VisualSeed

slprescott said:

Good feature, but doesn't seem large enough to be patent-worthy. A simple convenience.

The problem is if Apple doesn't attempt to patient everything they may or may not put in a product, somebody will patent a thing called a "drunk text descrambler" that may sound more novel than this and then sue Apple for infringing on key elements of their patent. 

pscooter63 said:

Years back, my then-HS-age daughter hacked her mom's iPhone dictionary to deliberately spit out hilarious/unintended phrases.  (It was cute for about five minutes, then easily rectified.)

The fact that the iPhone has been around long enough that we can say "Years back" is kind of scary and humbling. 

SpamSandwich said:

Latest from TMZ:

11:42 PM PST -- A Sheriff spokesperson says the person found dead was a Hispanic male who worked at Apple ... there was no one else involved. It's still unclear why officers said there was a female with a head wound in the dispatch audio.

Could have been someone that tried to render aid and got covered in blood (hands) and transferred it to their head. They may have been distraught and crying from witnessing what happened which may have been mistaken for arguing. A witness seeing blood on someone being escorted out by security can jump to all kinds of conclusions,

I wish my life was filled with this level of disappointment... 

teejay2012 said:

What is China Watch arguing here? That the Chinese that work at these factories are the most oppressed and underpaid in the world and it is all Apple's fault? Take-home pay averages 4,200 yuan to 5,500 yuan ($650-$850) a month which is higher than many places pay in China. What do the Samsung factories pay their workers? In comparison, minimum wage in Greece is about $900 per month. India is not even on the same scale. The US is about $1,200 but MUCH higher cost of living. This all seems to be well timed Apple bashing ahead of earnings.

From reading this article, I can't figure out what exactly they are alleging. Excessive overtime? Probably. Citing Apple's guidelines, industry norms and the law, means very little if the Chinese government waived the overtime limits enforced by the law for the company. While Apple should bring the issue up with the company and demand they be addressed (and canceling their contract if they aren't), I don't see how it is Apple's burden to micro-manage these things. The Chinese government has jurisdiction over labor practices of Chinese companies in China and should enforce its own regulations. If it comes down to Apple making sure the correct holiday overtime rate is being paid, this defeats all the advantages of using a subcontractor. I'm all for putting pressure on companies and countries to eliminate inhumane working conditions, but I draw the line at trying to use a heavy hand to enforce what we think are "ideal" working conditions.