Last time I was in Japan, last May, I was astounded to start seeing many laptops and systems advertised as being "Made in Japan". It's a growing trend. I highly recommend you look for items "Made in USA" or "Made in Japan", "Made in Canada" or "Made in the EU", or "UK". As the recent crisis has shown, cheapest is not always best, and you may be sending your money offshore to hostile entities with little legal or ethical care for you or your country! They may even steal trade secrets, copy designs, make things poorly, treat their workers poorly all in the name of flooding our markets with cheap poor-quality throw-away garbage to break down the very fabric of our culture as a nation-state level objective. Buy from friendly, allied and reputable places of manufacture that you can count on! You definitely get what you pay for!
Just look at this new ad from (Formerly Sony's, now independent) the VAIO company:
https://us.vaio.com/pages/vaio-made-in-japan
In case the link dies, here is a summary of what they are espousing:
- Made in Japan in Nagano prefecture
- Made by local Japanese workers with pride and craftsmanship
- "can boast of in-house design, manufacturing, and support teams. Each team member at the headquarters in Azumino City, Nagano Prefecture endeavors to create cutting edge technology. Each team member believes that a bold, yet deft, organic approach to manufacturing creates added value. This is the level of commitment to Japanese technology and aesthetics that is a hallmark of VAIO’s craftsmanship."
- Our workers innovate to create new ideas that make it into the final design
- "We are proud to not be trendy." "Rather than make unremarkable, micro-bezel, thin laptops like everyone else, we sought balance by locating our wireless antenna where it matters." (I love this dig at Apple!)
- Long term support: "VAIO provides support for legacy models of its global devices as an example of being in service to the Japanese business model and while still fulfilling our mission as a Japanese manufacture"
This is not a new trend, but I saw this from many other brands like Fujitsu Lifebooks, NEC devices, etc. right there on the store shelves. Yes, prices were much higher than the made in China alternatives, which was practically everything else. But you get what you pay for, and your money goes somewhere that you can trust.
For years we have been paying lip service to the idea that we should bring manufacturing back home. I can tell you for a certainty that Japan has greatly suffered from a loss of manufacturing at home as well as the USA. This money goes directly to countries that are our friends and allies, and to businesses that are eager to show they are responsible.
Yeah, I know that Sony has a troubled past. But VAIO is now a seperate corp, and I can tell you that they are desperate to win back consumers again by showing they mean it. For years Canada has suffered as the USA has stopped buying from our manufacturers. We have lost countless contracts in the automotive sector, electronics, tooling and machinery, etc. It's really hurtful. Buy from people like us, and not your enemies! Remember when companies like Blackberry (RIM), Nortel Networks or Alias|Wavefront were based out of Canada and making some of the world's best tech? And the president even used "crackberries" on the daily? And Nortel was making the very best of network tech that was not a security risk or threat because we are a trusted 5 eyes member country? Yeah, they were designed at "home" too, and that could happen again with the right consumer support.
*rant mode off*
NEED -> 
), and I'm okay with that fact, as everyone's entitled to their own opinion. This is just my opinion, for what it's worth! (Zero compromise!)
![[Image: collection.png]](https://jurassic.nl/images/collection.png)
