Sony Xperia go goes up a snowy mountain, suffers various accidents, lives to tell the tale

The Sony Xperia go just can’t catch a break – the durable Android handset was tortured in the summer and now the same guys are back to torment it in winter conditions. The poor guy was thrown around, ran over, jumped on, bashed, dunked and put through other trials.

The Xperia go sports an IP67 certification, giving it dust and water resistance, but it also seems to handle subzero temperatures quite well.

By the way, the Xperia go is sold as Xperia advance in the US where it’s $250 unlocked.

Thanks to Claudia for the tip!

Source : blog[dot]gsmarena[dot]com

Woolly Mammoth Skeleton Found Near Paris, Nicknamed ‘Helmut’

Denis Gliksman/AP Photo

Sometimes scientists will admit they’re amazed that we know anything at all about the ancient past.  For the remains of a prehistoric animal to be found, conditions have to be just right.  It has to have died and been buried quickly, perhaps in the silt of a river.  Then it has to go undisturbed for eons, until someone finds it — and recognizes that it’s unusual.

That’s why French scientists say they’re pleased to have found a nearly-complete skeleton of a woolly mammoth near Changis-sur-Marne, in the countryside northeast of Paris.  They nicknamed it Helmut.

“A true discovery, in its original context, is exceptional in France, since only three specimens have been exhumed here in 150 years,” write researchers from France’s National Institute for Preventive Archaeological Research (INRAP), in an announcement posted on their website and translated by ABC News.

Helmut is believed to be between 50,000 and 200,000 years old, and the scientists say they believe it drowned or became trapped in mud.  Two small shards of flint were found among the bones, perhaps a hint that Neanderthal cavemen cut into the body for meat.  The researchers say it is unlikely the cavemen killed Helmut; the pieces of flint are too small.

Helmut probably had a thick coat of fur, good for the then-chilly climate of northern Europe.  It had an easier life than its descendants; mammoths are believed to have gone extinct in Europe about 10,000 years ago, unable to cope with climate change and human hunters.

Source : abcnews[dot]go[dot]com

How Apple’s Foxconn problem is like Nike’s sweatshop problem, and why the outcome is the same

Reminiscent of 1990s Nike, Apple now faces intense criticism for the working conditions of its manufacturing partners. Will customers force a change?

In recent weeks, we’ve heard news of riots and strikes at some Foxconn plants in China that are making Apple products. Earlier in the year, the New York Times ran a massive feature story detailing working conditions at Foxconn, which left readers with the impression that Foxconn’s plants, while not exactly “sweat shops,” reflect the vast and often troubling differences in workplace standards between China and the U.S. While Foxconn workers did reasonably well compared to their peers, they endured brutal hours and dismal living conditions to achieve it. The situation initially made news in the West after a string of suicides at the plants; the unrest at the end of September put Foxconn back in the news cycle – with one major difference. This time around, coverage was a likely to be about how the riots were effecting Apple’s delivery of the iPhone 5 as it was to be about conditions in the factories.

According to a survey by Hunch.com, the typical Apple consumer is a little more affluent than average. They tend to be college educated (67%) and lean more to the left of center politically (58% characterize themselves as liberal). In other words, the kind of people that – if you’ll pardon the generalization – would seem to concern themselves with the working conditions in second and third-world countries.

Apple’s situation with Foxconn brings to mind another large U.S. corporation facing wide-spread criticism brought on by its manufacturing partners: Nike in the 1990s. That scandal erupted after the sneaker and sportswear giant’s growth caused them to rapidly expand their overseas production. It, too, received widespread coverage in the press, including a 60 Minutes feature and cover stories on many of the top news magazines of the day.

According to the stories, Nike’s contracted factories were accused of unsafe and exploitative working conditions involving highly toxic carcinogens and child labor. High profile advocacy groups like Team Sweat were created to in response to the reports. Protests at Nike stores became an annual event, and even turned violent at times. The coverage was so suffocating that Nike chairman Phil Knight famously declared in a May 1998 speech to the National Press Club that “the Nike product has become synonymous with slave wages, forced overtime, and arbitrary abuse.”

To date, Apple’s issues with Foxconn haven’t received coverage either of the scale or the intensity that Nike dealt with at the height of the sweatshop scandal. To be fair, there are important differences between the two. The conditions described at the Nike factories 20 years ago were considerably worse, even by Foxconn’s unpleasant standards. And Apple clearly learned some important lessons from how Nike executive dealt with their issues in the media.

