Ignorance on your part does not constitute a problem on ours.
Florian Mueller is a well known paid shill. His antics during the SCO vs Novell case were very heavily discussed here on/. during that case. He's also consistently wrong.
How would having a 2560x1600 display affect battery life over 1366x768? Given that battery life became a big issue, if it would affect battery life in hours I can see why laptop makers would have sacrificed resolution for battery life.
I dont think it would affect battery life as much as it would affect price. To get a 25600x1600 screen it would cost a lot more than a 1366x768 or 1920x180 screen.
I want high resolution displays too, but I dont want to go back to paying A$2000 for an entry level laptop either. Given the laptops I buy are 13-14" models, 1366x768 is fine although I prefer 1440x900 on 14". High res displays have a huge drawback in the fact most OS's assume high res == large monitor and have their UI's designed accordingly (try running Win 7 on a 15" 1920x1080 display, the default text size is almost unreadable).
If Linus Torvalds can't get together the necessary people to get Linux to run decently on the rMBP, there is something very wrong with the world.
Yes, hardware resellers like Apple are making it very, very hard for Linux to run on their laptops.
It's hard to reverse engineer things from scratch, getting Linux to run on an Intel IGM is a dream because Intel released the source code for the IGM drivers. Broadcom didn't do this for their wireless chipsets IIRC, which is why it's a pain to get Broadcom wireless working with Linux.
I dont expect a manufacturer to actively support Linux but I expect them to not actively hinder Linux.
Actually, neither do. Apple sells LG, Samsung and Sharp displays (Samsung, LG and Sharp also sell their own displays).
Apple brands other manufacturers displays as "retina" which is why they aren't all the same display. They could make a 300x400 20" display and call it "retina" because "retina" is not a measure of resolution, it's a marketing buzzword.
Do you do anything other than watch movies or play games?
A 4:3 monitor gives a height/width ratio of ~1.3:1
A 16:9 ratio is ~1.7:1
A sheet of A4 paper has a ratio of ~1.4:1.
The 4:3 monitor - used in portrait mode - shows a clean, full-sized sheet of A4 - just nice for DTP, layout, etc. Some of us still do work that results in A4-sized hard copy. Works for A3, A5, and A6, too.
A 16:10 display is two A4 pages side by side. 2560x1600 is 16:10, not 16:9
Also for those of us who work on spreadsheets and diagrams, 16:10 allows us to do A4 and A3 diagrams in landscape mode.
For writing documents, if you want to write one page at a time 16:10 is good as half the page takes up the whole screen, but then again in almost all office packages you have borders of whitespace around the page.
I agree with you completely. The Galaxy Nexus was royally screwed up here in Canada, too. It wasn't available in the Play Store here. Samsung sold it through the carriers, but modified the firmware so that they, not Google, would be responsible for pushing updates. They behaved exactly as you would expect, introducing months of delay, and skipping several of the minor updates completely.
I agree, but it's a minor issue IMHO.
I also bought the "Samsung" galaxy Nexus idetnified as "yakjuxw". The Google device is just "yakju". It's very easy to convert a yakjuxw to yakju as it's the exact same hardware (maguro) with a slightly different firmware. Give this site a read if you want to attempt it, caveat is that it will wipe your device but the application on that site will backup your applications, contacts and SMS's.
No, he's going to purge the previous leadership and replace them with his friends and/or lackeys.
If that was the case, he would have canned Ive, and wouldn't have bothered convincing Mansfield to come back when he wanted to retire this summer. And Federighi, who was promoted to SVP by Cook this summer is an insider who worked at Jobs's NeXT.
Just because someone worked at NeXT does not mean that they were enemies of Cook.
Besides, admitting that he was dismissed because he wasn't liked pretty much proves what I was saying. This is the exact same kind of purge/reshuffle that happens at every other big corp goes through when the leadership changes.
Fanboys aside, pragmatists aren't very fond of Apple. Pragmatists aren't suckered by hype. That is why they realize how strongly Apple resembles Microsoft in its heyday. Apple is perhaps worse - until recently Microsoft didn't so strongly control what could run on Windows the way Apple controls their walled garden. Apple is just more talented at appearing innocuous. Their marketing is more effective. No one proudly sported Windows the way some Apple fans show off their iDevices. Still doesn't change the nature of the corporation though.
