208 replies to this topic

[stephanie familiar]

where is one supposed to rent or buy movies these days? video stores are out, netflix canada sucks balls, and the torrents often don't have what i'm looking for.

[Steve Sensible]

A tip for Android tablet users; if your tablet won't switch on, hold down the "volume up" button and the power button and it should come back to life.

I thought my Motorola Xoom had died, and I was just about to box it up to take it back to the shop to exchange it or get it repaired, then I found this tip on the web and it worked! Apparently it's a known issue with Android.

It was a huge relief when it powered up - if I'd had to have a new one, I would have had to change my passwords for e-mail accounts, Twitter accounts, Facebook, various web forums... would have been a pain in the arse.

[Ricardo_C]

"How the US Lost Out on iPhone Work" - http://www.nytimes.c...ddle-class.html

Apple executives say that going overseas, at this point, is their only option. One former executive described how the company relied upon a Chinese factory to revamp

iPhone

manufacturing just weeks before the device was due on shelves. Apple had redesigned the iPhone’s screen at the last minute, forcing an assembly line overhaul. New screens began arriving at the plant near midnight.

A foreman immediately roused 8,000 workers inside the company’s dormitories, according to the executive. Each employee was given a biscuit and a cup of tea, guided to a workstation and within half an hour started a 12-hour shift fitting glass screens into beveled frames. Within 96 hours, the plant was producing over 10,000 iPhones a day.

“The speed and flexibility is breathtaking,” the executive said. “There’s no American plant that can match that.”

If Google's motto is "don't be evil", is Apple's "not only be evil, but boast about it"?

[Chewy Sun]

"How the US Lost Out on iPhone Work" - http://www.nytimes.c...ddle-class.html

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If Google's motto is "don't be evil", is Apple's "not only be evil, but boast about it"?

Remember. Everytime a CEO of manufacturing says "flexibility," it doesn't mean anything except the fact that the workers are willing to put up with not being paid for days, but available to be hired at their whim, and fired without any warning if the job is done or has changed...... and those same workers are willing to come back in a few months without complaint to start the whole cycle again.



Chewy....................................... and its nice that the chinese government provides subsidies for their industries to go after business. You know, that sort of thing the crazy right wing call "socialist" and "communist"

[Jim Ohara]

I wonder how much the iphone would cost if it had to be fabricated and manufactured in the US, with a union managed workforce guaranteed a steady number of hours despite fluctuations in demand?

America needs to come to understand that the reality of Chinese manufacturing is a consequence of American's own consumerism.

[Ogul]

I wonder how much the iphone would cost if it had to be fabricated and manufactured in the US, with a union managed workforce guaranteed a steady number of hours despite fluctuations in demand?

America needs to come to understand that the reality of Chinese manufacturing is a consequence of American's own consumerism.

Yeah, honestly expecting manufacturing to come back to America is a pipe-dream, we're too good for that shit now. We just need to figure out a way to take the money from the companies that DO outsource to china, and give it to the workers in the US that they didn't hire, so that they don't starve to death.

[David Chapman]

I wonder how much the iphone would cost if it had to be fabricated and manufactured in the US, with a union managed workforce guaranteed a steady number of hours despite fluctuations in demand?

Apple could manufacture iPhones in the US, sell them at the same price and still turn a big profit. It just wouldn't be an obscene profit.

[The Lorcan Nagle]

Apple do charge a premium for basically being Apple.

[Ogul]

Apple could manufacture iPhones in the US, sell them at the same price and still turn a big profit. It just wouldn't be an obscene profit.

But then they wouldn't be Apple. Half the point of being Apple is to abuse your underlings.


Just to be clear, by "underlings" I mean the people who slavishly buy Apple products.

[Chewy Sun]

I wonder how much the iphone would cost if it had to be fabricated and manufactured in the US, with a union managed workforce guaranteed a steady number of hours despite fluctuations in demand?

America needs to come to understand that the reality of Chinese manufacturing is a consequence of American's own consumerism.

Within the article they said the iphone would cost 65 more dollars to make if it was made in the US.




Chewy........................................................ flat out, all of those things that apple was suggesting to Obama are right wing talking points that doesn't really help the country, or anyone else, except their stockholders and executives. All the money they would "save" from their suggestions would only go towards the margins.

[Robert B]

where is one supposed to rent or buy movies these days? video stores are out, netflix canada sucks balls, and the torrents often don't have what i'm looking for.

I don't know about Amazon.ca, but Amazon.com has a video-on-demand service that has all the new releases and a huge back catalogue. The stream is excellent quality, and a 48-hour rental is inexpensive.

[garjones]

Within the article they said the iphone would cost 65 more dollars to make if it was made in the US.




Chewy........................................................ flat out, all of those things that apple was suggesting to Obama are right wing talking points that doesn't really help the country, or anyone else, except their stockholders and executives. All the money they would "save" from their suggestions would only go towards the margins.

As NIke pioneered that's money that can be spent on marketing. The only Apple hardware I own is an iPod Nano and it's the most bug ridden piece of equipment I have. Needs to be rebooted regularly when it decides to ignore the headphones and play everything through the speakers and fails to register half the time I select an option (despite the fact that I hear the 'click' confirming I asked it to play a podcast or song). Yet they retain this reputation for high quality for selling goods made in the same Chinese factory as everyone else.

