John Maynard Keynes: "When the facts change, I change my mind. What do you do?"
Everyone commenting seems to be all hyped up at the technology. Remember, China's one of the poorest, most overpopulated countries on this Earth in per capita terms. The elite, Party members, and other favored citizens may have access to all this wonderful stuff, but with an average GDP per capita below 5000 USD (as compared to about 38000 USD in the US) the vast majority -- if not most -- of the country has no access to any of the "technology" mentioned.
ACs are modded -6. I don't read you, I don't mod you, I don't see you. Don't like it? Don't be a coward.
Large portions of Western Europe were bombed to the stone age during WWII and have been able to build more modern cities from scratch. Look at the urban sprawl and some suburban communities around the US and you'll find the same phenomenon. The US has cities that date back to the original colonies and their infrastructure is just about as old. Add that to the fact that we have laws which protect history to the detriment of progress in some cases. Mix in the problem that we are, as should have been quite evident in this last election, a Federal Republic (basically we're a loosely knit group of 50 countries known as states) and Federal laws are limited due to State's Rights which data back as old as the infrastructure and cities that can't be updated due to historical relevance and you have one big catch-22 that makes progress difficult.
We have most of that, with the exception of the stoplights with countdowns.
Most large theatres today, whether live or movie, offer online and in person sales with displays of seat availability.
Most traffic lights in the "almost large" cities that are below the fold of Chicago, LA, and NY, have timers on the crosswalks that effectivily give you the countdowns to a red or green light.
Tailors (which doesn't exactly count as tech, unless it's 1750) are available at just about every large, expensive retailer at your local mall.
All the examples he sites seem to be more a criticism of Canada than a boost to China. Then again, I live in the US, i can't speak for Canada.
The only ubiquitous use of tech that China has that is effectivly used (and not for show like the flat screens throughout Shanghai and the tech areas of Beijing) is cell usage. This was out of necessity, and I wish we had the same coverage and plans. However, I can get a land line with no problems, just about anywhere in the US. Slightly more troublesome in most of China outside the large pop centers.
(not a slam against China, just don't like seeing the status quo bumped up to hero status just because there's a flat screen involved)
I'll take my basic freedoms and liberty any day over technology.
Seriously. Don't you think there's a cost to all this? Do you really think a republic like the US could do something like this?
The fact is -- it would be easier for us to modernize Iraq than it would be to modernize the US. Authoritarian control makes everything a ton easier for the government at the expense of the people.
Pick your poison.
-- If you try to fail and succeed, which have you done? - Uli's moose
10. Free hemming This doesn't count as cheap labour because only three people service an entire department store. Hm. So all a US Department store would need to do is hire 3 people (US$32,760 salary, plus FICA, etc) per location from the profit on pants....
Lamers.
The important part is that China has cellphones with out 2 year plans, credit hassles, or idiot vendors.
The man got 2 pairs of pants, measured, trimmed, hemmed and pressed in under 3 minutes.
Signs tell drivers which lots HAVE open spaces and how many are left.
Its not technology, its SERVICE.
How hard is it to put a call button on a restuarant table?
They Live, We Sleep
Its always amazing how awe-struck north americans are by mobile phone technology in other countries.
OK- here's the skinny: You yanks have got a looong way to go with your mobile network. It is inferior to most of the rest of the world by any measure you care to apply (cost, coverage, cool sms services and payment systems).
So please, lets stop gaping in amazment at the technology available in supposedly "backwards" countries- its old news for those of us that actually live there.
Who moderates this stuff? China and Europe have personal residences and restaraunts older than your counry. Boston's a swaddling baby compared to them.
Thanks for the false dilemma. Either we accept corporate hegemony and end-times theocracy or we accept godless Communism? How about freedom, which resembles neither?
If you protest the government, they imprison you, or just gun you down on the spot, free! No more paying for Dr. Kevorkian's euthanasia services. Yeah!
A modern day witchhunt.
And the best way to deal with that is too hold their society back?
So long as they are a nation of farmers with no communication besides government controlled TV and Radio, there is little hope for advancment. Modern communication infrastructures, hope for economic advancement, development of an educated populace neccessary to build and operate the technology; these are the things that will help.
Considering 50% of your population voted for a president that is stripping away your rights, your statement makes the US different how?
The People's Republic of China is run by one of the most corrupt regimes on the planet.
They use torture, rape, and intimidation on a massive, systemic scale.
They are introducing capitalism, but not human rights. The economy is still largely managed top-down.
Saying they are upgrading faster than Western countries is like saying you want to go to Antarctica because it's springtime there, and you like warm weather.
sigs, as if you care.
Is that different enough for you?