Have you ever considered the possibility that some people actually *value* a walled garden? Like nearly everyone who isn't a tech geek? Which is like 99% of the people buying these devices?
In the same way a prisoner with his spirit broken values his cell.
If Ive gets rid of this crap, he will have my everlasting appreciation.
Also, and MUCH more important : Apple MUST quit trying to blend the
interface used by OS X with the interface used by IOS.
Why?
This is what Apple wants, to blur the lines between OSX and IOS so that they can get rid of OSX on most, if not all devices. They're just using the "boiling the frog" method to avoid users from jumping out of the pot.
What does such a major shakeup say about Tim Cook's leadership?
He is going to lead and hold people accountable?
No, he's going to purge the previous leadership and replace them with his friends and/or lackeys.
Why to fanboys continually think that Apple works differently to other corporations. This is a stock standard procedure in any corporate change of leadership.
That means that >90% of gaming happens on other platforms anyway (consoles, smartphones) and for those users gaming is not what's keeping them on Windows.
Erm 100% of Blizzard's revenue is generated by PC Gamers, so therefore I extrapolate from my dataset that 0% of gaming must be happening on other platforms.
Picking Activision or Ubisoft are bad examples as they primarily produce console games with PC as an afterthought. Fortunately they are not the only game manufacturers, nor are they representative of the gaming industry in general.
PC game revenues have been higher for over 2 years now despite selling fewer units. Per unit, PC games sell at a lower price point than console games and make more money. PC gamers play more than console gamers and there's also a lot more people with PC's that can play games than people with consoles.
Starck is the very embodiment of style over substance. His products often look kinda striking or eye-catching, but they function incredibly poorly. The man is a charlatan who threw out the first rule of design: form follows function. A great artist might just about be able to get away with that,
No wonder he got on so well with Jobs.
Every iDevice in existence values style over substance.
As for air travel, well it's pretty screwed since 9/11
He didn't say air travel, he said air control and they do a damn good job of safely moving thousands of people per day. I tip my hat to Air Traffic Controllers everywhere.
however high end cars like a BMW are hideously overpriced (yet idiots keep buying them, so BMW has no impetus to change)
If people can afford them and there is no alternative, then they aren't idiots. It's simple supply and demand.
Afford is not so simple, people on $65,000 p/a take out $100,000 loans for BMW X5. That alone makes them idiots.
However it's not what I'm talking about, what makes them real idiots is that not only will they borrow more than their yearly earnings to buy a luxury brand car, they'll complain to hell and back about how they're getting ripped off. They want the cars to cost less, but will still buy them even though they know the manufacturer is taking the piss. They want to affect price, without altering the supply and demand paradigm, that is the definition of idiot (most will blame the govt for high prices, it could never be their own fault).
In case you haven't been paying attention, I imported a Nissan Skyline 350 GT, I paid A$15K less for the JDM model than I would have for the ADM (Skyline 350z) model and got a newer car, with fewer KM's on the clock and a better tuned engine.
Does anyone know if Android, as it now stands, is ready for use on "real" computing devices (desktops and laptops)? In other words, is there any support built in for full multitasking, running apps in resizable and movable windows, a taskbar, and other essentials?
Android the OS, yes. However the applications are not there and the hardware is firmly targeted at mobile devices.
In 4.1 (4.0 on after market ROMs like Cyanogenmod) you have resizable windows (resizable widgets). The concept of running applications in windows (called Widgets) in Android and a Task bar (the notification bar) as well as full multitasking (background services) have been in there since Android 1.0.
The problem towards using Android in the same fashion as Windows and Linux are two fold. There aren't really any productivity applications (thinking along the lines of AutoCAD, ArcGIS, Visual Studio/Eclipse, SQL management tools or Photoshop) on Android and that the hardware is designed to be focused on mobile use. The Samsung Note 10" is probably the most general purpose oriented bit of Android kit on the market and that's miles away from being a practical desktop replacement.
