[onerng talk] The world's (other) most secure TRNG

[Paul Campbell]

On Tue, 30 Sep 2014 18:08:38 Peter Gutmann wrote:
> Shipping in (from) China is truly inscrutable.  You buy a part for $1.27 and
> the shipping is free (that is, built into the price), it takes two weeks
> between it being marked as shipped and anything actually happening, and
> then you get it a few days later.  I've asked several Chinese friends how
> this can work and they have no idea even after having lived in the country
> for thirty- odd years.  My only guess is that they ship stuff at a loss and
> make up for it in volume...

no they are just very efficient at shipping, and the volumes are enormous ...  a 
lot of stuff is shipped out of Hong Kong, there's an entire border crossing in 
Shenzhen that just takes semi-trailers for mail

Remember most of the cost is at the other end and international postal 
treaties say the each country is obligated to deliver for free any package 
handed to them by another country - the assumption is that it all averages out 
... but with the current volume pouring out of China some country's Post Offices 
are crying "foul"

A lot of other stuff is air-freighted out, shipping by sea is cheaper but 
apparently harder - not the actual shipping part but the getting stuff on and 
off the docks, apparently it involves the exchange of "red packets" with 
various shady types.


	Paul