Please, please, please RTFA you ignorant yank!
They have are more sophisticated comunication network that you. That is the point of this thread. Now go and read the article, shoo, shoo go on, shoooo
And yet, somehow, life in the old USA goes on.
--- Ban humanity.
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I was in China earlier this summer and despite their "genius traffic lights" and cellphone coverage, you can still walk behind the internet bars and savvy shopping marts and find dirt roads, people living on other's garbage and sewage in the streets.
With the exception of dirt streets you can find all that in most American cities too. Granted the sewage in the streets is mainly from homeless people just going wherever it's convenient but it's there.You'll also find plenty of dirt roads (and gravel roads) throughout the US, not everywhere is a major city.
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The modernization of Chinese technology is less important than the quality of life of its people. In my opinion, they need to focus less on getting every single person in their country internet and more on getting every single person in their country fed and clean.
The same could be said for the US. We tend to focus on stuff like how many homes have Internet, or how many homes have cable instead of talking about ways to help the homeless and poor. While China's certainly not perfect, neither is any other country. All of them have problems hidden under the surface.Large Portions of the U.S were not even developed until after the 1950's. Very few U.S cities date back 300 years. Europe is full of old cities. Europe also has laws which protect their history. In America we have "Historic" buildings that were built 50 years ago. Europe goes through the same struggles as the US when it comes to historic buildings. Even more so since their structures have more history and in some cases could have been owned by a family for several generations. Yes the U.S has reminence of a Republic. 100 years ago the U.S. was refered to as a Republic not a Democracy. However, our Republic is much more tightly knit than the EU. Try living outside of the U.S with non Americans and you will see that every Country has similar problems and struggles.
In the early 90s I was in a small factory city in South West China. The town was a mass of concrete; an artless, treeless, birdless place dominated by factories. The only luxury goods available were cigarettes and rice wine. Once at the train station one of the locals lectured my friend (a Swiss guy who spoke fluent Mandarin) on how China was leading the world technologically--while the *steam* trains pulled in and out of the station. The local airport even had half a dozen bi-planes sitting on the tarmac and the soldiers had WWI era rifles. In the special economic zones you no doubt have something much closer resembling the standards of the West (and the seeds of the Communist's downfall). One city near the border with Hong Kong protected its appearance, replete with skyscrapers and the reflecting glass that dominated Western architecture in the 80s, with a massive mandatory carwash. Every vehicle coming into the city from the country was forced to go thru the carwash. The carwash also doubled as a inspection point as ordinary citizens needed permission to enter the special economic zone.
I seriously thought that China's well developed firewall technology would have made top ten easily.
First, please note the author is Chinese. Jan, I guess is Janet, a female, very concerned with purses. I agree, China treats its visitors well. Funny, though, they asked me why I was leaving. Fortunately "work ended" is a valid reason.
Agreed, GSM cellular is far, FAR cheaper call for call than landline. It __WONT__ give you 10Mbit/s Internet though, something to think about. GSM service in Canada is quite impressive, possibly rivaling Europe. I had continueous service between Toronto and Montreal last summer.
Germany is quite ahead on the informative stoplights. They don't do it here (in Holland) because of the fear of drag racing.
Transit debit cards -- YES. Even got Europe on that one! I loved the Hong Kong system with the contactloos card system. You could brush against the sensor and not even take out your wallet. We better get that in Europe soon! Canada should consider also.
We have plenty adult playgrounds in Europe. Everybody in Europe is jealous of Canada for its great outdoors. Who needs 'adult playgrounds' when most of your country is one?
Anti-theft devices? Europe is quite good with public safety as well as Canada. Every place has another method. I'd suggest Jan (and anybody) to stay out of the USA however.
Wireless gizmos? Well anything you want! That's my claim to fame.
Parking data. Universal in Europe. Also I noticed it was all over Toronto. Janet, where are you from?
Computer seating? Even lame Windows can do that. Get real!
Oops. "Free" hemming. Jan, didn't you say at the start that you weren't going to mention the things cheap labour brings?
I am very happy I'm free to live in either Europe or Canada! The news is absolute DIRT in China. It is obviously not a free place. These are little things that mean alot to Europeans and Canadians!
Why am I wasting my time with this?
Sure, we have our homeless, and we have our poor. The difference is how many people live like that? As far as I know its very few. Even driving around the poor parts of town i see direct TV dishes up on houses, cars in peoples driveways etc. Not to say that there aren't some people starving to death, but the amount is relatively small.
.and we don't even have a government thats trying to hide these simple facts.
