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Print 54 comment(s) - last by clovell.. on May 21 at 1:31 PM

  (Source: earth.google.com)
The world's largest mobile market puts a lock-down on location-based-services; they say a threat to security is to blame.

Thanks to the marvels of modern technology, everyone interested has access to satellite images of the Earth.   With the push of a button, anyone can look anywhere in the world and get a street-view of its location; but this will no longer be the case in the Peoples Republic Of China. 

In an effort to combat what they consider a threat to state security, the Chinese government has set up new regulations that will ban what they consider to be "illegal" maps of the country placed online.

The new regulations include all maps downloaded or copied from the internet onto mobile devices according to The New York Times.

Chinese officials are concerned that some uploaded satellite maps and images could display sensitive military locations.  Authorities are now strengthening supervision on companies utilizing platforms that provide online maps and geographical information.  They are updating current policies to require that all internet map servers store map data inside the country as well as provide public internet protocol addresses.  

The new policies will affect map services like Bing and Google.  Google recently found itself caught up in a confrontation with China, after the company decided to no longer go along with the country's requirement to censor internet searches in China.  In an effort to work around the censoring restrictions, Google moved its servers to Hong Kong.

Government officials will also require that all map servers "have no record of information leakage in any form in the past three years."  And by December, officials will also crack down on unregistered or illegal map servers.  Those who are deemed in violation of exposing state secrets could be jailed for up to 10 years.

Officials also plan to crack down on unregistered or illegal Internet map servers by December and release blacklists to the public.

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Soviet-era paranoia
By serkol on 5/20/2010 12:54:53 PM , Rating: 5
Wow, that's like going back in time to Soviet Union in 1970s.




RE: Soviet-era paranoia
By mcnabney on 5/20/2010 1:07:23 PM , Rating: 5
Why again are we doing business with this country?

Why do we allow our corporations to move factories and technologies there, just to have their IP and know how stolen?

Is getting stuff for 5-10% cheaper really worth it?


RE: Soviet-era paranoia
By hr824 on 5/20/2010 1:28:46 PM , Rating: 5
No because Cash trumps moral conviction and patriotism that's obvious by now don't you think?


RE: Soviet-era paranoia
By amanojaku on 5/20/2010 1:36:49 PM , Rating: 5
WE are not doing business with China. CORPORATIONS are doing business with China and other countries, claiming it's cheaper for us as consumers. Except that prices go up every year, while quality and safety goes down. Which means a few well-paid executives are reaping the benefits of China's lack of ethics and our lack of local manufacturing. Considering the difference between manufacturing costs and retail costs of things like the iPhone we could easily bring some of those jobs back to the States. Sure, products would not be as cheap, but the US economy would be much better off, and we would all be doing better.

And then I woke up.


RE: Soviet-era paranoia
By Uncle on 5/20/2010 1:56:22 PM , Rating: 5
Why blame the Chinese. Everytime Apple or ? comes out with a new product, the manufactured price vs the selling price doubles in North America. I call that selfish greed. Jobs has taken the old cliche "charge what the market can bare" to a new level. Profit is good, it keeps the economy moving, whose economy is debatable. Another way to look at it is half the money for all the "I" products leaves the country. Then the Chinese have to buy American bonds to help support all the debt that is created by the money leaving in the first place. What a system and mess our beloved Corporations have put us in just to line their egotistical pockets.


RE: Soviet-era paranoia
By masamasa on 5/20/2010 3:12:13 PM , Rating: 3
Well said.


RE: Soviet-era paranoia
By cerx on 5/20/2010 3:25:27 PM , Rating: 2
Why does everyone assume they don't have a choice?! If you don't like it, change it. Quit buying stuff that's not made in America. Talk to your local/state/federal government. Run for government. Start a business yourself.


RE: Soviet-era paranoia
By quiksilvr on 5/20/2010 7:17:30 PM , Rating: 2
We would if the stuff made in America wasn't crap. I would rather buy from Europe or Japan.


RE: Soviet-era paranoia
By knutjb on 5/20/2010 7:40:05 PM , Rating: 2
"Stuff" what stuff? Show me tools made anywhere that are better than Snap-On.

I lived in Europe and not all of their stuff is so wonderful. Though Poland does make much better gardening tools than anything I've seen from China for just a couple dollars more.

You're blanket remark is empty on facts.


RE: Soviet-era paranoia
By gralex on 5/21/2010 6:43:24 AM , Rating: 2
You're forgetting the Scandinavians:)

Fiskars are legendary! Husqvarna ain't bad either...

(and the Swiss got Victorinox)


RE: Soviet-era paranoia
By Strunf on 5/21/2010 7:36:34 AM , Rating: 2
PB Swiss probably make the best screw drivers in the world, then you have Stahlwile and Facom for all other kind of tools...


