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Apple ordered to pay employees for time lost to bag searches
Apple broke the law in California by failing to pay employees while they waited for mandatory bag and iPhone searches, the state's supreme court has ruled. The fight began over six years ago, when Apple Store employees sued the company, saying they were required to clock out before being searched for stolen merchandise or trade secrets. The workers felt they were still under Apple's control during that five to 20 minute process and should therefore be compensated. Apple in turn argued that the employees could choose not to bring their bags or iPhones, thus avoiding a search in the first place.
Amazon slams report criticizing its working conditions (update: response)
Do you recall that New York Times report which claimed that working at Amazon is brutal? Amazon sure does... and it's not happy. The company's Jay Carney (formerly the White House's Press Secretary) has posted a scathing rebuttal that aims to discredit the attack on its working conditions. To start, it says that talk of people crying at their desks comes from Bo Olson, who confessed to defrauding vendors. He might have an "axe to grind," Amazon claims. It also maintains that at least some of the stories of harsh conditions didn't tell the whole story. For example, a woman who went four days without sleep now says she wasn't pressured to do so.
NYT report says it's tough (often brutal) working for Amazon
Amazon is a huge, very successful company that can make headlines with products and services years away from reality. It's also good at selling you stuff you want really cheaply and delivering it to you super quick. According to a New York Times report, however, the incredible efficiency and continuing expansion comes at the cost of its workers, held to "unreasonably high" standards and demands. The NYT talked to over 100 current and former Amazon workers, across senior management, as well as workers in retail, engineering, HR and marketing. Some nightmare tales outline about how employees caring for relatives or battling cancer soon faced harsh feedback from colleagues and superiors. "What kind of company do we want to be?" said one former human resources exec to her bosses, after she was told to put a woman who had recently returned from serious surgery, and another who had just had a stillborn child, on performance review.
Samsung finishes initial Chinese factory audits, plans long-term solutions to labor woes
Samsung faced some serious allegations surrounding the plants of its Chinese contractor HEG Electronics earlier this month, including potentially dire accusations that HEG was employing child labor. The Korean firm promised audits to set the record straight, and we're seeing the first fruits of those inspections today. The results were decidedly mixed. While there weren't any underage workers when Samsung visited, it did find HEG staff working excessive overtime, some unsafe practices and a system that punished late workers with fines. Samsung's response will go beyond just asking HEG to shape up, though: it plans to finish auditing all 105 of its exclusive Chinese contractors by the end of September, determine whether inspections of non-exclusive contractors are needed and set up a long-term audit schedule past 2013 that includes tougher requirements. While there's no certainty that the reforms will lead to the intended results, we're glad to hear that Samsung wants to turn things around at such a rapid pace.
Samsung accused of, denies employing child labor through Chinese contractor
Despite improvements, working conditions are still a sore point in China -- and China Labor Watch wants to emphasize that no company is exempt from scrutiny. The rights advocacy group claims that, on top of pushing mandatory overtime and poor overall conditions, Samsung contractor HEG Electronics has allegedly been employing at least seven underage workers at a Huizhou plant making phones and DVD players. Not surprisingly, Samsung has been quick to defend itself, asserting that it found "no irregularities" in two separate inspections this year and that it plans a third as a response to the new accusations. Who's telling the truth is still up in the air, although China Labor Watch is taking aim only after going undercover; it's long been suspected that contractors whitewash their labor practices when they see corporate inspectors coming from a mile away. If there's any substance to the allegations, Samsung may be the next tech giant taking action to mend a bruised public image.
How to keep MobileMe mail working after iCloud turns it off
Here at TUAW on the tipline, we have heard no end of complaints about MobileMe. Some days, it seems like every other tip is about how much of a mess MobileMe email is. Which is probably why Apple is finally shutting the service down in a month or so, transitioning over to the new iCloud instead. But as TidBITS notes, MobileMe users will still be able to use their email addresses even after the service is gone: All you'll have to do is follow the instructions on the transitions page to set an option on the main site, and then you'll be able to keep accessing your MobileMe email even after the transition. My advice? Unless you're thrilled with MobileMe, it's time to move on to one of the many great free email services, of which Gmail is my first recommendation. Yes, changing your email address is a pain, and there are probably some of you out there on so many lists and services that you'll stick with MobileMe as long as you can. But if you want my advice, use this opportunity to get out while you can. Good luck!
