Yep good read there. th'ts about all I'll say on that. Sarah Alawami If you need an edit done on a small project go to http://music.marrie.org/master for more info. If you need to contact me my info is below.
MSN and AIM: marri...@gmail.com website: http://music.marrie.org Podcast: http://marrie.podbean.com youtube: http://youtube.com/marrie125 On Feb 26, 2011, at 11:19 PM, Cheree Heppe wrote: > Cheree Heppe here: > > The two articles below show two differing aspects of Apple. I got them from > a tech compilation from Will Smith. > > > Times Technology news for the week of 2/24/2011 > Note: Apparently the N Y Times will move to their restricted pay model > some time in March, so we probably are finishing their participation > here. I will continue a smaller Tech Update with MIT's Tech Review and > new tech material from other sources. Your suggestions are encouraged > yRush, One Tablet Stands Out > > By DAVID POGUE > > It's an old pattern by now. Phase 1: [7]Apple introduces some new > gadget. The bloggers and the industry tell us why it'll fail. Phase 2: > It goes on sale. The public goes nuts for it. Phase 3: Every company > and its brother gets to work on a copycat. > > It happened with the [8]iMac and the [9]iPhone. Now the [10]iPad is > entering Phase 3. Apple sold 15 million iPads in nine months, so you > can bet that 2011 will be the Year of the iPad Clone. > > Starting Thursday, you'll be able to buy one of the most eagerly > awaited iPad rivals: the Motorola Xoom. Like most iPad aspirants, this > one runs [11]Google's Android software -- but the Xoom is the first > that runs Android 3.0 (code-named Honeycomb), which Google designed for > tablets instead of phones. > > The Xoom continues Motorola's recent streak of attractive, compact and > well-built gadgets. Unless you inspect the back panel (rubberized > plastic instead of silver aluminum), you might not be able to tell this > touch-screen slab from the iPad. > > There are some differences, though. One is the price: the Xoom costs a > stunning $800, $70 more than the equivalent 32-gigabyte iPad (WiFi and > 3G cellular). You can get the Xoom for $600 if you're willing to commit > to a two-year [12]Verizon contract. That means paying $20 a month to > get online using Verizon's cellular network (if you can get by on only > 1 gigabyte of data), instead of just Wi-Fi hot spots. > > The Xoom also has a dual-core processor, which, according to Motorola, > means smoother game animation. And it has cameras. On the back, there's > a 5-megapixel still camera that can also record high-definition video. > On the front, there's a low-resolution video camera for video chatting. > The new Android software includes a beefed-up Camera module, which > gives weird prominence to gimmicky effects you'll never use, like > Solarize, Sepia and Polarize. > > Clearly, a camera is useful on a tablet, and will remain a gigantic > competitive advantage for the Xoom -- at least until the iPad 2 comes > out next month (if Apple sticks to its usual annual update pattern, > that is). If the new iPad doesn't have a camera or two, I'll eat a > tablet. > > The Xoom's screen has slightly higher resolution than the iPad's, and > it gives the tablet a slightly different shape -- more like a business > envelope than a greeting-card envelope. The screen shape is a better > match for hi-definition videos, but worse for photos and maps. > > The Xoom has stereo speakers instead of mono, a battery good for 10 > hours of video playback and a power button on the back panel. Motorola > says that later this year, a software upgrade will let the Xoom take > advantage of Verizon's 4G cellular networks, which means better > downloading speed in a few lucky cities. > > One very cool feature: The Xoom has an HDMI jack, meaning that a single > cable can send both audio and hi-def video to a TV. That's a perfect > proposition for the peripatetic PowerPoint presenter. > > Motorola's dock doctor has been working overtime, too. You can buy > either a speaker dock or a charging dock that automatically activates > the Xoom's slide show or alarm-clock mode. If the Xoom's hardware were > the whole story, it wouldn't be much more than an anecdote. Those > hardware improvements alone won't knock the iPad --especially the iPad > 2 -- off its pedestal, especially considering the price premium. > > No, the more important story here is Honeycomb, the Google tablet > software. This is the real iPad competitor; Honeycomb tablets in every > size, shape and price range will soon be arriving in stores. > > So how is Honeycomb? Four words: more powerful, more complicated. > > The screen now bears two strips of tiny icons. In theory, the top ones > pertain to the program you're using, and the ones across the bottom > ones resemble the system tray in Windows: status icons and pop-up menus > for various settings. > > But these icons are darned cryptic; you'd think they were were designed > by aliens. Google seems to have overlooked a huge drawback of unlabeled > icons on a touch-screen computer: there's no way to see their names or > functions before you open them. There are no pop-up tooltips, for > example. All you can do is touch one to activate it, see what happens > and learn from the annoying experience. > > The new strips don't always make sense, either. Why, for example, does > tapping the clock icon bring up your list of notifications (completed > downloads, incoming [13]text messages and so on)? Why do you access > some settings by tapping a bottom-strip icon, and the rest of the > settings by tapping a top-strip icon? Does Android want to be Windows > when it grows up? > > Some of the changes in Honeycomb are fresh. There's a pop-up menu of > list of recently opened apps -- not just their names, but miniature > screens that show you exactly what you were doing when you left off. > Widgets (small windows that display the latest data from, say, your > Gmail or [14]Twitter accounts) are more flexible now; for example, you > can scroll through their contents without having to open up a whole big > app. You