Podcasts

The Buzz crew talks about Facebook's historic IPO, and the challenges the company will face moving forward. Zynga is smiling, and so is the invite-only Pinterest. We've figured it out, and it's the new social network for girls or metrosexuals. "Into it, Not Into it" brings us vacuum-sealed couples, and that's all you need to know.

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This week, we go over some Super Bowl TV tips, including what to do if you're not going to be near a TV at all. Julie talks about developing new battery life tests, and Josh laments the decline of the compact point-and-shoot camera.

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A new galaxy nexus, a new samsung tab and do you really answer your phone in the bathroom? all that and more on this week's edition of Android Atlas Weekly for February 1st, 2012. I'm Justin Eckhouse alongside Antuan Goodwin and Jaymar Cabebe. Today we say goodbye to Antuan Goodwin who will be leaving the podcast to focus on Car Tech. We will miss you Antuan.

NEWS:

-Android Users Most Likely to Use Phones While in the Bathroom… Read more

We examine the end of the in-car CD player, our supposed hatred of Chevys, how to upgrade the head unit in your Prius, and the need (or not) for Android in your dash.

NOTE: Please read our update on this episode: The Mike Daisey retraction. Also see the editor's note below.

Apple is the most valuable U.S. company there is, and the most powerful and influential consumer electronics company by far. It is obscenely profitable.

This amazing success is built on the backs of hundreds of thousands of factory workers, almost all of them in China, who assemble iPhones, and other products from other vendors, in giant, science-fiction-scale plants that never stop.

These plants take their toll. On workers in China. And on jobs here in the United states.

Two recent pieces of outstanding journalism highlight the issues. First, there's a series developing in The New York Times, co-authored by Charles Duhigg, that kicked off in the Sunday edition: "How the U.S. Lost Out on iPhone Work." A follow-on piece, "In China, Human Costs Are Built Into an iPad," ran Wednesday.

Second, a "This American Life" episode, "Mr. Daisey and the Apple Factory," has reignited interest in monologuist Mike Daisey's report of his trip to visit the birthplace of his iPhone, the Foxconn plant in China.

Today we have both Charles Duhigg and Mike Daisey on the Roundtable, and we're going to talk about Apple's muscle, how it works with Chinese manufacturing companies, if there's any chance that manufacturing could return to the U.S. And if it would be a good thing if it did.

Apple CEO Tim Cook has responded to the emerging reports on working conditions at Apple's device manufacturers. I discussed this response with Duhigg in a separate interview, which is at the end of this Roundtable (at the 24-minute mark, if you want to go straight there).

Editor's note, March 19, 2012: "This American Life" announced late last week that it's retracting a story it did recently about working conditions at Foxconn that included an interview with Mike Daisey as well as an excerpt from his monologue "The Agony and the Ecstasy of Steve Jobs." It said it was doing so because of "numerous fabrications" it found. CNET's Josh Lowensohn has the details in this story. Daisey's own statement is on his Web site. A recent investigative report by The New York Times looked at working conditions in Apple's supply chain in China.

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On this week's Buzz Out Loud, Brian and Molly take Apple (and others) to task for unsafe and inhumane working conditions at consumer electronics factories in China. It's time for Apple and us, the consumers, to demand better. Plus, Google's privacy policy changes, Netflix's big bounce-back, and Computer Love. And meet Givit, the way to share private videos of your kids or, um, other things.

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Two great pieces of journalism on Apple and its place in the manufacturing economy appeared recently: First, there's a series developing in The New York Times that kicked off in the Sunday edition: "How the U.S. Lost Out on iPhone Work." A follow-on piece, "In China, Human Costs Are Built Into an iPad," ran yesterday.

You must read these stories.

Second, listen to the This American Life episode "Mr. Daisey and the Apple Factory." In this gripping program, monologuist Mike Daisey tells of his trip to the Foxconn plant in China, where … Read more

Download.com editor Jaymar Cabebe joins us as we discuss who's making money on Android, upcoming phones, and whether Google's new privacy policy violates its own "Don't be evil" mantra.

NEWS:

-How Google’s privacy policy changes will affect Android

-Tap that App

-Android Is No. 1, But Google Says It Still Makes Little Money

-Each Kindle Fire generating more than $100 in additional revenue for Amazon

-What to expect out of HTC at Mobile World Congress… Read more

Back from CES, we show off some video clips of our favorite products, Ty tells us why OLED matters, and Scott and Dan debate the best laptop for covering trade shows.

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