Protesters aimed to deliver new letter to Apple during shareholders meeting
Protestors delivered letters to Apple Stores around the world asking Apple to re-examine its use of Foxconn production factories overseas. Apple decided (relatedly or otherwise) to step up its inspections of those factories, so you probably won't be surprised to hear that protestors planned to do it all again. SumOfUs aimed to deliver a letter to Apple during its recent shareholder meeting, allegedly written by two factory workers who claim they were poisoned while working on the line. The protest and the meeting were both held the morning of February 23, so hopefully the handoff went off without a hitch. Apple hasn't officially acknowledged these protests, and I'm sure it would rather not have these kinds of claims bouncing around in public. Still, Apple hasn't been closed off to the issue; the company often runs inspections on overseas factories and has consistently said that every facility where its products are built adheres to all standard regulations. So far, all these protestors have asked for is to "reform working conditions," but exactly what that means, or what form of action that might mean for Apple, is unclear. As long as these protestors remain civil and Apple continues to hear their concerns and act on them as best it can, hopefully everyone will do what's right for any workers dealing with unfair or possibly harmful conditions at these plants.
Smarter elevators sort riders, stand ready to enforce social hierarchies
While we're still awaiting pneumatic tubes that can whisk us to our destinations, elevators have been gaining a few IQ points. For example, they can be voice-activated or recognize an ID badge and route riders to their floors, meaning fewer seconds staring uncomfortably until the doors open. But they can also track workers' comings and goings, and bosses at Philadelphia's Curtis Center can program elevators to deliver specific employees directly to them. Not coincidentally, intelligent lifts can also ensure executives rarely have to ride alongside the hoi polloi -- a feature Bank of America, for one, paid for but says it doesn't use. The Wall Street Journal seems to worry this is the end of elevator democracy, but we support anything that reduces our time trapped in small metal boxes.
Ask Massively: I have eaten so much birthday cake edition
It gets absolutely crazy around here once November 2nd rolls around. You'd think that another year of operation was something that only came around once every 9,000 hours or so. Of course, this means an opportunity for me to gorge myself on so much cake that I can't walk under my own power any longer without its just being arbitrary gluttony, and who can say no to that? I certainly can't. I'm still unable to walk two days later. This week, in honor of our anniversary, I've pulled a few questions straight from our anniversary edition of The Daily Grind, so that readers who missed the answers before can see the answers again... and questions unanswered can get a response. So click on past the break for our offerings, and as always, you can leave a question right here or send it along to ask@massively.com. Hopefully by next week I will be able to walk again.
Apple tweaking iPhone to work better on AT&T's network
Powerpage.org cites a Wall Street Journal article reporting that Apple has worked with AT&T to "rejigger" how the iPhone works with AT&T's towers, resulting in a reduced load for some tasks. It was not clear what changes were made, but apparently a "crash course in wireless technology" allowed them to figure out how the iPhone can get along better with AT&T. Such news indicates the lengths that Apple is willing to go to in order to be a good partner with AT&T. While few people are singing AT&T's praises, apparently there is an effort within the company to improve the network in large cities to reduce the number of dropped calls. According to Powerpage, "A random performance test released in February found that AT&T's 3G network speeds had improved by 84%." The problem is that AT&T's 3G speed has never been the main issue. AT&T is, and has been, very happy to compare themselves to Verizon when it comes to 3G speed. When it comes to reliability (i.e. how well you can actually use that speed) and availability, however, AT&T's 3G has consistently come up short. Not to mention that whole tethering issue that AT&T hasn't mentioned in several months, despite having originally promised it would be available by the end of 2009. If Apple is working on a CDMA/Verizon-compatible iPhone, AT&T's efforts are probably going to be too little, too late. After almost three years of consistently disappointing iPhone users with poor 3G availability, dropped calls, late availability of MMS, and even later availability of tethering (assuming it is ever available), iPhone owners have little reason to stay with the company.
