Exploring Technological Advancements and Disparities in Global Megacities

[new6ton]

After watching Netflix's Better than US produced in Russia. I'm surprised at some of the current technology in Russia. I'm imagining that they were like the 1980s when Ipads were not in existence or TVs were still the Cathode Ray Tubes.

What cities have comparable technology like the US New York or California? And what cities were still in the 1980s in the technology.

Or what everyday technology that you can only see in the US that is not available elsewhere?

And is there any city with technology that exceeds even that of the United States?

 

[vco]

After watching Netflix's Better than US produced in Russia. I'm surprised at some of the current technology in Russia. I'm imagining that they were like the 1980s when Ipads were not in existence or TVs were still the Cathode Ray Tubes.

What cities have comparable technology like the US New York or California? And what cities were still in the 1980s in the technology.

Or what everyday technology that you can only see in the US that is not available elsewhere?

And is there any city with technology that exceeds even that of the United States?

What a strange question.

I think most cities in the "East" have comparable technologies to the United States. No Silicon Valley there, though.

Or what everyday technology that you can only see in the US that is not available elsewhere?

Nowadays, probably none. It's a global world.

And is there any city with technology that exceeds even that of the United States?

Same as above. But as a historic example, the US was a bit late to adopt cellphone usage. I live in Europe, and as a kid I remember wondering why people in American movies and TV series often used payphones instead of cellphones in the late 1990s and early 2000s. This has of course changed.

 

[anorlunda]

I was always impressed by district heating in European cities. That is very sensible. To my knowledge, nothing like that exists in the USA.

When I lived in Västerås Sweden (pop about 150000) we had a power plant on the edge of the city.

1. Steam from the plant passed through the high pressure turbine, making electricity.
2. Then a portion of the steam was diverted to a heat exchanger before passing through the low pressure turbine.
3. The heat exchanger heated water pumped from the lake.
4. The hot water heated all buildings and houses in the city during long cold winters (except a few houses on the outer fringe). Private heating systems burning fossil or bio fuels were forbidden in buildings and houses; use of the district heating was mandatory.
5. Then the warm water exiting the buildings was used to melt ice and snow from streets , sidewalks and bicycle trails, reducing the need for snow plows.
6. Finally, the lukewarm water was discharged back into the lake where it kept the harbor ice free year round.

The entire system was a marvelously rational use of thermal energy.

 

[russ_watters]

I was always impressed by district heating in European cities. That is very sensible. To my knowledge, nothing like that exists in the USA.

Not as common, but is done in some big cities:
https://hiddencityphila.org/2012/02/all-steamed-up/
I think New York has one too.

 

[hmmm27]

Or what everyday technology that you can only see in the US that is not available elsewhere?

Well, you know those hotdog roller cookers in the 7-11 ?

 

[newjerseyrunner]

Fun fact: the third world tends to have better cell phone network technology than the United States. Here's why: big companies like Verizon, Orange... don't always write their own products. They make the network, but the code that manages switches or runs on servers is written by smaller companies like the one I used to work for. Because their code is coming from all over the place, the big companies want to test their latest networks in smaller markets before unveiling it in the USA or Europe. Because of this, Africa's telecom software systems tend to be about two to five years ahead of the USA.

 

[anorlunda]

This example is not current, but Toyota's practice of stopping the assembly line to immediately identify the cause of a car flunking QA checks was revolutionary, and it caught the US auto industry by surprise.

Current: The Netherlands continues to outstrip the rest of the world in the technologies of water and flood control.

The US has Silicon Valley as a "social/legal/economic/technical system" for producing innovation based success stories. Every other country (and every other region in the USA) would love to have their own Silicon Valley but so far they have only limited success.

 

[new6ton]

In Russia, can you buy anything available in the west like the latest iphones, samsung smartphones, home theaters, LG 3D flatscreen TV, latest cars? Or are there certain limits?

I watched Netflix "Better than US" about robots produced by Russians. I was amazed the Russian society is identical to the west. But then it's science fiction so the scene about modern homes may just be made up. I'm imaging soviet era technolgy like square box tv, old radio, old cars, etc. just like in North Korea.

 

[WWGD]

I've heard that there is essentially no cash payment in most of Europe, all card-based. I don't know if Israel is considered East or West, but in terms of "Startup Density", i.e., taking population scale and other into consideration, it seems to give SV a run for its money. And I understand the US' size and lower density makes it harder to have faster data than in more densely-packed countries.

 

[new6ton]

Intel and Apple products like Mac or Iphones are made in USA. I wonder if Russia has similar capability or factory for very nanotech products. Can you cite an example of such products? Or are their integrated circuits larger in size. Such that their ICBM (Inter Continental Ballistic Missiles) use larger ICs and circuits compared to the US counterpart?

 

[WWGD]

Intel and Apple products like Mac or Iphones are made in USA. I wonder if Russia has similar capability or factory for very nanotech products. Can you cite an example of such products? Or are their integrated circuits larger in size. Such that their ICBM (Inter Continental Ballistic Missiles) use larger ICs and circuits compared to the US counterpart?

Many iPhones are made in China and other places outside of the US. But i believe the US is far ahead of China in chip design.

 

[new6ton]

Many iPhones are made in China and other places outside of the US. But i believe the US is far ahead of China in chip design.

Iphones are made in china but the US exports the technology to china soil, so it's like it's made by USA technology. Can Russia manufacture something like iphones too? Or are their cellphones as big as old walkie talkies or big radio?

 

[anorlunda]

Or are their cellphones as big as old walkie talkies or big radio?

It would be fun to calculate the size of a phone with the same number of transistors, but using discrete transistors rather than integrated circuits. My guess is the size of an 18 wheel truck.

But a quick Internet search found several IC foundries in Russia. They're not as far behind as some may think.

http://www.semiconrussia.org/en/sites/semiconrussia.org/files/docs/Russia%20Market%20Update%20Nov%202012.pdf

 

[WWGD]

It would be fun to calculate the size of a phone with the same number of transistors, but using discrete transistors rather than integrated circuits. My guess is the size of an 18 wheel truck.

But a quick Internet search found several IC foundries in Russia. They're not as far behind as some may think.

http://www.semiconrussia.org/en/sites/semiconrussia.org/files/docs/Russia%20Market%20Update%20Nov%202012.pdf

I suspect there is a political angle and many refuse to accept that a ( formerly) socialist country is unable to innovate. Evidence suggests USSR economy did innovate to a good extent whatever its other imperfections. I am not endorsing it, just trying to be objective.

 

[WWGD]

Actually, the grouping of people, in general, by country, is somewhat artificial, in that people in large cities/conurbations (megacities) have more in common with each other than they have with other people in their own countries, in particular with rural communities.