<p>The saga of my long love-hate relationship with Apple products continues! Of course, I could start with a discussion on how the record earnings of the Cupertino boys are hard to reconcile with the abysmal living and working conditions of the poor people who assemble the “wonderful” toys, but that just how the “good” Apple people are. Perhaps every school district in the country that plans to purchase one should be forced to play the documentary about Foxconn to every parent and student. But that is for another day.</p>
<p>Now, I am more interested in finding out why a number of the simplest things remain difficult for the geniuses in Cupertino to figure out. I have already discussed the incredibly lacking photo organization, but that seems just as hopeless as the iPad playing flash components or having a useful copy/paste tool. </p>
<p>Here are the simpler things … that should be offered without the work of third parties.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Why is there no delete button to erase typos and only a backspace key on the keyboard? </p></li>
<li><p>Why is it impossible to add an attachment from within an email program? If I want to add a picture, I have to go to the Photo program and send it separately.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>When you buy an apple product you are free to mail $200 cash to a Chinese worker that contributed to your product. I’m sure Apple is paying the going rate for wages where they build their products, otherwise they wouldn’t have any workers. That’s how it works, right?</p>
<p>Meg Whitman talked about the iPad at HP’s earnings a few days ago. She has an iPad and enjoys it for consuming media. For real work, she uses Windows. My iPad’s great for watching Jeremy Lin highlights, reading my email early in the morning, checking the weather and checking the markets. I do most everything else on Windows or Mac OS X.</p>
<p>As someone who works with computer technology…including taking PCs and Mac laptops apart…the singling out of Apple for special condemnation because of conditions at Foxconn is quite odd. </p>
<p>Unless you have a laptop that is Made outside of China…including EVERY single component…your PC/Mac probably has a Foxconn component or two at the very least. If your laptop IS Made in China…there’s a good chance it was made in Foxconn or one of its domestic competitors. Whether it is a Dell, Sony, HP/Compaq, or Toshiba…there’s bound to be a component from Foxconn or one of their domestic competitors…assuming it wasn’t completely fabricated by them. </p>
<p>Just the other day, found two Foxconn components in a Sony and a few Dell notebooks…</p>
<p>Soccer, a smart guy like you should have no problem extrapolating why there is such a difference between the revenues and the expenses at Apple. You know … those record earnings. For the record, Apple does not really pay those workers. Apple contracts Foxconn, one of the vilest and most abusive companies ever created, and except for some corporate yada-yada and the purchase of safety nets to preclude more suicides, really washed its hands from the wages and condition issues. </p>
<p>As far as sending 200 dollars to a Chinese worker, why would I do add such expenses onto an already massively overpriced product? </p>
<p>However, this is not the purpose of this thread. I cannot change anything to the plight of the Chinese workers. And, unfortunately, I have to continue to spend time on the Ipad and other Apple products. As others I am growing tired of hauling the toys along the products that allow me to do real work. Of course, there is light at the end of the tunnel with the upcoming arrival of Microsoft products (including Office) for the iPad, more robust software offerings from the gaming industry for Flash integration, and a slew of ultrabooks that will reduce the lead of the MBA to nothing within 12 months. </p>
<p>So, in the end, I am still asking extremely basic questions. Is the forced used of a magnifying glass really the best the gurus at Apple could do? Why is it so hard to have a virtual keyboard that actually works? Why is so hard to do a task that most people do routinely all day long? </p>
<p>I get it. The iPad is the king of social networking and the best at helping people waste their time. Well, as long as they do not need to access a website that has not gotten the Cupertino’s memo that Flash is baaaaaad!</p>
<p>Not so odd when one company is proud to have more cash reserves than the US government. Cutting costs as savages is probably expected from the bunch of moribund companies that are trying to stay alive in the industry. </p>