As far as the homeless, or dare I refer to them as bums without offending someone, well most of them tend to choose that sort of life. Some people are always going to want to avoid society, avoid responsibility, and avoid work. To some the choice of living a poor life with a shorter life expectancy etc is their choice.
Also, how do you compare the US where these things are rare with a country where it is common. If the newspaper runs a story on one of these people in the US people are lining up to help them out and get their live straightened out. If this happened all the time this just simply wouldn't be the case. You can easily drive around our cities and not see these side effects. .
Ah how good it is to live here. Proud to be an american where our cell coverage doesn't go coast to coast, but I can drive 20 miles from the city and be out in the middle of empty forests or fields where no one is around. Its wonderful to have open space, and more importantly freedom.
Phil
I think a major issue that arises in Capitalist countries is that profit is the main (only?) motivator for most technologies. In other words, if it isn't going to sell more copies, or reap more profit it's not worth doing. Many of the items mentioned in the article would have existed long ago in other countries had it been profitable to do so. Unfortunately, modern capitalism seems to trend towards maximizes proft, and minimizing cost (for both the businesses and consumers). This means that most people will suffer incoveniences to benefit from lower prices.
Supermarkets and other retail outlets are perfect examples of this. It's the classic service vs. price.
Even the stop lights in the article are an example of this. Most citizens would rather have dumb traffic lights and lower taxes than smart ones and higher taxes. Unfortunately this leads to a lifestyle that is filled with minor incoveniences.
A sad indicator of this is how surprised we are when someone gives us good service without charging us an extra fee.
abu-gharaib.
We even export our human rights violations.
Japan's economy stagnated because they don't have a large enough workforce and enough natural resources to sustain the growth rate. China has neither of these problems.
Pocket PC Games
Miss Wong is clearly comparing China to Canada. Her article failed to impress me with China, just made me glad I'm in Silicon Valley, not in Canada. Let's take a look at her list :
1. Cellphones
My cellphone works in elevators, subways, and parking garages too. The no cell phones in hospitals is a safety issue, not an issue of technology. And doctors here break the rule all the time, too. The docotor who delivered my son got a call from his wife (she was going to Taco Bell and wanted to know if he wanted anything) right in the middle of delivery.
2. Informative stop lights
As others have alrady pointed out, this is not the safest thing to do for cars. Most crosswalks where I live do the same thing, except they actually count down the number of seconds (how novel.)
3. Transit debit cards
This is a trivial (though very convenient) "innovation." It's really a product of government. When you have a centralized government that controls everything, you can standardize everything. When you have more freedoms, then different municipalities will do things differently.
4. Adult playgrounds
This is just another product of socialization, and has nothing to do with technologies.
5. Anti-theft slipcovers
A useful innovation when you have problems with crime.
6. Daily banking
My bank is open six days a week. If people demanded it be open seven, it would be open seven so that it could do more business and make more money. This has nothing to do with technology, and is simply an example of free people choosing how businesses operate via a free market vs. a government mandating how businesses operate.
7. Wireless service bells
This has little to do with technology and is much more a cultural issues. This would NOT be desirable at most upscale resteraunts in the west, where good service is expected and rewarded. Now it might be desireable at low-end resteraunts, but in the west, you get what you pay for.
8. Parking data
This is interesting. Do you really need to know how many empty spots there are? Isn't it really just a boolean, i.e. there is at least one empty spot or there are no empty spots? Any paid parking lot is going to keep track of this, and is also going to advertise so that you can find it. So I guess this is talking about free lots. Again it's a function of a free market vs. socialism.
9. Computer seating maps
When I buy tickets to a SF Giants game, I have this exact kind of technology. I don't have this for movies, but movie theaters here are not assigned seating.
10. Free hemming
Again, not technology, but cultural.
An alien reading TFA would probably find this quote amusing and/or pathetic: (emphasis mine)
To list the things that you find in the U.S. v. China, or in Europe v. China, that I find superior in U.S., or Europe, or Japan, or wherever?
But those are First World countries! They should be superior in EVERY WAY!
Nonsense. This First World/Third World delineation is extremely rough, at best.
China is a rapidly developing country. While there are factors which still relegate it status to 'third' world, they have come a long way, and will make it to first world soon.
The thing is, you don't always get optimum deployment of technology in a wealthier society, and this has little to do with the economic system (Capitalism, Communism, Socialism, Anythingism).
In a nutshell: The economic system determines who has the power to allocate wealth/resources.
Then, this decision maker decides how much of societies resources should be spent on what developments.
If 'smart' stoplights are not a high priority, even if 'dumb' ones are an annoyance, you won't get them, period. Even in Utopia.
In China, government decision makers simply implemenent whatever policy they feel is appropriate.
