"Akihabara unplugged: Tokyo's electric town falls flat"

[yanpa]

Akihabara unplugged: Tokyo's electric town falls flat

Reg hack finds fancy dress maids playing darts, but few unique gadgets

Special report Tokyo's Akihabara district may be fabled the world over as a geek wonderland and a tech writer's dream, but the reality as El Reg found out last weekend is rather different.

Step out of the station’s “Electric Town” (denki machi) exit today and it’s difficult to see what all the fuss is about.

Along spotlessly clean pedestrian precincts you might spot the odd PC or computer parts store but for the most part it just looks like the rest of Tokyo – restaurants, cafes (more of which later), pubs and bars jostle with karaoke emporia, book shops and endless branches of the ubiquitous 7-11.

Cross the main thoroughfare – Chuo Street, which bisects the district – and the streets get narrower, the otaku (geeks) a little thicker on the ground and it’s all generally a bit more “Akiba”, as the locals call the area.

You’ll see the odd store here devoted to electronic parts, used PCs, smartphone accessories, gaming gear and even spy cameras, but still – where’s all the cutting edge tech? Where’s the unusual and bizarre gadgetery we’ve been led to believe only Japan can produce thanks to the curious Galapagosization of its technology industry?

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[Coligny]

Tadaaaa... The world finally realise that akihabara have become a perverted hellhole...

And dun't get me started on the "electronic" shops, that specialize in 1 kind of component... (resistors... OR capacitors OR led...) It's pathetic...

Meanwhile... there's at least 60 shops selling all variation of figurine of schoolgirls raped by every creatures of the arc and some moar...

AND when there is something half interesting in a denki shop, it's exactly what you can buy from DealExtreme with a local markeup... yay japan !!11!!!

[Screwed-down Hairdo]

Tadaaaa... The world finally realise that akihabara have become a perverted hellhole...

And dun't get me started on the "electronic" shops, that specialize in 1 kind of component... (resistors... OR capacitors OR led...) It's pathetic...

Meanwhile... there's at least 60 shops selling all variation of figurine of schoolgirls raped by every creatures of the arc and some moar...

AND when there is something half interesting in a denki shop, it's exactly what you can buy from DealExtreme with a local markeup... yay japan !!11!!!

I'm glad people realize, too.
I've never been a machine/toy/electronics geek (I'm a sordid sub-culture geek), but I got sent on an assignment almost 10 years ago now to uncover Akihabara and its "mysterious" electronic appeal to the globe. The only "electronic" wonders I could find, even after following the advice of those who knew where to look for them, were retail stores run by Chinese and offering prices easily beaten by looking at kakaku.com.
In the meantime, the weird and warped anime fetish was evidently taking over. It should have appealed to me, but the underlying pedophilia and misogyny, as well as the realization this was becoming accepted in wider society was pretty sickening even for my exceptionally low standards and that was as far as the whole thing went.
As far as I know, Akiba hasn't really been a tech geek's fantasyland for at least 10, and possibly even 15, years.

[yanpa]

My own hardware geekiness doesn't extend much beyond a vague obsession with 2nd-hand PC parts, and last time I looked there were enough junk shops to keep me in a state of vague browsing excitement. Other than that the only reason I've been there in the last few years is to pick up parts to keep the company servers running.

Mind you now my personal life has settled down a bit, there are a few technical projects I might want to pursue (Coligny-esque video surveillance comes to mind, I may need to identify some local Garbage Day Infractors )

[Coligny]

sku_15974_1.jpg

>>http://www.dealextreme.com/p/ip-400-standalone-security-surveillance-ip-network-camera-with-night-vision-15974

b00mbastic...

(49.79 USD / 3918 yens free shipping)

[yanpa]

Nice... only problem is I couldn't run a CAT5 cable to where I want it... I'd need something with a USB port so I can attach a wireless dongle. Or something like that.

[matsuki]

sku_15974_1.jpg

>>http://www.dealextreme.com/p/ip-400-standalone-security-surveillance-ip-network-camera-with-night-vision-15974

b00mbastic...

(49.79 USD / 3918 yens free shipping)

Sooo...what is your bulk discount price?

[Coligny]

Nice... only problem is I couldn't run a CAT5 cable to where I want it... I'd need something with a USB port so I can attach a wireless dongle. Or something like that.

DX got WiFi cams too.

http://www.dealextreme.com/p/300kp-wire ... 433?item=2

AND PTZ:

http://www.dealextreme.com/p/300kp-wire ... 526?item=4

http://www.dealextreme.com/p/802-11a-b- ... 124?item=6

But with the availability of cheap wifi jammerz it's a no-no for intrusion security... Nao for cat sick-bay or postman/doorbell intercom it's ok...

[yanpa]

Nice... only problem is I couldn't run a CAT5 cable to where I want it... I'd need something with a USB port so I can attach a wireless dongle. Or something like that.

DX got WiFi cams too.

http://www.dealextreme.com/p/300kp-wire ... 433?item=2

AND PTZ:

http://www.dealextreme.com/p/300kp-wire ... 526?item=4

http://www.dealextreme.com/p/802-11a-b- ... 124?item=6

But with the availability of cheap wifi jammerz it's a no-no for intrusion security... Nao for cat sick-bay or postman/doorbell intercom it's ok...

Thanks!

The gravel around the base of the house is for intrusion detection. Apparently.

I might want this for monitoring the garbage bay, if the infractor continues their misdeeds and passive-aggressive notes don't do the trick