Los Angeles Times

Facebook users get more than they give The Tennessean FILE - In this Nov. 16, 2010 file photo, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg smiles as he speaks at the Web 2.0 Summit in San Francisco. Facebook, the social network that changed "friend" from a noun to a verb, is expected to file as early as Wednesday to ... No 'Facebook fatigue' for longtime usersReuters Pew study finds Facebook users receive more warm fuzzies than they giveWashington Post Average Facebook Users Get More Than They GivePC Magazine USA TODAY all 455 news articles »

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Financial Times

Chip maker's top exec dies in plane crash Columbia Daily Tribune BOISE, Idaho (AP) — The head of memory chip maker Micron, long known for taking risks in stunt piloting, died yesterday when a small experimental plane he was piloting steeply banked, stalled and crashed near an Idaho runway. 'Boise lost a good friend': Micron CEO Steve Appleton's death shook his ...The Idaho Statesman Micron Technology CEO Steve Appleton Dies in Airplane CrashSan Francisco Chronicle Micron Chief Dies in CrashWall Street Journal Reuters -New York Times all 834 news articles »

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Sydney Morning Herald

EU pushes Google to delay changes to privacy policy Sacramento Bee By James Kanter BRUSSELS – European governments are pressing Google to halt coming changes to its privacy policies while they investigate the implications for personal data protection. The move is a shot across the bow for a range of companies, ... Lawmakers press Google on new privacy policyFox News EU regulators want Google to halt new privacy policyReuters EU Presses Google to Delay Privacy Policy ChangesNew York Times Washington Post -InformationWeek -CNET all 604 news articles »

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Globe and Mail

Mark of one man on public Facebook Sydney Morning Herald Since the moment he dropped out of Harvard University, Mark Zuckerberg has stayed remarkably focused on two things: Facebook, and being the boss of Facebook. Early on he was convinced of the vast potential of the social network he built in his dorm ... Facebook Readies IPO FilingWall Street Journal Facebook's few do most of the workFlorida Today Its Chief's Big Tax Bill May Benefit FacebookNew York Times BusinessWeek -Wired News -Register all 8,283 news articles »

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USA TODAY

Hackers Intercept FBI Call With UK Wall Street Journal WASHINGTON—The Federal Bureau of Investigation said cybercriminals hacked into a cybercrime conference call between its agents and law enforcement officials overseas. The 16-minute call was posted on the Internet on Friday. Hackers take over Boston police website with 'OWS' message; Anonymous claims ...Washington Post Hackers listened in on FBI, Scotland YardPhiladelphia Inquirer Hacker Group Anonymous Intercepted US Call Over InvestigationBusinessWeek Arizona Daily Star -San Francisco Chronicle all 1,705 news articles »

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TIME

Review: New Nokia Lumia 710 is quick, light The Seattle Times It's a modest device and easy-to-use. And one of the stronger points of the Lumia 710 is the Windows Phone 7 software. Compared with Android, Windows Phone 7 is generally a much more visually appealing and intuitive operating system. Microsoft testing Skype Windows Phone client, expected at MWCThe Verge Windows Phone 8: Great, But Still Too Late?PC Magazine Microsoft loses key Windows Phone employee to AmazonSlashGear Northern Voices Online -Afterdawn.com -Tom's Guide all 97 news articles »

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The State Column

Latest Hubble photo may solve mysteries of the Milky Way The State Column NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has snapped a photo of a stunning spiral galaxy, the latest such image to make its way across the internet. The US space agency announced Friday that the telescope has captured an image of a “barred spiralâ€� galaxy that ... Space Pictures This Week: Hubble Galaxy, Poet Nebula, MoreNational Geographic Hubble Telescope captures Milky Way galaxy's twinmsnbc.com Does the Milky Way galaxy have an evil twin?Christian Science Monitor BBC News -Hubble Space Telescope at ESA -TIME all 51 news articles »

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Wall Street Journal

Playing New Zynga Game At Facebook Wall Street Journal By ROLFE WINKLER Garbage in, garbage out. Sometimes on Wall Street, that's all you have to go on. When Facebook released its financial results Wednesday evening, it disclosed in a footnote that Zynga was responsible for driving 12% of its 2011 revenue. Zynga stock soars on Facebook IPO filingSan Francisco Chronicle Startup opportunities abound in wake of Facebook IPOCNET Facebook Cites Google+, Mobile Shift Among Potential RisksBusinessWeek msnbc.com -Moneycontrol.com -Christian Science Monitor all 404 news articles »