RE: Soviet-era paranoia
By RjBass on 5/21/2010 11:00:38 AM , Rating: 2
Snap On, great. But what if I want to build a custom PC? Can you give me a list of part options? Keep in mind all the part options must be made in the USA. I don't think it can be done.


RE: Soviet-era paranoia
By AnnihilatorX on 5/21/2010 12:43:10 PM , Rating: 3
RE: Soviet-era paranoia
By bug77 on 5/20/2010 4:54:55 PM , Rating: 2
I take it corporations are some sort of alien entity?


RE: Soviet-era paranoia
By amanojaku on 5/20/2010 5:39:23 PM , Rating: 1
The OP said why are WE doing business with China. Last time I checked, most of us aren't doing business with China. I'm not going to China to buy stuff. I'm not going online to buy stuff from Chinese companies, either. We're doing business with AMERICAN companies, or JAPANESE companies, etc.... THOSE COMPANIES are doing business with China.

The other day I was in Whole Paycheck (Whole Foods) buying groceries when I decided to pick up a metal water bottle. They were all made in China, so I put them all back on the shelf and walked out without a water bottle. I have the utmost respect for Chinese PEOPLE, but Chinese BUSINESSES, and the companies that contract them (i.e. Apple and Foxconn) can suck a fat one. None of my clothes are made in China, my food comes from America, and I try to buy electronics that have never touched China. I don't always have a choice, but whenever I do I exercise the non-Chinese option.


RE: Soviet-era paranoia
By bug77 on 5/20/2010 5:56:07 PM , Rating: 2
Riight. So when someone goes to Walmart to buy the cheapest stuff (made in China), that someone is doing business with an American company. At the same time he's telling the said company: "stuff made in China sells, gimme more". No doubt the "companies" are the culprit here.

I see your point about not having any other options anymore, that's what happens when we buy so much chinese, we put local suppliers out of business.


RE: Soviet-era paranoia
By Penti on 5/20/2010 9:37:36 PM , Rating: 2
US accepted China back in '73.

But anyway stuff like clothes are too expensive to buy from China and you probably buy from somewhere a lot worse where the workers don't even have basic dormitories but might even live in illegal slums with no running water, electricity, sewage or other basic needs.

Can I buy a motherboard not made in China? Probably but then it's some industrial board.

It's frankly retarded to choose to do business with Cambodia, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and so on, but not China.

Back when Western Europe still had a garment industry the wages was higher then it is in China today, but that's too high for the clothing industry today and they are fleeing it like crazy. Also they have trouble finding workers for it today. It's not the cheap worthless crap that builds China, that has largely already moved to other countries. China is a high technology economy already. Although it has many different faces more and more we will associate them with high tech products and services from mainland China companies.

The worse companies in China is often foreign ones, they are the ones who treat workers like replacement for machines pay them just enough to live in their dormitories and expect them to return happily to the countryside after working for them, rather then having dedicated and proud workers making enough to have a good living and have the ability to do a career in the company. Chinese companies often offer better opportunities, better wages, and really invest in their business. So the foreign companies which don't regard their Chinese facilities as top notch production and design units will be pushed out eventually. They won't be able to compete with the most modern facilities in the world built by others there.


RE: Soviet-era paranoia
By iamezza on 5/21/2010 12:06:14 PM , Rating: 2
most good after-market boards are made in Taiwan


RE: Soviet-era paranoia
By guacamojo on 5/20/2010 5:34:14 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
WE are not doing business with China. CORPORATIONS are doing business with China and other countries, claiming it's cheaper for us as consumers.


Hmm. That's not quite true.

Consider:

Company A makes their product in the US. It costs them $100 to manufacture. They sell it for $150. Gross margin: 50%

Company B makes their competitive product in China. It costs them $70 to manufacture. They sell it for $120. Gross margin: 71%

Supposing both products are equivalent in features, quality, and all the things you look for as a consumer, which one are you going to buy for yourself? Company B is offering you a better deal (save $30!), and they're making more money at the same time. Company A doesn't stand a chance in a price war. They're destined to lose.

I work for a US manufacturer. My company competes against Chinese imports. We even import some components ourselves. It's necessary, because if you don't, you die. The consumer will see to that because they don't care where it's made. The consumer always wants more for their "hard-earned" money. Just look at Walmart's success.

That's free enterprise for you. Every time you make a purchase, you're voting for more of what you just bought. Saying that corporations are doing business with China and we (American consumers) are not is naive.


RE: Soviet-era paranoia
By tophat on 5/20/2010 5:56:03 PM , Rating: 2
GM = (Price-Cost)/Price


RE: Soviet-era paranoia
By fteoath64 on 5/21/2010 12:46:17 AM , Rating: 2
Well if moral people NOT work for such abusive Corporations then they cannot afford to support such countries. Corporations work because of people and unless lemmings are working there. Humans do have a choice.


