The latest product of Juche: Angry Birds
November 17, 2013 11:04 PM Subscribe
"For experts and those who want to join this illustrious group, the Samjiyon can easily develop into one of their major research tools. The DPRK-specific dictionaries and the encyclopedia are tremendously useful as reference works.It does not take much imagination to see all the future Ph.D. theses written about the North Korean educational system based just on the textbooks available on a single Samjiyon (don’t forget to give credit to the one who provided you with this idea). The selection of eBooks in the literature section is equally remarkable." -- Ruediger Frank reviews the ideologically correct North Korean Samjiyon tablet (PDF), an alternative to degenerate capitalist tablets like the Ipad which can't even receive analog tv broadcasts. All part of the relentless forward march of North Korean IT technology.
Kim Jong Un designed and assembled this entire product line in a single night, as evidenced by the Android build date in the second link.
posted by XMLicious at 11:19 PM on November 17, 2013 [3 favorites]
posted by XMLicious at 11:19 PM on November 17, 2013 [3 favorites]
I knew that skeuomorphism was inherently authoritarian...
posted by mr_roboto at 11:19 PM on November 17, 2013 [2 favorites]
posted by mr_roboto at 11:19 PM on November 17, 2013 [2 favorites]
Love the analog TV.
I suppose it's not really that hard to get a cheap tablet of your own design run up nowadays, but still seems a surprisingly viable bit of kit overall.
posted by Segundus at 11:57 PM on November 17, 2013
I suppose it's not really that hard to get a cheap tablet of your own design run up nowadays, but still seems a surprisingly viable bit of kit overall.
posted by Segundus at 11:57 PM on November 17, 2013
Just to give you an idea, my tablet contains a total of 488 (!) pre-installed dictionaries, reference works and eBooks.
The Internet is the past. In the future, everything will be embedded (and approved.) With the complete works of Kim il Song at your easy reference who needs the world wide web?
I suppose it's not really that hard to get a cheap tablet of your own design run up nowadays,
But much more impressive when done under the West's economic sanction. And compared to an American government that can't even get a simple website working, this shows the superiority of Stalinist central planning.
posted by three blind mice at 1:09 AM on November 18, 2013
The Internet is the past. In the future, everything will be embedded (and approved.) With the complete works of Kim il Song at your easy reference who needs the world wide web?
I suppose it's not really that hard to get a cheap tablet of your own design run up nowadays,
But much more impressive when done under the West's economic sanction. And compared to an American government that can't even get a simple website working, this shows the superiority of Stalinist central planning.
posted by three blind mice at 1:09 AM on November 18, 2013
> But much more impressive when done under the West's economic sanction.
China doesn't acknowledge the embargo -- there is definitely no embargo on trade at street level, which is how North Korea's IT department would have bought those tablets. A country as broke as the DPRK is placing orders for tablets in the thousands, not millions... probably not even tens of thousands. Even doing everything on the up-and-up, their order would have been too small for advantageous pricing or be attention-getting in the global electronics market.
It looks like a bog-standard low-end Android tablet. If you search for the SA-70's specs on alibaba.com, you'll see a hundred or so vendors offering variations. As identified in one of the links in the PDF file, it's probably a Clevo.
I'm curious who did the system customization. I'm betting it's a joint effort of a North Korean office ("Korea Computer Center") with a Chinese contract development house, who would have plenty of experience building Android-based environments to spec, and whose consulting services would have been cheap and might have even come with the tablet order. This is less a matter of the skills available domestically within the DPRK, more a matter of the convenience of vendor bundling and quicker turnaround.
posted by ardgedee at 2:57 AM on November 18, 2013 [6 favorites]
China doesn't acknowledge the embargo -- there is definitely no embargo on trade at street level, which is how North Korea's IT department would have bought those tablets. A country as broke as the DPRK is placing orders for tablets in the thousands, not millions... probably not even tens of thousands. Even doing everything on the up-and-up, their order would have been too small for advantageous pricing or be attention-getting in the global electronics market.
It looks like a bog-standard low-end Android tablet. If you search for the SA-70's specs on alibaba.com, you'll see a hundred or so vendors offering variations. As identified in one of the links in the PDF file, it's probably a Clevo.
