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China, predictably, denies Google's accusations of Gmail tampering
On Monday, Google expressed its belief that its email users in China were experiencing "a government blockage carefully designed to look like the problem is with Gmail." Now, as is par for this thorny course, the Chinese state has come out with a terse rebuttal, saying simply that "this is an unacceptable accusation." The retort was, says the BBC, part of a regular news conference on Tuesday and it doesn't appear that any more time was spent on the subject. Which is odd since most people would tend to act to prevent something they see as unacceptable -- but then we suppose China already has a pretty long list of folks it'd like to shut up, Google's just gonna have to get in line and wait its turn. There's a good citizen.
Google and China clash again, this time over Gmail access
Last week we noted, with a growing sense of disquiet, how China was busying itself with locking out VPN access within its borders and, seemingly, preventing people from using their Gmail accounts. Google has now given a public voice to those concerns, noting that "there is no issue on our side. We have checked extensively. This is a government blockage carefully designed to look like the problem is with Gmail." Other Google tools, like the Person Finder for Japanese tsunami survivors, have also exhibited intermittent issues. China's goal in these attacks is reportedly to stifle online revolutionary chatter inspired by Egypt's successful democratic revolt, though the nation's said to be taking a more clandestine approach than previously by making its alleged sabotage appear like a software problem instead. Guess it's time to prepare ourselves for another battle of wits between these two.
Chinese groups slam Apple for environmental policies
Ouch. The Associated Press is reporting that three dozen environmental groups have jointly issued a report called "The Other Side of Apple," which accuses the company of ignoring their concerns about health and safety issues at Chinese manufacturing facilities. These plants manufacture components that are used to build iPads, iPhones and other Apple products. The report cites the use of dangerous chemicals used in the manufacture of touchscreens, and other hazardous materials that can make factory workers sick or endanger their lives. The report comes just as Apple has opened stores in China, and this week Tim Cook told investors that China was a vast and important market for Apple. The report noted that Apple was the least responsive of 26 tech companies doing business in China. An Apple spokeswoman in China, Carolyn Wu, has said that the company is "committed to ensuring the highest standards of social responsibility," but had no direct response to this latest report. The groups have commended Samsung, Hewlett-Packard, Compaq Computer and others as the most responsive. Previously, Apple was embroiled in controversy after some employees committed suicide at the South China Foxconn plant where Apple products are built.
HP agrees to pay $55 million to settle investigation into illegal kickbacks
The company that kicked Mark Hurd to the curb for financial impropriety has today reported it'll pay $55 million in a settlement with the US Department of Justice relating to some fiscal delinquency of its own. HP was accused of greasing up the wheels of business, as it were, by throwing cash around to companies who would recommend its services to state procurement agencies. This particular set of allegations related to a federal contract obtained by HP in 2002, and the settlement also extinguishes investigation into whether or not the computer vendor had provided incomplete information to the US government. That's all well and good, but we have to question the size of these levies. Today's also the day that HP's announced a new $800 million supply contract with the US Air Force -- would a fine that's less than a tenth of the contract's value really deter HP's entrepreneurial spirit?
MagicJack sues Boing Boing, gets bounced out of court
The MagicJack is a VoIP dongle that hooks ye olde landline telephone up to the world of tomorrow via a humble computer. By all accounts, it seems to work pretty well and does the job it promises. Sadly, it doesn't seem like we can say the same about its management team. A post on Boing Boing in April 2008 addressed some pretty concerning aspects of the MagicJack EULA: it demands that you cede your right to sue the company and give it permission to "analyze" the numbers you call, but even more worrying was the fact that no links to said EULA were provided either on the website or at the point of sale. That is to say, every purchaser of the product was agreeing to something he or she hadn't (and couldn't have, without tracking the URL down via Google) read. Oh, and apparently the software comes without an uninstaller. The whole thing could've been just a nice warning tale about not getting into contracts without reading the fine print, but MagicJack CEO Dan Borislow, hardly a man who shrinks from controversy, felt so offended by Boing Boing's, erm, statement of factual reality that he took them to court, citing that his company was exposed to "hate, ridicule and obloquy" (we had to look that last one up, it's just another word for ridicule, which makes the whole thing a tautology. Lawyers, eh?). Unsurprisingly, he lost the case, but he did manage to squeeze in one last act of shady behavior prior to his loss by offering to pay for Boing Boing's silence regarding the proceedings and costs. After he was turned down, MagicJack's coffers were still lightened by $54,000 to cover the defendants' legal fees, whereas its reputation can now be found somewhere in the Monster Cable vicinity of pond scum central. Great job, Boing Boing.
