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All of the media outlets have been on the piracy bandwagon for a while now, but is it true. Here is an infographic that shows a different story than the one you are hearing. Makes you wonder if they really think that we won’t notice.

While this is not certainly new news it really is troublesome to me that a factory would have to put up netting to catch people throwing themselves to their death from the factory. The picture is from the Foxconn factory in China after 12 people committed suicide. It would seem that the labor force does not think that they are being treated fairly by Foxconn.

“Apple’s biggest supplier, Taiwan’s Foxconn, has been a subject of scrutiny after at least 12 workers have committed suicide at its plants in China. Three died last year and more than 70 were hurt in blasts at two iPad facilities, one of which was also owned by Foxconn. In response to pressure from Apple and the media, Foxconn more than doubled wages in 2010 for some workers in China and employed counselors.

Apple will now subject itself and its suppliers to the FLA’s membership criteria, including submitting to audits and enforcing a code of conduct based on standards approved by the United Nations’ International Labor Organization.

Taipei-based Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. (2317), Foxconn’s flagship listed unit, gets 22 percent of its revenue from Apple, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Pegatron Corp. (4938) earns 16 percent of sales from the U.S. company.” (Source: Bloomberg)

So now after all this time Apple is going to let the FLA monitor the factories that produce its products? It took peoples deaths for them to relent? I am all for less expensive products, but not at the expense of human life.

Carrier IQ was outed when a developer (TrevE) started looking into what it really does. Now Carrier IQ claims that they are not collecting keystrokes (see this Media PDF for the claim), however TrevE shows (video here) that in fact the software collect each keystroke (both press and release) for each key (or button) that you press. Additionally, TrevE shows that the software collects data that should be encrypted (HTTPS) and forwards it in plain text before it gets encrypted. So any sensitive information is transmitted to where-ever Carrier IQ sees fit. It could be your carrier, one of the Carrier IQ auditing locations, or perhaps the government.

Another item that sticks out like a sore thumb, is the lack of a privacy policy or opt out option. What if I do not want to participate in their ‘research’? What if I want to keep my passwords private? Too bad is the answer.

While I understand the need to collect performance data to make better handsets, this is going to far. Having permission to hijack my phone calls, change my audio settings or bluetooth settings, and all without my knowledge or a by your leave. Pretty crass if you ask me, but not unexpected. Since the software is hidden, and rather ubiquitous, you can imagine that they have garnered quite a bit of personal data on everyone with a cell phone (and no it does not have to be active on the network). Now you no longer have to wonder how they know so much about how you live your life, they steal it.

They claim that they do not garner personal data, but the truth is already out of the bag. Now let’s see if there is a class action lawsuit for this…

This is my opinion and will not change until proven otherwise.

I found out recently that the company that I work for made the decision to outsource the whole operations group (of which I am a part). There were rumors that it was going to happen, and the maneuvering that the company was making gave credence to the rumors. The operations group is not small, well over 600 people, and are spread out across that nation. Is there good news for me? Fortunately, the company that the work is being outsourced to is taking on the majority of the group and I am one of those people that are moving over to the outsourcing company.

This brings up some questions in my mind; is it really cheaper to outsource, what happens to those who are not able to make the transition, and how long will this last? Sure they say that the company will save money, at first. Since the contract is for multiple years, the outsourcing company does not charge as much during the first few years of the contract. Then during the latter part of the contract the contract fee goes up substantially. I don’t know the contract details, but have gathered this information through other means. But do they really save money? The real answer is no. While the company can reduce overall capital expenditures for a period of time and ‘focus’ on the core business, they will really pay out more money than if they had kept the operations in house. However, the balance sheet will show an improvement in the short term, which will make the share holders happy (maybe). Long term this will cost the company more money, but they are hoping to offset that by this little dance.

What about those who don’t make the transition? Out to the jobless market they go. They will probably find other employment, as the majority are very competent people. The contract company is losing assets that understand the operations that they now need to support, and some of them are the only ones who know the information. Not good for the contract company.

My whole group is moving, and the contract company has a group that does similar work. So truly I am only safe during the transition of the operation to the contract company, or about three to six months, while the contract company learns the details of the operations. Granted I may be able to last beyond that time, as long as I prove valuable to the contract company and do not prove to be a duplicate of effort that can be reduced. However, some in the operations group will not fair so well. Unless they can differentiate themselves quickly as better than their counterparts, the will find themselves RIF’d (Reduction In Force) right out of the company for those who have more experience. Granted our operations are unique, and no other company has done what we have accomplished so we are valuable in that respect. The transfer of knowledge and how quickly that occurs will determine how many will retain positions for a period of time.

Am I nervous, sure am. I am not sure how this will play out, but I can sure be sympathetic to those who have been through this before.

Netflix has released their streaming app for Android on a limited number of devices, and I just happen to have one of those devices. I have been a member of Netflix for years (since the beginning) and have always been happy with their service. When the streaming service became available, of course I was happy to participate and the service grew (not just because of me mind you). Now since I am one of the many that have a device that is supported on Android, I installed the app as soon as I heard it was on the market. While the app can be a little slow at startup (it is a little chunky) the GUI is well laid out and functional. However the quality of the streamed content is what this is really all about, and I have to say that I was surprised at the level of quality. Granted the screen is smaller, but only once did I experience any artifacts while watching about 5 hours of content during my test. I can see using this application on a consistent basis.

iRadar is a radar detector made by Cobra that I first experienced at CES, and waited patiently for the Android version to be released. The application is available in the Android market and is useful even without the detector. I have been using the detector for the better part of  a week, and the operation is much like any other detector on the market with the added bonus of alerts showing up on the Android device, giving a better experience to the user. The application also includes access to the Aura network from Cobra showing Speed Trap areas, Photo Light locations, etc. The one issue that I have had (and a few others based on feedback) is the application will put the device running the application in sleep mode when it receives an alert, but only if the device would have gone into sleep mode before the alert was received (does that make sense?). This makes it difficult to view the alert and requires that you power the device back on. Others have reported that they cannot have multiple blue-tooth devices connected while the iRadar device is connected. I haven’t seen this issue yet, but that does not mean it isn’t there. Overall, my experience has been positive, but I hope that the application issues will be resolved.

For the more part, there was a report that cell phone are killing honey bees. Are you kidding? While I would not say that it is pure drivel, as there are many ramifications of technology that are not understood, I will say that not many people using cell phones will not stand next to a bee hive for any period of time. So I am not sure how placing a cell phone under a bee hive is a relevant test. I would also suggest that any place the has continuous RF of this type would inhibit the bees from building a hive at that location. I will suggest that there are fewer areas that do not have RF transmissions, which may give some indication that the bees may be having a hard time finding places to build their hives, along with other environmental issues could certainly be having a great effect on the bee population. Maybe the scientists should get out of their box and see the big picture instead of looking for a smoking gun.