"Now
they have copied the Raspberrypi and called it the OrangePi, expect to see loads
of them coming our way soon!
Just
the same as making us the reactors, they take our designs and copy them selling them back to us.
Steve has also found the support page http://www.orangepi.org/.
Before we know it they will be ripping off everything and we'll depend on them for everything we consume. Where will this end? Disaster? At some point The West will wake up - if we do not then we are in for deep trouble in a few years' time. Our economy depends on manufacturing and we are destroying this, or rather letting the ChÃnese do this for us.
If we brought back manufacturing to the US/EU,would we be prepared
ReplyDeleteto pay the higher prices now that we are used to them. I suspect not :-((
Well, "anonymous" - afraid to give your name? - I think the age of really low cost Chinese manufacturing is gradually ending. I think we will find sweat shops in other 3rd world countries to do our dirty work. It would be healthy if gradually we learned to make things ourselves again.
ReplyDeleteCoping designs is of course illegal,
ReplyDeleteHowever, to spice the discussion up, I will play devils advocate here:
UK/US/Europe industry would be better making smart designs, which are licensed and manufactured in China. This is pretty much what all the winning companies do (ARM processors, Apple, etc).
Do we really want to go back to the slave/crazy working conditions that are required to compete with China on price alone? I think not. If we DO make things, they should be world-beating and pay the workforce well (Rolls Royce, UK space industries, Taylor Woodrow etc.) not cheap gadgets.
Lets leave the cheap shirts, bras and inflatable swimming pool toys to someone else. I also suspect you would not stomach the correct price for an "ALL-UK" manufactured laptop/PC ? unless it has 'cult' or audiophile appeal.. something sadly PYE discovered too late with consumer electronics.
Hugh G6AIG, (engineer in Paris, working mostly for a German company, but that's another story) p.s. not the Author of the previous email.
China is (currently) very low cost, as was Japan once. This will gradually end as the Chinese get richer, refuse to be sweat shop fodder and generally expect a better standard of living. We will soon be faced with a choice: start to return manufacturing to the West or exploit other poor countries until they, in turn, become too expensive. The correct path would be to invest in manufacturing in the West and pay the true costs for goods. Instead we will borrow yet more (stoking up our balance of payments debt) and continue to exploit workers in poor countries.
ReplyDelete"exploit workers in poor countries"..? Many countries are glad that western money is flowing in, with good jobs. The people of Hong Kong/Taiwan/China etc.. now have money in their pocket to spend on luxury western items, instead of dust.
ReplyDeleteHugh G6AIG
Hugh - that is true I guess to some extent. I still think we EXPLOIT workers in some countries. We (covertly) allow working practices which would be totally unacceptable in the West. It is convenient to look the other way and just accept cheaper goods without asking, "how come they can do it so cheaply?".
ReplyDeleteHave you recently tried to buy ANY goods that were not made in a sweat-shop somewhere? It is almost impossible. Most consumer goods say "Made in China" or some other low-cost economy. Even M&S now source all(?) of their clothes from poor countries where exploitation is bad. Quality is lower as they are obviously asked to make for a price. Things are no longer designed to last. We live in a consumer society. Will it last?
ReplyDeleteWell, it has lasted do far, in fact, we require consumerism to fuel growth. Whether the planet can cope indefinitely is of course another question.
ReplyDeleteMy own personal take (for what its worth) is that progress is necessary (or we would still be listening to out cats-whisker sets) but needs to be managed ethically and environmentally. As far as the UK.. you can still buy
shirts http://www.turnbullandasser.co.uk
shoes http://www.taylormadeshoes.co.uk
Watches http://www.robertloomes.com/ and many others
cars http://www.morgan-motor.co.uk/ and most of the F1 racing cars!
made in the UK, but at prices you might find unpalatable :-)
IMHO mass consumer products will always struggle on price.
best regards, and keep up the recovery! Hugh G6AIG