It took several years for Nike to present a united front in the face of criticism, where there was originally equivocation and aloofness. More damaging was the company’s repeated insistence that, since the factories in question weren’t owned by Nike, Nike bore no real responsibility for the conditions there. Apple has been far more proactive in investigating working conditions at Foxconn and making demands of their most important production partner.

Nevertheless, the events of last month prove that there’s far more to be done.

The differences between the two scandals don’t end with the companies, however. We as consumers seem to have changed since the 90s, and not necessarily for the better. There’s a greater understanding these days that the goods we rely so heavily on are produced in – and often at the expense of – people in the developing world. Of course, this happens at our own expense as well, when you consider that the U.S. has lost 28-percent of it high-tech manufacturing jobs in the last decade.

And it seems we’ve made our peace that, because we’re unwilling to effect change with the most powerful tool available to all of us: our wallets. Between 1994 and 1998 – arguably the height of the Nike sweatshop scandal – the company’s sales went from $3.8 billion to $9.6 billion. And Apple? Potential disruptions to the iPhone 5 supply chain notwithstanding, the most valuable company in history grows larger by the day.

Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

Terms & Conditions: Skype’s limits on ‘unlimited,’ blocked countries, forbidden uses and more

Skype manages to keep its terms of use and privacy policy as slimmed down as possible -- but they're still beasts.

Check out the full Terms & Conditions archive.

When you think of online video calls, the first thing you probably think of is Skype. And now, thanks to being purchased by Microsoft, the service is in front of more eyes than ever. But because Skype’s business is international by nature — cheap calls to other countries are a main reason to use the service — its terms of service are a bit more complication than many other companies. Fortunately, Microsoft has given Skype’s terms and privacy policy a total revamp to make them easier for users to digest. But since we all know you’re probably not going to look at them anyway, let’s break down the most important bits.

Terms of Use

The Skype Terms of Use is a behemoth, so we’re going to keep this limited to only the most crucial aspects of the service.

Emergency calls

Right at the start of the terms, Skype explains that it does not provide access to most emergency services, like 911 here in the U.S. Because of this, the company makes very clear that Skype software is “not a replacement for your primary telephone service,” and that “it is your responsibility to purchase… traditional wireless (mobile) or fixed line telephone services that offer access to emergency services.”

The only counties where Skype users can access emergency services are the U.K. and Australia. Still, Skype warns that trying to make an emergency call through a computer is probably a bad idea, so do it some other way, if at all possible.

Careful what you say

Skype explains that, basically, you can say and do whatever you want over a Skype call. However, just for safety’s sake, the company technically forbids users from doing the following while using Skype:

• Transmitting copyrighted content
• Saying anything obscene, libellous, threatening, or otherwise criminal
• No porn
• No advertising
• No spamming
• No hurting children
• No denial of service (DoS) or distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks

If you do any of these things, and Skype finds out about it (through a user report, or it ending up on YouTube, etc.), your account will probably be blocked.

Pay up

Call rates: While calls made with Skype are often less expensive than those made using a mobile phone or a landline, it still costs money. Unless you pay for a Skype subscription, you will be charged a connection fee, as well as the per-minute rate for your call. (See those rates here.)

Skype Credits: To pay for Skype calls, you have to purchase Skype Credits. However, if you don’t use those credits for 180 days, they will go into “inactive” status. To reactivate your Credits, log in to your account, and click here.

Refunds: If you buy Skype Credits, you can get a refund for unused Credits within 15 days. After that, you can only get a refund if you’ve purchased a Skype subscription.

Wrong number

If the no emergency services access thing wasn’t enough to make you realize that Skype shouldn’t be your only phone, there’s also this: Your Skype phone number (either an Online Number or Skype to Go Number) are not yours. You may not transfer them to another phone — in fact, you’re forbidden from even trying to do that. So don’t.

Unlimited (kind of)

If you’ve purchased a Skype unlimited subscription, beware that your calls are not actually “unlimited” — after two hours of gabbing away, you’ll have to hang up and redial.

No Skype for you

A number of countries or Internet service providers (ISPs) have blocked VoIP services like Skype altogether. These countries include places like Ethiopia, a number of countries in the Middle East, some Mexican ISPs, and a number of Asian countries.

Fortunately, here in the U.S., we have the Federal Communications Commission’s Net neutrality rules, which prohibit ISPs from blocking VoIP. But if you live in a place without such rules, it’s your responsibility to find out whether Skype is legal or allowed. Annoyingly, Skype does not provide a definitive list of which countries and ISPs block VoIP services.

