Friends of mine who already own an iMac and iPhone are concerned that Apple is not the nicest company. This has been furthered by the following email from their son who is a PC tech.
Please read the email below and let me know what you think.
Here is the information I was referring to the other day. Please keep
in mind, it's not just their manufacturing process I am critical of.
It's their data centers, their business practices, their philosophy
and more. As you will see, they give little to no thought about the
greater good.
Artices on Foxxcon (the company that makes all of their products):
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/...-look-inside-the-Foxconn-suicide-factory.html
http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/19/undercover-chinese-reporter-exposes-foxconn-working-conditions/
A couple of months ago, three employees were killed from an explosion
while making iPad 2s due to poor safety regulations. Sure Apple
doesn't set the safety regulations at Foxxcon, but they keep hiring
them to make their products when they could go with a company that
costs more (downside) , but treats their employees like people and
saves lives (upside).
On Steve Jobs philanthropy:
http://www.wired.com/gadgets/mac/commentary/cultofmac/2006/01/70072
http://www.cultofmac.com/does-steve-jobs-care-about-global-poverty/45509
A quote from an artice from Business Insider:
He doesnt give any money to charity. And when he became Apples CEO
he stopped all of their philanthropic programs. He said, wait until
we are profitable. Now they are profitable, and sitting on $40bb
cash, and still not corporate philanthropy.
Green Apples? I Don't think so:
http://www.greenpeace.org/internati...rt-digs-up-the-dirt-on-Internet-data-centres/
Highlights from this article:
The $1 Billion (USD) Apple iData Center in North Carolina, expected to
open this spring, will consume as much as 100 MW of electricity,
equivalent to the electricity usage of approximately 80,000 homes in
the U.S. or over a quarter million in the E.U.. The surrounding energy
grid has less than 5 percent clean energy, with the remaining 95
percent coming from dirty, dangerous sources like coal and nuclear.
Both Yahoo! and Google seem to understand the importance of a
renewable energy supply, with Yahoo! siting most of its data centres
near sources of renewable energy, and Google is directly signing power
purchasing agreements for renewable energy and investing in solar and
wind energy projects in many US states as well as Germany. Their
models should be employed and improved upon by other Internet ("cloud
computing") companies.
Apple named "least green tech company"
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/apr/21/apple-least-green-tech-company
On top of all of this (and there is a lot more) their entire
philosophy is about closed environments. They don't share their code
(most companies do). Everything they do is locked down and kept
internally. Sure it's their right to do that if they want, but you
have no idea how much you benefit on a day to day basis from things
that were created by companies and released to the Open Source
community. Apple is closed, most companies are open. It's hard to
explain to you being a non-techie, but it's really sad, unfortunate
and significant.
They are anti "anything not nice", it's their definition of what's not
nice, and they keep moving the goal post. They have removed
dictionaries from their app store because you can look up swear words
in them. They advertise how there is no porn on Apple products, then
three months later released a Playboy App. They have removed pro
homosexuality apps, but left an app on their store for weeks that let
you simulate shaking a baby to death.
Instead of making better products and innovating they sue companies
that compete with them using sleezy tactics like altering evidence
(Source)
As you can see, my dislike for them is multifaceted. They just aren't
a "nice" company. While Google and Microsoft donate millions to
charities and schools, Apple donates nothing... NOTHING! Not a penny.
Bill Gates left Microsoft to start the Bill and Melinda Gates
Foundation where they have donated hundreds of millions of dollars to
end malaria and other causes. Bill Gates has sworn to donate 95% of
his fortune to charity before he dies. It was speculated that maybe
Steve Jobs (having not donated anything in life) would make a large
donation after death. We now know (with his recent passing) that
didn't happen. No, companies and people don't HAVE to donate money,
time, resources, technology or man hours to charities, but wouldn't
you rather deal with a company that does?
Google has their Global Disaster Alert and Coordination System that
they have used to help save countless lives. This was started by their
employees in their free time and then picked up and supported fully by
Google. This costs them MILLIONS to run, but they do it free of
charge. After earthquakes, floods, tsunamis etc they actually move
satellites around to give rescue teams up to date images of the area.
They offer the people finder service so family can be reunited with
loved ones and the list goes on and on.
They offer free virtual phone numbers to homeless people that they can
use form library computers to help them get jobs because it's very
hard to get a job without providing a phone number. They offer
millions in scholarships to help educate underprivileged kids. They
were one of the first companies to offer marital benefits to same sex
couples employed by them even if the state didn't recognize the union.
They were one of the first companies to officially support and march
in the Pride parade. The list goes on and on and on and on and on.
