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Mac mini will be made at a new facility in Houston

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Re: Mac mini will be made at a new facility in Houston

#671

Post by mschuster91 »

alt227 wrote: post #593
mschuster91 wrote: post #391

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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. A huge part of that is rents. Basically, a store that owns their property outright or even on mortgage has far less worries when business turns down during a crisis. Take Covid - a year or two, depending on where you were, in more or less lockdo…

> A huge part of that is rents. And this is becasue huge international investors still own sites like malls and retail centers and still remember the massive rents they used to command for those units. The bubble will burst when enough sites are written off, and IMO rents will come back down to a reasonable level in a decade or 2.

> And this is becasue huge international investors still own sites like malls and retail centers and still remember the massive rents they used to command for those units.

Oh no. It's US pension funds that own a lot of real estate, and these will continue to get bailed out or protected by the government.

The decision of the US to back pensions on the stonk market has insane, crippling side effects not just on their economy but also on the rest of the world.

Re: Mac mini will be made at a new facility in Houston

#672

Post by lenerdenator »

quentindanjou wrote: post #635
lenerdenator wrote: post #629

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Best == cheaper. Could you do it in the US? Probably. But it'd take longer and you'd have to pay more money.

This is not true. There is now a skill gap. There are countless examples that it isn't about being cheaper. The organisation and optimization of the workforce and infrastructure isn't something we can ignore. The choice of China isn't because it is cheaper, a lot of high-end and even luxury products are produced in China because they can ensure a high-quality manufacturing. There are other places, as the comment abov…

Of course it's true.

The US could do the exact same. Many high-quality, sophisticated goods are made in the US.

It's just cheaper to do in China because the salaries are lower and the costs of establishing more efficient business infrastructure are lower.

And since these companies care more about cost than anything, they choose China.

Re: Mac mini will be made at a new facility in Houston

#673

Post by rangestransform »

rayiner wrote: post #170
deaddodo wrote: post #127

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is the part that blows my mind. People seem to think the US is incapable of and does no manufacturing. It is the second largest manufacturer[1], and has a capacity about 65% of what China does. Which is 350% of the next largest manufacturing country. What they stopped manufacturing was menial and low-end product; because it's not price-effective to have 100 Americans sit on an assembly line and solder SMT compon…

> What they stopped manufacturing was menial and low-end product This statement is as inaccurate as the comment you’re trying to debunk. The fact is that China leveraged it’s low-end manufacturing work to work its way up the chain and now is the leader in many areas: https://itif.org/publications/2025/09/23/how-china-is-outper... . E.g. China has been investing heavily in radar technology and as a result has air to a…

When I was at Tesla, this was the reason given for having the Fremont factory despite Bay Area labour prices

Re: Mac mini will be made at a new facility in Houston

#674

Post by kksidnsjd »

jama211 wrote: post #534
pear01 wrote: post #314

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That guy is so annoying his subpar analysis has become such a trope. America used to build things too. Lawyers have been part of the founding and fabric of both societies. Trying to reduce China v America to engineers vs lawyers is so reductive it's just mind blowing this keeps getting repeated.

So you’re only attacking the title they need to use to survive on the modern internet, rather than the nuanced points they actually make? If anyone’s analysis is subpar it’s yours.

[dead]

Re: Mac mini will be made at a new facility in Houston

#675

Post by kksidnsjd »

alt227 wrote: post #592
vsgherzi wrote: post #242

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What you're describing literally is us losing it. We lost in the market. Price was above all for the market and we didn't adapt and lost. I agree with the point you're trying to make but we did lose it in the sense that we do not have the manufacturing capacity we once did

We didnt 'not adapt and loose' we welcomed it with open arms in order to get cheap prices. People voted with their wallets and collectively decided they didnt give 2 hoots about where something was made as long as the price was right.

[dead]

Re: Mac mini will be made at a new facility in Houston

#676

Post by kube-system »

_DeadFred_ wrote: post #668
kube-system wrote: post #660

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The US used to have a more built out industrial base but since those days a lot of things have changed, structurally, economically, culturally, and in their regulatory environment. The people who would have been doing this work are doing cushy service industry jobs today.

Huh? The people who would have been doing this are doing shitty HVAC jobs (but still getting to be a bit creative). Are doing shitty welding jobs. Are doing HEAVILY underemployed service industry jobs they hate. Etc, etc. None of the people I know with a mind for making/tinkering/refining processes are working service industry jobs happily. People didn't culturally decide they don't want these sorts of jobs, business…

This goes far beyond skilled labor. But I'll start with that point. The US already has a huge shortage of skilled labor, and it's not like we would ever take people from the HVAC industry and put them in a factory. People in the US are gonna still want air conditioning. Culturally, the US absolutely pushes young people to aim for white collar service industry jobs.

