Oct 10
Sometimes a picture can help make sense of a situation. This viz shows the proportion of government employees who are currently furloughed. It’s as grim as the rest of the shutdown news.
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Nov 26
Samsung’s report on Chinese suppliers makes for grim reading, especially between the lines
Posted in: Today's Chili 
On the face of it, Samsung’s latest report on working conditions at the factories of its Chinese suppliers follows just the kind of careful, lawyer-scrutinized language we’d expect from a big multinational. It repeats the manufacturer’s earlier insistence that no children have been employed, while at the same time admitting that there have been “several instances of inadequate practices at the facilities” concerning workers being made to do too much overtime, not being given proper contracts, and being fined if they turn up late or are absent — issues which had already been revealed at one supplier, and which Samsung promises to fix by the end of 2014.
Burrow further into the document, however, and Samsung’s list of promised “corrective actions” implies that its internal investigation has uncovered evidence of other serious problems. These include “physical and verbal abuse,” sexual harassment, a lack of first-aid equipment and inadequate safety training. Some information is also conspicuous by its absence — at least in the short report linked below — including clarity on how widespread any of these failings were among the 109 companies (and 65,000 employees) that have now been audited. Did they crop up at just a handful of factories, or were they endemic across China? We have no idea, but given how much data Samsung has now dutifully amassed, it surely does. We’ve asked the company for more detail and will update if we hear back.
Source: Samsung
Oct 22
Motorola Solutions outs HC1 head-mounted computer, keeps workers’ hands free in sticky situations (update: video)
Posted in: Today's Chili 
We’re very familiar with Kopin’s Golden-i, but it was surprising that an early collaboration with Motorola Solutions didn’t immediately lead to Motorola selling the head-mounted computer on its own. That odd discrepancy is being patched up now that Motorola Solutions’ HC1 is here. The design keeps its signature micro-display, head tracking and voice commands, but sees a slight repurposing from Kopin’s focus on security: Motorola Solutions’ attention is on giving construction workers, field technicians and soldiers an always-up computer that keeps their hands free when it would be too dangerous (or just unwieldy) to grab a handheld. We haven’t been told if the HC1 has been upgraded to that promised TI OMAP 4 chip, although we do know that there’s an optional camera to bring on the Aliens-style video feeds as well as pairing support that offers cellular data, GPS and voice calls when linked to the right phone or hotspot. Whether or not the HC1 keeps the Golden-i’s $2,500 price is an unknown as well — that said, the corporate emphasis is more likely to see bulk sales of the wearable PC than any kind of scrimping and saving.
Update: You’ll find an official clip for the HC1 after the break. The clip also confirms that there’s no OMAP 4 in this version.
Filed under: Wearables
Motorola Solutions outs HC1 head-mounted computer, keeps workers’ hands free in sticky situations (update: video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 22 Oct 2012 08:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Sep 04
Samsung Audit Finds No Underage Workers, But Some Serious Problems [Samsung]
Posted in: Today's Chili
Last month a Chinese labor watchdog fingered Samsung for employing, and abusing, underage workers in its factories. Now a Samsung audit has found no evidence of underage workers—but plenty of other problems to worry about. More »
Jul 28
HP laptop comes with webcam standard, peek at Chinese factory as bonus (video)
Posted in: Today's Chili 
Most tours of Chinese factories at least give workers a heads-up that they’ll be on camera. Not so the exposé that HP inadvertently gave one of its Swedish customers. Reddit user Malplace opened a new laptop to find that a 3-minute webcam video of the factory floor at HP’s contractor, Quanta, was sitting in Windows’ My Documents folder. If you’re looking for scandal from the footage, though, you won’t find it here: Chongqing Manufacturing City’s staff are shown dutifully moving the assembly line along in what looks like fair conditions, if exceptionally repetitive. The instance is most likely just a rare gaffe during testing at a manufacturer that pumps out millions of HP PCs every quarter, so we’ll cut Quanta some slack. It’s still a rare glimpse into a side of technology that’s considered off-limits for much of the buying public.
Continue reading HP laptop comes with webcam standard, peek at Chinese factory as bonus (video)
Filed under: Laptops
HP laptop comes with webcam standard, peek at Chinese factory as bonus (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 28 Jul 2012 03:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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