Foxconn Raises Pay And Improves Working Conditions Amid Scrutiny

As a follow up to a previous post of mine about the company Foxconn, one of China's largest manufacturers of electronics,they announced Saturday that they would raise pay for their workers and end some practice that Apple among other electronics companies found to be inhumane. The rise in pay and reduction of overtime and other practices were caused by a recent public outcry from both the Chinese and abroad. Last year Wired covered a story in which it reported that several employees had committed suicide at the company due to working conditions.  I for one am overjoyed by the news of better pay and working conditions for the employees. Foxconn has been in the news most recently due to threats from employees that they would commit mass suicide if pay demands were not met, talk about a collective bargaining tool. It appears that the company has finally caved to the pressure of employees as well as Apple who is a major purchaser of the companies services and the technology industry media who reported it. I for one reported these atrocities and called on Apple to stop working with the company if company practices were not changed. Hopefully this we be the last we have to hear of Foxconn and their draconian practices. On the bright side Foxconn caving to outside pressure is a win in a long string of wins on the side of social justice garnered by social media and the so-called "web 2.0".

Is Internet Privacy A Thing Of The Past?

With regular breeches of security to websites, as well as blatant disregard of privacy rights by internet companies it has many wondering whether privacy may indeed be a thing of the past. Yesterday Google was reported, according to Wired.com, as having "intentionally circumvented the default privacy settings of Apple’s Safari browser, using a backdoor to set cookies on browsers set to reject them, in the latest privacy debacle for the search and advertising giant." The Wall Street Journal was the first to report the incident. Three other companies were also found doing the same thing, Vibrant Media Inc., WPP PLC's Media Innovation Group LLC and Gannett Co.'s PointRoll Inc. It all begs the question what were these companies thinking and furthermore why are these practices not illegal? Even the government these days are up to their dirty trick trying to circumvent the bill of rights, arguing that technology is not protected by the Fifth Amendment even. In a recent case in Colorado defendant Ramona Fricuso  was not permitted to use the fifth amendment to bar prosecutors from attempting to have the files on her computer decrypted, when the team failed Ms. Fricuso was ordered to type in the password which she had forgotten. For this she was held in contempt. i'm not going to sit here and recite the Fifth Amendment, it's linked above actually, but it clearly states that we do not have to say or do anything that might incriminate ourselves or allude that we had committed a crime. It is my opinion that we as internet users push back against these tyrannies being imposed upon us. Yes, the internet maybe a new medium but that does not give companies or governments, specifically the American government, the right to strip or violate freedoms that have been granted to us long before they came around. Furthermore,  who the hell does Google think it is? Being one of the largest companies on the internet does not give them the right to violate the privacy of users, especially users who had set their browsers to not accept cookies or tracking of any kind. Those people obviously did so for a reason. In Google's ever evolving quest for continuing profits they must have forgotten their motto "Don't be evil!"

17 Year Old Creates Fusion Generator

17 year old, Taylor Wilson is not your typical teenager. When other kids were spending their time playing with toys he was busy experimenting with his grandmother's radiated urine and creating mushroom clouds in the backyard. Taylor currently lives in Reno, NV and attends the Davidson Academy of Nevada and boasts the title to be the youngest person ever to create nuclear fusion as well as the 31st person ever to achieve such a feat. Taylor began his fascination with creating a nuclear reactor when he came to the epiphany, while do experiments in his parents garage, that creating radioactive isotopes on sight in hospitals rather than miles a way would be cheaper and save many more lives. His late grandmother had succumbed to cancer and it was his experiments with the radioactive urine samples she had allowed him to use which caused the epiphany. the isotopes in cancer medications decay quickly this allows the radioactive material to attack the cancer cells and quickly decay thereby affecting less damage on the rest of the body and it's healthy cells. With help of his professor and another physicist the young boy went on to develop a small, cheap reactor that could be used in medical procedures. To think when I was 16 I just smoked pot in my grandma's basement.

Santorum, Romney both get Pwnd

So in utter hilarity, the two top republican candidates are getting pwnd by the internet. Typing either man's name will bring you search results that are not related to their campaigns. Santorum was the first victim, even crying about it with the statement "the company could get rid of the sexual references to his name on the search results if it wanted to -- and perhaps would do so if he were a Democrat."  The site originally popped up on the Web after the then-senator angered gay-rights advocates in 2003 with a comment that compared homosexuality to bestiality and pedophilia, though it wasn't until the current presidential campaign that he made any formal complaints to Google and yes he did lodge a formal complaint. Romney has not been saved either, though the definition of his name is a little tamer and he has not had such a hissy fit over the sight and has been largely ignored by the campaign. Coming soon spreading Gingrich. lol

Is Myspace Back?

