The Conservative Cave
Current Events => General Discussion => Topic started by: The Village Idiot on April 14, 2010, 06:16:52 PM
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http://gizmodo.com/5517137/microsoft-supplier-factory-workers-live-like-prisoners
A report by the National Labor Committee hones in on conditions at a factory, run by a company called KYE, which produces hardware (mice, webcams, and some Xbox components) for Microsoft, as well as components for Hewlett Packard, Best Buy, Samsung, Foxconn, Acer, Logitech and Asus, albeit on a smaller scale. They've also got their own brand, called Genius, which you've probably seen in the bargain bin at K-Mart once or twice. The conditions—supported by photographic, not just anecdotal evidence—sound downright horrendous:
• Workers are hired as "work study students" as young as 16 years of age
• They work extremely long shifts, typically "from 7:45 a.m. to 10:55 p.m," for $0.65/hr, less food deductions. (Actual wage: $0.52/hr.)
• As is common in large manufacturing operations in China, the workers live onsite:
Fourteen workers share each primitive dorm room, sleeping on narrow double-level bunk beds. To "shower," workers fetch hot water in a small plastic bucket to take a sponge bath. Workers describe factory food as awful.
• Workers are kept from leaving campus, except during designated hours
• There are reports of sexual harassment of female workers by male security guards
To their credit, Microsoft responded to the report almost immediately, telling the Seattle PI:
Microsoft is committed to the fair treatment and safety of workers employed by our vendors. Microsoft has invested heavily in a vendor accountability program and robust independent third-party auditing program to ensure conformance to the Microsoft Vendor Code of Conduct.
We are aware of the NLC report and we have commenced an investigation. We take these claims seriously, and we will take appropriate remedial measures in regard to any findings of vendor misconduct.
<SNIP>
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Can't they just quit and live off the taxpayers? lol.
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Welcome to doing business with China. I'm surprised that anyone is still surprised at this kind of news.
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Welcome to doing business with China. I'm surprised that anyone is still surprised at this kind of news.
Even the primitives are catching on.
1776Forever (1000+ posts) Tue Apr-13-10 11:50 PM
Original message
Microsoft to invest $ 9.5 billion in R&D initiatives (India) - Has 2 million developers in India
http://www.stockwatch.in/microsoft-invest-95-billion-rd...
Microsoft to invest $ 9.5 billion in R&D initiatives
Submitted by Pankaj Lakhotia on Tue, 04/13/2010
Stock Watch
http://www.stockwatch.in/microsoft-invest-95-billion-rd ...
....Moorhty K Uppaluri, general manager, developer and platform evangelism indicated that the company spends around $ 9.5 billion in a year in specifically for research and development. He said that the Microsoft was one of the few companies that maintained its R&D spending even at the time of economic slowdown. Mr. Moorhty was speaking on the sidelines of Tech. Ed.
He (Uppaluri) did not disclose details about where the investment would go specifically and how much of that would be invested in the Microsoft India Development India Centre but only said that India is a 'strategic centre for the company' and the investment is likely to go up.
"In India, we are roughly around 2 million developers, where some 1.3 million are IT professionals and the remaining are from student and research community," said Moorthy while adding the number of developers in India were growing at by 16 -18 per cent against 3-4 per cent in the US. He said with the trend India will make up the largest number of developers for the company.
Detailing the company strategy he said that all consumers' access television, computer monitor and mobile screens and the company is focusing on all three. The dynamic and usage differs significantly in different countries.
The company invested considerable amounts in Visual Studio 2010 which can be used by developers to create and deploy software for various devices.
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Go figure - Why does Gates do this when the US is his home country? We are truly handing the keys to the country to China and India - and it may be too late to get them back.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=103x529829
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Welcome to doing business with China. I'm surprised that anyone is still surprised at this kind of news.
Not suprised at all :fuelfire:
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But...but....but...Bill Gates and Microsoft are liberal and liberals are generous and lookout for the working class.
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But...but....but...Bill Gates and Microsoft are liberal and liberals are generous and lookout for the working class.
And all he has to do is give the dummies free software to get back in their good graces. :whatever:
Of course a lot of dummies probably steal his software* or use a library computer.....
They excoriate Bill and his foundation over there on a regular basis but not in a hypocritical way, of course.
* which he himself could be accused of but that is a story for another day. {cough}
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And all he has to do is give the dummies free software to get back in their good graces. :whatever:
Of course a lot of dummies probably steal his software* or use a library computer.....
They excoriate Bill and his foundation over there on a regular basis but not in a hypocritical way, of course.
* which he himself could be accused of but that is a story for another day. {cough}
I have a product that will sell and make money and jobs for thousands.
What is my role in the company or conditions the item is made.?
My concern is that the item is available to the world as inexpensive as possible, distributed to the world and will continue to be needed and re bought over and over again. My concern is that my item is safe for use, will cause no harm and will work.
It is not my concern where this item will be made or assembled, only that the production costs are kept as low as possible. Shipping costs and that of distribution cost rock bottom.
Manufacturing as in other fields put out bids for the bottom line. It is of no business to the company to look into the living conditions of the workers for the winning company that wins the bid.
Anyone out there buy a diamond engagement ring for your future wife.? Do you check into the living conditions of the diamond mines in South Africa and decide to forget that and give her a ring with no stone.?? Then you check out the gold mines around the world and find there are 12 year olds under ground mining the gold that goes into a ring.??
Nuts, we would be in big trouble if we looked into where our food comes from.
It is not the Americans that invent a product and manufacture it at the lowest cost if they can make a profit by shipping it elsewhere, that is the problem of those that are else where and the laws of their country.