Survey: Working on the go will be top iPad use case
A new survey by Sybase says that 2,443 of adults with a mobile phone, when polled, claim that their number one use case for an iPad would be working while out and about. 52.3% of those polled say they would work from a device like the iPad, 48.2% said they would use it to watch movies and television, and 35.4% said that they would use it to play games. Those are some interesting numbers -- we've already heard that a full third of potential iPad users would use it to read books (though of course for some people, reading books would be considered work), and we've even heard that 44% of the iPhone apps being tested so far are actually games. So basically, no one has any idea what we'll be doing with our iPads when we actually get them. No, my guess is that people suspect that they will use an iPad for working, but in practice, they'll use it more for what Apple expects them to use it for: games and consuming media. It could also be that "work" apps take longer to develop on the iPad, which would explain why we're seeing games made when most users believe they'll be working. But of course, we'll have to see -- it's possible that we may not know the main use for the iPad yet, as even Apple seems to be torn on what the real focus of the computer will be. [via AI]
Survey finds people eager to 'work on the go' with iPad, we wonder what line of 'work' they're in
So, give this a listen -- a survey from the lairs of Sybase has found that among smartphone-owning respondents, some 52.3 percent of them "would use a tablet device such as the Apple iPad is for working on the go." We fully understand that this phrase leaves open the possibility of using tablets not Designed in Cupertino, but the mere fact that it's highlighted gave us pause. We're still trying to figure out how exactly Apple's forthcoming tablet is going to fit between our daily laptop and workhorse-of-a-smartphone, and without a major overhaul of the iPhone OS, we definitely can't visualize ourselves using it for "work." 'Course, maybe they're into something that doesn't require the use of multiple applications at once, and maybe the dearth of a real keyboard isn't much of a productivity killer, but we're just not sold on the iPad being a bona fide work machine as-is. So, what say you? Are you one of those 52.3 percenters? Or do you relate more with the vocal minority?
Study finds horrible working conditions at Microsoft, Dell ODM factory
Despite the fact that the world economy is suffering from cutbacks in nearly every job sector, factory workers in places such as the Meitai factory in Dongguan City, Guangdong, China -- which assembles and produces keyboards for companies including Lenovo, Microsoft, Dell, HP and IBM -- have been relatively insulated from the downturn, and their jobs secure. The National Labor Committee has conducted a covert operation to investigate the working conditions at the factory, however, and found them to be less than acceptable. The workers -- who arguably are not compensated very well to begin with -- are cheated out of wages for negligible wrongdoing, forced into overtime, fed food that even a Dickens character would refuse, work twelve hours a day seven days a week, and sleep in dorms which are "primitive" (yes, workers live at the factory). The report that the NLC has compiled is quite long, detailed, depressing, and begins, ironically, with a Bill Gates quote. Hit the read link for the full story.Update: It looks like the source material at the read links is only working intermittently. [Via Boing Boing]
Breakfast Topic: Playing at work
We talked about this a while back, but the coolest thing I pulled out of the "working at Blizzard" article last weekend wasn't the on-site gyms, valet parking, subsidized cafeteria, or the amazing swag, it was than when your boss walks in the room at Blizzard, it's totally OK if you're playing a game. Of course, as a freelance writer, I've got a little freedom to play with any free time I have, but my free time comes in small amounts these days (I only made it to 78 this weekend) -- being able to play WoW at work (and have it count) would be great.Of course, some of you play WoW anyway (or just read our site -- don't worry, we won't tell your boss) even if you're supposed to be doing something else. And some jobs (security guards, IT tech support, a few call centers) lend themselves well to playing WoW during breaks, or just when the boss is not looking. What's your situation? Are you not near a computer to play WoW on at work, do you bring your own external drive in to play during lunch, or are you constantly alt-tabbing in case the boss stops by?