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Los Angeles Times

Apple's Australian suit vs. Samsung grows to 278 patent claims Los Angeles Times By Nathan Olivarez-Giles Apple's lawsuit against Samsung in Australia expanded Friday from three claims of patent infringement claims to 278, according to reports. The suit also grew from Apple singling out just one device -- Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1 ... Explained: Apple's not-so-secret favorite patent argumentCNET Samsung, CSR, NFL, Elsevier, Motorola: Intellectual PropertyBloomberg Samsung Says EU Probe Will Find It CompliantWall Street Journal Apple Insider -Yonhap News all 50 news articles »

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Labor activist Li Qiang of China Labor Watch

Labor activist Li Qiang says Apple is doing a much better job of monitoring factory conditions than Dell, Hewlett-Packard, Nokia and many others.

“I compared Apple with other cell phone companies, such as Nokia. And the conditions in those factories are worse than the ones of Apple,â€� he said.

However, Qiang says that conditions in the supply chain are not the responsibility of the suppliers themselves or the Chinese government. Apple ultimately bears responsibility, and the company should spend some of its record profits in improving conditions.

Qiang is the founder of China Labor Watch, the leading advocacy group that helped the New York Times investigate conditions in Chinese electronics factories, which has helped re-ignite the debate about conditions.

“Although I know that the iPhone 4 is made at sweat shop factories in China, I still think that this is the only choice, because Apple is actually one of the best,” Qing told Laptop magazine.

Qiang praised Apple for disclosing the problems it has uncovered at it suppliers, especially because Apple’s reports are so serious and disturbing. He noted that competitors like HP and Dell haven’t been anywhere near as forthcoming.

He said Foxconn, which is infamous because of employee suicides, is actually one of the best places to work in the supply chain. Foxconn is a hard place to work, with long hours, grueling deadlines and abusive management. But pay and benefits are higher, Foxconn workers receive health and safety training, are properly equipped, and the plants are checked daily for safety compliance, according to a China Labor Watch report (“Tragedies of Globalization: The Truth Behind Electronics Sweatshops”)

“Foxconn is not good,â€� Qiang told the New York Times. “But if we compare all industries, electronics, textile, toys, Foxconn is one of the best.”

Qiang compared Foxconn to Compal Electronics, which has much poorer safety practices.

At Compal Electronics, a huge supplier that manufactures notebooks for Dell, HP, Lenovo and Toshiba, workers reported that the company does not provide face masks or ear plugs, despite loud noises. Apparently, there was not even a first-aid kit available. “In the event of an injury,� Labor Watch writes, “the workshop manager will give the injured worker some cotton to cover up their injury.�

But even though Apple does more than it competitors, it is ultimately responsible for the conditions at suppliers’ factories, Qiang argues.

Reading about the abusive managers, poor safety conditions, filthy living accommodations, long hours, and low wages, it’s tempting to blame the suppliers who run the factories or government authorities who are charged with enforcing China’s 2008 Labor Law. According to Li, China’s Bureau of Labor is limited in its abilities by local governments that receive tax revenue from the factories, but don’t have to provide benefits to what they classify migrant workers. The suppliers, he says, are also limited, because of price and production pressures from Apple and the other OEMs.

“If Apple still lowers their prices and doesn’t give enough profits to the factories, then the factories don’t have money to improve the labor conditions,� he said. “So it’s always the problem of Apple and not the problem of factories. We can see that Apple is trying to put all the responsibility on the factories by releasing the supplier factory list and trying to put the factories into the focus of the immediate public, but we think that Apple should do more to make a positive change in the whole system.�

Though he believes that Apple has done a better job of inspecting its factories than others, Li maintains that the public is right to put more pressure on Tim Cook’s company than its competitors who have the same problems. Because Apple makes the most profit, he reasons, it also bears the most responsibility for fixing a broken system. He maintains that it wouldn’t take more than 2-percent of Apple’s profits to dramatically improve workers’ lives in China while companies such as Dell and HP would have to spend more.

“Although we think Apple is among the best in terms of auditing, we still think that Apple can do more because it is the most profitable company in the world,� he said. “As soon as Apple is willing to give a small percentage of its profits, the workers can benefit a lot. But Apple is not willing to do that.�

• Asian Labor Unions Plan More Protests Targeting Apple
• 1,000 Workers At Apple’s Keyboard Supplier in Shenzhen Walk Out In Protest
• 35,000 Sign Petition Calling For Apple To Stop Worker Abuse In Chinese Factories
• Both Foxconn iPad 2 Factories Exploded For The Same Reason
• Foxconn Holds Pep Rally To Boost Morale After Suicides

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