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The Japanese/American Tech Deficit

Posted by michael on from the unsolved-mysteries dept.

Why do the Japanese get all the coolest gadgets, while the U.S. is left with the second-tier, less-innovative ones? The San Francisco Chronicle delves into this age-old mystery and provides a few explanations for those of us who don't live near Akihabara.

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  1. It's the tech in Japan, and the food in Europe... by ivan256 · · Score: 5, Interesting

    At least we can import Japanese technology. Customs won't confiscate something for not complying with FCC regulations, but they will confiscate food!

    In Europe you're allowed to make and sell things that contain non-pasturized dairy products. In the US, you're not. Apparently americans aren't allowed to determine for themselves what is or isn't an acceptable risk. So the best European young cheeses and chocolates have poor substitutes as their namesakes in the US.

    To make matters worse, they've convinced people here that "ultra-pasturized" means "better", even though it just means they used extra high temperatures to get it done more quickly and save money at the expense of flavor. That means the milk here doesn't taste nearly as good as it could under the current regulations. All this in the name of safety, yet at the same time, you can't get irradiated beef...

    Sigh.