Enh. If you have to attach a keyboard and mouse to a tablet in order to do real work, you've already lost. I would submit that this would *not* be the demise of the desktop.
When you plug a mouse, KB and monitor into a tablet, the tablet has not destroyed the desktop PC, the tablet has become the desktop PC.
I'll put money on this happening, as components get smaller, more powerful machines will be created in smaller form factors. Hell, my Galaxy Nexus is as powerful as my 2002 gaming box (Pentium 3, Geforce 4), Within a year I expect phones to surpass my 2005 gaming box (Athlon 64, Geforce 6600) which would make them almost as powerful as a PS3.
Rather, it's an admission that OS and app creators don't understand the touch paradigm.
This is not true. You can have multiple forms of input without compromising the other. A physical keyboard is faster and more ergonomic than an on screen keyboard, but a physical keyboard is not that portable (carrying that around negates the ergonomic benefits). Designing an interface or input system for both peripherals and on screen controls does not mean that a developer does not understand one or the other.
Now we just need to allow more used cars to be imported....
Oh my, South Africans _love_ to complain about how cars manufactured in SA (esp. Toyota) can possibly sell for less in Aus. than in SA. If you think you get a bad deal on cars, imagine how we feel. We have huge taxes on imported cars (a US$30k car gets ~70% import duty) to prevent outside competition with domestic manufacturers, so they charge what they want... because imported (by distributors) brands are even more expensive.
The companies lining their pockets are gonna keep it that way.
And we thought we were getting reamed here in Oz.
Its the same here, private importing is limited to protect the local manufacturers who despite this, keep closing factories in Australia. These factories are also being propped up with tax money so they're a net loss for Australia (not to mention the Aussie made Holden Cruze is a pile of shite). The sooner we open up private imports to more models of car, the better. ADR (Australian Design Rules) will be met by most, if not all JDM (Japanese Domestic Market) cars, many cars are exactly the same model (Japan and Oz both being RH drive) or at the very least, slightly down-tuned like the Nissan 350z (available in Oz) compared to the 350GT (import permitted).
The only thing I had to get done to my private import 350GT was a new set of tyres (A$1000) and this was mainly because the Japanese tyres didn't have English writing on them.
When I stopped by the Guang Hua Digital Plaza in Taiwan, really, it felt a lot like ebay.
Well, it really is. What ebay stores do is buy components factory direct and sell them on ebay, What stores in technology plazas do is buy components factory direct and sell them in booths.
The big difference is that ebay doesn't give you the chance to inspect the merchandise before buying. Its this reason I like going to the stores and plazas.
Food isn't really that much cheaper in developing countries.
I forgot to add, developing nations generally use the cuts of meat we throw out or put into dog food. Getting quality cuts of steak can be difficult at times... lets not even get into how hard it is to find a decent cheese board in Thailand.
Food and daily basics are cheaper in developing countries but computers and electronics I never found to be any cheaper. At times they were more expensive to be honest.
Food isn't really that much cheaper in developing countries. The price difference you notice is the cost of labour. In Australia minimum wage is about A$15 an hour, for a casual employee you're looking at A$18+ an hour. A$22 for wait or kitchen staff is not unheard of in Perth.
In Thailand, they work for about $15-20 a day in expensive restaurants. Across the whole supply chain this adds up to a lot.
computers and electronics I never found to be any cheaper. At times they were more expensive to be honest.
Computers... maybe for nations that consider them luxury items and tax them accordingly (Cambodia IIRC). But going to Low Yat Plaza in Kuala Lumpur or similar places in Bangkok (Pantip Plaza IIRC) I can find el-cheapo boxes for a good 15-20% less than in Oz. Forget about brand name stuff though, you might find it 10% cheaper, but normally it's about the same price as online stores.
However for general electronics, you can get it way cheaper in Asia. Sim Lim Square (Singapore), Low Yat Plaza (Kuala Lumpur) and Pantip Plaza (Bangkok) will sell components, peripherals and entire gadgets for pennies on what we pay in Oz. A lot of good knock-off gear that you'll never see here. On my last trip to Thailand I picked up a generic copy of a Logitech G500 gaming mouse for 300 Baht (A$10), apart from the "Lazer" brand on the casing it's identical to a A$100 G500. The tip is to ignore the stalls on the bottom floors and go the the top where they see fewer customers. Low Yat and Pantip Plaza's are really Bazaars of tech where you can find everything from Molex extension cables to keyboards to the latest brand name tablets and laptops.
