tzeshan

bloggerblog said:

I have two co-workers who switched from their iPhones to the Pixel, and they like it.

One of them misses the cohesiveness of iOS but still likes his Pixel. Google seems to be bending backwards to give their customers a good support.

Fyi, the Pixel is manufactured by LG.

lkrupp said:

In related news laws requiring celebrities to state whether or not they are being paid to recommend products are being ratcheted up.

SpamSandwich said:

This needs to be an automatic death penalty offense.

And if China is behind this, it’s as good as a declaration of war.

JWSC said:

crowley said:

lkrupp said:

I agree. Apple should tone down the virtue signaling about human rights, privacy and security. It makes them look very hypocritical at best. 

That's your take?  I'd say Apple should ensure their suppliers pay their workers what they promise them and sever relations with those that don't, but sure, it's the optics that are the problem here.

That’s a little tough to do when Apple’s supply chain managers have been tasked with bargaining down major subcontractors to get the best price per unit.  Apple has enormous bargaining power and influence due to their sheer size and they have not been shy about using it ruthlessly in negotiations.

Apple has been busy ramping up virtue signaling over environmental concerns and worker’s rights over the past decade.  But it’s hard to stay focused on that when the leadership is surrounded by a 21st century glass-walled office working environment that is far out of sight of everyday working conditions many thousands of miles away.

Apple Park, a triumph of architecture, engineering and productive office working space, never considered the manufacturing environment, not even as an afterthought.  That tells us all we need to know about their thought processes and priorities in the whole lifecycle chain of Apple products.

StrangeDays said:

sidrictheviking said:

Love Pages and Keynote. They’re both so intuitive and versatile — I use them mostly on iPad, hardly ever on iPhone or Mac. Never use Numbers, other than for opening Excel documents from time to time. 

I use both Numbers and Excel. Work uses Excel, but I use Numbers personally. To me the multiple tables-based layout in Numbers is vastly superior to the single-table sheet in Excel. I can crest so much nicer worksheets when they aren’t all tied to the layout of a single table. 

lkrupp said:

Alger said:

Welcome to India.  Supposed democracy where 98% of the population are treated like human garbage, due to barbaric, medieval caste system, mindless religious zealotry and grotesque overpopulation.  If Apple don't want to see their humanistic reputation (what's left of it after almost selling their soul to capture Chinese market) sullied even further, they had better tighten their grip and sense of responsibility over their proxies there.

I agree. Apple should tone down the virtue signaling about human rights, privacy and security. It makes them look very hypocritical at best. While Macs and iOS devices may be somewhat more secure than the competition they are not in any way bulletproof, as has been demonstrated time and again when security researchers find flaws. And in terms of humanistic reputation Apple is doing business with some truly nasty actors, both primary and secondary. Think about mining in Africa.

tmay said:

tzeshan said:

tmay said:

GeorgeBMac said:

tmay said:

GeorgeBMac said:

tmay said:

GeorgeBMac said:

tzeshan said:

tmay said:

GeorgeBMac said:

tzeshan said:

tmay said:

GeorgeBMac said:

AppleInsider said:

Qualcomm is reportedly struggling to meet demand for processor silicon used in Android devices as a global chip shortage spreads across the electronics industry.

Credit: Qualcomm

Demand for Qualcomm chips have soared in 2021 as Android makers close in on market share left by Huawei in the wake of U.S. sanctions. However, Qualcomm is finding it hard to meet the demand, partly because of a shortage of subcomponents used in its application processors.

Because of that, Samsung is currently experiencing a shortage of Snapdragon chips, according to Reuters. That could impact production of mid- and low-end Samsung models, though another source said there was also supply concerns surrounding Qualcomm's new Snapdragon 888 processor.

A senior executive at a top contract manufacturer for several major smartphone brands told Reuters it is also facing shortages of critical components from Qualcomm, and could cut handset shipments in 2021.

The global processor shortage has been ongoing for several months. It first hit the automotive industry and has now spread to the consumer electronics market. In February, Xiaomi vice president Lu Weibing said that the situation is "not a shortage, it's an extreme shortage."

Back in February, President Joe Biden took steps to boost the U.S. manufacturing of silicon to strengthen the international supply chain and mitigate the global shortages.

For the most part, the supply situation is only affected Qualcomm's older processor technologies because it's currently directing resources toward newer silicon options. The shortage is also driving up the price of specific chip components.

At this point, Qualcomm's supply troubles will likely have little effect on Apple. Although the Cupertino tech giant uses Qualcomm modems in its iPhone lineup, it designs and develops its own A-series chips that are produced by third-party contract manufacturer TSMC.