RE: Soviet-era paranoia
By clovell on 5/21/2010 1:29:44 PM , Rating: 2
Woke up and realized that corporations are enabled by current US trade policies and tariffs that opened free trade with China back during Clinton's presidency?

It's a well-documented corollary of supply and demand, as well as social darwinism, that corporations are going to be interested in their own survival. That's why we have a government that can guide trade policies.

It's about time we started havign some tit-for-tat with China with regards to our trade regulations with them. When we do something they don't like, they impose tariffs or restrictions, but when it goes the other way, we turn a blind eye.

China's running with the big dogs now and they need tostart getting treated like it.


RE: Soviet-era paranoia
By MadMan007 on 5/20/2010 1:37:30 PM , Rating: 2
There are no morals in capitalism, the $ is god.


RE: Soviet-era paranoia
By S3anister on 5/20/2010 8:13:01 PM , Rating: 3
What I find hilarious is how the United States as a union is losing it's manufacturing might, losing out to horribly controlled countries like China. While in the process killing off jobs that would otherwise be available here in the US.

Where has the (working) middle class in our great nation gone?


RE: Soviet-era paranoia
By The0ne on 5/21/2010 11:57:16 AM , Rating: 2
I'm still here, working hard. Oh, you mean the other middle class white people like my coworkers here. From their daily activities I can say they get pay alot more than I do for knowing and doing less work. Let me correct that, for doing almost nothing everyday.

This isn't your 60/60's type of citizens any longer. I simply don't understand white people at all on their laziness. I'm not saying all but fck there are so many of them around.

i.g. My new boss, who gave himself the title of Sr Director (hahahaha), comes in does almost no work and leaves 4-5 hours later. Right now, my technician and I are waiting several weeks ahead to see his face when he comes around telling us why we can't fix our product. I'm going to put it in his face and tell him to "if you had order the DAMN parts that I had asked you months before we wouldn't be in this situation." :) I'm brutal and love it.


RE: Soviet-era paranoia
By carniver on 5/20/2010 1:11:41 PM , Rating: 2
Proof that China wants its citizens to lose their direction!


RE: Soviet-era paranoia
By Iaiken on 5/20/2010 1:16:58 PM , Rating: 5
Without maps.google.com, we are lost...


RE: Soviet-era paranoia
By Yawgm0th on 5/20/2010 1:20:21 PM , Rating: 4
I like what you did there.


RE: Soviet-era paranoia
By MrBlastman on 5/20/2010 1:19:35 PM , Rating: 2
China lost its direction on July 1st, 1921. :(

The World to China:

China .


RE: Soviet-era paranoia
By xler8r on 5/20/2010 1:22:29 PM , Rating: 2
So, I've been thinking about it. If there is going to be a zombie holocaust, its going to be because China. All their citizens will be brainless and full of rage :D


RE: Soviet-era paranoia
By amanojaku on 5/20/2010 1:26:09 PM , Rating: 2
It's the Worcestershire sauce. You're not supposed to use it as embalming fluid!


RE: Soviet-era paranoia
By MrBlastman on 5/20/2010 1:32:15 PM , Rating: 2
I blame it on the cats. If you eat enough of them, their nine lives will rub off on you.


RE: Soviet-era paranoia
By clovell on 5/21/2010 1:31:44 PM , Rating: 2
I lol'ed


RE: Soviet-era paranoia
By Mitch101 on 5/20/2010 1:37:07 PM , Rating: 2
I dont believe they are brainless but instead live in fear. We may see a revolution within China and I couldn't blame them. A country that wont allow camera crews in has lots to hide.


RE: Soviet-era paranoia
By xler8r on 5/20/2010 1:41:15 PM , Rating: 2
Emphasis on "will be" brainless :) Didn't say they were yet


RE: Soviet-era paranoia
By leuNam on 5/20/2010 4:22:43 PM , Rating: 2
cmon' im not for China either but you can't blame each one just coz some nut turd of a leader wants domination. politics are corrupt and power hungry bunch


RE: Soviet-era paranoia
By chick0n on 5/20/10, Rating: 0
RE: Soviet-era paranoia
By rtrski on 5/20/2010 3:31:40 PM , Rating: 4
I know I'm both straying off-topic and demonstrating curmudgeonly behavior by bringing it up, but when exactly did "So, yeah" enter the lexicon as some sort of pithy response phrase?

My daughter says it too, and I find it incredibly annoying. I'd rather hear, like, "like" all the time, like.

So....yeah. Not so much.


