Like trying to find out where your truck is "made".

Is that where the components come from, is it where the components are assembled, or is it where the firms profits get taxed?

Good luck - Lenovo recently surfaced from behind the shadows with their own name brand. But it turns out there were only a half dozen laptop makers worldwide and Lenovo had been making a half dozen "brands" all along.

From wikipedia:

Many brands, including the major ones, do not design and do not manufacture their laptops. Instead, a small number of Original Design Manufacturers (ODMs) design new models of laptops, and the brands choose the models to be included in their lineup. In 2006, 7 major ODMs manufactured 7 of every 10 laptops in the world, with the largest one (Quanta Computer) having 30% world market share.^[53] Therefore, there often are identical models available both from a major label and from a low-profile ODM in-house brand.

This will be an interesting start for you, good luck:

http://tuxmobil.org/laptop_oem.html

Crikies! You mean even well-respected Japanese brands like Sony and Toshiba are also cheap Chinese junk? Oh, lordy. We are all doomed.

Brings you back to your other thread about Made in China.

http://cr4.globalspec.com/comment/393686/Re-Are-You-Upset-With-Cheap-Chinese-Junk

phoenix911

Yes, I am trying to practice what I preached.

I bought a replacement battery for my Toshiba Computer. Was 1/5th the cost of OEM Battery, because I that I would get rid of it in about a year it was 4 yo at the time

Took 4 weeks to deliver. had to send it back because of quality problems took another 2 weeks and after 10 months it basically began to puke out. (not taking del. into account) Statiscally dollar for dollar to life about the same..........my problem. I still have the computer. running it straight ac. may end up buying an OEM battery.

Complaints from me......can't....thought I'd have a new computer by now

You probably don't remember, but after WW II, the "merchandise" from Japan was really junk! Clever solution: Japan "built" a manufacturing city and named it Usa, so that they could stamp all products made there: Made in USA. Then we (U.S.) rebuilt all the Japanese steel mills, many of their manufacturing facilities, etc. and thus the Japanese eventually taught us a lesson in Quality, which "some" of our companies are still deficient in. I'd suggest that my children learn Chinese (Mandarin) for the time when China surpasses Japan et al in productivity and exports of everything from TVs, cars, trucks, clothing, household goods, et al. With the size of China's labor market, they will have a pool of very low cost non-technical to semi-technical labor for years to come.

I'd suggest that my children learn Chinese (Mandarin)....

Good advice but not the best. I married a Chinese girl so, when the situation will come, I could say: Wo taitai shi zhong wen ren and, maybe, escape the massacre

So when you say you are Chinese and your wife is Chinese will they only half-believe you?

That is correct. If there is computer chances are fare capacitor is from China world biggest producer is in Taiwan named Yageo and lower end of there product is also made in China along with TDK and Murata.

We are doomed and you are correct

Here's a site for made in America:

http://www.usstuff.com/

For laptops, try unionbuiltpc, unless you also have a problem with unions.

I have no problem with unions. The site seems to have one laptop available. I am just a little concerned that the site has not been updated since 2007.

try alienware, I'm not entirely sure where they make them, but they are expensive enough to be USA made.

Umm, actually, if you go to www.unionbuiltpc.com, it's updated.

This page still has a disclaimer for all of their laptops.

Union Final Assembly in USA from domestic and foreign components by members of CWA Local 1101 or IBEW Local 17.

https://unionbuiltpc.com/laptop_ubm17u.php

The "Made in USA" today is most likely a scam.

You have to folllow each component through its birth to its final resting place to know its American. Only Mr Monk would consider such an act.

A disk full of integrated circuits is sent out of the US to be processed and packaged as part of a hybrid, singular entity, dual in line, surface mount plastic, ceramic or whatever, tested, stamped and sent to the users where ever they are. If it was all done in America you would not afford a laptop.

Union demands and corporate greed have done this to us. The problem with Made in China was caused by me and you.

So suck it up Y'all.

Don't we all have problems with unions?!

No problems with Unions. The IBEW is an outstanding group of highly trained professionals in the USA & Canada. I have been a proud member for 33 years.

I'm affraid that even locally assembled items would have some component made in China: a wire, a board, a processor, some plastic case, something will be bought from there. Most of manufacturers abroad sell products that are made in China and put its brands or assemble it. THis is just the world we live in. Not more, not less.

My friend in the whole world and of the very few that do make their own laptops 90% of all parts are made in CHINA even their friends in Japan do the same, unfortunately it not just Computers, in China last year I purchased a Nikon Camera and guess where it came from.

Alaska!!!!!

Nikon - usually made in Thailand.

>If you remember this note I left here and can tell me who said etc, etc, etc in what old movie, I will buy you one myself.

Yul Brynner in The King and I.

Do I win?

Re: "If you ... can tell me who said etc, etc, etc in what old movie..."

