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Pressure on Apple is improving labor practices, says Times

The attention brought to bear on the labor practices of Apple's manufacturers and suppliers in China may be starting to create real, positive change in the electronics industry, says an article published this evening in The New York Times.

The Times, along with other media outlets, published several high-profile reports this year on the practices of Apple suppliers -- including contract manufacturer Foxconn, which produces Apple's iPhone and iPad, as well as products for other companies. The reports also included looks at Apple's lack of manufacturing facilities in the U.S. and its tax strategies.

Such media … Read more

Lingering issues found at Foxconn's iPhone factory

Despite recent efforts to improve working conditions at Foxconn's factories, a new investigative report claims that there are still numerous issues.

The findings come in a report by French TV program Envoyé Spécial, which yesterday aired hidden-camera footage it captured at Foxconn's facility in Zhengzhou, China, which manufactures Apple's iPhone. It's also the same factory where a worker strike occurred two months ago.

Among the issues found by the group, as relayed by Engadget, were workers living in buildings that were in the process of being built, meaning those living there were without … Read more

Facebook reigns as the best place to work

Maybe it's the ability to influence a billion people or maybe it's the deluxe campus and free food, but Facebook employees have come out in full force and voted their company the best place to work this year.

Company review site Glassdoor annually compiles the 50 best places to work based on comments from employees in dozens of companies. This year, nearly half a million reviews were submitted that rated employers on career opportunities, salary and benefits, work and life balance, senior management, and culture and values. And, Facebook won out.

"The company's leadership truly believes … Read more

Get ready for spy bots that fly through open windows

You gotta hand it to the marketers who come up with robot acronyms. Can it get any better than Extreme Access System for Entry (EASE)?

Sounds innocuous enough, right? Until this little critter tries to float into your room to spy on you. It's one of two bots unveiled by CyPhy Works, headed by iRobot co-founder Helen Greiner.

EASE and PARC (that's Persistent Aerial Reconnaissance & Communication), a communications relay, are compact flying machines that can fly between 3 feet and 1,000 feet while remaining tethered to their human controllers via microfilaments. … Read more

Illegal file-sharer gets slapped with $1.5 million in damages

The damages award against illegal file-sharer Kywan Fisher will most likely send him to the poor house. Illinois federal court Judge John Lee ordered Fisher to fork out $1.5 million to adult entertainment company Flava Works this week, according to TorrentFreak.

Flava Works sued Fisher for sharing 10 movies he'd previously paid for via BitTorrent. The damages award amount was reached by fining Fisher $150,000 per movie. This is the largest damages award ever ordered in a BitTorrent case.

Flava Works caught Fisher sharing its movies by tracing the illegal copies he was accused of sharing back … Read more

Simple, easy-to-use office suite

iWork 09 is Apple's competitor to Microsoft Office. It includes word processing, spreadsheet, and slide presentation applications in one collection of integrated tools. iWork 09 is compatible with Office in that files from one can be opened and updated with the other, but there's a difference in complexity between the two products. iWork 09 is much simpler system to than Office, which may be an advantage for some and a drawback for others.

All the component parts of iWork 09 have been designed to be simple to use (or at least simpler than Office). There are a number … Read more

See the light through Iron Man, Mario stained glass

Stained glass is usually associated with Sunday mornings, proper attitudes, and at least a hint of guilt.

If you happen to worship at the altar of Marvel, though, Etsy seller MartianGlassWorks has the perfect accessory for your alternative cathedral: a 47-inch tall Iron Man stained glass window -- just one of a collection of brilliantly rendered, geeky glass creations.

The Iron Man window, which apparently took over 100 hours to construct, uses 334 pieces of glass in 11 different colors. It will set you back $4,500 to possess this artistic wonder, but that's much less than an actual, working Iron Man suit.… Read more

How being an Apple fanboy can threaten your cat

I feel sure that the number of corporate hours lost to workers sitting and watching YouTube videos has a severe effect on GDP.

I would, therefore, like to contribute to that.

Here is a video, which Cult of Mac saw on Reddit, that shows the unexpected consequences of becoming a little too committed to Apple's software.… Read more

David Byrne on how music works (book review)

I was a huge Talking Heads fan and saw the band many times at shows in New York. That was a long time ago. Byrne is still a vital creative force, recording new music, performing, and writing books. He's worked with various media including film, photography, opera, and non-fiction. He's still searching for new creative challenges, which is more than you can say about most aging rock musicians. Byrne's new book, "How Music Works" reads more like an autobiography than a how-to make it in the music business tome.

Byrne is hyper-aware of how technology … Read more