Made in China

If you use it, whatever it is, chances are it's made in China or could be soon. This place really is ground zero for all things electronic (and non-electronic for that matter).

I don't think most people ever stop for a second and think about where the latest widget they bought at Best Buy came from. It's a mind-boggling thing sometimes to contemplate how all the processes, materials, timing and sometimes serendipity come together just to make one of the hundreds of products we 'think' are essential to our every day. We are undoubtedly a throw-away society, gladly tossing out the (not so) old for the latest and greatest that big companies would have us believe we can't do without. I think if people saw the processes and the people that make this happen, they might - at least for a second - have a little more appreciation for all that goes into making the products that make our lives better.

I have had the good fortune of being able to see some of the behind the scenes efforts involved in manufacturing a product in China. Last Friday I was able again to witness a few of the steps in manufacturing a graphing calculator that millions of math and science students use in the classroom every day. It's a very cool thing to see.