Pod people redux

[greatbear]

In an interesting followup to my earlier post regarding the conditions in which iPods are manufactured in China (though this is not even close to being a problem endemic to Apple), Apple themselves have begun an investigation into the 'sweatshop conditions' that produce their 'iConic' product, among others. It seems that Apple's Supplier Code of Conduct (.pdf) (which itself follows the HP-developed IEC Code of Conduct (.pdf)) specifically outlines working conditions, labor practices and such which were clearly shown violated in the reports recently released. A nice summary of this is in the Wired News "Cult of Mac Blog".

China has become the factory du jour of countless American electronic, machine, computer and household industries. A lot of these industries have various 'codes of supplier conduct' (my company does) which reflect varying degrees of similarity to the IEC code above. It is no secret that Chinese working conditions are quite similar to those during the Industrial Revolution in the US, with little regard for working conditions, safety and workweek hours that we are familiar with today. To the Chinese, however, these just might seem like everyday goings-on. China has a eager work force willing to work the long hours for the pay that they receive. To many of them, it's a dream, especially compared to what they might have had before. As they work towards a more Western-style of society, they will come to realize the importance of the working conditions we enjoy in the US, Europe and other areas.

This is bound to get interesting. Will Apple hold Foxconn (the Chinese corporation contracted to manufacture iPods) to their Code of Conduct, or will certain 'concessions' be made to not interrupt the availability of their most famous product?

Comments

[furr-a-bruin.livejournal.com]

It would be interesting to see what would happen if the supply of iPods were disrupted for a few months - with no promise of when supply would resume until shortly before it did. Unfortunately, I don't know that it would do anything to break up iLemming culture, where people insist on an iPod whether or not it's the digital music player that's really the best fit for them or not. (The parallel to people buying Windows PC's without any consideration for actual needs is striking and rather ironic....)

[greatbearmd.livejournal.com]

Undoubtedly, a 'shortage' of iPods will cause eBay actions to run beserk, hoardings to become commonplace, and similar nonsense typical of a mindless consumerist society.

Funny that you bring up Windows PCs along with iPods. FOr one, it's generally considered (even by Apple) that the iPod is a mostly Windows-centric device. This happened soon after Apple created a cross-platform iPod with USB connectivity. Once iTunes was ported to the Windows platform replacing MusicMatch Jukebox as the song manager, it was a done deal. Apple's iPod exploded everywhere, with ironic thanks to Microsoft and Intel.

Now, most people buy Windows PCs because they are widely available, considerably cheaper than an Apple counterpart and most likely those people use Windows PCs at work and want or need the cross compatibility. The same holds true for people who work in graphics, music or science on Macs all day and assuredly buy a Mac (or two) for home use. Now the irony comes into play. Since most people buy a (Windows) PC because they are cheap and ubiquitous, do a lot of those same people opt for the iPod, the most expensive of digital music players?

The 'problem' for many is that 'iPod' has become synonymous with 'mp3 player'. Words like 'podcast' only muddy the situation more. I know people with other-brand mp3 players who call them 'iPods'. The other issue continuing this trend is that iPods have hooked into the fashion and cool scenes. People get 'em because they want to 'belong'. Conversely, the iPod, overall, is well designed, easy to use, and with the iTunes Music Store, a convenient solution for a lot of people. Really the only reason I opted for an iPod was because of the incredible amount of Apple- and third-party accessories available for it. Kudos to Apple for making the iPod 'expandable' and standard-so, since the 3G model. Remote controls, vehicle interfaces, boomboxes, memory module file transfer boxes, cases, you name it - no other player has all this available.

I still have to drink the Mac Kool-aid myself, since I was a PC user and maker for over 20 years. The Mini makes this quite a foolproof option for me. PC tinkering for me has always been a winter and extreme-heat-period-of-summer endeavor. My dual-core, watercooled SLI monster machine took a back seat to all kinds of more pressing seasonal stuff. I also have in the pipeline a gonzo HTPC for this coming winter's project.