But as I said, the bargain is in the smaller components and no-name gadgets (although they are pretty well known, I include ZTE and Huawei phones in this) forget the brand name stuff. You usually can order that online for the same price.
To me the actual topic here is: "Australia is currently in the middle of parliamentary inquiry into the country's disproportionately high prices for technology." (emphasis mine)
But why is that? Was this situation 'naturally selected' because of a compination of Oceania's geographical placement and some opportunistic merchants, because of something more sinister, or what? Any insights?
The why is simple, they could get away with it.
The how is more mundane. in the 90's Australia had a exchange rate with the USD of 1:0.5 AUD to USD. So prices were set to a bit above double what they were in the US. However in the early 00's this began to change, by the second half of the decade the AUD had passed 80 US cents but prices remained high, offset by rising wages in Australia because distributors did not change prices with the changing exchange rate. Many distributors did not change prices simply because people kept paying the high price.
The distributors are getting a rude awakening as more and more people getting into grey importing.
Some distributors have played ball, mostly with the cheap crap from China, a toaster that used to cost A$40 is now A$10, the price of low end cars like the Kia Rio or Honda Jazz are comparable with the UK (who pay more tax on cars than we do) however high end cars like a BMW are hideously overpriced (yet idiots keep buying them, so BMW has no impetus to change).
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Not $2.25, 2.25% ... probably makes a bit more of a difference :)
IIRC, it's about $6 per device. The percentage is done on wholesale prices, not retail prices even though Apple sells direct to the public for A$900.
Ignorance on your part does not constitute a problem on ours.
/. during that case. He's also consistently wrong.
Florian Mueller is a well known paid shill. His antics during the SCO vs Novell case were very heavily discussed here on
How would having a 2560x1600 display affect battery life over 1366x768? Given that battery life became a big issue, if it would affect battery life in hours I can see why laptop makers would have sacrificed resolution for battery life.
I dont think it would affect battery life as much as it would affect price. To get a 25600x1600 screen it would cost a lot more than a 1366x768 or 1920x180 screen.
I want high resolution displays too, but I dont want to go back to paying A$2000 for an entry level laptop either. Given the laptops I buy are 13-14" models, 1366x768 is fine although I prefer 1440x900 on 14". High res displays have a huge drawback in the fact most OS's assume high res == large monitor and have their UI's designed accordingly (try running Win 7 on a 15" 1920x1080 display, the default text size is almost unreadable).
If Linus Torvalds can't get together the necessary people to get Linux to run decently on the rMBP, there is something very wrong with the world.
Yes, hardware resellers like Apple are making it very, very hard for Linux to run on their laptops.
It's hard to reverse engineer things from scratch, getting Linux to run on an Intel IGM is a dream because Intel released the source code for the IGM drivers. Broadcom didn't do this for their wireless chipsets IIRC, which is why it's a pain to get Broadcom wireless working with Linux.
I dont expect a manufacturer to actively support Linux but I expect them to not actively hinder Linux.
Apple doesnt have retina displays.
Samsung, LG, and Sharp do.
Actually, neither do. Apple sells LG, Samsung and Sharp displays (Samsung, LG and Sharp also sell their own displays).
Apple brands other manufacturers displays as "retina" which is why they aren't all the same display. They could make a 300x400 20" display and call it "retina" because "retina" is not a measure of resolution, it's a marketing buzzword.
Do you do anything other than watch movies or play games?
A 4:3 monitor gives a height/width ratio of ~1.3:1
A 16:9 ratio is ~1.7:1
A sheet of A4 paper has a ratio of ~1.4:1.
The 4:3 monitor - used in portrait mode - shows a clean, full-sized sheet of A4 - just nice for DTP, layout, etc. Some of us still do work that results in A4-sized hard copy. Works for A3, A5, and A6, too.
