Mac mini will be made at a new facility in Houston

Post by sampo » Wed, Feb 25, 2026, 4:32 PM UTC

blipvert wrote: post #576

lukan wrote: post #527

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"I can't speak for China, I've only visited a few times, but in the US it's true that an overwhelming number of successful politicians were previously lawyer" I can't speak for china either, so I looked it up and indeed, Xi Jinping studied chemical engineering and his predecessor Hu Jintao worked as a hydraulic engineer before becoming a politician. Well in germany we had Merkel as a doctorate in quantum chemistry (b…

Here in the UK the leader of the opposition frequently refers to herself as an engineer. She was a software engineer. LOL. (I speak as someone with a degree in Computer Science and Software “Engineering”, and an inglorious past as a Chemical Engineering student)

Post by MisterTea » Wed, Feb 25, 2026, 4:36 PM UTC

midnighthollowc wrote: post #604

tedd4u wrote: post #600

Earlier quoted context omitted.

'Q:What does China's competitive edge look like in practice?' 'A: One example from The Times article: When Jobs decided just a month before the iPhone hit markets to replace a scratch-prone plastic screen with a glass one, a Foxconn factory in China woke up about 8,000 workers when the glass screens arrived at midnight, and the workers were assembling 10,000 iPhones a day within 96 hours. 'Another example: Apple had…

That's pretty amazing, honestly. Here I can't even get a tradesperson to give me a quote, much less show up on a dime. I guess I need another eight billion dollars, give or take a penny

Post by dyauspitr » Wed, Feb 25, 2026, 4:37 PM UTC

kakacik wrote: post #625

midnighthollowc wrote: post #604

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's pretty amazing, honestly. Here I can't even get a tradesperson to give me a quote, much less show up on a dime. I guess I need another eight billion dollars, give or take a penny

Project this a decade or two into future and I honestly don't have a solution for the west but a gradual decline into mediocrity. We have less corruption and communicate directly also about problems, so at least that will work for us for some time too. But maybe China and similar places will elevate their overall prosperity enough that people will refuse to be treated like this en masse, so there is some hope.

Post by dyauspitr » Wed, Feb 25, 2026, 4:49 PM UTC

whynotmaybe wrote: post #209

vsgherzi wrote: post #96

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Just as manufacturing in China took time manufacturing in the US will take time. The US has lost much of its skilled labor and mom and pop parts shop. If we have any hope of re-invigorating this some large company is going to have to bite the bullet. Chicken and egg problem imo. I'll leave whether this is worth it or not up to the economists.

No, US didn't lose it, we collectively decided that whenever we buy something, the price was the most important aspect. It's like everybody forgot that their neighbour's job depend on them. We're repeating the same pattern with online shopping, malls and stores everywhere are closing because of our collective actions, we're not losing them like I lost my keys.

Post by _DeadFred_ » Wed, Feb 25, 2026, 5:00 PM UTC

GenerWork wrote: post #641

audunw wrote: post #638

Earlier quoted context omitted.

These anecdotes come from the very peak of Chinas demographic dividend. In a decade or two their demographic dividend will be in a steep decline. China also needs to change something drastic to avoid brain drain. The migration of competent people is still one-way. There no path to become a Chinese citizen. China has come a long way, but Europe is still ahead on building liveable communities and wok/life balance, whil…

>China also needs to change something drastic to avoid brain drain. Why does this matter? I hear this a lot but at the same time I look at what's coming out of China, especially in the AI space, and it's clear that brain drain isn't really hampering them.