Who DOESN'T know ... ?

see: Yul Brynner page ...

Lemme answer the rhetorical "Who doesn't know?" ~~~~ 99% of kids coming out of high schools in the Blighted States of Amnesia!

Just ask Jay (and his "All Stars"). They are, indeed, the "cream of our crop"...an' it ain't funny no more.

I threw the Yul Brenner question out because my wife had just dug out her musicals... And I was dreading which one to watch with her.

As I said, when they are built from Mealer Companies, remind me and give me the secret names and passwords and at least a couple people here will force me to cough them up as I said.

JL Mealer

http://mealercompanies.com

Sure you will...someday

People's Republic of China? Republic of China? Indo China?

This is what you want.

https://unionbuiltpc.com/laptop_ubp150j.php

I can offer you mine if you like it?

It's a Fujitsu-Siemens P7120 and virtually unused.
It is small format (easy to carry around) and has a very long battery life.
(4 + hours) With the spare battery (8 hours) it can be used most of the
day without a mains power supply.
It is in mint condition, with an alum. case, and an excellent perfect screen.
(can be seen in daylight) Complete, as new, with all disks manual, XP, etc..

Why I am I selling? I bought it for travelling and never go anywhere! (70)
It was also my back-up pc, just in case my desktop failed, now I have another.

The only downside.. the cost, about $2700.
You are welcome to it for $700 if you would pay the carriage please?
I cannot guarantee it (i.e. repair it if it ever went faulty) but it is as new.
If you don't buy mine at least I can recommend the quality of these.
Hope this helps.

jt. (admin@cashfare.com)

How about a laptop made in India...............SNAFU!!!

Sorry we don't make Laptop here. Our fate is same like every one else using Made In China Laptops which carry famous MNC brand names.

Suresh Sharma.

My apologies suresh, I was only being my facetious self when I made that comment.

............slap, slap slap (on the wrist with a tram ticket).

There are local "manufacturers" like Soyata in Rochester, NY that "sort of" build a custom laptop out of parts sourced from all sorts of vendors. Some of which are Chinese, no doubt. That's as close as I can come. That will cost you a few bucks too.

If you were in Japan you could go to Akihabara and shop. The stores make a big deal of what is made in Japan and what isn't. I imagine it's a bit of a trip though...

Have a local nerd build you one from scratch; he could build it from non-Chinese parts. Some teens can pull it off.

"Made in USA" could well be "assembled" in USA. It doesn't mean all components are "Made in USA". With companies building factories all over the world, you'll need to go through a lot to find out where will the components come from.

Also since you're looking for a cheap laptop, chances are it has cheap parts and cheap labour.

There is a reason why everything is made in China, people wants products at lower price. Until people are willing to spend more on similar product, this won't change.

This outfit is listed as a "Made in America" company.

UNION BUILT PC

https://unionbuiltpc.com/laptop_ubp150j.php

UBP-150J LAPTOP Base Price: $827.

Their disclaimer:
Union Final Assembly in USA from domestic and foreign components by members of CWA Local 1101 or IBEW Local 17.

That's about as good as it gets.

Foreign component is made in China. The product is as good as component goes in it. If garbage in we get garbage out. When it is out it smell more than when it went in.

If it has all components made in USA I will be first in line to buy it since I have got burned so many time with cheap and quality less product out of China that I am happy buying one and know will last long and can predict life out of it.

Can any one predict life out of any chines product. Can you believe what you got?

Masyood Akhtar Ph.D.

Masyood@gmail.com

The products are as good as the requirements, quality assurance and quality control dictated and enforced by the contractor.

Companies outside of Peoples Republic of China, Republic of China and Indo China have components made to stringent requirements.

Other companies are not so demanding.

Components used for assembling the next higher assemblies of products of Companies that have stringent requirements identify and use products of the other stringent component suppliers.

The cost of the products is higher and the quality and aftermarket service is good.

The other companies will die out and China's bad reputations will be mostly political.

One may ask...............what quality assurance??.............what quality control??

I could give many examples........but I will just stick to one. I bought a bench grinder for work..........to take away to to the country.

I mounted this infernal machine, then started it............it did not reach full speed, before I turned it off. It was running out both axially and radially..........and I do not mean a few thou..........probably from 3/16"-over 3/8"...........no it was not loose and the wheels had been correctly mounted.........it was just as well the tool rests were out of the way or the wheel may have shattered.

I had bought one the workshop in Adelaide.........it wasn't too bad once I dressed the wheel............I have heard of soft wheels, but the ones that were on the grinder were stuffed after grinding "half a dozen" lathe tools on them. (the lathe tools were only tool steel, nothing flash.

Quality control.........Quality assurance..........most of the factories can't even spell it let alone know anything about it............as I said I could go on and on.........but it just makes me angry.