Realms are up
Despite the issues associated with the extending of today's maintenance, all US realms are back up and running. We don't have reports of any stability issues, so everything appears good.Patch 3.0.8 is not out on the live servers, however you can access it on the Public Test Realm (PTR). Today also marks the start of Arena Season 5, so expect a lot of PvP to be going on tonight.There's also the Winterveil celebration going underway. Today is a great time to get some of those achievements knocked out before the holidays kick in next week.See you in Azeroth!
Servers are up
It looks like everything went okay with the server hamsters this morning as the servers are back up and running smoothly. In fact, it appears that all the servers are up right now. This is an oddity since usually there are at least one or two battlegroups that are down longer than the rest.There is no patch 2.4.2 on the live servers right now, and the PTR (Public Test Realm) is still up and running for additional testing. Hopefully within the next week or two patch 2.4.2 will go live for us all.WoW Insider will carry any updates on sever outages throughout the day. Enjoy your Tuesday!
Think tank envisions robots filling jobs en masse in Japan
We've known think tanks to come up with some fairly unbelievable determinations before, but the Machine Industry Memorial Foundation may not be too far off with its latest assessment. It's suggesting that the jobs of 3.5 million people in Japan could be filled not with younger folks, but with mechanical creatures by 2025. Currently, Japan's population is declining, and the proportion of those 65-years and up is continually swelling; analysts are asserting that the nation could save around ¥2.1 trillion ($21 billion) in elderly insurance payments by 2025 if it relies on robots (instead of humans) to monitor the health of the geriatric set. Of course, Japan's been creating bots to do our dirty work for years, so it's not like the idea of being ruled by robotic overlords is a completely foreign concept over there or anything.[Via I4U News]
Working iPod trapped in resin for art's sake
Engadget brings us this exploded iPod (that poor site is getting beat up today), which has been dissembled and placed in a protective block of carbonite translucent resin. Why? Don't ask why-- it's, like, art, man.Billy Chasen is the artist in question, and here's the best part of the whole story: that iPod you see above? It still works. Apparently he just took it apart-- he didn't actually disconnect anything, and so it can still charge and play as normal. Which makes me wonder-- when the next ice age comes and all of our iPods get frozen in ice, will future generations still be able to come along, warm them back up, and see what we were listening to? Maybe I should get that Tiffany off my Pod just in case.
SXSW: The Inside Scoop - how to get a job in the game industry
For the most part, the "Inside Scoop" about getting a job in the gaming industry sounded like getting a job in pretty much any industry, except maybe trading decommissioned nuclear weapons on the black market. They hit the main points several times, which were as follows: Have a professional looking resume. Wear clean, washed (!) clothes to any meeting or interview. Be on time. Network. Network. Network. Like any industry you hope to break into, it's often not what you know, but who you know. Although panelist Bryan Stratton did add that he had a friend who he helped get a job in the field, and he ended up making a lot less money than he should have because of his lack of a higher education. So put down the controllers from time to time and read a book, ftw ... er, paycheck.Of particular note, one panelist mentioned that the two most important applications you can learn to help get a job in the industry are ... Microsoft Excel and email. Most of the time you are going to be coordinating assets and communicating with other people, so it's highly important that you know your way around a spreadsheet, and can organize your inbox and send/receive files and then know where they are.So if you can pwn in Excel as well as you do in Gears of War, then you're well on your way.
Straight from a GM's mouth
Over at Something Awful, an alleged ex-Blizzard Europe GM is answering questions from the fray on what it's really like behind the curtain. From 25-year accounts to GM Island, there are some interesting questions and answers on the front page, although you'll have to subscribe to Something Awful if you want to read the entire thread.GMs don't speak out frequently about their jobs, but it can be a thankless task. From newbie questions to insults and petty disputes, the GMs have to put up with a lot from us; but without them the world would run much less smoothly. Yesterday was France's Labour Day, meaning that no GM tickets were available, so I dread to think what they will be deluged with this morning.There's more about the life of a GM on the WoW website; Blizzard are often recruiting, if this sounds like a dream job. Of course, there are other ways of getting paid to play WoW![Via AFK Gamer]