<p>Perhaps unfair, but the results speak for themselves. Apple enjoys record profits and Foxconn is the willing and able pawn in a country where the age of workers or Olympic gymnasts is whatever is … has to be.</p>
<p>Xiggi, your “voice” against Apple should be just like Calmom’s. She vocalizes by witholding her dollars. Because of that, she has credibility. When you come here and talk about Apple this, and Apple that, with Foxconn being your main picking point, but admittedly own and use Apple products, you have zero credibility. It’s not that you are right or wrong, just hypocritical.</p>
<p>If the issue with Foxconn is a key reason to not buy Apple, then I hope you’re not using a Dell, Sony, Toshiba, HP/Compaq, or practically any other PC OEM brand as they all also use Foxconn components…assuming they aren’t outright fabricated at one of Foxconn’s other lines or their domestic competitors. </p>
<p>One concern I have with the current media blitz about Foxconn is that in focusing on Apple, most American consumers aren’t also made aware of the fact that Foxconn also manufactures PCs/PC components for other OEMs as well and as such…may be unknowingly undermining their attempted boycott. </p>
<p>Heck, even a former supervisor who should have known better as a fellow computer techie was caught unawares until I pointed it out to him once by opening up his Sony notebook and pointed out two clearly labeled Foxconn components inside. Other times, they sometimes use the Hon-Hai label as well as that’s another name they use.</p>
<p>My main issue with apple is their price tag for what you’re getting. Any time anyone I know buys an apple I can go out and buy a much more advanced PC based system for a much lower cost. And its not like their quality is any better. My friends are constantly repairing their macbooks. They pay for something they think has quality and in the end it breaks just as frequently as the PC based laptop. (Except maybe HP whose products almost always seem to be broken, IMO).</p>
<p>As someone who has repaired notebook computers, IME…macbooks don’t tend to break down as often or as catastrophically as most of the consumer/low-end corporate line PC OEM notebooks unless their owners were extremely careless, abusive, or unlucky with their macbooks. </p>
<p>Mom’s Macbook Pro is still running strong since 2006 and the only parts I’ve had to replace on it under warranty was the DVD drive(the Macbook’s weakest link IMHO) and one time when dad carelessly left the notebook on top of the hot heater in wintertime and the graphics chip died as a result*. </p>
<p>Most of my other Mac owning friends/acquaintances/colleagues still have their’s humming smoothly along after 6+ years with little/no issues whatsoever. </p>
<p>On the other hand, my PC owning friends have had a slew of serious issues which weren’t dealt with adequately during the warranty period and were much more catastrophic such as motherboards, LCD screens, graphics chips, CPU fans, etc fail within a matter of a few weeks/months after purchase due to poor quality control and the use of defective components such as bad capacitors. </p>
<p>This poor level of QC has even affected some of the corporate line laptop models. Got two awaiting the RMA process because of overheating issues due to failing CPU fans…and they just arrived a week ago!</p>
<ul>
<li>Goes without saying that you shouldn’t do this with any computer…especially a notebook.</li>
</ul>
<p>One main difference I’ve noticed between macs and pcs is that macs die without warning and PCs will die slowly. This is coming from my Mac friends. I’ve never bought an Apple product and I never will if I can help it. Way too overpriced for my tastes.</p>
<p>I was never an Apple fan. Never owned or used its products. BUT THEN I got an iPad for Christmas. I love flipping open the cover and it being on and the Internet is there. No waiting for loading. It is amazing. I am hooked. You can probably tell that my posts on CC are up. Love my iPad.</p>
<p>What I want to know is why does my sister in law complain that the New York Times has flash on its site instead of complaining that her I-Pad should have been built to cope with it.</p>
<p>I love the look of Apple products, but I’ve never found them particularly intuitive. When my nano died, I didn’t bother to replace it. I just listen to music on my android phone now.</p>
<p>cobrat, my sisters macbook had the backlight die in the screen. Same thing happened to a friends macbook pro a few years ago. I also know of two dvd drives being replaced and three hard drives crashing. Considering maybe only about 10 of my friends have macbooks/macbook pro’s that’s not very good odds. Obviously it’s a small sample size… but still. They aren’t at all what they are cut out to be, IMO.</p>