A 16:10 display is two A4 pages side by side. 2560x1600 is 16:10, not 16:9
Also for those of us who work on spreadsheets and diagrams, 16:10 allows us to do A4 and A3 diagrams in landscape mode.
For writing documents, if you want to write one page at a time 16:10 is good as half the page takes up the whole screen, but then again in almost all office packages you have borders of whitespace around the page.
I agree with you completely. The Galaxy Nexus was royally screwed up here in Canada, too. It wasn't available in the Play Store here. Samsung sold it through the carriers, but modified the firmware so that they, not Google, would be responsible for pushing updates. They behaved exactly as you would expect, introducing months of delay, and skipping several of the minor updates completely.
I agree, but it's a minor issue IMHO.
I also bought the "Samsung" galaxy Nexus idetnified as "yakjuxw". The Google device is just "yakju". It's very easy to convert a yakjuxw to yakju as it's the exact same hardware (maguro) with a slightly different firmware. Give this site a read if you want to attempt it, caveat is that it will wipe your device but the application on that site will backup your applications, contacts and SMS's.
No, he's going to purge the previous leadership and replace them with his friends and/or lackeys.
If that was the case, he would have canned Ive, and wouldn't have bothered convincing Mansfield to come back when he wanted to retire this summer. And Federighi, who was promoted to SVP by Cook this summer is an insider who worked at Jobs's NeXT.
Just because someone worked at NeXT does not mean that they were enemies of Cook.
Besides, admitting that he was dismissed because he wasn't liked pretty much proves what I was saying. This is the exact same kind of purge/reshuffle that happens at every other big corp goes through when the leadership changes.
Fanboys aside, pragmatists aren't very fond of Apple. Pragmatists aren't suckered by hype. That is why they realize how strongly Apple resembles Microsoft in its heyday. Apple is perhaps worse - until recently Microsoft didn't so strongly control what could run on Windows the way Apple controls their walled garden. Apple is just more talented at appearing innocuous. Their marketing is more effective. No one proudly sported Windows the way some Apple fans show off their iDevices. Still doesn't change the nature of the corporation though.
Have you ever considered the possibility that some people actually *value* a walled garden? Like nearly everyone who isn't a tech geek? Which is like 99% of the people buying these devices?
In the same way a prisoner with his spirit broken values his cell.
If Ive gets rid of this crap, he will have my everlasting appreciation.
Also, and MUCH more important : Apple MUST quit trying to blend the interface used by OS X with the interface used by IOS.
Why?
This is what Apple wants, to blur the lines between OSX and IOS so that they can get rid of OSX on most, if not all devices. They're just using the "boiling the frog" method to avoid users from jumping out of the pot.
What does such a major shakeup say about Tim Cook's leadership?
He is going to lead and hold people accountable?
No, he's going to purge the previous leadership and replace them with his friends and/or lackeys.
Why to fanboys continually think that Apple works differently to other corporations. This is a stock standard procedure in any corporate change of leadership.
The only thing tying a lot of people (myself included) to Windows is gaming.
A lot? According to this interview with Ubisoft representatives, only 7% of Ubi's 2011 revenue was generated on PC and 5% of Activision's revenue:
http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2012/09/05/ubisoft-drm-piracy-interview/
That means that >90% of gaming happens on other platforms anyway (consoles, smartphones) and for those users gaming is not what's keeping them on Windows.
Erm 100% of Blizzard's revenue is generated by PC Gamers, so therefore I extrapolate from my dataset that 0% of gaming must be happening on other platforms.
Picking Activision or Ubisoft are bad examples as they primarily produce console games with PC as an afterthought. Fortunately they are not the only game manufacturers, nor are they representative of the gaming industry in general.
You may wish to become better informed.
PC game revenues have been higher for over 2 years now despite selling fewer units. Per unit, PC games sell at a lower price point than console games and make more money. PC gamers play more than console gamers and there's also a lot more people with PC's that can play games than people with consoles.
IIRC they were running in DirectX 9 mode.
DX 9 runs faster than DX10 or 11. It just doesn't have as many features.
Guys, I'm aiming for +4 Troll, I'm not even sure if you can get +5 Troll, but if you can I want it.
