Ello is so shitty. It's like a cross between Tumblr and Twitter with a shitty UI and almost no functionality.
It's new. I really hope people aren't saying the same thing about my stuff when I first release it.
There Is No Maker Movement in China
71–80 of 106 posts
Re: There Is No Maker Movement in China
#72Earlier quoted context omitted.
> It seems incredibly unimaginative and frankly egotistic to think that you can make generalizations about overall Chinese culture Why? What does it mean "generalizations about overall Chinese culture"? Are you claiming that in China there is only a collection of small, unrelated cultures, and no shared core? The whole point of the concept of "culture" is to observe that such generalizations do exist, and they drive…
> Are you claiming that in China there is only a collection of small, unrelated cultures, and no shared core? Are you implying it isn't? I mean there are more than the Han chinese (ethnic culture), and even within that there is are quite varied cultures within the Han. Most people's "chinese generalisations" are generalising about upper-middle class Chinese from the Big 3 cities + Hong Kong. Because they are the majo…
It's usually the case that large cultures can be divided into subcultures (same with ethnic groups). The question isn't whether this is the case, but whether they form a larger culture with shared values and beliefs, and what those beliefs and values are. This is why the words "only" and "no shared core" appear in the question you are replying to. Saying that such generalizations cannot be made or that they only lead only to "mundane observations" is demonstrably false.
The only question is whether the specific observation discussed here is correct.
Re: There Is No Maker Movement in China
#73Ello is so shitty. It's like a cross between Tumblr and Twitter with a shitty UI and almost no functionality.
It's new. I really hope people aren't saying the same thing about my stuff when I first release it.
It's okay, just label your UI so users don't have to guess what a button might do and most people will be fine
Re: There Is No Maker Movement in China
#74The cybermart description matches exactly my memory of Sim Lim Square from when I lived in Singapore, except that place is immense and you could get the best naan you've ever had in the basement.
Sim Lim tower is actually better for maker stuff than Sim Lim square. The two are just across the street from each other. (I hope I'm not mixing them up.)
You're correct. Sim Lim Tower is where the electronic/electrical stuff is, Sim Lim Square has the computer parts and electronics (cameras etc).
But in Singapore, the mother lode is probably Koba Electronics[1] in Chinatown..
[1] http://dangerousprototypes.com/2012/08/06/global-geek-tour-s...
Re: There Is No Maker Movement in China
#75Great essay. Making is a movement in America, because it isn't a necessity. In China, repairing things instead of throwing them away is the norm. So there are large numbers of Makers in every town, who honed their skills in electronics repair. When robots bring down the cost of new goods to the point where it no longer makes sense to repair things--because they are so cheap to replace--China will lose its Makers just…
You are delusional. When robots are good enough to build everything and labour cost of manufacturing approaches zero there will be NO ONE to buy anything. We will end up with 1% owning robots, 9% working directly on robots(designing/fixing), and 90% in favelas eating grass and cardboard bread.
And robots doing what? Creating cardboard for the people in favelas to eat?
I think you're being a bit overly pessimistic here.
Re: There Is No Maker Movement in China
#76I strongly disagree with this post and the author's opinions on Chinese culture. He's missing something really big that's a core of Chinese culture. > the "We here in the Maker movement could not be more pleased with ourselves" vibe. This is another of way of saying that we enjoy making here beyond earning a living. Yes it's work, but it's also recreation and art. In places like SV and NY, people make because mainly…
Re: There Is No Maker Movement in China
#77Earlier quoted context omitted.
American Makers generally don't strip junkyards for raw materials to manufacture into screws. My first thought was, "of course not, because Chinese companies sell screws for a lower price than it would cost to travel to the junkyard". At least, it makes sense to me that a glut of cheap stuff would eliminate any practical motivation for "making", leaving only the people who 'make' for pleasure. A second thought was, "…
I haven't heard of an electronics junkyard either (I'm american), but I can think of a close equivalent which might count - RePC. They're a state approved electronics recycling center (I've taken CRTs I no longer wanted down there), but they also keep bins and asiles of old / used hard drives, cables, etc. in stock. Very retro - it wasn't that long ago I went down there to pick up a replacement 80x25 monochrome tty t…
I wasn't really talking about electronics junkyard. Screws are generally made out of metal. But the reason electronics junkyards don't exist in most places in America or Europe is because almost everything gets sent to China. There are some pretty big piles there.
http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1870485...
Re: There Is No Maker Movement in China
#78Earlier quoted context omitted.
> China has 1.35 billion people, and it seems incredibly unimaginative and frankly egotistic to think that you can make generalizations about overall Chinese culture Ok I'm open to being wrong. How about proving me wrong? What parts of my description of Chinese culture are wrong? For one thing it's a pessimistic society hence the photocopy culture (why take a crazy risk for something unknown and original when I can j…
This comment just reads as a passive-aggressive racist rant. Do you really think people in China do not share? Do you really think Chinese are 'used' to obeying 'emporers'? Is that because they did 100 years ago? Which emperor do they follow now? (if you answer is the CCP or Xijinping, how is that different to Congress/Obama?) Is buying a movie off iTunes for $10 more of a rebellion against institutions than p2p-stre…
>> the CCP or Xijinping, how is that different to Congress/Obama?
Not disagreeing with you that their is real innovation going on in China (I think there is), but I don't think this is a great example. The US Congress and President Obama are all elected officials, whereas Xi Jinping and the CCP are not.
Electing your own leaders is a pretty big deal, thus the protests in Hong Kong.
Re: There Is No Maker Movement in China
#79Earlier quoted context omitted.
> China has 1.35 billion people, and it seems incredibly unimaginative and frankly egotistic to think that you can make generalizations about overall Chinese culture Ok I'm open to being wrong. How about proving me wrong? What parts of my description of Chinese culture are wrong? For one thing it's a pessimistic society hence the photocopy culture (why take a crazy risk for something unknown and original when I can j…
This comment just reads as a passive-aggressive racist rant. Do you really think people in China do not share? Do you really think Chinese are 'used' to obeying 'emporers'? Is that because they did 100 years ago? Which emperor do they follow now? (if you answer is the CCP or Xijinping, how is that different to Congress/Obama?) Is buying a movie off iTunes for $10 more of a rebellion against institutions than p2p-stre…
> Tencent - Non-copy cat company, crazy amount of innovation and market penetration
Wait, what? This is a terrible example. Tencent is anything but innovative. They are notorious for copying ideas from local startups.
Re: There Is No Maker Movement in China
#80I couldnt read this. The design of the site hurts my brain. The font is painful and hard to read.
Same here. The design messes with my brain. The layout causes me health problems. And the font is a sad song unto my soul.