Shenzhen: The Silicon Valley of Hardware (Full Documentary) | Future Cities | WIRED

The thing is that no one is going to explain to you what's going on in China. Understanding the Chinese ecosystem takes considerable effort and the people that do understand would rather talk to others in the know than to a wall. I actually cringe a bit even writing this. If you want to think that there's no difference between PayPal, eBay and modern Chinese versions you are free to do so. But until you've used these things in China (or at least had sufficient imagination), you won't actually know if there is something there. [LINK] [VIDEO] [LINK]

Wired did a 1-hour feature recently called 'Shenzhen: The Silicon Valley of Hardware' [1]. They also visit the markets. [1]: [VIDEO]

I cannot wait for some type of top-down pressure to force IoT developers to take security seriously. The movement has been pushed into overdrive thanks to insane levels of competition where you either crush your R&D into the smallest breakneck period or you live to see your creation being sold for half of what your budget can allow by other firms lifting your efforts while you're still at the workbench.[1] I've been getting cozy with Shenzhen-based hardware accelerators for the past year as part of a personal side-venture and I have not seen a group so pressured to deliver a product as fast as possible with security being a casual afterthought. To get a decent taste of what it's like, I wholeheartedly recommend WIRED's Future Cities documentary on Shenzhen and the companies that dwell there.[2] Their struggles for ephemeral market-share are endemic of the entire community that's taken over embedded hardware for the past few years. The saddest aspect of it all is that this market competition isn't benefiting the consumer. IoT devices are coming out of the factories poorly engineered, badly maintained for far too short of a time, and as we've learned from this attack, being used as vectors for network intrusion and distributed censorship. Even arduino founder Massimo Banzi's widely-lauded IoT Manifesto[3] fails to approach any comprehensive statement regarding a dev's responsibility to build in some level of security to their devices. It just isn't part of the fast-and-loose cu

There's an excellent documentary on the hardware/hacking ecosystem in Shenzhen on YouTube: [VIDEO] . A lot of people there seem to embrace the ethos of moving fast and ignoring IP laws (both original creator and spoofer) because by the time you get a lawsuit or patent filed, the tech will have moved far beyond what you were trying to protect, and it will no longer be worth your time. Basically, move fast and try to keep up. It's crazy how fast the tech cycles are there.

Latest innovation in Cloud Computing! Frivolous Lawsuit Defense As A Service. I think at some point the archaic IP laws in USA would mean that deployment of cutting edge technology ends up happening in China. This is already happening in Shenzen. [VIDEO]

Watching this documentary ( [VIDEO] ) about Shenzhen I got a very strong cyberpunk vibe, especially the last 1/3 of it. People at the streets fixing electronics, cheap/pirated circuit boards being sold at the curb, etc.

WIRED UK did a great job going into more detail on Shenzhen, highly recommend watching the documentary. [VIDEO]

If interested about Shenzhen, I'd highly recommend watching this mesmerizing feature on Wired UK: [VIDEO]

I doubt anybody will ever see this response, but about the Hoverboard, here it is: Hoverboards are originally from China [1] however, most of us have likely learned about them from Kickstarter etc. I think the users of HN would agree that "invention is never a sudden thing". The process for hoverboards has been iterative, of course. I have heard claims of having commercial hoverboards as much as five years before they became household names in the US. [1] [VIDEO]

For a companion piece I highly recommend this hour long vid by Wired about Shenzhen. It's worth your time: [VIDEO] Things that stood out to me was the maker mindset was so prevalent and competitve that it had filtered down to the buyers. So someone cobbles together some new widget for their phone and starts to sell it. Other people see it selling a nd copy it, but they make modifications. Shoppers see it for the first time and decide they want one with a purple strap, so they shop around until they find it or find someone who will make it that way. This is where the hoverboard fad bubbled up but also how and why it "flamed" out. I think it's a fascinating testbed for technology and creativity and economics.

Keeping customers. See Shenzhen which is a free-for-all but out-innovates about everyone else in product development: [VIDEO]

The patent system needs to be changed in some way. When people talk about monopolies, they seem to rarely mention that the government enforces awful patents. And you don't even need to make the thing, just patent it! I'm not sure if it's fair to R&D costs to gut patents entirely, but I'd like to see them weakened considerably. Patent trolls should not exist. Glad to see justice in this case. Edit: Watched Shenzhen: The Silicon Valley of Hardware, was interesting in regards to loose IP rights. [1] [VIDEO]

Whenever people talk about failures of government to build infrastructure I can't help but look back at the brilliant Wired documentary on Shenzhen. It depicts a boundary line between the city and urban village. And government had the power to relocate 150k in a snap to get the development going [1] How many countries can actually do that? Sure, couple of hundreds of people can be moved but 100k people, I am sure that cause a riot of sorts and project shut down very quickly. [1] [VIDEO]

