Putting a human cost on the iPad | Apple - CNET News
Foxconn employees run for safety after a fatal explosion last May.
(Credit: YouTube)A day after Apple announced record profits, a new report provides a detailed look at the conditions that workers at its suppliers in China have had to endure.
The company, which reported $13 billion in profits yesterday, has been plagued by reports of long hours, unsafe working conditions, and physical punishment of employees in factories that make parts for its popular devices. Dozens have been injured and a handful killed in explosions and other accidents at the plants.
In a seven-month span last year, two explosions at iPad factories in China, including at the Chengdu facility, killed four and injured 77, according to The New York Times. In an exhaustive profile, Times reporters Charles Duhigg and David Barboza put a name and a face to the human price sometimes paid for those profits, spotlighting the final months of one of those workers who died that day in Chengdu.
It's unclear whether these allegedly unsafe working conditions have been thoroughly addressed. Apple previously adopted a code of conduct for suppliers, but the Cupertino computer maker did not immediately respond to a request for comment from CNET this evening.
The report focuses on an explosion at a plant in Chengdu, in southwest China, last May killed four and injured 18. Chinese TV showed clouds of dark smoke emanating from the building and there were fears that the building's collapse was imminent.
In late 2010, Lai Xiaodong, a 22-year-old with a degree, moved to Chengdu, a city of 12 million in southwest China that has become one of the world's most important manufacturing hubs. Lai landed a $22 a day job repairing machines at Foxconn Technology's factory, where the iPad was being produced. (Foxconn has plants throughout China and produces roughly 40 percent of the world's consumer electronics for companies such as Microsoft, Hewlett-Packard, Dell, and Sony.)
Apple's Supplier Code of Conduct states that plant workers are not to work more than 60 hours a week, except under emergency or unusual circumstances. However, according to the Times:
Mr. Lai was soon spending 12 hours a day, six days a week inside the factory, according to his paychecks. Employees who arrived late were sometimes required to write confession letters and copy quotations. There were "continuous shifts," when workers were told to work two stretches in a row, according to interviews.At the end of the day, Lai would retreat to a bedroom just large enough for a bed that he shared with his girlfriend. Many of his co-workers weren't so privileged; company dorms house 70,000 employees, often squeezing 20 people into a three-bedroom apartment, according to the report.
Following the lead of other tech companies, Apple decided in 2005 that it needed the Code of Conduct to ensure "that working conditions in Apple's supply chain are safe, that workers are treated with respect and dignity, and that manufacturing processes are environmentally responsible." The company, which conducts annual audits of its component suppliers, recently reported that it had increased its audits by 80 percent compared with 2010.
Apple noted in its latest progress report (PDF), which was released after the Chengdu explosion, that it had "significantly" reduced instances of child labor but that the 60-hour work week rule was being observed only 38 percent of the time. The company also found "some violations" of its compliance code for environmental standards while examining 14 facilities, resulting in 58 facilities getting their air emissions systems treated.
Two weeks before the Chengdu explosion, an advocacy group warned of unsafe conditions (PDF) at the factory in a report. The group, Students and Scholars Against Corporate Misbehavior, called the health and safety issues at Chengdu "alarming:"
"Workers do not have adequate training on usage of chemicals and do not have regular on-post health examination. Workers also highlight the problem of poor ventilation and inadequate personal protective equipment."A copy of the report was sent to Cupertino, but the group never received a response, according to the Times.
Two hours into Lai's shift, a series of explosions rocked the building. Despite being burned over 90 percent of his body, Lai held on for two days. After delivering Lai's ashes to his family, Foxconn also wired a check for $150,000 to the family.
As unsettling as all this is, perhaps there's hope for overseas workers in Apple's announcement that it has joined the Fair Labor Association and that it will be providing more transparency when it comes to the making of its products.
In a recent report on why the success of some U.S. firms hasn't led to more U.S. jobs, The New York Times noted that almost all of the products Apple sold last year were manufactured overseas.
As a current unidentified Apple executive points out to the Times: "You can either manufacture in comfortable, worker-friendly factories, or you can reinvent the product every year, and make it better and faster and cheaper, which requires factories that seem harsh by American standards. And right now, customers care more about a new iPhone than working conditions in China."
Slowly dying of her McAddiction | thetelegraph.com.au
A variety of McDonald's burgers, wraps and the preferred nuggets. Picture: Nicholas Welsh Source: The Daily Telegraph
What's in a chicken nugget Source: The Daily Telegraph
A TEENAGE girl who has eaten almost nothing else except chicken nuggets for 15 years has been warned by doctors the junk food is killing her.
Stacey Irvine, 17, has been hooked on the fast food since her mother bought her some at a McDonald's restaurant when she was two. Shocked doctors learned of her habit when the factory worker, from Birmingham, north of London, collapsed and was taken to hospital after struggling to breathe.
Ms Irvine, who has never eaten fruit or vegetables, had swollen veins in her tongue and was found to have anaemia.
Medics gave her a series of injections and started her on an urgent course of vitamins.
Despite being warned she could die if she stuck to her nugget addiction, she still can't resist the fast food.
Despite a diet that regularly means she eats at least a third more than the 56g of fat recommended by experts, she manages to keep relatively trim.
This may be down to the amount of exercise she does or to her metabolism.
But the craving is taking a toll on her health. A lack of vitamins and other nutrients combined with a dangerous amount of salt can raise blood pressure and weaken the immune system and lead to an increased risk of heart attacks or strokes, particularly as Ms Irvine ages.
A less serious consequence of her craving is that she is struggling to find places to store all the free toys and novelties that come with the meals. They currently fill four bin bags.