[furr-a-bruin.livejournal.com]

I think the iPods have one HUGE design flaw: their batteries.

Many cell phones have replaceable clip-on batteries.

Many PDAs have replaceable clip-on batteries.

LOTS of other personal electronics either use replaceable standard-size batteries (like my iRiver T10 player) or (say it with me) replaceable clip-on batteries.

Why the hell doesn't the iPod, or any of the models similar to it?

This immediately disposes of the "dead iPod battery" problem - you buy a new one, charge it and clip it on - drama over. It probably would kill some of the market for iPod accessories designed to provide power to ensure that one's iPod doesn't lack for electricity. This might not make sense for the Nano - but it sure as [BLEEP] does for the much more power-hungry hard drive based models.

People who buy things because of trends, "fashion" and "because all my friends have one!" and such strike me as incredibly stupid. The problem is there's a lot more stupid sheep/lemmings out there than there are sensible people who examine their needs and habits, and buy whatever it is that actually suits them best - and so we have the iPod juggernaut making it difficult for any company with a different idea to get anywhere.

Is my iRiver T10 perfect? No. But at the moment it's the best available fit that I'm aware of; none of the iPods even made it past the first cut.

[ciddyguy.livejournal.com]

Hmmm... Interesting.

Even more interestingly, I'm not even dying for an iPod, rather one of it's competitors when I do finally get around to buying one.

It's like Tommy Hilfigger, I avoid his stuff like the plague as I don't feel I have to be like everyone else.

[greatbearmd.livejournal.com]

Supposedly, the reason for the iPod's user nonreplaceable battery was that incorporating one would enlarge the unit and 'destroy it's clean lines'.

Of course, this is mostly horseshit. The battery is replaceable, but not without a bit of a headache. Originally, Apple in their typical arrogance was telling people to buy new iPods. This did not go over well, and after the outcry began a battery replacement program. The issue with that was you would not be guaranteed to get your own original iPod in return unless you had it engraved. The iPod's shiny smooth cabinet is the same thing that makes it look like a well-used hockey puck after a short time of reasonable use unless you get super anal about it and cloak the thing in all manner of bubble enclosures.

Things I would change about the iPod? Add .ogg and .flac support, among other open file types. Divx for the video models. Make the battery user replaceable on the fly (this can be done without increasing the size of the unit by any significant amount, simply add a slot behind the dock connector on the bottom). Drop the Shuffle, that thing is just an overpriced USB thumbdrive that plays music as an afterthought. Keep the Nano as it is aside from the file type support. And most of all, for people like me, come out with a ruggedized version that wont get marred simply by my rough hands.

[furr-a-bruin.livejournal.com]

I fail to understand - considering that the codecs are FREE - why more players don't implement Ogg Vorbis and FLAC. If someone's not interested in them - it doesn't hurt them or confuse them to have more codecs supported. Of course, they might see it as saying there's something "lacking" about AAC or Apple Lossless.... *eyeroll*

Your description of how the battery could work is spot-on. I've noticed that lately cell phones seem to work more that way than what I described as a "clip-on" battery, but the principle is the same. Any method that provides for simple, tool-free battery replacement by the end user is a Good Thing.

Most of what I'd change about my T10 is relevant to software - and the fact that the version sold here uses playlists created by (gag) Windoze Media Player. And of course, while it does play Ogg files - the fact that WiMP doesn't recognize that format means I have to load those up separately as "Data."

I have to say that in a lot of ways, the user interface on my late Rio Forge was superior; it read the info tags of the files and would let the user play by album, artist, genre and so on, features that this player doesn't have. (Of course, the Forge didn't have Ogg...)

I'm actually somewhat heartened by the fact that alternative software is beginning to turn up - like the replacement applications to manage HD based players from http://www.RedChairSoftware.com and the RockBox replacement firmware project.

One thing - in my vehemence I may have given the impression I don't think the iPod is right for anyone; that's not true. I just run into SO many people who are iLemmings and are actually snotty about the fact that my player isn't an iPod - as if it's a threat to their ego that I ... Think Different. ;)