After years of suffering set backs and playing second fiddle to Facebook Myspace may be back. The site has been revamped and refocused, instead of competing with Facebook the site now let's you link with the social networking giant. Myspace is now focusing more on music and boasts more free music than any other site on the internet (suck on that Spotify). Much of Myspace is still the same, however, customized profile pages and the like. Though those too have been slightly revamped and gone are they day with those annoying pages with 20 videos that don't even load and slow your computer. The site released Monday that over the last month it had gained over a million new users which it is crediting to it's new music player. Another note worthy mention is it's huge music library boasting over 42 million songs and now limit to how many songs you may listen to (again suck it Spotify). The news is a much needed boost to the company which had been seen as dead on arrival to most. However, since it's buyout by a team of investors, including Justin Timberlake, and restructuring the company seems to be making headway. I myself just recently re-created a profile to see if the new site really did stand up to the hype. So far I've really enjoyed it and if you have a Facebook the site actually exports all of your likes and creates a music playlist for you to start with. It also makes sharing on other social networking sites really simple, though I have not yet attempted to link it with my Google+. It also offers other features, such as linking your favorite blogs to your page...you know like this one. All in all it seems like a vast improvement over the Myspace of old and will be interesting to see how the company progresses.

Amazon Breaks Into The Movie And TV Biz

Amazon is branching out with its new company Amazon Studios, in partnership with Warner Bros. The site studios.amazon.com allows users to submit scripts, screen plays, and test movies to be reviewed by other users. It allows the online community to give ideas and critique writers and filmmakers on their work, as well as be chosen to have their work be made into a feature film. Not to mention get paid a good chunk of change, in fact Amazon  awarded two movies 12 Princesses and Origin Of Species $1.1 million collectively. The goal of the site apparently is to get movie green lighting out of the hands of major studios, though a major studio is involved, and into the hands of the people. Many on the site have collaborated with one another to develop scripts and screenplays and $2.2 million in total was awarded last year. Though they have, in the last year, been involved in movies they also seem to be branching out into TV according to Wired. As reported by wired.com, "Amazon is looking for television executives to develop original half-hour kids' and comedy series for both online and traditional distribution, according to two new job postings at Amazon.com." I find all of this to be fascinating hopefully this can usher in a new era free of MPAA control over movie production, as well as the end of really crappy movies released by major motion picture studios. As always I'd love to hear your take on it.

Cars That Drive Themselves Coming Soon

No this is not a science fiction movie, or some MIT college project. BMW, Google and GM, in partnership with the Shanghai Automotive Industry Association and Segway, as well as some other major car companies are all testing models in prototype that could be the fore-bearers of autonomous vehicles . GM may even be slated to release their Chevy model the En-V in the Chinese city of Tianjin Eco-City, currently under development and expected to be completed by 2020. With the near collapse of GM, prompting a government takeover, the company is now shifting directions towards more green 21st century style vehicles. According to Larry Burns, VP of Research and Development at GM, “We were the S.U.V. company, and we accept that. We want to become the U.S.V. company — known for ultra-small vehicles.” Burns' statements are in response to the size of of the En-V, but with the release of the Volt and development of the En-V this displays a marked departure from the gas guzzling SUVs  of the American car-maker. Likewise, The German manufacturer is jumping into the game. As always the car company is putting their famed German engineering to the forefront, "BMW's self-autonomous system uses four types of sensors, radar, cameras, laser scanners and ultrasound distance sensors and can even change lanes to zoom past a slowpoke car." Unlike BMW, Google is "using artificial-intelligence software that can sense anything near the car and mimic the decisions made by a human driver."


Many of the articles I have read show these companies using differing technologies, and sizes of vehicles all the way from the tiny segway like En-V to a Sedan sized BMW. They all seem to have a few things in common, however. Most of them share information between other cars, speed, location, etc; this enables the cars from crashing into one another. Likely these vehicles will also communicate with traffic lights, and other driving related infrastructure in the future as well. Safety and convenience also seem to be highlights of these automobiles. Self-driving automobiles may usher in a new era without driving accidents, DUI and DWI related driving fatalities, and less tickets for their owners. That long walk to the car or being late picking up the kids from school because you had to work late may also become a thing of the past, as cars wouldn't even need a driver present in the vehicle just call them up and they pull up right in front of you ready to take you anywhere you want to go.