In the U.S., popular demand determines the allocation of wealth and resources. Don't think that I am naive enough to not realize that large companies&governments are capable of influencing this demand. Still, by deciding how much you are willing to pay for a certain service, or expressing your political preference by voting, you contribute to averaged indicators that establish this allocation.
In the U.S., people are willing to spend less of the adjusted per capita wealth on cell phones than are people living in Europe, or Japan.
As such, our cell service is crappier. Sure, there are geeks like you (slashdot reader) & me who want better service. But the Jane Doe's of the U.S. bring the average down.
The same thing probably happens with regards to Jane Doe's preferences. I might not be interested in what she wants, and as such, I bring the average allocation down with regards to her preferences.
You see clear, similar trends with regards to broadband service. Price is simply more important that quality of service/performance, and as such, as a society we allocate less towards our Broadband, and we have crappier service.
Now that you are conceptualizing resource allocation as I have described, the effects of government become clearer.
In much of the rest of the world, governments have 'kickstarted' demand by providing for an initial investments in broadband, cell service, and other 'public' goods.
You get better service, but the costs involved in the government 'kickstarting' necessairly come from somewhere else.
This government influence necessairly introduces economic inefficeny.
Not that that is always bad, mind you. I certainly accept that economic inefficency is necessary such that our resource allocation is not totally mindless/mob oriented.
But we need to consider that it is a spectrum. Somewhere between total government control of everything economic allocation, and total free market laissez faire absurditiy, is the world where I want to live.
Wow. This has been rather long winded. In sum, and in short, all I'm really trying to say is that a certain country not having, or having, various technology improvements does not mean that country is doing worse, or better, than other nations. Specific aspects of resource allocation are not a good way to summarize notions of wealth.
They are more important indicators. Not that the U.S. is doing particularly well in these other indicators. But we aren't doing so badly, and I feel that discussions of these indicators are far more important that discussions of anti-theft slip covers, or smart traffic lights.
Just my 20000000 cents.
WhiteWolf666 an exBush supporter. All you new-school,compassionate,save the children Republicans can rot in hell
This is entirely your own fault. USA have screwed over a lot of nations and making life har in others. One year you help and arm the muslims, the other one you withdraw your support and watch them die. Just look at the whichunt for communism. You can do whatever you want in your country, but that wasn't enough. You simply felt the urge to stop the spread of an ideology that didn't suit you, and did this by killing countless people around the world. This also happened in countries where the ideologies worked and people actually had chosen them. You supported the murderous contras, red khemers and other death squads around the world. When you inflict so much suffering, is it so strange that people strike back? Currently USA tries to enforce the acceptance of genetically manipulated food in the EU. The majority don't want your gm crops, but you simply cannot accept that, so you force the issue. And no, we cannot make the consumer choise of not bying it, because one of the things the US trade oppose is the special labeling of gm foodstuff. To top this of you go and kill a couple of hundred thousand innocent civilians in Irak and support the state-terrorism currently occuring in Israel. Get a fucking clue: what goes around comes around. I as everybody else am apalled by what the terrorist do, but i am also apalled of the actions the US takes and has taken historically. You need to se the coneqences of your own actions. By electing Bush and continuing with the current policies you only make matters worse. This is not something you can solve with brute force, you need some brains.
When in doubt, act determined. Business 101
A great amount of China's technological advances come from the government's desire to keep constant surveillance over it's people.
my password is private, but unchanged.
The one thing I like about Japan's stagnation is that there is no poverty there. It is amazing that in a country as rich as the USA, 12% of the people there live in poverty. Guess what, that is the same as in China.
In USA when the economy suffers, it is mostly the poor on whom it is taken out on. They lose insurance, they lose their jobs and so on. In Japan, they stop growing but guess what, they are not really sweating it. They value different things. Americans value riches and expensive cars. The Japanese actually do get by with Toyotas. Witness how the Lexus brand ws only recently introduced in Japan after being in USA and Europe for the past 20 odd years. And it is owned wholly by a Japanese company. Because the Japanese do not have such big brand mentality, they will be buy a Toyota for the equivalent of $80,000. Americans will have none of that.
USAs GPD per Capita is inflated by the very rich. Japan has one of the smallest, if not the smallest Gini coefficients in the world. There is much more even wealth distribution than in USA. The USA is a country full of individuals, but Japan is more of a community.
In many ways Japan is far ahead of the USA. They still produce higher quality goods than USA and indeed just about every other country.
Yeah, early 90's, that's your problem. There's been a vast sea change in the past decade. Any area of China between Hong Kong and Tianjin will have undergone major change in this past decade. You should go back now and see what changes have occurred. I'm willing to bet you'd be quite surprised.