Her exasperated mother Evonne Irvine, 39, who is battling to get her daughter seen by a specialist, said: "It breaks my heart to see her eating those damned nuggets.
"She's been told in no uncertain terms that she'll die if she carries on like this. But she says she can't eat anything else."
She once tried unsuccessfully to starve her daughter in a bid to have her eat nutritious food.
Ms Irvine, whose only other variation in her diet is the occasional slice of toast for breakfast -- and crisps -- said that once she tried nuggets she "loved them so much they were all I would eat".
Evonne Irvine's other two children - Leo, five, and Ava, three - both eat healthily.
In one six-piece portion of McNuggets there are 280 calories, 17g of fat, 16g of carbohydrate, 14g protein, and 600mg sodium and in a small portion of fries there are 230 calories, 11g of fat, 29g of carbohydrates, 3g protein and 160mg sodium.
If Ms Irvine ate three portions of each in a day she would eat a third more fat and almost double the recommended salt but virtually no vitamin C.
Each portion of nuggets contains just two per cent of the daily vitamin C requirement.
'Alex & Me': The Parrot Who Said 'I Love You' : NPR
During their 30 years together, Irene Pepperberg and her African gray parrot, Alex, said "I love you" to each other nearly every day.
It's Animal Week on Fresh Air; during these last days of summer, we're featuring rebroadcasts of our best conversations about animals and how we live with them.
Although his brain was no bigger than a walnut, Alex the African gray parrot could do more than speak and understand — he could also count, identify colors and, according to his owner Irene Pepperberg, develop an emotional relationship. When Alex died in September 2007, his last words to Pepperberg were "You be good. I love you."
In her book Alex & Me, Pepperberg explores the world of animal cognition and describes her unique relationship with Alex.
Pepperberg is adjunct professor at the Department of Psychology at Brandeis University and a lecturer and research associate at Harvard University. She is also the author of The Alex Studies.
This interview was originally broadcast on Nov. 12, 2008.
Brilliant ballpoint pen paintings by Shane McAdams — Lost At E Minor: For creative people
Shane McAdams makes his ballpoint pen paintings by breaking open pens and smearing the ink from inside onto resin panels, which he then takes to the tanning salon to get a UV light treatment.
Tagged: ballpoint pen paintings, Shane McAdams art
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'Still Alive' played on 3D printed record, takes music piracy to complicated new levels -- Engadget
We're still in the relatively early stages of the 3D printer revolution, and as such, it's hard to say just how these devices will play a role in our daily lives. We've seen some really cool toys like turtleshell racers and Weighted Companion Cubes, but what about some everyday products? This 3D printed record keeps the Portal printer theme going by cutting our old pal Jonathan Coulton's "Still Alive" into its grooves. The single was printed over at Shapeways and played on a Fisher-Price record player. Video after jump.
Park that turns into a lake for half the year | Crack Two
A rare natural phenomenon turns one of Austria’s most beautiful hiking trails into a 10 meter-deep lake, for half the year.Located at the foot of the Hochschwab Mountains, in Tragoess, Styria, Green Lake is one of the most bizarre natural phenomena in the world. During the cold winter months, this place is almost completely dry, and used as a country park where hikers love to come and spend some time away from urban chaos. But as soon as temperatures rise, the snow and ice covering the mountaintops begin to melt, and the water pours down, filling the basin below with crystal-clear water.
Water levels go from one-two meters at most, to over 10 meters, in the early summer. The waters of Green Lake are highest in June, when this extraordinary place is invaded by divers, curious to see what a mountain park looks like underwater. Fish swimming over wooden benches, a grass-covered bottom, trees, roads, roads and even bridges create a surreal setting that feels like it belongs on dry ground. That’s because for half of the year, that’s exactly where it’s at.
Take a look at the amazing images of the Green Lake, shot during the summer season:
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Riusuke Fukahori Paints Three-Dimensional Goldfish Embedded in Layers of Resin | Colossal
First: watch the video. Japanese artist Riusuke Fukahori paints three-dimensional goldfish using a complex process of poured resin. The fish are painted meticulously, layer by layer, the sandwiched slices revealing slightly more about each creature, similar to the function of a 3D printer. I really enjoy the rich depth of the pieces and the optical illusion aspect, it’s such an odd process that results in something that’s both a painting and sculptural. Wonderful.
Fukahori just closed an exhibition at ICN Gallery in London titled Goldfish Salvation, and you can see many more images via the gallery’s Facebook, but probably the best resource is this set of photos by Dominic Alves. (via the awesomer)
Unique Multi-link Leg Design Enables True Robot Running (Video) | Robots Dreams
One of the most active debates about robots running ability has always centered around whether or not both of the robots feet leave the ground at the same time. When Honda's ASIMO humanoid robot was first demonstrated running, lots of critics immediately questioned if it had actually achieved "running" to that point or not. Eventually videos surfaced showing that indeed, for a fraction of a second, both of ASIMO's feet were in the air.
That being said, ASIMO is a multi million dollar, multi-decade research project backed with a staff of engineers and developers from one of the world's most well known automobile manufacturers. Could the same performance, at least as far as running is concerned, be achieved by a hobbyist working essentially alone in his workshop?
Apparently so...
The FrostyDesign robot uses a unique multi-link leg design that enables it to achieve full speed running with both feet leaving the ground without falling or tipping, and it can stop on a dime. Even more impressively, it accomplishes all of this without using gyro sensor feedback.
The FrostyDesign video playlist below includes a 300 fps clip showing how the robots feet actually leave the ground, a clip with the robot running full out, another clip demonstrating the robots ability to stop quickly without losing its balance, plus two clips showing the multi-link leg design in detail.
Via: FrostyDesign