Starck is the very embodiment of style over substance. His products often look kinda striking or eye-catching, but they function incredibly poorly. The man is a charlatan who threw out the first rule of design: form follows function. A great artist might just about be able to get away with that,
No wonder he got on so well with Jobs.
Every iDevice in existence values style over substance.
As for air travel, well it's pretty screwed since 9/11
He didn't say air travel, he said air control and they do a damn good job of safely moving thousands of people per day. I tip my hat to Air Traffic Controllers everywhere.
Except they released it two days earlier for Windows Phone and it runs great. But.. whatever.
Yes indeed, both Windows Phone users have reported this.
however high end cars like a BMW are hideously overpriced (yet idiots keep buying them, so BMW has no impetus to change)
If people can afford them and there is no alternative, then they aren't idiots. It's simple supply and demand.
Afford is not so simple, people on $65,000 p/a take out $100,000 loans for BMW X5. That alone makes them idiots.
However it's not what I'm talking about, what makes them real idiots is that not only will they borrow more than their yearly earnings to buy a luxury brand car, they'll complain to hell and back about how they're getting ripped off. They want the cars to cost less, but will still buy them even though they know the manufacturer is taking the piss. They want to affect price, without altering the supply and demand paradigm, that is the definition of idiot (most will blame the govt for high prices, it could never be their own fault).
In case you haven't been paying attention, I imported a Nissan Skyline 350 GT, I paid A$15K less for the JDM model than I would have for the ADM (Skyline 350z) model and got a newer car, with fewer KM's on the clock and a better tuned engine.
Does anyone know if Android, as it now stands, is ready for use on "real" computing devices (desktops and laptops)? In other words, is there any support built in for full multitasking, running apps in resizable and movable windows, a taskbar, and other essentials?
Android the OS, yes. However the applications are not there and the hardware is firmly targeted at mobile devices.
In 4.1 (4.0 on after market ROMs like Cyanogenmod) you have resizable windows (resizable widgets). The concept of running applications in windows (called Widgets) in Android and a Task bar (the notification bar) as well as full multitasking (background services) have been in there since Android 1.0.
The problem towards using Android in the same fashion as Windows and Linux are two fold. There aren't really any productivity applications (thinking along the lines of AutoCAD, ArcGIS, Visual Studio/Eclipse, SQL management tools or Photoshop) on Android and that the hardware is designed to be focused on mobile use. The Samsung Note 10" is probably the most general purpose oriented bit of Android kit on the market and that's miles away from being a practical desktop replacement.
Enh. If you have to attach a keyboard and mouse to a tablet in order to do real work, you've already lost. I would submit that this would *not* be the demise of the desktop.
When you plug a mouse, KB and monitor into a tablet, the tablet has not destroyed the desktop PC, the tablet has become the desktop PC.
I'll put money on this happening, as components get smaller, more powerful machines will be created in smaller form factors. Hell, my Galaxy Nexus is as powerful as my 2002 gaming box (Pentium 3, Geforce 4), Within a year I expect phones to surpass my 2005 gaming box (Athlon 64, Geforce 6600) which would make them almost as powerful as a PS3.
Rather, it's an admission that OS and app creators don't understand the touch paradigm.
This is not true. You can have multiple forms of input without compromising the other. A physical keyboard is faster and more ergonomic than an on screen keyboard, but a physical keyboard is not that portable (carrying that around negates the ergonomic benefits). Designing an interface or input system for both peripherals and on screen controls does not mean that a developer does not understand one or the other.
Now we just need to allow more used cars to be imported....
Oh my, South Africans _love_ to complain about how cars manufactured in SA (esp. Toyota) can possibly sell for less in Aus. than in SA. If you think you get a bad deal on cars, imagine how we feel. We have huge taxes on imported cars (a US$30k car gets ~70% import duty) to prevent outside competition with domestic manufacturers, so they charge what they want... because imported (by distributors) brands are even more expensive.
The companies lining their pockets are gonna keep it that way.
And we thought we were getting reamed here in Oz.