RE: Soviet-era paranoia
By PandaBear on 5/20/2010 2:34:29 PM , Rating: 2
Chinese government is issuing an executive order to ban LTE / 4G / WiMax communication due to "health risk". The official speak person states the reason being the electromagnetic wave from these new technologies may cause cancer and the citizens' addiction to the Internet may cause productivity loss.


RE: Soviet-era paranoia
By ReKTeK on 5/21/2010 3:40:43 AM , Rating: 2
Brilliant! We need that here in AU.

Although this is not unusual in my line of work, as many client companies which we do work for are converting their wireless networks back to cat cabling and their wireless phones to corded, minimising mobile time and/or using an air-tube ear piece, etc. Devices which are transmitting 2.4Ghz. The reasons for the change back are health and productivity loss. Our office has done the same. Using true and tested technology which is safer.


"No information leakage?"
By rtrski on 5/20/2010 1:31:27 PM , Rating: 3
So...they require map servers have no record of "leakage", yet so many of the recent major hacking and data theft attempts (including those targeting Google specifically) have originated in China.

Does that count as irony, or just mendacity?




RE: "No information leakage?"
By Jellodyne on 5/20/2010 1:35:33 PM , Rating: 2
If a Chinese state sponsored hacker gets away clean with the data -- so that there's no record of the leakage, is the site still blacklisted?


RE: "No information leakage?"
By Mitch101 on 5/20/2010 1:39:19 PM , Rating: 2
As a website owner the majority of hacking and spam attempts I see come from India, pakistan, russia, china, africa in that order.


RE: "No information leakage?"
By karielash on 5/20/2010 10:23:49 PM , Rating: 2

Funny, most of what I see comes from RU, CN, NL, with a healthy dose of everything ended in 'Stan'... oh.. and the Ukraine... Lets not forget them.


again?
By vapore0n on 5/20/2010 2:34:34 PM , Rating: 2
They dont want maps, information, or porn. Just WoW and secret DoD information.
Cant we all ban China from the internet?




RE: again?
By leuNam on 5/20/2010 5:16:29 PM , Rating: 1
did you know that most parts that made em' computer is made in China?!

-.-.-.-. sheesh, listen to yourself...nerd


RE: again?
By KeypoX on 5/20/2010 7:02:18 PM , Rating: 1
Hmm,

My intel chip made in Philippines
WD harddrive made in thailand
4GB ram south korea
gigabyte mobo made in Taiwan

While many parts maybe made in chain, the most important parts are not. Cheap crap comes from china, maybe you pay less but it shows in quality.


RE: again?
By Penti on 5/20/2010 9:58:31 PM , Rating: 2
Gigabyte also has Chinese production sites and produces products there. Your box might say "Made In China" from them. Your graphics card is likely made in China regardless of manufacturer. As in the PCB/Assembly.

Any OEM or laptop computer is likely produced in Mainland China. Foxconn, Quanta, etc is heavily invested there.


Huh?
By Drag0nFire on 5/20/2010 1:04:11 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
The new policies will affect map services like Bing and Google.


Hang on a second. Why does Google have to listen to the Chinese government? If I were Google, I would just leave the existing map service in place. It'd be a big one-fingered salute to censorship...




RE: Huh?
By Yawgm0th on 5/20/2010 1:20:05 PM , Rating: 2
I'm sure they're going to, and subsequently the Great Firewall will block Google Maps entirely.


Who are they trying to hide this from?
By 91TTZ on 5/20/2010 2:54:44 PM , Rating: 2
If they think they're going to hide it from the US, they're sadly mistaken. The images from the spy satellites that the CIA operates are hell of a lot more detailed than the ones you can get on Google. No need to hide those bases because we already know about them.




By Spaankii on 5/20/2010 8:49:26 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
by 91TTZ on May 20, 2010 at 2:54 PM If they think they're going to hide it from the US, they're sadly mistaken. The images from the spy satellites that the CIA operates are hell of a lot more detailed than the ones you can get on Google. No need to hide those bases because we already know about them.


I think you're starting to get closer to it. It isn't an external threat. Inside China is more precarious than you think. Economy not as sound as the rest of the world wants to believe. Civil disturbances by desperate people will make use of things like google maps. They will make do with what's available to demonstrate their cause and hence it has been removed from them by their government.


whats the worry?
By TheEinstein on 5/20/2010 1:06:06 PM , Rating: 2
I suspect they think civil war, after all this only affects info inside China.

Funny since this means you can drive the ISS nuts by taking jpeg pictures of a map, circle a base, and randomly post on a Chinese Server.

Keep doing it and they will waste all their time with outside threats and forget about suppressing their own people :p

That or they will discontinue contact with the outside world....




The big secret!
By frobizzle on 5/20/2010 2:30:15 PM , Rating: 2
The Chinese government does not want its people to know that the world is really not flat!




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