Apple does non of this. Yes they make sexy products, but they just
aren't a good company, and I can't support that.
Hope this helps.
Please read the email below and let me know what you think.
Here is the information I was referring to the other day. Please keep
in mind, it's not just their manufacturing process I am critical of.
It's their data centers, their business practices, their philosophy
and more. As you will see, they give little to no thought about the
greater good.
Artices on Foxxcon (the company that makes all of their products):
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/...-look-inside-the-Foxconn-suicide-factory.html
http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/19/undercover-chinese-reporter-exposes-foxconn-working-conditions/
A couple of months ago, three employees were killed from an explosion
while making iPad 2s due to poor safety regulations. Sure Apple
doesn't set the safety regulations at Foxxcon, but they keep hiring
them to make their products when they could go with a company that
costs more (downside) , but treats their employees like people and
saves lives (upside).
On Steve Jobs philanthropy:
http://www.wired.com/gadgets/mac/commentary/cultofmac/2006/01/70072
http://www.cultofmac.com/does-steve-jobs-care-about-global-poverty/45509
A quote from an artice from Business Insider:
He doesnt give any money to charity. And when he became Apples CEO
he stopped all of their philanthropic programs. He said, wait until
we are profitable. Now they are profitable, and sitting on $40bb
cash, and still not corporate philanthropy.
Green Apples? I Don't think so:
http://www.greenpeace.org/internati...rt-digs-up-the-dirt-on-Internet-data-centres/
Highlights from this article:
The $1 Billion (USD) Apple iData Center in North Carolina, expected to
open this spring, will consume as much as 100 MW of electricity,
equivalent to the electricity usage of approximately 80,000 homes in
the U.S. or over a quarter million in the E.U.. The surrounding energy
grid has less than 5 percent clean energy, with the remaining 95
percent coming from dirty, dangerous sources like coal and nuclear.
Both Yahoo! and Google seem to understand the importance of a
renewable energy supply, with Yahoo! siting most of its data centres
near sources of renewable energy, and Google is directly signing power
purchasing agreements for renewable energy and investing in solar and
wind energy projects in many US states as well as Germany. Their
models should be employed and improved upon by other Internet ("cloud
computing") companies.
Apple named "least green tech company"
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/apr/21/apple-least-green-tech-company
On top of all of this (and there is a lot more) their entire
philosophy is about closed environments. They don't share their code
(most companies do). Everything they do is locked down and kept
internally. Sure it's their right to do that if they want, but you
have no idea how much you benefit on a day to day basis from things
that were created by companies and released to the Open Source
community. Apple is closed, most companies are open. It's hard to
explain to you being a non-techie, but it's really sad, unfortunate
and significant.
They are anti "anything not nice", it's their definition of what's not
nice, and they keep moving the goal post. They have removed
dictionaries from their app store because you can look up swear words
in them. They advertise how there is no porn on Apple products, then
three months later released a Playboy App. They have removed pro
homosexuality apps, but left an app on their store for weeks that let
you simulate shaking a baby to death.
Instead of making better products and innovating they sue companies
that compete with them using sleezy tactics like altering evidence
(Source)
As you can see, my dislike for them is multifaceted. They just aren't
a "nice" company. While Google and Microsoft donate millions to
charities and schools, Apple donates nothing... NOTHING! Not a penny.
Bill Gates left Microsoft to start the Bill and Melinda Gates
Foundation where they have donated hundreds of millions of dollars to
end malaria and other causes. Bill Gates has sworn to donate 95% of
his fortune to charity before he dies. It was speculated that maybe
Steve Jobs (having not donated anything in life) would make a large
donation after death. We now know (with his recent passing) that
didn't happen. No, companies and people don't HAVE to donate money,
time, resources, technology or man hours to charities, but wouldn't
you rather deal with a company that does?
Google has their Global Disaster Alert and Coordination System that
they have used to help save countless lives. This was started by their
employees in their free time and then picked up and supported fully by
Google. This costs them MILLIONS to run, but they do it free of
charge. After earthquakes, floods, tsunamis etc they actually move
satellites around to give rescue teams up to date images of the area.
They offer the people finder service so family can be reunited with
loved ones and the list goes on and on.
They offer free virtual phone numbers to homeless people that they can
use form library computers to help them get jobs because it's very
hard to get a job without providing a phone number. They offer
millions in scholarships to help educate underprivileged kids. They
were one of the first companies to offer marital benefits to same sex
couples employed by them even if the state didn't recognize the union.
They were one of the first companies to officially support and march
in the Pride parade. The list goes on and on and on and on and on.
Apple does non of this. Yes they make sexy products, but they just
aren't a good company, and I can't support that.
Hope this helps.