Stay on top of the latest Apple news right from your HomePod. Say, "Hey, Siri, play AppleInsider," and you'll get latest AppleInsider Podcast. Or ask your HomePod mini for "AppleInsider Daily" instead and you'll hear a quick update direct from our news team. And, if you're interested in Apple-centric home automation, say "Hey, Siri, play HomeKit Insider," and you'll be listening to our newest specialized podcast in moments.

The answer is simple:   End the silly, hateful, vindictive trade war with China cleverly disguised as "National Security".

You can't shutter chip factories and limit production in other less direct ways -- and THEN whine about lack of production!

....  That's silly and childish.

China has yet another problem;

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2021/mar/12/ioc-under-fire-after-dismissing-claims-of-genocide-against-uighurs-in-china

I can see a Winter Olympics boycott on the horizon...yet you still ignore what is happening to the Uighurs, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. Fortunately, the rest of the world is not.

Genocide is the intentional action to destroy a people—usually defined as an ethnic, national, racial, or religious group—in whole or in part. A term coined by Raphael Lemkin in his 1944 book Axis Rule in Occupied Europe,[1][2] the hybrid word geno-cide is a combination of the Greek word γένος (genos, "race, people") and the Latinsuffix -caedo ("act of killing").[3]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genocide

And

Ethnic groups in Xinjiang 根据2015年底人口抽查统计 [189]
Nationality	Population	Percentage
Uyghur	11,303,300	46.42%
Han	8,611,000	38.99%
Kazakh	1,591,200	7.02%
Hui	1,015,800	4.54%
Kirghiz	202,200	0.88%
Mongols	180,600	0.83%
Tajiks	50,100	0.21%
Xibe	43,200	0.20%
Manchu	27,515	0.11%
Tujia	15,787	0.086%
Uzbek	18,769	0.066%
Russian	11,800	0.048%
Miao	7,006	0.038%
Tibetan	6,153	0.033%
Zhuang	5,642	0.031%
Tatar	5,183	0.024%
Salar	3,762	0.020%
Other	129,190	0.600% https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xinjiang#Vital_statistics

Yeh, it's pretty much a dead giveaway that somebody is running a (mostly) baseless smear campaign when they have to introduce hyperbole into to the argument.  Especially if they have to redefine words to suck off of their normal meaning.  People who have legitimate arguments don't have to resort to such childish tactics.

But, as I said, those that do use such tactics expose their argument as baseless.

As for an Olympic Boycott:  that would be more justified against the U.S. where we have militarized police executing (or is it committing "genocide" against?) innocent black people?

What I think doesn't matter in the big picture, and I don't determine policy;

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-usa-xinjiang/u-s-says-no-change-in-its-genocide-determination-for-chinas-xinjiang-idUSKBN2B12LG

"WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States has not seen any developments that would change its determination that China committed genocide and crimes against humanity in its treatment of Uighur Muslims in the western region of Xinjiang, State Department spokesman Ned Price said on Tuesday.

“We have seen nothing that would change our assessment,” Price said. The Biden administration has endorsed a last-minute determination by the Trump administration that China has committed genocide in Xinjiang. Beijing denies the charges."

Neither you not tzeshan have been able to produce any information denying that it happened, which is par for the course, but given that the PRC will not allow any independent investigation, this is all on the PRC, not the U.S.

US-China relation is the most difficult part of US foreign policy. It originated from the conflict between western culture which emphasizes total freedom and love and Chinese culture which emphasizes facts and regulation. History doesn't lie. US Congress passed the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1880 when there was no communism or CCP. Some Americans have tried to change this. But the election of Trump proved that this culture is firmly planted in other Americans. China has tried hard to rebuild the country without invading other nations instead by hard working to produce goods for other nations. Apple succeeded by working with China to become the most valuable company in the world. But some China haters and Apple haters try to break this relationship. 

Don't give these idiots so much credit.

The root of the current batch of "I hate China" stems from the fact that they will soon over take us as the world's leading economy.

That is not only humiliating to these so called patriots but, aside from the financial and economic manifestations, it puts the lie to their contention that Democracy and Free Market capitalism is inherently superior to autocracy and socialism.
(Here's a hint:  wise, caring leadership counts for a lot more than any ideology.)

You might enjoy this piece from Bill Maher on "Clown and Country"

We have wise, caring, leadership today in the U.S., and every adult that wants it will have vaccine access by May 1, and the U.S. hasn't had to rely on cutting corners as the SinoVac from China has. China will be far behind the U.S., and is attempting to use its vaccine to leverage diplomacy. But, hey, Maher has his own show, and can do what he wants.