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This is the price people pay as having the US as their consumers and a "throw away society". If these same items were made here in the US, the unions would have the cost per item somewhere around $100 or more depending on the item. I remember my first PC, bought back in early 1994. The entire set up cost me some $3000.00 with everything. (Printer, monitor, printer cable, ink and the actual PC) It was made in the US, tech support was in the US, etc etc etc. That same computer would cost a person some $600- $700 in today's market, IF that.
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This is the price people pay as having the US as their consumers and a "throw away society". If these same items were made here in the US, the unions would have the cost per item somewhere around $100 or more depending on the item. I remember my first PC, bought back in early 1994. The entire set up cost me some $3000.00 with everything. (Printer, monitor, printer cable, ink and the actual PC) It was made in the US, tech support was in the US, etc etc etc. That same computer would cost a person some $600- $700 in today's market, IF that.
Tru dat.....first (real.....other than a TI 99) computer I ever bought back in the '80's was a Compaq "portable", which I paid $2100 for new.......my guess is that you can buy a pretty damn decent laptop for under a grand today......
doc
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Tru dat.....first (real.....other than a TI 99) computer I ever bought back in the '80's was a Compaq "portable", which I paid $2100 for new.......my guess is that you can buy a pretty damn decent laptop for under a grand today......
doc
My sub-$500 laptop (before the warranty) is great.
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Tru dat.....first (real.....other than a TI 99) computer I ever bought back in the '80's was a Compaq "portable", which I paid $2100 for new.......my guess is that you can buy a pretty damn decent laptop for under a grand today......
doc
I was gonna say, I thought I saw a Compaq with 2GB of RAM, 160GB HD, burnable CD/DVD player, Wi-Fi equipped, and Windows 7 for $329 at Best Buy today. 15 years ago I couldn't get a CD-ROM for $300.
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This is the price people pay as having the US as their consumers and a "throw away society". If these same items were made here in the US, the unions would have the cost per item somewhere around $100 or more depending on the item. I remember my first PC, bought back in early 1994. The entire set up cost me some $3000.00 with everything. (Printer, monitor, printer cable, ink and the actual PC) It was made in the US, tech support was in the US, etc etc etc. That same computer would cost a person some $600- $700 in today's market, IF that.
I remember, just 10 years ago, a top of the line desktop cost $4,000. Yes, 4 with three 0's
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We should send thank you notes to the Chinese slave workers and maybe small boxes of Ramen Noodles and kool-aid packets.
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I was gonna say, I thought I saw a Compaq with 2GB of RAM, 160GB HD, burnable CD/DVD player, Wi-Fi equipped, and Windows 7 for $329 at Best Buy today. 15 years ago I couldn't get a CD-ROM for $300.
I remember those days.
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I remember buying a CD/DVD drive that would handle all CD and DVD formats in 2002 for almost $300. Now they're around $40 or so.
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Well this has kind of devolved! :D But I want to go back to Vetas post about having no responsibility for WHERE or HOW a product is made as a businessman.
I agree...that your ONLY responsibility as a capitalist is to make as much money as you can and not worry about too much else. BUT... the country needs to worry about such things as foreign sweatshops that put Americans out of work due to lower costs. I read stories like this and wonder why we allow China most favored nation trade status when they institutionalize such practices and we sit with 18% real unemployment and millions of jobs that are never coming back.
The old free trade vs. fair trade connundrum.. and I come down firmly on the side of the latter. On balance free trade has been a disaster since it is all free for the other guys and not free for us.
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You can't have free trade with unfree countries.
We also cannot mandate their employment policies for them.
If their country allows us to export to them, we should reciprocate. China counterfeits everything and there is no way to have real free trade that way.
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Ditto on all points FGL!
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You can't have free trade with unfree countries.
We also cannot mandate their employment policies for them.
If their country allows us to export to them, we should reciprocate. China counterfeits everything and there is no way to have real free trade that way.
Bullseye. It also frightens me how much of our debt they own. It's essentially a massive IOU. And what happens when the day comes that we can't pay the interest on those IOU's? You think they'll let it slip? Hell no. First thing they'll do is take Taiwan, then tell us to keep our mouths shut or else they'll start demanding their money which in turn will make the dollar as useful as a Weimar Mark.
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Bullseye. It also frightens me how much of our debt they own. It's essentially a massive IOU. And what happens when the day comes that we can't pay the interest on those IOU's? You think they'll let it slip? Hell no. First thing they'll do is take Taiwan, then tell us to keep our mouths shut or else they'll start demanding their money which in turn will make the dollar as useful as a Weimar Mark.
Maybe they'd take Hawaii instead?
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I remember buying a CD/DVD drive that would handle all CD and DVD formats in 2002 for almost $300. Now they're around $40 or so.
I got a Creative SoundBlasterâ„¢ 8 bit sound card (IIRC it was ISA) and CDROM combo pack back in the very early 90's for a buck shy of a grand.....
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I like the idea that if tit comes to tat, we give the Chinese 200 miles of land north of the Mexican border. They build their factory's there and import their people to work and live there.
Should be interesting to see how the Chinese will protect that border against Mexicans and others from coming into their territory.
China is no lover of drug smugglers due to past history, the Boxer Rebellion for one.
One would think the Chinese will not be satisfied with such a small amount of land and will have their eye on their south and the easy picking of dominance of these weak dictatorships.
I have been told true or not that 30% of China now has a life style higher then those of most of South America due to the wealth of the small country's is now based on the drug trade.
When and if China does call in its IOU's, we may have no choice but to give them a piece of the pie.
Crazy idea but these are crazy times and who knows what some expert in politics will decide that 200 miles of border is better then giving China, Tiawan.