I read an artical on welding in China.........the birds nest......well evidently the welding was not too good..............a lot of it looked like, "spoggy s*#t".

........Nothing like the right tools for the job in hand

In China they sell EOT Cranes at very low price, but their gearboxes, electric motors, switch gears, etc are not of good quality. One of the steel plant in India had good experience with Chinese products. They imported only structural portion from the China and locally procured remaining items and assembled the Crane. They saved lot of money in following this route of fabricating their own Crane. So only fabricated steel structure was Chinese made all other parts were procured locally. In spite high freight cost it worked out cheaper.

When they (china) get a grip on quality, and take a
national pride in making something "last forever" then,
we shall be in trouble!

When they realise a ship is lost for an "a'peth of tar"
and we don't want to "throw it away" after buying and
using it once, we shall be in trouble!

We can bring this home to them by NOT buying Chinese
and, honouring quality makers with our money.

Whoops, my soap box has collapsed, it reads, "Made in China"

jt.

Hi it'

First of all I need to ask a question............is that cousin it...........shhhhhh.............I think I hear someone coming. Sorry about that I couldn't resist........it!!!!!

Whoops, my soap box has collapsed, it reads, "Made in China"

My u beaut Sony Bravia (made in China) TV, all of 12 months old, has had to go in for its mid-life refit, the colour has gone all wishy washy............ the high definition has sunk to lower depths...............as for the digital box (or whatever it is)...............I think that that must have escaped and gone back to China................. funny thing about that, when the bloke came to take it away.............he said "bloody Chinese crap, I can't remember how many of these I have picked up"...............and it wasn't cheap.

Oh well that's my whinge about Chinese crap for today............I wonder what will break down tomorrow............hello..........hello........this is Mumbai calling..........oh! its just my internet provider...........he's telling me to lay off the Chinese..........that's because he is Chinese and working in Mumbai.

Cheers cousin it!!!!

Hi Mobi,

I am from Mumbai. We have hardly any Chinese in Mumbai. Few left are Dentist or owners or cooks in Chinese hotels. They are not our cousins.

Suresh Sharma

Hi suresh,

You have done it again...........you obviously do not understand my "dubious" sense of humor!

or

joke ,Joyce.......joke.

"don't want to "throw it away" after buying and
using it once"

Sending crap back to manufacturers makes a difference.

Getting our money back and spending it on better stuff makes a difference.

Filling out the warranty card and buying extended warranty protects us and allows us to make a difference.

It all puts pressure on them to improve. Otherwise how would they know there was something was wrong?

I have gotten a lot of stuff replaced for free this way.

Corrective Action Process.

They answer for it in the end by improving or going out of business.

If rich people bought shoddy stuff they would sue for punitive damages.

My favorite shoes are no longer sold because people like me keep taking them back for quality issues. For a while my shoes always looked like new. Never had to have them shined, just replaced for free.

Now I buy from stores that have more stringent quality requirements for their suppliers.

Levis made in USA instead of Mexico, for example, cost a lot more but the quality and warranty is there. (After Levi had Blue jeans made in Mexico I could no longer exchange defective items so I stopped buying them.)

Yada yada yada......

If rich people bought shoddy stuff they would sue for punitive damages.

I don't understand that......punitive? If you pay a premiun price for something that was shoddy....maybe....but when you pay 1/4 to 1/5th of what a quality product costs. you have to realize that they cut costs on quality.

Levis made in USA instead of Mexico, for example, cost a lot more but the quality and warranty is there. (After Levi had Blue jeans made in Mexico I could no longer exchange defective items so I stopped buying them.)

I use to pull my pants up by the belt loops, .......until they were made in mexico, then I had no belt loops on the side after a pull or two....

Some rich folks are still frugal until they get burned a few times then the send their lawyers after the companies that "cheat" them.

kudukdweller9:

I always felt that frugal....doesnt necessary mean cheap. just that they get their moneys worth....thats why their rich.

phoenix911

That was what I was getting at.

And they don't let cheaters get away with cliaming something is good when it's not.

"Seems like a $350 to $700 system should do the job nicely. But which one?"

You can't have it both ways. You want quality non Chinese components at Chinese prices.

Several of my computers were built at an independent local computer shop. I was able to choose the components, and they assembled them for me. I could have bought the parts and assembled it myself, saving a few $. But it's just easier and the shop stands behind their assemblies.

American stuff can be had at prices very similar to chinese prices. Automation makes labor costs pretty much irrelevant. Most of the cost in american made products today is in either higher quality components, or in higher taxes.

http://cr4.globalspec.com/comment/362887/Re-Layoffs-and-Loyalty

On this post, the office furniture looks to made of some pretty quality material, and I think it may have came from Wal-mart and maybe made in China.

Is there such a thing maybe Gateway if they are still around.