[Robert B]

As NIke pioneered that's money that can be spent on marketing. The only Apple hardware I own is an iPod Nano and it's the most bug ridden piece of equipment I have. Needs to be rebooted regularly when it decides to ignore the headphones and play everything through the speakers and fails to register half the time I select an option (despite the fact that I hear the 'click' confirming I asked it to play a podcast or song). Yet they retain this reputation for high quality for selling goods made in the same Chinese factory as everyone else.

I thought the rep of reliability basically stemmed from a lack of viruses, not superior manufacturing?

I'm not an Apple fanboy but if we're going to use anecdotal evidence I should say that the Apple computers I've owned have been far more reliable than any other brand, and I've never had a problem with an ipod malfunctioning or dying. The first one I bought back in 2001 still works fine, albeit with a shorter battery life.

[garjones]

I'm not an Apple fanboy but if we're going to use anecdotal evidence I should say that the Apple computers I've owned have been far more reliable than any other brand, and I've never had a problem with an ipod malfunctioning or dying. The first one I bought back in 2001 still works fine, albeit with a shorter battery life.

Sure but I can say the same about every PC and laptop I've owned since 1998. In truth most don't break down because they would lose money if they did. Sending out replacement parts costs $100 or more each time. It would also be fair to compare their premium models that sell at the higher price point that matches Apple's.

The only non-anecdotal evidence I've seen was a third party support company and they had Apple high but behind Asus in the number of callouts.

I still like my iPod and it's slightly unresponsive ways but when it comes to an upgrade I'll look for some 'night work' from Foxxcon and save myself a few quid.

[Ogul]

I thought the rep of reliability basically stemmed from a lack of viruses, not superior manufacturing?

It came from two things, a lack of viruses (because they were too small for people to bother, which is no longer true), and a stable form factor, since every Apple was identical, while PCs came in thousands of varieties, and therefore all sorts of hardware/software interactions could be to blame for any given errors.

[stephanie familiar]

I don't know about Amazon.ca, but Amazon.com has a video-on-demand service that has all the new releases and a huge back catalogue. The stream is excellent quality, and a 48-hour rental is inexpensive.

ugh, ya that would be awesome if amazon.ca had that feature. i wonder why they don't.

[The Lorcan Nagle]

I thought the rep of reliability basically stemmed from a lack of viruses, not superior manufacturing?

Basically, the Apple rep is built on hearsay and old facts that are no longer true.

1: Apples don't get viruses - As Ogul said, this isn't because their software was more secure, but rather because virus writers didn't bother due to the unpopularity of Apples. This also means there's a good chance that Apple security developers will be on the back foot as they get more popular and virus writers go after them.

2. Apples are better for design/music/video - This is because Adobe originally only produced applications for Macs back in the 80s, but it hasn't been true for more than 10 years.

3. Apples are more reliable - Again, as Ogul said this is because of the single form factor. A large number of hardware issues with PCs come from the parts being interchangeable, and minor variations in the standards used by manafacturers. Also, companies like Dell buy in batches of whatever's cheapest when they need more parts. So your Dell latitude laptop built today might have a seagate drive, while the one built next week might have a western digital. by only using one source of parts, Apple bypasses a number of low-level issues, but it's a minor improvement over open architecture PCs.

[Chewy Sun]

A large number of hardware issues with PCs come from the parts being interchangeable, and minor variations in the standards used by manafacturers. Also, companies like Dell buy in batches of whatever's cheapest when they need more parts. So your Dell latitude laptop built today might have a seagate drive, while the one built next week might have a western digital. by only using one source of parts, Apple bypasses a number of low-level issues, but it's a minor improvement over open architecture PCs.

One of the most infuriating things about Mac drones is that anytime someone bitches about their computer having tech issues, they go and say "get a mac." More or less, most of the time, they're telling someone with a broken older model economy car on the side of the road "you should get a newer and more expensive car" as a practical solution.



Chewy.......................................................................... also, "get a mac" offers no solution. Fuck you for wasting that person's time. My expensive laptop with windows 7 on it has broken down a total of zero times in the past 2 years, and it cost the same as your Mac. Fuck you and suck on that.

Edited by Chewy Sun, 24 January 2012 - 12:40 PM.

[Robert B]

Oh, I knew all that stuff about Macs, I thought someone else suggested they were better manufactured. I don't really care about the debate itself; I own Mac products that I love and non-Mac products that I love. I find Mac's hardcore fanboys to be annoying and I find people who constantly bitch about Apple and their fanboys to be annoying. I'm equal-opportunity like that.

EDIT: Actually, maybe I'm just a good shopper but the only piece of tech that I've bought in the last decade that I thought was truly a piece of shit was an X-Box 360.

Edited by Robert B, 24 January 2012 - 01:48 PM.

[Todd Gross]

ugh, ya that would be awesome if amazon.ca had that feature. i wonder why they don't.

It may have to do with international licensing fees and things like that.