It's super weird how everybody considered Trump odd for his hate for China, yet these days so many people just repeat the, usually completely baseless, anti-China FUD. Whether it's Huawei supposedly spying on everybody or the Chinese government putting implants on Super Micro boards, nothing is too absurd to be spread by, out of all parties, Five eyes themselves. Does China hack? Of course, so does the US, it even steals IP from allies. But I seriously doubt the damages for that go into the $57 billion, that's just a piracy-damages like inflated number. In reality, a whole lot of interesting innovation, particularly on the hardware level, has already been happening in China for years already. They gonna out-make the US maker movement, on a massive scale [0]. [0] [VIDEO]

>There is no incentive for being a pioneer in a culture where IP is not protected. This is demonstrably false [VIDEO]

Short-term demand seems to be shifting to Vietnam. This seems to have enabled a 'wait and see' approach re: China + tariffs. However, I'd question if Vietnam has enough long-term manufacturing capacity [1] [2] [3] to sustain the short-term advantage it seems to be currently enjoying. Today, China has 16 of the world's 50 busiest ports, including Shenzhen at #3 (all as measured by 2018 TEU volume). [4] However, this is less indicative of capacity than it is of current demand / throughput. Both countries could benefit from building more deep-water ports. China currently has two Panamax ports, with a third on the way. Vietnam has none and is building its first. The U.S., by comparison, has 42 by my count. [5] Separately, there's a great Wired documentary on Shenzhen: [VIDEO] . [1] [LINK] [2] www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3018403/chinese-manufacturers-returning-home-inefficient-vietnam [3] [LINK] [4] [LINK] [5] [LINK]

Hewlett Packard[0] is interesting. I'm sure one could find companies for which the place was called Silicon Valley. You could also check out Shenzhen and ask Andrew Huang.[1] Apparently, hardware startups there move really, really fast.[2] He also has a book entitled "The Essential Guide to Shenzhen", here's a thread about it.[3] [0]: [LINK] [1]: [LINK] [2]: [VIDEO] [Vice report with Andrew Huang] [3]: [LINK]

China’s funding for science and research to reach 2.5 per cent of GDP in 2019: [LINK] A documentary by WIRED UK done in 2016 explains many cultural and legal reasons: [VIDEO] China has hardware industries that work similar to how open source software works. An article on effects of expiring patents on 3D printing (2013): [LINK] 90 Minutes a Day, Until 10 P.M.: China Sets Rules for Young Gamers: [LINK] Many Asian countries have already taken strong steps for digital addiction (which will be the next important problem to tackle after covid, I bet). China’s sustainable urban transport revolution: [LINK] [LINK] > Overall, 79% of people between the ages of 12 and 24 in Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Mexico, Nigeria, and Russia say they feel optimistic about the direction of the world, compared to only about half of those in far more well-off places like Australia, France, Germany, Great Britain, and Sweden. In the United States, the number is 63%. [LINK] > Of the top countries on our survey, China has developers that are the most optimistic, believing that people born today will have a better life than their parents. Developers in Western European countries like France and Germany are among the least optimistic about the future. [LINK] China is also much larger country than US. It has 3x more people than US. Those individuals are going to be at par with people in west at some point. There are so many interesting things to discuss and question.

Bunnie Huang [1] has written/spoke on this topic. I think he mentions it in the Shenzen documentary [2]. Quote from the documentary page: > We examine the unique manufacturing ecosystem that has emerged, gaining access to the world’s leading hardware-prototyping culture whilst challenging misconceptions from the west. The film looks at how the evolution of “Shanzhai” – or copycat manufacturing – has transformed traditional models of business, distribution and innovation, and asks what the rest of the world can learn from this so-called “Silicon Valley of hardware". 1: [LINK] 2: [VIDEO]

Here is a list of 20 documentaries I have come to love and return to when I come across them. There is no specific order to them. Enjoy! The * next to the number indicates the last 4 years. If you have seen one listed that you'd like to share what you think about please leave a comment with this structure [# in the list ] Comment... . i.e. [1] Loved learning about Noyce. What a guy. 1. Silicon Valley: Where the Future | PBS: American Experience [1:23:19] [2013] History of the how Silicon Valley came to be. William Shockley. Robert Noyce. Fairchild Semiconductor, The Traitorous Eight. Homepage: [LINK] Kanopy: [LINK] Where to Watch: [LINK] 2. Shenzhen: The Silicon Valley of Hardware | Wired UK: Future Cities [1:07:50] [2016] the evolution of “Shanzhai” – or copycat manufacturing – has transformed traditional models of business, distribution and innovation, and asks what the rest of the world can learn from this so-called “Silicon Valley of hardware". Youtube: [VIDEO] *2.1. The People's Republic of The Future | Bloomberg: Hello World [30:10] [2019] Shenzhen, tech-fueled entrepreneurs try to navigate an authoritarian regime. Youtube: [LINK] 3. The Pirate Bay Away From Keyboard | TPB AFK [1:22:07] [2013] The history of the Pirate Bay. Torrenting. Legal. Privacy. Homepage: [LINK] Youtube: [LINK] Where to Watch: [LINK] 4. Can’t Get You Out of My Head | BBC [6 Part] [2021] Adam Curtis takes you on "An Emotional history of how we got to this place." Economics. History. Power. Psycholo