Privacy Policy

Skype has done a fine job of making its privacy police nice and clear. But like the terms of use, it’s a massive document that could be distilled down even further.

What Skype knows

The company says simply says that it “may gather and use information about you,” and has outlined quite a few examples. However, it says that it might collect more information about you than what it details here, which is just slightly disturbing. Still, I suggest you take a look at the full list. But here’s a brief rundown:

• Identification info (name, address, email, telephone number)
• Credit card info
• All profile data (age, gender, country of residence, etc.) 
• Content of instant messaging communications, voicemails, and videomails
• Location data from your smartphone or mobile carrier
• URLs that appear in your mood message
• IP address
• List of contacts

Why it needs to know

Skype explains that it only collects your data to provide its services to you, or improve its services. But that’s not the whole story here.

Skype’s business itself is not based primarily on advertising, which means that the company will never “sell, rent, trade or otherwise transfer any personal and/or traffic data or communications content.” However, because Skype is owned my Microsoft, you are effectively handing over that data to the Big M and its subsidiaries. This also means your non-personally identifying data (age, country of residence, etc.) might be used to serve up target ads through Microsoft Advertising and a list of other ad networks.

In short, if you use Skype, you are entering into the vast Microsoft business ecosystem, which reaches far and wide. To opt out of receiving targeted Microsoft Advertising, click here. To opt out of Skype-specific ads, click here.

Taking charge

If you want to edit or delete your personal information, you may do so through your Skype profile. Any IMs or voicemails through Skype will be deleted after a period of 30 to 90 days, unless a the government or court has properly requested that Skype retain the data, or Skype needs it to fulfill some aspect of its service.

Conclusion

Overall, Skype’s terms and privacy policy are fairly straight forward, especially considering its many functionalities and the vast geographical spread of its users. Considering the number of countries that have banned VoIP service, however, it would be helpful if Skype made it easy to find out which countries are on the list, especially for the many travelers that presumably use Skype to keep in touch while abroad.

Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

Apple supplier Foxconn improving working conditions, says FLA report

The Fair Labor Association has reported that Apple supplier Foxconn is making good progress with improving the working conditions of its employees, though added that some of the biggest challenges lie ahead.

It was back in February that the Fair Labor Association (FLA), at Apple’s request, began to investigate working conditions at factories in China operated by Foxconn, one of the Cupertino company’s biggest suppliers.

 The move came in the wake of a long list of disturbing reports surrounding the treatment of Foxconn employees, with stories about unreasonably long working hours, dangerous working environments where some employees were being exposed to toxic substances, and cramped on-site living conditions. Suicides were reported among the workforce, and worker revolts were not uncommon.

 The situation threatened to get out of control for Apple, pushing them to ask the FLA to help with improving conditions for Foxconn employees, of which there are thought to be more than a million in various locations across China.

 According to a progress report published this week by the FLA, it seems that, at long last, things are moving in the right direction for those working at Foxconn.

 The report states that the Taiwan-based company has, so far, carried out improvements in 284 areas, with 89 of these completed ahead of schedule. Improvements in an additional 76 areas are set to be carried out over the next 12 months.

 As part of Foxconn’s efforts to address workers’ issues, the company has increased pay, cut working hours, introduced more breaks and improved safety on the factory floor.

 However, according to FLA president Auret van Heerden, the next round of improvements will be the trickiest for Foxconn. These involve getting working hours down to China’s legal limit of 40 hours a week, something which “will inevitably cause uncertainty and anxiety among workers,” van Heerden believes.

 Marketplace reporter Rob Schmitz gained exclusive access to a Foxconn factory back in April, giving an interesting insight into life there. Schmitz described the facility, located in the southern Chinese city of Shenzen, as being more like a city, with its on-site fast-food restaurants, banks, cafes, grocery stores, a wedding photo shop and an automated library.

 ”After you enter the gates and walk around, you quickly realize that it’s also a city – 240,000 people work here,” he wrote. “Nearly 50,000 of them live on campus in shared dorm rooms.”

 Despite the work being, as Schmitz put it, “tedious and boring,” around 500 people turn up at the gates each day looking for work.

 With Apple’s iPhone 5 and rumored iPad Mini now rolling off the assembly line, it’s a safe bet to assume workers at Foxconn’s factories are currently busier than ever. No doubt the FLA is watching closely.

Source : digitaltrends[dot]com