Second, it takes a huge amount of engineering talent to do what China is doing as well. In the US, a lot of engineering talent has been attracted to software (or other service industry jobs), where there's a lot of money to be made, and you can sit on your ass and argue on an orange-colored website all day. I prefer that to wearing a hardhat and waking up at 6 AM to go to a factory.

Third, China concentrates a lot of this talent into dense cities, and people make a lot of sacrifices to live there. You're definitely not gonna convince an HVAC guy to leave his suburban home and sell his pickup truck to go live in a dormitory in a dense city and ride a scooter. In China, there's plenty of people that are itching to leave the countryside for the city, leave their families, and search for a better life. In the US, people that live outside of cities, generally want to live there, and aren't interested in relocating. Most developed nations feed this need for skilled labor by importing labor from countries where people have a strong desire to better themselves but don't have a cultural expectation of a backyard and a white picket fence. But the US has had a fucked up immigration system for a long time now.

Fourth, China pulls out all of the roadblocks in order to facilitate the growth of their industrial base. They don't need to go through 10 years of planning to build something, they don't need to argue with a local zoning board, and if they want to build something they don't wait for the free market to decide to do it. If they want to support an industry, they just do it. Single-party unitary governments are efficient as fuck. Of course, this comes with many drawbacks, which politically are just not viable in the US.

Re: Mac mini will be made at a new facility in Houston

#677

Post by maxdo »

selkin wrote: post #414
maxdo wrote: post #215

To all critics . This is something good going on in the country. It’s national interest protection . Together with robotics push , it has a chance , and even they do small things . Today they make body , tomorrow cpu , etc it’s a good thing going on regardless of politics

Why is it a good thing? Manufacturing jobs are horrible, ask anyone who had one. The US built a high margins service economy. This is two steps backwards, no step forwards sort of a deal.

This is why we have troubles. This is so delusional in many ways. You can’t be high margin without building at least something . You can’t be a successful country full of lawyers and doctors only. You have to actually build something

Re: Mac mini will be made at a new facility in Houston

#678

Post by unbalancedevh »

lenerdenator wrote: post #672
quentindanjou wrote: post #635

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is not true. There is now a skill gap. There are countless examples that it isn't about being cheaper. The organisation and optimization of the workforce and infrastructure isn't something we can ignore. The choice of China isn't because it is cheaper, a lot of high-end and even luxury products are produced in China because they can ensure a high-quality manufacturing. There are other places, as the comment abov…

Of course it's true. The US could do the exact same. Many high-quality, sophisticated goods are made in the US. It's just cheaper to do in China because the salaries are lower and the costs of establishing more efficient business infrastructure are lower . And since these companies care more about cost than anything, they choose China.

I think it was "Smarter Every Day," but there's a YouTube channel where the guy went all-out in trying to design, source, and manufacture a simple grill scrubber 100% in the US, and failed. He got the product finished and on the market, but it was literally impossible to do it with 100% American content. IIRC, part of the problem was suppliers that lied about their sourcing, but that still represents the complete lack of availability of US sources.

Re: Mac mini will be made at a new facility in Houston

#679

Post by maxdo »

bigyabai wrote: post #436
maxdo wrote: post #215

To all critics . This is something good going on in the country. It’s national interest protection . Together with robotics push , it has a chance , and even they do small things . Today they make body , tomorrow cpu , etc it’s a good thing going on regardless of politics

> It’s national interest protection . The US has no national interest in the Mac Mini, or the Mac Pro for that matter. Homeland security isn't reliant on Apple datacenters. The Mac comprises less than 10% of Apple's yearly revenue, almost lower-profit than the iPad. Manufacturing Macs in the US doesn't even secure your pension. The iPhone comprises a minor national interest corollary to Apple's stock price, but that'…

Well, it’s the last company who has more or less complete clue on how to build computers.

When the war will start what wit China are you going to use ? What’s even more critical who will be the one who will start manufacturing?

Yeah maybe it’s a tiny drop in the ocean , but that’s the start at least of something. Not just installing solar toilets billed as solar panels for $40k as it was under previous administration

Re: Mac mini will be made at a new facility in Houston

#680

Post by manuelabeledo »

maxdo wrote: post #677
selkin wrote: post #414

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why is it a good thing? Manufacturing jobs are horrible, ask anyone who had one. The US built a high margins service economy. This is two steps backwards, no step forwards sort of a deal.

This is why we have troubles. This is so delusional in many ways. You can’t be high margin without building at least something . You can’t be a successful country full of lawyers and doctors only. You have to actually build something

> You can’t be a successful country full of lawyers and doctors only. You have to actually build something

The GDP sector composition of most of the largest economies is heavily service biased. So, no.

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