Thread: Seekingasylum to replace 7 year old MacBook Air

Originally Posted by Seekingasylum

It's 49,000 baht including the keyboard

1200 quid for a fukkin ipad?

Saying that I paid that over 2 years for a 13 pro max iPhone for my eldest daughter but that comes with 100gb of Internet, free calls a month for 2 years and has a beast of a camera.

I'd imagine you'd look a bit of a twat taking a photo with an ipad

Originally Posted by Topper

I found it incredibly difficult to accurately place the cursor where I needed it by finger. Eye/hand coordination issues I guess.

Don't listen to Kit she's Apple tainted, i'm with you Topper and like to use a mouse.

Fat fingers, huh?

Advocacy group China Labour Watch and Bloomberg have released reports highlighting harsh working conditions at a manufacturing plant in Suqian, China.
The factory is owned by Catcher, a company that builds and polishes components for consumer electronics devices such as Apple's iPhones, iPads, and Mac computers.
The workers exposed problems with their poor training and equipment, exceedingly long working hours, dirty facilities and low wages.
Apple and Catcher released separate statements, in which they said the results of their own investigations found no violations of their respective standards.

New reports from Bloomberg and China Labour Watch (CLW) have exposed the poor conditions under which Catcher employees in China work. Catcher is a critical partner in Apple's supply chain as it takes responsibility for most of the manufacturing of the company's devices casings.

Workers are often in contact with chemical components that are noxious for the human body, but their equipment is reportedly inadequate most of the times.

China Labour Watch's investigation focused mostly on a facility in Suqian, a small city located about six hours away from Shanghai, and highlighted problems that go beyond chemical exposure.

Workers at the factory reportedly work for six days a week, more than 10 hours every day, and do so without having received proper training or adequate equipment.

In various interviews with Bloomberg, where they asked to remain anonymous for fear of repercussions, a number of workers expressed concern about safety issues and their lack of knowledge of the materials and machinery they come into contact with.

CLW1
Chemical-filled wastewater with white foam overflowing the pathways outside of the factory. China Labour Watch
CLW found that new staff members were trained for about four hours on average, whereas Catcher's official requirements state that the training should last no less than 24 hours.

The report mentioned cases where an instructor would say the answers out loud as workers were filling their requirement tests, and some workers told Bloomberg that they were asked to sign papers that certified that they had completed the full training when they had not.

Catcher doesn't outline standard procedures clearly, apparently, and employees told Bloomberg that they were, in fact, unaware of how to best use the complex machinery required to polish up iPhone, iPad, and MacBook cases, among others.

Two employees said that they were not given earplugs "until well into their first month," and that Catcher only gives workers low-quality, active carbon face masks (one per day) to protect against dust, fumes, and small-particle chemicals.

Supervisors reportedly hand out more up-to-standard 3M-branded masks "only when they expect an inspection," and even then the high temperatures make wearing them uncomfortable.

Gloves, too, are apparently in short supply, and CLW found that some workers reported irritated skin on their hands. "After a few hours, the gloves swell and get soft, like they've been corroded. The fingers would be exposed," an employee told Bloomberg.

"My hands turned bloodless white after a day of work," another worker, who was forced to turn to Catcher because her husband's business was struggling, said. "I only tell good things to my family and keep the sufferings like this for myself."

When their intensive workday ends, employees reportedly share shabby dorms with four bunk beds, with many of them going without washing "for days" at times.

Here's Bloomberg, which visited the facility:

"[...] Outside temperatures often fell to close to freezing and the workers kept all windows shut to preserve heat. That created a humid atmosphere in which odors of sweat, cigarettes, feet and unwashed clothing mixed freely. Workers living in about 20 rooms per floor share one wash space with 14 cold-water taps, a big public toilet — but no shower. Taking a proper bath required walking to an adjacent facility."



Workers at a Catcher Manufacturing Plant in China Have Complained About Poor Working Conditions and Exposure to Noxious Chemicals

Apple stuff lasts because it is built that way and their selling point, apart from simplicity of use and security, is that you will be supported with free software updates for, typically, seven years. This pretty much explains why their products are more expensive.

My earlier Window laptops all blew their power boards in four years or so.