can drag individual messages into e-mail folders. > > In the miscellaneous category, Google has blessed the Web browser with > tabbed windows and an "incognito" mode (in which you leave no cookies, > history or other tracks that might let someone see what you've been up > to). When you're using Google Maps to view a major city like San > Francisco or New York, you can twist with your fingers to reveal the > three-dimensional outlines of actual buildings. (Useful if you're the > pilot of an ultralight aircraft, I guess.) > > Other improvements might best be labeled, "Lovingly ripped off from the > iPad." Take the new Gmail and e-mail apps, for example (still no word > as to why we need separate apps for Gmail and other account types). > They've been redesigned to perfectly mimic the iPad's mail app. That > is, when the tablet is upright, the message fills the screen; when it's > horizontal, the message list appears at the left side, with the > selected message in the main window. The Contacts app is similarly > similar. > > There's a Books app that mimics the iPad's iBooks app, right down to > the three-dimensional page-turning animation. (It accesses Google's > attractive new e-book store.) > > All the other Android goodies are still here, like speech recognition > and impressive GPS navigation. Motorola says that an upcoming download > will let the Xoom play Flash videos online -- something the iPad can't > do. > > At the moment, few apps are designed for Android tablets' larger > screens. By contrast, there are 60,000 apps available specifically for > the iPad (not counting the 290,000 iPhone apps that also run on it, at > lower resolution). But that's a temporary objection; the Android > library is growing at a white-hot pace. > > If you're interested in a tablet, you'd be wise to wait a couple of > months. You'll want to consider whatever Apple has up its sleeve for > the iPad's second coming, of course, but also Research in Motion's > business-oriented BlackBerry PlayBook and [15]Hewlett-Packard's > juicy-looking TouchPad tablet, which runs the webOS software > (originally designed by ex-Apple engineers for the Palm Pre > smartphone). > > It's not crystal-clear at this point why the world needs all of these > competing tablets, each with different operating systems and app > stores. There's not enough differentiation to justify the coming > onslaught of models; most of these companies seem to cranking out > tablets just so they can say, "We have an iPad thingie, too!" > > In the meantime, Motorola should be congratulated for the Xoom. For > xealous tablet fans, it's an excellent, xesty tablet with a xany price > tag -- but a lot of xip. > > E-mail: po...@nytimes.com > > This article has been revised to reflect the following correction: > > A previous version of this article misstated the price difference > between the Motorola Xoom and its equivalent 32-gigabyte iPad. It is > $70, not $200. > > > > Workers Sickened at Apple Supplier in China > > By [7]DAVID BARBOZA > > SUZHOU, China -- Last week, when [8]Apple released its annual review of > labor conditions at its global suppliers, one startling revelation > stood out: 137 workers at a factory here had been seriously injured by > a toxic chemical used in making the signature slick glass screens of > the [9]iPhone. > > Apple, describing it as a "core violation" of worker safety, said that > it had ordered the contractor to stop using the chemical and to improve > safety conditions at the plant. Apple also said that it would monitor > the medical conditions of those workers. > > But in interviews last weekend, nearly a dozen employees who say they > were harmed by the chemical said they had never heard from anyone at > Apple. > > Instead, they said the contractor -- a Taiwanese-owned company called > Wintek -- had pressed them and many other affected workers to resign > and accept cash settlements that would absolve the factory of future > liability, charges the company denied. > > "We hope Apple will heed to its corporate social responsibility," said > Jia Jingchuan, 27. He said exposure at the Wintek plant to the > chemical, known as n-hexane, had left him with nerve damage and made > him so hypersensitive to cold that he now must wear down-insulated > clothing even indoors. "Usually someone my age doesn't wear this type > of pants," he said raising his voice. "Only 50- or 60-year-old men wear > something like this." > > On Monday, however, a Wintek spokesman denied that the company was > pressing workers to resign or sign papers absolving the company of > future liability. > > The company said it was working with medical professionals to assess > the health of workers. Jay Huang, the spokesman, even suggested that > Wintek would pay for medical care should the symptoms persist after > workers resign. > > "Wintek's policy of handling this is to put workers' benefit as the > first priority," he said. > > Kristin Huguet, a spokeswoman at Apple's headquarters in Cupertino, > Calif., declined to discuss the Wintek case but said the company was > committed to the highest standards of social responsibility in its > supply chain. "We require our suppliers to provide safe working > conditions, treat workers with dignity and respect and use > environmentally friendly manufacturing processes whenever our products > are made," she said. > > Many workers, though, say they do not trust the factory because some > managers continue to press injured workers to resign, sometimes by > insisting they work longer hours even though their health is impaired. > > Mr. Jia, a machine repair worker, was among a group of Wintek employees > who gathered Sunday to discuss the case in a worker's bare, unheated > one-room apartment a few miles from the factory. > > Some members of the group said they were still suffering health > problems while working at the factory, which employs 18,000 workers at > an average monthly wage of about $200, after overtime. > > Wang Mei, 37, a quality inspection supervisor at Wintek, said she was > hospitalized for 10 months because of