iPad

If you have a good enough phone and a laptop, the netbook is pointless too - unless you really, really need a big screen (bigger than phone) while sitting in a car or field and using the web.

Ok, well, maybe not totally pointless. We liked the one we were playing with at Verizon - and they were giving them away - but I couldn't see the need for another bill because my wife thought it was so damn cute. You had to take Verizon's hookup too. Call it overkill.

I may go blind looking at my Droid (uh, that's from reading) but it seems to be enough for now.

 

http://www.dailytech.com/Report+Only+Escape+From+Hellish+Apple+iPhone+Factory+Was+Suicide/article18428.htm









Apple's parts supplier Foxconn faces more controversy

Last time a reporter tried to penetrate Apple's veil of secrecy, security guards employed by their parts supplier, Foxconn, beat up the reporters involved. But questions had to be answered in the wake of the suicide/potential murder of a Foxconn employee which occurred after the employee lost an iPhone prototype.

Chinese newspaper Southern Weekly was determined to find out the true story, and sent a reporter in undercover, posing as a new employee. Given the fact that Foxconn's Shenzen plant that builds Apple's iPads, iPods, and iPhones has 400,000 employees, that part wasn't too hard.

What was hard, was for the reporter to endure the plant's reportedly hellish working conditions for 28 days.

So far in the last four and a half months seven workers from the plant have committed suicide, and at least 9 have attempted suicide. According to reporter Liu Zhi Yi who infiltrated the plant, the likely reason why was that they felt taking their own life was the only option to escape the hellish working conditions of the plant.

According to Liu, the plant makes employees work around the clock, only pausing briefly to eat or sleep. Most of the time the employees are standing, seldom able to sit down and rest their weary legs. This is perfectly legal, as employees are required to sign a special overtime document that override Chinese workplace laws and essentially allows the employer to demand whatever hours they want from you, without additional compensation.

Foxconn pays the workers far too little for them to hope to buy one of the Apple products they assemble. It pays them only 900 Chinese Yuan a month —about $130 USD. Still the workers have dreams. They joke that their carts that they haul Apple materials on are "BMWs", dreaming of real BMWs. They buy lottery tickets and bet on horse races in hopes of miraculously being handed an escape from their purgatory.

But for most, they will live out their lives slaving away to build Apple's products, constantly in danger, while earning only a pittance. So, according to the newspaper there's little surprise some employees fall into deep despair.

Foxconn at the request of Apple and Chinese state officials has made some steps to decrease the suicide rates. It's hired counselors and given workers dummies to beat on to vent their rage. And it's even been so kind as to hire Buddhist monks to allow the souls of those who committed to suicide to escape purgatory.

 

I'm porting this now from an iPad. So far it's awesome, I think it can serve as a full computer replacement for Mom (assuming I sync it regularly with my laptop)

 

I'm using one while waiting on an oil change. Pretty cool. I'm sure you can do other things than web browsing but not sure what else. Easy to play with

 

It's a global conspiracy.

 

I think Israel changed it's policy regarding the iPad.

 

I got one yesterday. It's almost perfect for the travelling I will be doing but some simple additions would make it sooo much better. I would have explored other tablet types but the popularity of the iBook format and the hopes that Lonely Planet will release their guide books is what made me go with the iPad.

I really need the camera connection kit (basically just a sd card reader to dock connector and a usb to dock connector) but the back order is a month and I will be gone by then. I'm going to try a 1 dollar female to female usb adaptor and a $9 card reader so see if that works the same. I searched for 4 hours last night to find somebody, anybody who had attempted this homemade solution and there are 10,000 people talking about it but nobody attempting such an obvious attempt. Apple people are weird.

The iPad should come with that standard if not simply built in.

 

How is mom anyway? Does she ask about me?

 

I was playing with one and it wasn't flash compatible. Hope that's in the next version

 

It will never be supported by Apple on the handheld or tablet devices IMO. Also it doesn't matter to me considering that Flash is on the decline.