Linked by Thom Holwerda on Thu 6th Dec 2012 17:01 UTC
So, Apple is serious about this thing. Tim Cook has said in an interview the company plans to manufacture one line of Macs in the US, starting next year. Coincidentally (or not?), Foxconn has just announced it plans to expand its production facilities... Into the United States. There's no indication as of yet that the two are linked, but the coincidence is at least interesting.
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Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/24/13 17:26 UTC
So, the Xbox One disaster continues. Microsoft's policy for dealing with the used games market has reportedly leaked - and it's a clear and direct attack to destroy the used games market. Prices for used games will be set at the retail value of a new game, and retailers have to hook into Microsoft's computer systems and comply with Microsoft's terms and conditions.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/21/13 21:38 UTC
At an event earlier today, Microsoft unveiled the next Xbox - the third model, but confusingly named Xbox One. The big focus was TV, integrated Kinect, and all the other stuff we all expected to be forced down our throats. I think it took them 25 minutes to actually come to what should be the core of the story: gaming. Nothing groundbreaking in the gaming department, except for how Microsoft intends to handle the used games market and borrowing games from friends: pay up, buddy!
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/20/13 11:29 UTC
The day has finally come! Jolla has finally announced the launch device for its Sailfish operating system - and by god this is a looker. It's decidedly different from other phones out there, but it has good specifications and carries a relatively reasonably price tag - EUR 399, and it's up for pre-order today, shipping in the fourth quarter of this year.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/18/13 21:33 UTC
Why does Google get so much credit in the technology industry? Why, despite the company's many obvious failings, do many geeks and enthusiasts still hold a somewhat positive view on the all-knowing technology giant? A specific talk at Google I/O this week provides the answer.
Linked by David Adams on 05/16/13 4:23 UTC
OSNews is a sponsor of this year's O'Reilly OSCON in Portland, Oregon, USA. A lucky OSNews reader will win a free three-day pass, including two tutorials days. To win the pass, post a comment on this story saying something about Open Source Software or OSCON. We'll pick a winner at random next week. If you don't have an OSNews account, you may email us your entry. Part of the conference is the 9th annual Open Source Awards, and today the 16th is the deadline for nominations. If you'd like to nominate an outstanding open source contributor, do it here. Read on for more information about OSCON. Update: The 20% discount code for OSNews readers is "OSN."
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/11/13 21:41 UTC
"Windows is indeed slower than other operating systems in many scenarios, and the gap is worsening." That's one way to start an insider explanation of why Windows' performance isn't up to snuff. Written by someone who actually contributes code to the Windows NT kernel, the comment on Hacker News, later deleted but reposted with permission on Marc Bevand's blog, paints a very dreary picture of the state of Windows development. The root issue? Think of how Linux is developed, and you'll know the answer.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/08/13 14:22 UTC
This is one of those news items that's fun to write, fun to read, fun to comment on, and where no one will be able to say anything unkind. It's all just one big ball of awesome fluffiness. TuneTracker, the BeOS radio automation software, has just released something very special: TuneTracker System 5, the first version designed entirely and specifically for Haiku. In fact, it actually includes Haiku in the software package. Better yet, TuneTracker also unveiled several system-in-a-box products - which have Haiku and TuneTracker pre-installed.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/02/13 15:28 UTC
Exactly twenty years ago, a document was published that played a huge role in establishing the web as we know it today. Twenty years later, and this simple and straightforward document is proof of an irrefutable fact: while closed technologies can change markets, open technologies can change the world.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 04/29/13 21:06 UTC
Oh multitasking. That staple of computing that got thrown out the window with many modern smartphones. We got some rudimentary thing in its place - but even as multitasking on phone and tablets improves, its user-visible side remains cumbersome. Windows 8 has a neat implementation, and now it's time Android follows in it footsteps.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 04/24/13 22:24 UTC
They're here! Whether that excites you or not remains to be seen, but the Galaxy S4, which will most likely become the best selling Android smartphone of the year by a huge margin, has been reviewed by all the major sites, and there's lots of interesting conclusions in there - although I think most of you will get the gist.More Features »
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When Obama once asked Steve Jobs how to bring back manufacturing to the U.S., Jobs said "those jobs are never coming back." More than wage differences, the real reason for the loss of manufacturing* in America is because there aren't enough Americans with the necessary skills nor does the requisite infrastructure exist.
So before we hail this announcement, let's consider one particularly noxious possibility: Foxconn moves its factories and workers to the U.S. AFAIK, to get a work visa the job must be advertised and no qualified American must apply for the job. Companies usually get around this by creating extremely particular job descriptions that match the particular foreign candidate that they've decided to hire beforehand. In the case of Foxconn/a potential wave of consumer tech manufacturing insourcing, who's to say that they won't just bring in tons of Chinese workers, since after all everyone is claiming that there aren't enough Americans to do the job? I don't know about Taiwanese practices/law regarding Taiwanese multinationals, but Chinese companies do precisely this all over Africa: big material, infrastructural, and financial investment, but relatively few jobs as Chinese workers are sent in to do everything.
I admit that seeing Chinese factory towns in Kansas sounds far fetched (racism, if nothing else, will prevent that), but we already employ (and ghettoize) Mexicans by the millions. And certainly throughout history, American industry was built on the backs of immigrants packed into factory towns throughout the country. The difference was that those manufacturing jobs were low-skill. This means that they could be taught quickly thanks to the assembly line. It also means that much labor was required. If Foxconn sets up factories in the US, I'm guessing that 1) they will be high-productivity, non-labor intensive affairs, and 2) they will be high-skill enough that they might be able to get away with mostly hiring foreign workers.
*It must be noted that under Obama manufacturing has rebounded and is one of the growing sectors of the economy.
EDIT: The commenter above me posted just as I was writing mine =)
Edited 2012-12-06 21:00 UTC