Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2020/01/15/sell-sugar-water.html
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Apple
- 1 Accusations of anti-competitive behavior
- 1.1 Vendor lock-in practices
- 1.2 iTunes
- 1.3 Google Voice controversy
- 1.4 Adobe Flash prohibition on iOS
- 1.5 Collusion with record labels
- 1.6 App Store transaction fee
- 1.7 Restriction of apps that compete with OS features
- 2 App Store compensation conflict
- 3 John Wiley & Sons and iCon: Steve Jobs
- 4 Price reductions
- 5 Media relations
- 5.1 Think Secret lawsuit
- 5.2 Gizmodo incident
- 6 Labor practices
- 6.1 Safety problems and harsh working conditions
- 6.2 Student and child labor abuses
- 6.3 Apple–Foxconn business relationship
- 7 Tax practices
- 8 Quality control and customer service issues
- 8.1 Data security
- 9 Misleading warranty claims
- 9.1 Italy
- 9.2 China
- 10 Litigation
- 10.1 “Boycott Apple” hashtag on Google+
- 11 Environmental destruction claims
- 11.1 Timeline of Apple’s recorded environmental progress
- 11.2 Greenpeace’s criticism of Apple
- 12 Negative tech habits
- 13 Collaboration with the National Security Agency
- 14 Removal of HKmap.live from App Store
- 15 Planned obsolescence
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SpaceX – for Not painting Satellite Black? Annoying maybe but EVIL???
The GRID? – not a single company and NOT evil, just stupid.
“Alphabet belongs on the list because of the huge amount of influence it has on public life through its subsidiaries, whether it is the domination of online advertising, which Google has branded as the sharing of knowledge, – Does not make it Evil just TOO big to correct if it becomes evil.
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Thinking about intentionally going cold turkey on my PUBG Mobile addiction by talking to everyone about Hong Kong,Uhghurs, and Tibet
wonder if that’s enough to get TenCent to kick me off the game
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Oh, the Apple clip from the new Iron Sky movie (featuring Tom Green) is up.
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My first computer was an Apple IIe. I still have a tumbler Amazon sent me way back in 1997-ish for free for being one of their earliest customers. I remember being called by a telemarketer and asked what site I used for answers on the internet; when I said “Google”, she had no idea what I was talking about.
When do we know when a company has become too big/evil? How do we know if what we think is a “good” company now won’t be evil incarnate in 20 years (re:Tesla)? What’s the alternative?
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Of course a list of “Most Evil Companies” with Apple on it gets Cory’s attention. There are 29 other evil companies worth discussing on that list and somehow it becomes an Apple rant.
First of all describing Apple customers as “a base that believes buying products from a trillion-dollar monopolist makes them members of an oppressed religious minority“ is so hyperbolic it’s hurts your own argument.
Apple has become ruthless in their rise. I will concede that. However, when Apple does “evil things” I let them know directly in as many ways as possible including emailing them directly and letting employees at the store know what’s what. This condition you criticize Apple users for is intrinsic to any brand including the Trump brand which didn’t even make it in the list. Apple users aren’t cultists and more than Ford vs Chevy owners and the same thing applies to google and android customers I’m afraid.
It’s all corporations really, so before we begin to divide ourselves up to be conquered let’s realize who the real enemy is. Clue: it’s not the customers themselves. We make choices based on info at hand and the compromises we’re comfortable with. I would feel no better using Samsung, google or Microsoft products. So do I decide to not own a phone? Maybe. But frankly I don’t see how I could operate smoothly without a proper smart phone.
Also, the credibility of the list is highly questionable. It’s looks more like someone’s personal “hate list. What’s the metric for “evil”? Space x and and Tesla are not evil companies, just because Musk is a Putz and Exxon should be way way higher in the list in terms of damage done to society. And where the hell are the Sackler family’s holdings on that list? Did I miss them?
Just my two cents. Anyone can certainly add their perspective.
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I love how the defense for Apple is: sure they’re awful, sure they suck, there’s no denying that. But other companies are worse! Also they make good phones.
That’s why you’re the judge, and I’m the law-talkin’-guy!
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It’s not a defense. And no one said “others are worse therefore forgiveness”. I attempted to acknowledge that the products we use aren’t the problem in and of themselves and certainly the people who are essentially forced to use these products are not the problem either. Falling back on “Apple users suck” is only feeding into divide and conquer.
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How apt: “There is somebody here who does not appreciate flawless design.”
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The products, in and of themselves, are the problem.
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Really? I assume you live with ABSOLUTELY no material objects in your life then? Don’t be ridiculous. There isn’t a clean product out there. Period. You might as well start shouting “money is the root of all evil” without considering that we have to have a way to trade because bartering doesn’t work.
Where does Slate/Microsoft sit on that list, I wonder.
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IMO, Facebook should be number one. Airbnb shouldn’t be all the way down there at 24.
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No Boeing yet? Wow
When they are not making planes that WILL kill you they are making missiles, bombs, fighter jets, and more that will kill thousands upon thousands.
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Reckon Lockheed-Martin would come out way ahead there. Seems to me there’s a general consensus that the F-35 has been a con job worth many billions of dollars, but then I haven’t been following that story too closely.
But I think there’s also a limit as to what might be considered a “tech company”. If the category opens up, we’d probably have to consider the likes of Purdue Pharma, Altria/Juul Labs, and Amway. (ETA: And Nestle, of course.)
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I use Apple products, but I don’t see it as part of my identity; it’s not like I regularly shoehorn them into conversations or write strongly-felt screeds about them or anything.
By and large I am happy for Apple to go fuck themselves, or make stuff I find useful, or whatever. Either way I’m not going to twist myself into rhetorical pretzels to support some fixed view of a bunch of people 6,000 miles away who I haven’t met.
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Tesla is probably on the list because Musk is a real-life Bond villain. Skipping over the numerous labor issues and the “pedo guy” fiasco, late last year his chief of security ”took care of” a whistleblower. Tesla security called the police and reported the man was distraught and had a loaded gun.
The police officers on the case helpfully recorded all the details, and carefully followed procedures. They did not rush to shoot the man, who was unarmed.
That’s some seriously evil behavior.
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Worst thing about a tech job is probably 85% of the people you encounter are seemingly entirely oblivious to the fact the tech lash is a thing. It’s like they spend all their time reading circle-jerk content about how they are about to save the world via some capitalist “win-win” transaction and “life hacks” for how to wake up 1 second earlier than the last “life hacks” click-bait article taught them how to do. Efficiency! Innovation! (But also pls be able to make innovation occur in an assembly-line fashion that is easy to quantify and manage, which leads me to:) Metrics! The whole thing just reminds me of church.
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