n-hexane poisoning. She said she > would like to leave the factory, but only after receiving assurances > that Wintek would cover her medical bills if her health problems > persisted. > > "It's not that we want to work here," she said Sunday, as she tried to > explain why she remains at the factory despite recurring symptoms, such > as soreness in her limbs and fatigue. "We want to fight for our legal > rights." > > Another woman came into the room waving a letter from a Chinese > insurance company, turning her down for life insurance because she had > been poisoned at the Wintek factory. > > Although many workers said they had not heard from Apple and had been > pressed to leave Wintek, one worker said that an Apple employee had > arrived at the Suzhou factory on Tuesday and had met with a few > affected workers. > > The workers also said Wintek managers appeared to be softening their > position early this week by telling several injured workers that they > would no longer be required to sign documents if they choose to resign. > > The Wintek injuries underscore the challenges Apple faces in trying to > source goods from China, which dominates electronics manufacturing with > low-cost labor and highly efficient factories that often operate around > the clock. > > But China is also known for factories that routinely flout labor and > environmental laws. > > About 18 months ago, workers at the Wintek factory started complaining > of sore limbs and extreme weakness. Some employees had difficulty > climbing stairs or even buttoning a shirt; others said they had dizzy > spells and pounding headaches. "My palms started sweating and my legs > got numb," Mr. Jia said. "At first, I didn't think it was related to > work." > > According to Wintek, doctors later discovered that the factory's > workers, scores of them, were suffering from heavy exposure to > n-hexane, a toxic agent the factory had begun using to clean the > sophisticated touch-screen glass panels it makes for the Apple iPhone. > Some workers said they were hospitalized for months with what doctors > told them was nerve damage. Because the workers had insurance, Wintek > and the government paid the medical costs and some compensation during > their sick leave. > > Wintek said it began using n-hexane in early 2009, after the factory > received a large order for the glass panels. The company says n-hexane > evaporates quickly and was considered more efficient than other > cleaning agents. > > But the compound is also considered a narcotic, which in high > concentrations can disrupt the central nervous system of humans and > induce vertigo and muscular atrophy, according to the [10]Occupational > Safety and Health Administration, a division of the [11]United States > Department of Labor. > > To draw attention to their plight, some affected workers organized a > protest early last year. They also hired a lawyer, lobbied local > government officials and even set up a microblogging site with links to > their medical records. > > In its report, Apple said n-hexane was no longer being used at the > Suzhou factory and that Wintek had repaired its ventilation system. > > But Debby Chan, project officer at Students and Scholars Against > Corporate Misbehavior, a labor rights group in Hong Kong, said Apple > and Wintek were slow to address the problem. "We heard rumors about the > poisoning in 2009, and after a strike at the factory in January 2010, > we went to the No. 5 hospital and found some of the workers," Ms. Chan > said. "When I visited workers in the hospital they said the Wintek > management did not care about the situation. And after this case was > exposed by the media, Apple never approached the workers or made an > apology for their suffering." > > Apple's first[12] mention of the case came last week, in its annual > [13]overseas supplier assessment, which the company has released since > 2007. > > This year's review was particularly sensitive because it was the first > since several suicides last year among workers at [14]Foxconn > Technologies, one of Apple's biggest suppliers in China. Some labor > rights advocates had attributed the suicides to harsh working > conditions at its huge factory compounds, some of which employ 300,000 > people. > > In the report, Apple praised Foxconn for its response to the deaths. > Foxconn hired counselors, raised salaries and even put up nets on some > of its buildings to prevent suicide attempts. > > But Apple also said it had discovered that some of its other Chinese > suppliers had employees younger than 16, the legal working age. One > supplier factory had 42 under-age workers, the company said. > > Well aware of the pitfalls of outsourcing manufacturing to China, Apple > and other global brands often hire independent auditors to make > surprise visits to supplier factories. They also press factories to > agree to strict codes of conduct and to ensure worker safety and > compliance with China's labor and environmental laws. One of the > injured Wintek workers who agreed to be interviewed Sunday, Yao > Xiaoping, 22, a migrant worker from Shaanxi Province, said he had left > the factory and had accepted compensation of about $12,000 but now > feared for his future because of the n-hexane poisoning that he said > had left him with sweaty palms and weak limbs. > > "I went back to my village but everyone knows what happened to me," he > said, fighting back tears. "So it has made it difficult for me to find > a wife there." > > Chen Xiaoduan contributed research. > > > > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "MacVisionaries" group. > To post to this group, send email to macvisionaries@googlegroups.com. > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > macvisionaries+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries?hl=en. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "MacVisionaries" group. To post to this group, send email to macvisionaries@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to macvisionaries+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries?hl=en.
