Pensacola Computer Help Technoblog

Don’t get me wrong, Apple does make some fairly good products – their iPod’s are pretty good, the iPhone has certainly changed the way we look at mobile devices, and the Mac’s have always been pretty well made computers……but

Apple as a company today leaves much to be desired, and due to a number of factors, I refuse to support such a company until they make some serious changes.

First of all, Apple has seriously exploited workers in China for quite a while. In Apples own reports from last year (in which they try to cover the abuses by stating that they are working towards change – what a crock and a pitiful excuse!) 45 of 83 factories that were audited in China that built products for Apple were illegally not paying overtime to their workers, and 23 of these weren’t even paying some of their workers China’s minimum wage. Furthermore, 25 of these 83 were guilty of descrimination, and 22 of them (over 25% of the factories) didn’t meet environmental standards. (details here: http://bit.ly/appleExploitation ). In addition to these problems, just last week there was a strike at a factory in China that is a component supplier for Apple’s iPhone. Employees there went on strike after they said four employees died after exposure to hexane, a very toxic chemical that they used to clean touchscreen panels and can cause nervous system failures in humans.

Apple of course states that they are working on improving conditions, but in my eyes that is a cheap cop-out. Hey Apple, here’s an idea – why don’t you only contract to places and companies that follow the rules to begin with instead of exploiting people! Of course Apple could give back to the countries where it makes the most money by making their products there, but nooooo, that would cut into their profit pie too much and it is so much easier to use basically slave labor.

Then of course, there is the whole using other’s technology (stealing). Apple has a long history of illegally using other technology in their products without paying for it. And people say, yeah but other companies do the same thing – so fricking what! Apple should be responsible for their own actions regardless of other companies. Latest are the suits by Nokia, a long time player in the mobile phone market which has sued Apple for illegally using their technology in Apple products – this is the same technology that 40 other companies pay Nokia to use, but Apple sees themselves as above the law and refuses to pay. Apple introduces the iPhone (their first phone) only 2 years ago, whereas Nokia has been in the business for many years – do you honestly think that all the technology in the iPhone was all Apple’s idea? While technology theft and failure to pay fees for using another’s technology are commonplace, Apple’s philosophy though is that whenever someone sues them, they make up some BS countersuit and tie things up in courts for years and years, and why not, they are reaping (raping) profits the whole time.

Then of course is the whole ripping off of developers that Apple has been doing for years – I mean come on 30% cut off the top for iPhone apps? What a crock! Apple does very little except exercise it’s godlike powers in deciding what apps you can and can’t have on your phone, and yet it gets 30% of the profit of someone elses hard work! Not to mention the appropriation into the Mac OS of apps and such that were developed outside of Apple with no compensation or even credit given to the original developers – of course these individuals could sue Apple (and a few have) but Apple will just flex it’s legal muscles and countersue, or drag things out in the courts forever.

In addition, something that Apple gets away with that really pisses me off – it’s ok to run Windows on a Mac, Apple even supports it to help them sell more of their products, but woe forbid someone tries to install the Mac OS on a computer that Apple didn’t profit off of and they immediatley issue C&D orders – what kind of crap is that? If that isn’t a seriously wrong double standard I don’t know what is.

So if you want to buy an Apple product, just be aware that by doing so you are supporting Apple’s exploitation of Chinese workers, their illegal use of other companies technology, their abuse and ripping off of developers, and their wonderful double standards. To Apple it’s all about the profit, and things like morals and ethics don’t even get in the back seat, but rather get dragged under the bus. While I know that plenty of others do much the same, that is simply not an excuse for Apple to do it too!