Bill Maher barely acknowledges human rights violations in Xinjiang, but John Oliver certainly does;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17oCQakzIl8

So, your attempt to "bury the lede" on human rights violations in China, by posting a screed by Bill Maher on comparative economies fails. You probably aren't even cognizant to the fact that the U.S., at a quarter the size of China, is still the leading economy, and will be through the end of the decade. China, for all of its massive construction will also find out that "what you strive to attain, you must also maintain", a huge cost that every country bears for its existing infrastructure.

I gave up watching Bill Maher when I gave up cable and HBO, near twenty years ago. He isn't anything but provocative.

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/02/01/new-chart-shows-china-gdp-could-overtake-us-sooner-as-covid-took-its-toll.html

"“This (divergence in growth) is consistent with our view that the pandemic has been a much larger blow to the US economy than China’s economy,” Rob Subbaraman of Nomura said in an email Friday. “We believe that on reasonable growth projections the size of China’s economy in USD terms will overtake the US in 2028.”

On the other hand, the U.S. and the West's plan for sourcing outside of China will likely delay that date, but I can state as a fact that the U.S. economy is going to grow at a very fast rate in Q3 and Q4 of this year, due to vaccinations.  

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/03/02/10percent-gdp-growth-the-us-economy-is-on-fire-and-is-about-to-get-stoked-even-more.html

This is what your China hatred buys:  A former trading partner aligning themselves with a known enemy who has attacked out country multiple times (after we tried to entice one of their former allies over to our side).

That's dumb.   Really, really dumb.

So now:   Russia isn't going to take our shit anymore -- and neither is China.

But go ahead and keep backing Trump's cold war.

... But maybe if we build more ICBMs and aircraft carriers -- or up the trash talk -- they will come over to our side.   /s

• Russia and China’s space agencies signed an agreement this week to create an International Scientific Lunar Station.
• Russia also apparently rebuked NASA’s invitation to join the Artemis project that aims to put people back on the moon by 2024.
• That follows a quarter of century of U.S.-Russian space cooperation, launched by those who dreamed of post-Cold War reconciliation.
• Russia’s growing strategic bond with China is the latest evidence the Western approach to Moscow has failed to produce the desired results.

Okay...from your mouth to God's ear.

LOL!

Before you attack an enemy you should probably make sure that they are an enemy.  If not, they will be.

I'm certain that China decided to challenge the rules of order established after WWII when Xi Jinping declared himself President for Life. With that, and China's erasure of democracy in Hong Kong, prematurely based on the agreement with the UK, and constant threats against its neighbors, it is pretty obvious that China's authoritarianism is a threat to democracies around the world. That makes them a potential enemy, and for National Security reasons, we have to treat them as that. Of course, China would see us as a threat, given our history during and after WWII as the world's greatest superpower and democracy.

Interestingly enough, the Quad (U.S., Japan, Australia, and India) just met to discuss many concerns centered on China, especially China's military buildup in the Indo-Pacific. I'm thinking, India becomes the go to for sourcing as China's manufacturing for the world deflates. That's a problem that China created, not the U.S.

You don't follow anything about National Security, so of course you will side with China, a flawed assessment.

Personally, I would rather see India benefit from sourcing to the West vs China, so we'll see how that works out.

Full of lies, distortion, and fake news. 

Sure. /s

Funny how much disinformation is shared on open platforms in the West, especially by China's diplomats, that are banned or censored in China. 

https://www.brookings.edu/techstream/how-chinas-wolf-warrior-diplomats-use-and-abuse-twitter/

"A little more than a year ago, China had almost no diplomatic presence on Twitter. A handful of accounts, many representing far-flung diplomatic outposts, operated without apparent coordination or direction from Beijing. Today, the work of Chinese diplomats on Twitter looks very different: More than 170 of them bicker with Western powers, promote conspiracies about the coronavirus, and troll Americans on issues of race. The quadrupling in the past year and a half of China’s diplomatic presence on a site blocked within China suggests that turning to Western platforms to influence the information environment beyond China’s borders is no longer an afterthought but a priority.

You have been a part of that disinformation campaign, but I doubt that you have diplomatic credentials, so it must be the United Front Work Party that you represent.

Literally, no one in our government believes that China's rise is benign, and 90 percent of American's want a tough stance on China;

https://www.pewresearch.org/global/2021/03/04/most-americans-support-tough-stance-toward-china-on-human-rights-economic-issues/

"Most Americans Support Tough Stance Toward China on Human Rights, Economic Issues"

https://www.defense.gov/Explore/News/Article/Article/2530733/erosion-of-us-strength-in-indo-pacific-is-dangerous-to-all-commander-says/