I'm curious who did the system customization. I'm betting it's a joint effort of a North Korean office ("Korea Computer Center") with a Chinese contract development house, who would have plenty of experience building Android-based environments to spec, and whose consulting services would have been cheap and might have even come with the tablet order. This is less a matter of the skills available domestically within the DPRK, more a matter of the convenience of vendor bundling and quicker turnaround.
posted by ardgedee at 2:57 AM on November 18, 2013 [6 favorites]
China doesn't acknowledge the embargo -- there is definitely no embargo on trade at street level
No embargo you say? Since 2006 the Democratic People's Republic of Korea has been under the strictest UN embargo of nuclear weapon and missile technology and luxury goods which the Security Council has ever implemented. Surely such a tablet computer pre-loaded with the Great Leaders thoughts and writings can only be considered a luxury item outside of Korea. Like a Rolex, only wiser. I do not see how this device can be imported or exported without running the risk of receiving a letter from the Security Council CONDEMNING the activity in the strongest of capital letters.
posted by three blind mice at 4:09 AM on November 18, 2013 [1 favorite]
No embargo you say? Since 2006 the Democratic People's Republic of Korea has been under the strictest UN embargo of nuclear weapon and missile technology and luxury goods which the Security Council has ever implemented. Surely such a tablet computer pre-loaded with the Great Leaders thoughts and writings can only be considered a luxury item outside of Korea. Like a Rolex, only wiser. I do not see how this device can be imported or exported without running the risk of receiving a letter from the Security Council CONDEMNING the activity in the strongest of capital letters.
posted by three blind mice at 4:09 AM on November 18, 2013 [1 favorite]
How the hell does a ban on luxury goods prevent nuclear war?
"We must avoid a Versace endgame at all possible costs."
posted by oceanjesse at 4:22 AM on November 18, 2013 [4 favorites]
"We must avoid a Versace endgame at all possible costs."
posted by oceanjesse at 4:22 AM on November 18, 2013 [4 favorites]
> No embargo you say?
From your link:
> China did not approve of the practice of inspecting cargo to and from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, and urged the countries concerned to adopt a responsible attitude in that regard, refraining from taking any provocative steps that could intensify the tension.
Note also the DPRK is not exporting the tablets; they're only sold domestically. It's up to customs inspectors in other countries to impound them if tourists bring out of the country.
posted by ardgedee at 4:22 AM on November 18, 2013
From your link:
> China did not approve of the practice of inspecting cargo to and from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, and urged the countries concerned to adopt a responsible attitude in that regard, refraining from taking any provocative steps that could intensify the tension.
Note also the DPRK is not exporting the tablets; they're only sold domestically. It's up to customs inspectors in other countries to impound them if tourists bring out of the country.
posted by ardgedee at 4:22 AM on November 18, 2013
How the hell does a ban on luxury goods prevent nuclear war?
By encouraging Dear Leader who wants his luxury goods to come to the negotiating table to acquire them.
posted by panaceanot at 5:25 AM on November 18, 2013 [1 favorite]
By encouraging Dear Leader who wants his luxury goods to come to the negotiating table to acquire them.
posted by panaceanot at 5:25 AM on November 18, 2013 [1 favorite]
Analog TV in cell phones was actually really popular a few years ago in some places in Asia and South America.
Analog TV in mobile phone
posted by Golden Eternity at 8:08 AM on November 18, 2013 [1 favorite]
Analog TV in mobile phone
posted by Golden Eternity at 8:08 AM on November 18, 2013 [1 favorite]
I believe South Korea has now gone fully digital, but retained some analog broadcasting near the border for the possible benefit of northerners with access to a tunable device.
In the North digital TV is being tested but any implementation is presumably many years away.
posted by Segundus at 2:25 AM on November 19, 2013
In the North digital TV is being tested but any implementation is presumably many years away.
posted by Segundus at 2:25 AM on November 19, 2013
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Dunno. I don't care much about its vocabulary; a talking dog is pretty impressive on its own.
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 11:16 PM on November 17, 2013 [1 favorite]