The Ultimate Speed Bump: There is no Escape

Sean Fallon — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 18:20:00 EDT

While the city of Philadelphia is content with using 3D images to deter speeders, the authorities in ShanXi province, China are taking a far more drastic approach. They built a 100 foot long, 2 foot high, winding speed block smack dab in the middle of the Jing Zhuang highway. Sure, it scratches up cars, looks hideous and causes massive traffic jams, but hey—by screwing everyone it manages to screw the speeders. Suck on that leadfoot!

[HSW.cn via Weird Asia News via Neatorama]

Cheap Chinese Electronics May Not Be So Cheap Anymore

Jason Chen — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 20:00:00 EDT

In part three of our impromptu exploration into the world of Chinese manufacturing and disassembly of our everyday electronics, we've got Slate's look into the current economic situation and why the era of super cheap goods from China could be over. Here's why: Chinese inflation.

We don't want to get into heavy economics, but here's what we can break Slate's take down to. Raw material costs are going up, the Chinese renminbi is appreciating, Chinese wages are going up, and importers' (the people who buy goods to sell to us) negotiating position are weakening.

What's even worse is that there's no suitable "next" China to take China's place in manufacturing cheap goods for us. This in turn means that sooner or later, "Made in China" will make the same transition "Made in Japan" did in the 1960s and 1970s, and will be less a sign of cheap, low-cost electronics, and just a sign that someone who looks like me built that DVD player you're using. No guarantees on whether or not they pantsed it, however. [Slate]

Gizmodo: Made in China

The Ultimate Speed Bump: There is no Escape

Cheap Chinese Electronics May Not Be So Cheap Anymore