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Which is more important: the gadget, or the software and apps that runs it?
zridling:
To squeeze another drop of money out of iPads, Steve Jobs is perfectly willing to let FoxConn workers die, or should I say, commit suicide. Really?! Necessities such as energy, food, healthcare, often government-sponsored, charge far more profit than they need to be richer than rich.-zridling (May 28, 2011, 11:12 PM)
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How do you know this? The fact that it is happening doesn't mean that he has any desire to make such a sacrifice, or indeed any measure of control over the situation, other than pulling out of the relationship, and any pressures put on the relationship could indeed make conditions worse. There's a reason that people go there for work voluntarily- because they don't have better options. And if those options are taken away, what happens to them? It's a lot less simple when you are actually in the driver's seat, as many have found out when pressed to such heights. And it's a lot easier to criticize when you don't know the intricacies of the decisions that brought this to pass.-wraith808 (May 29, 2011, 11:53 AM)
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You're right, I don't know. However, does Jobs have the power to do something about this? Absolutely. Has he? Absolutely not. Now I ask: Why not?
Why has he chosen to make iPads in China? Why not Britain, Canada, Africa, Norway, Australia, or Poland? Surely it's not because of price, because we all know Apple fans wouldn't mind paying an extra €100 for the device; in fact, they'd probably like it that much better! It's like the Japanese killing as many whales as possible every year -- if you're going to eat whale meat, then at some point you must take responsibility for the consequences of that action, with what little power you have. Steve Jobs, however, has all the power to change the Foxconn situation, even if the decision is to stop production. He could afford to pay those workers a generous annual salary for the rest of their life -- out of his own pocket, and I assure you he wouldn't miss the money. (But not if it gets in the way of adding another penny to the stock's performance this quarter.)
If those with power won't make the world a better place, then short of revolution (against a corporation?), how can those without do so?
40hz:
@Zridling - you make an excellent point. Because if there were any one person in the world who could possibly go up against 'corporate 'wisdom' and "business as usual" - get away with it - (and maybe even pull it off) it would be Steve Jobs.
Too bad "Think Different" only goes as far as bashing competitors and generally feeling superior to everyone else.
What a wasted opportunity to change the world.
Like George Ade said:
Of all sad words of tongue or pen , the saddest these: "It might have been."
:(
superboyac:
I just read that 70% of the US economy is tied to mortgages. That's very very scary bad. Last month was the lowest the home market has been in 8 years. So what does this mean? They say it means the double-dip recession is coming, and I believe it. What else could it mean? how will the world cope with it? More bailouts? I don't know. There's talk of bailing out Greece. So now entire countries are being bailed out to keep the economy afloat. These are not good signs.
One thing the banks can start doing is actually using the bailout money to let homeowners restructure their mortgages to current market prices. Either that, or expect even more foreclosures. Either way, it will reduce the flow of money in the economy by a lot (remember, the mortgages are 70% of the money that's being traded around). This means fewer transactions for the Wall Street millionaires, which means the wheels of this fucked up engine will slow down even more. Less powerful countries will continue to struggle and fail, they will ask for more bailouts.
At some point, more bailouts will be impossible. you can't just keep creating money out of thin air. If the bulk of the population doesn't have enough money to pay for a lot of things, it's over. Our global pyramid scheme will have to start collapsing.
What I described above is what SHOULD happen. It doesn't mean it WILL happen. I have a feeling that most of the doom and gloom talk will be ignored by the masses, and they just chug along as best as they can. After all, they have their own lives to worry about and don't have the time and energy like me to worry about all the depressing details.
But that means the plutocracy will grow even more, then. It's one or the other, and both are bad for the majority of the population. What probably will happen in our lifetime is the continual erosion of the middle class. Most of us will gradually feel the pinch of the economy as we go through life. Coming out of the crazy bubbles a decade ago, it's going to be hard for us to accept certain things. There aren't going to be many opportunities for the non-wealthy to go to good colleges, or even medium-grade colleges. Education as a whole (elementary, high school) will become poorer in quality and will feel like spinning wheels. The true, good education will not be available if you don't have a lot of money. It will really be a plutocracy. A gradual disappearance of the middle class.
superboyac:
Ms. LeGuinn also wrote a beautiful parable about this sort of thing. It's called: The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas.
You can read a copy of it online here.
And you really should. Because few authors can pack as much of a punch into 7 short pages as LeGuinn can.
(WARNING: This story is one of those seemingly small things that might forever change your outlook on life. Proceed with caution. ;))
8)
-40hz (May 29, 2011, 07:21 AM)
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Oh shit, 40. That is a legit warning. This was written over 30 years ago?! It confirms my suspicion that my feelings are not a product of the specific events of today, but more of me growing up and becoming aware of the universal truths of human history.
Walking away is indeed the only choice. The scary thing to think about is what does walking away mean? I've been thinking about this for a few months now, and I just don't know. Obviously, there's the ultimate walking away...which is not something I'm willing to think about right now. Then there are other forms of walking away, all of which would be very tough decisions.
I like your warning...it's almost unnecessary. If you read the story and it affects you the way it's intended to, you were already thinking like this in the first place. If you weren't already thinking like that, the story will just read as pessimistic, utopian story and will be interesting at best. I need to go back and read Animal Farm and 1984...I was much too happy as a child to have any of those themes make sense to me.
Along similar lines, here's an AWESOME movie recommendation:
Visioneers
Edvard:
... And Brave New World!! Don't forget about Brave New World!! :'( :'(
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