Incidentally, the most used letter in the English language is 'E'. I think I will remind Cupertino of this fact and tell them to reinforce the tile on their keyboards.

The price of the iPad Pro 13 " and keyboard is high but because of differing domestic tax rates the deal here in LoS saves over £200 compared to the UK which makes me feel better.

The thing is Tax, these Chinks 50 years ago were pretty much living in rural hovels eating mud noodles with cabbage and had a life expectancy of 60 with no prospect of altering their fate.

Now, the bastards are taking global holidays and killing us with their diseases.

But why are you highlighting Apple's use of this labour, Tax? The entire world is using the Chinks as their shop floor fodder.

Originally Posted by Seekingasylum

Apple stuff lasts because it is built that way and their selling point, apart from simplicity of use and security, is that you will be supported with free software updates for, typically, seven years. This pretty much explains why their products are more expensive.

Well, why did you ask us for our opinion?

What are you gonna use this 1200 pounds Apple Powerhouse for?

Video processing?

Mining bitcoin?

Gaming?

Larging it with your shiny apple logo in Starbucks, Boystown, Pattaya?

Opening multiple tabs of male sausages from your balcony above that waft of sodom and gomorrah?

But why are you highlighting Apple's use of this labour, Tax? The entire world is using the Chinks as their shop floor fodder.

yes, we are all kow towing to the loathsome chinese now, but there are certain products, certain companies and certain ceo's that for some inexplicable reason do not sit well with certain people.

i used to like german cars, i have had vw's, audis, bmws and benzs, but ever since dieselgate i have vowed never to purchase a german car again.
volkswagen already had the lions share of the worlds car market, but driven by greed and a lack of respect for those who buy their products they decided to cheat the emissions tests resulting in performance and economy statistics that that bettered those of their rivals. so for me its japanese cars only, and yes i know what the japanese did during the war.

with apple, it was purely because of the nature of the dead ceo, his smug conceited presentations when announcing his latest product gave me the creeps, as does the religious fervour with which many of his customers worship the product. bezoz and amazon are another company i avoid wherever possible, and of course the french with their sheep burning and their hysterical fishermen ensures that i will avoid french products wherever possible, although i will make an exception for renard gillard coulommiers brie whenever i spot it.

of course my boycotts do nothing to affect the companies, but it gives me, just another mr ordinary, the satisfaction of knowing that i dont need them and i have a choice.

Originally Posted by misskit

Never been able to use it because it is for 220 V.

a new power supply is about 50$ and to change is 4 screws and 4 or 5 plugs - very simple ( with the caveat that some of the smaller dells have their own silly motherboard power sockets and may require an adapter )

if you bought one with a graphics card you can probably sell the whole machine for more than you paid for it

Originally Posted by misskit

For the first time I also own an iPhone. It is a bit of overkill since I use a phone only when I leave the house. I could use a cheap phone and be happy.

AND my brother gave me an Apple Watch for my birthday. I can answer phone calls on that. (Though I feel right stupid talking to my watch in public.)

My son just (two weeks ago) hit me up for a Macbook Pro 14 inch.

Apparently he "needed it" for his studies (currently learning film editing). 74k baht. Sigh.

He now has the full set: phone, tablet, laptop and desktop.

I am in two minds about it all. The apple products are damn expensive, but his mother is still using his old iPad, which is more than a decade old and still going strong.

Why did you do that? The new Macbook Air could run Final Cut sufficiently for his no doubt modest needs which will doubtless change according to fashion, whim and other fads.

Buying him a Pro "for his studies" is akin to giving the wife a Ferrari to do her weekly supermarket shop.

Stupid is as stupid does, eh?

Originally Posted by Topper

Have you ever tried typing a word document without a mouse? Also, to be honest, it's what I'm used to. Can you use a mouse with an Apple phone or tablet?

Apple has Pages which is pretty good as well as Notes. The thing is having moved to Apple seven years ago I have used a trackpad incorporated into the keyboard - once you ( Apple's is the best ) use this a mouse is just so yesterday. It's so ingrained now that in test driving the iPad Pro with its magic keyboard I instinctively used the trackpad before resorting to the screen touch facility.

Originally Posted by Topper

I found it incredibly difficult to accurately place the cursor where I needed it by finger. Eye/hand coordination issues I guess.