Its the same here, private importing is limited to protect the local manufacturers who despite this, keep closing factories in Australia. These factories are also being propped up with tax money so they're a net loss for Australia (not to mention the Aussie made Holden Cruze is a pile of shite). The sooner we open up private imports to more models of car, the better. ADR (Australian Design Rules) will be met by most, if not all JDM (Japanese Domestic Market) cars, many cars are exactly the same model (Japan and Oz both being RH drive) or at the very least, slightly down-tuned like the Nissan 350z (available in Oz) compared to the 350GT (import permitted).
The only thing I had to get done to my private import 350GT was a new set of tyres (A$1000) and this was mainly because the Japanese tyres didn't have English writing on them.
When I stopped by the Guang Hua Digital Plaza in Taiwan, really, it felt a lot like ebay.
Well, it really is. What ebay stores do is buy components factory direct and sell them on ebay, What stores in technology plazas do is buy components factory direct and sell them in booths.
The big difference is that ebay doesn't give you the chance to inspect the merchandise before buying. Its this reason I like going to the stores and plazas.
Plus Ebay tends to add a bit on for shipping.
Food isn't really that much cheaper in developing countries.
I forgot to add, developing nations generally use the cuts of meat we throw out or put into dog food. Getting quality cuts of steak can be difficult at times... lets not even get into how hard it is to find a decent cheese board in Thailand.
Food and daily basics are cheaper in developing countries but computers and electronics I never found to be any cheaper. At times they were more expensive to be honest.
Food isn't really that much cheaper in developing countries. The price difference you notice is the cost of labour. In Australia minimum wage is about A$15 an hour, for a casual employee you're looking at A$18+ an hour. A$22 for wait or kitchen staff is not unheard of in Perth.
In Thailand, they work for about $15-20 a day in expensive restaurants. Across the whole supply chain this adds up to a lot.
computers and electronics I never found to be any cheaper. At times they were more expensive to be honest.
Computers... maybe for nations that consider them luxury items and tax them accordingly (Cambodia IIRC). But going to Low Yat Plaza in Kuala Lumpur or similar places in Bangkok (Pantip Plaza IIRC) I can find el-cheapo boxes for a good 15-20% less than in Oz. Forget about brand name stuff though, you might find it 10% cheaper, but normally it's about the same price as online stores.
However for general electronics, you can get it way cheaper in Asia. Sim Lim Square (Singapore), Low Yat Plaza (Kuala Lumpur) and Pantip Plaza (Bangkok) will sell components, peripherals and entire gadgets for pennies on what we pay in Oz. A lot of good knock-off gear that you'll never see here. On my last trip to Thailand I picked up a generic copy of a Logitech G500 gaming mouse for 300 Baht (A$10), apart from the "Lazer" brand on the casing it's identical to a A$100 G500. The tip is to ignore the stalls on the bottom floors and go the the top where they see fewer customers. Low Yat and Pantip Plaza's are really Bazaars of tech where you can find everything from Molex extension cables to keyboards to the latest brand name tablets and laptops.
But as I said, the bargain is in the smaller components and no-name gadgets (although they are pretty well known, I include ZTE and Huawei phones in this) forget the brand name stuff. You usually can order that online for the same price.
To me the actual topic here is: "Australia is currently in the middle of parliamentary inquiry into the country's disproportionately high prices for technology." (emphasis mine)
But why is that? Was this situation 'naturally selected' because of a compination of Oceania's geographical placement and some opportunistic merchants, because of something more sinister, or what? Any insights?
The why is simple, they could get away with it.
The how is more mundane. in the 90's Australia had a exchange rate with the USD of 1:0.5 AUD to USD. So prices were set to a bit above double what they were in the US. However in the early 00's this began to change, by the second half of the decade the AUD had passed 80 US cents but prices remained high, offset by rising wages in Australia because distributors did not change prices with the changing exchange rate. Many distributors did not change prices simply because people kept paying the high price.
The distributors are getting a rude awakening as more and more people getting into grey importing.
Some distributors have played ball, mostly with the cheap crap from China, a toaster that used to cost A$40 is now A$10, the price of low end cars like the Kia Rio or Honda Jazz are comparable with the UK (who pay more tax on cars than we do) however high end cars like a BMW are hideously overpriced (yet idiots keep buying them, so BMW has no impetus to change).