Just as Pegatron has managed to snatch more Apple contracts away from Foxconn, so too has it attracted greater scrutiny of the conditions faced by its 70,000 workers. China Labor Watch, the US-based worker welfare monitor, now alleges that Chinese factories run by the up-and-coming Taiwan-based manufacturer are "even worse" than Foxconn's. It claims to have found health and safety violations, poor living conditions in dorms, and the coercion of workers by withholding their pay or identity cards -- in other words, the sort of stuff that breaches both Chinese law and Apple's supplier policy. Its latest report also accuses Apple of failing to treat abuses with the same urgency that it applies to lapses in product quality.
For its part, Apple has responded by highlighting the fact that it has audited Pegatron facilities 15 times in the last six years, and that a recent survey found that Pegatron employees were working an average of 46 hours per week. It also said it had dealt promptly with earlier instances of ID cards being withheld, but admitted that China Labor Watch's report includes "claims that are new to us" and that will need to be investigated "thoroughly."
[Image credit: Jay Greene, CNET]
Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets, Mobile, Apple
Source: WSJ, China Labor Watch
Google has tweaked the developer policy for the Play Store with an eye on reducing intrusive advertising, spoof apps and clarifying subscription cancellations. Apps that pass themselves off as others, or are "confusingly similar" will now be pulled, so say goodbye to those thousand instances of Angry Byrdz. Adverts that pop up in your notifications window, like Airpush and KDDI's au one now make their way onto the verboten list. It's also clarifying that when users cancel their subscriptions, they won't be refunded for the current billing period, but will continue to receive what they'd paid for until the term expires. Developers now have 30 days to comply with the changes, after which point apps that are found to be in violation will be pulled by Mountain View's overlords.
Filed under: Cellphones, Software
Google revamps Play Store developer rules, looks to banish intrusive advertising originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 01 Aug 2012 06:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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If you've been jonesing to get your app into the Windows Store and don't want to compete for attention with the developing masses when Windows 8 ships, Microsoft might just have your ticket to the front of the line. Developer Evangelist Matt Harrington is offering a fast track for developers that write a "great" app, contact him through his blog and meet all the app submission conditions needed to get Microsoft's rubber stamp. Along with receiving a token to enter the store well ahead of most others, those privileged few who clear the hurdles can get help from a Microsoft engineer to give their Windows 8 apps that extra polish. When the development floodgates open to everyone is still an unknown, although a handful of workshops between May 11 and June 8 should give app writers an edge in getting started.
Microsoft gives Windows 8 developers a head start on Windows Store app submissions originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 09 May 2012 21:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink |Matt Harrington (MSDN) | Email this | Comments