I was earning $11.25 an hour. Part of me was thinking, ‘This is great. I’m an Apple fan, the store is doing really well.’ But when you look at the amount of money the company is making and then you look at your paycheck, it’s kind of tough.Jordan Golson, Apple Store employee • DIscussing his wages earned relative to the thriving success of his company, in a New York Times article today that’s definitely worth a read. The balance of jobs Apple has brought to the American economy have been weighed heavily towards retail, the sort of job for which many employees make around $25,000 per year, despite working for one of the world’s most profitable tech titans. As the article points out, Apple’s hourly rate for retail workers is above average among many competitors, but the products Apple sells add up to a much bigger profit per employee – the average Apple Store worker is responsible for moving $473,000 worth of products per year, yet many earn (based on that $25,000 figure) below 20% of what those sales bring in. Conversely, CEO Tim Cook’s 10-year vested stock grants? Today’s share price would fix them at $570 million. Which is, obviously, mondo money. (h/t Gregory Bufithis) source (via • follow)
We never talked about him going back to Iran or anything like that. He was just speaking full-fledged Farsi and the representative came back and denied our sale. I would say if you’re trying to buy an iPhone, don’t tell them anything about Iran.Atlanta resident Zack Jafarzadeh • Commenting on a recent trip to the Apple Store in Atlanta’s Perimeter Mall, when a friend wanted to purchase a new iPhone. Jafarzadeh’s story came to light after another Apple Store customer, University of Georgia student Sahar Sabet, contacted her local news station after being denied a new iPad for the same reason, citing State Department regulations and the fractured relations between the two countries. (She later got an apology after calling customer service.) Apple has not commented on the policy, or the story, at this time, though two Islamic-American groups have condemned the practice. source (via • follow)
We would get emails after the developer conference from students, 16, 15, 14 years old, saying I already have X number of apps in the app store. I’m a developer. Can I take part in this too?Apple Senior VP of Worldwide Marketing Phil Schiller • Discussing the influx of student iOS and OS X app developers, many of whom have yet to even finish high school, in a new profile by the Wall Street Journal. This year’s WWDC received such high interest from student developers that Apple offered scholarships to 150 interested teens, and also had a “student lounge” available during the conference filled with bean bag chairs and Skittles candy. source (via • follow)
By taking detailed pictures of individuals in intimate locations such as around a pool, or in their backyard, or even through their windows, these programs have the potential to put private images on public display. We need to hit the pause button here and figure out what is happening and how we can best protect peoples’ privacy, without unduly impeding technological advancement.Sen. Charles Schumer • Arguing that Google and Apple’s separate, upcoming 3D aerial maps raise major privacy concerns. He even wrote an open letter to the companies on the matter, which features this all-caps scare message: “TECHNOLOGY STRONG ENOUGH TO SEE THROUGH WINDOWS AND EVEN CATCH SUN BATHERS IN BACK YARDS” Problem is, Schumer appears to be citing a Daily Mail report on the matter that suggested that “military grade” spy planes were used to get this data, despite the fact that appears to not be the case. Google, in fact, responded, suggesting Schumer misunderstood the technology. “We currently don’t blur aerial imagery because the resolution isn’t sharp enough for it to be a concern,” a spokesperson said in a statement.
The decline [in repair-ability] is not due to some evil plan by manufacturers, it’s due to the public desire for better products to appear regularly. The desire to buy good, low price, and reliable products that work out of the box is the driver for seeing the lack of ‘fixability’ in the new laptop line. And it’s not a bad thing.Inventing a problem, Michael Pusateri (via chartier)
In case you needed a reason not to buy a next-gen MacBook Pro, here you go: Most of the parts, including the RAM, are completely un-upgradable. “As in the MacBook Air, the RAM is soldered to the logic board,” iFixit says. “Max out at 16GB now, or forever hold your peace — you can’t upgrade.” Also of note: The battery is glued on, not screwed in, making it much more likely you’ll break it if you need to replace it. Granted, most of the parts on the MacBook Air are top-of-line so it’ll be unlikely you’ll have to upgrade anytime soon, but this is still bad news. (photo via iFixit)
iTunes Ping about to shut down due to complete customer disinterest: OK, who’s uncontrollably sobbing?
Apple’s desktop computers will get redesigned, says anonymous Apple exec
After today’s incredibly tiny update to the Mac Pro, you might be wondering if Apple plans to kill off the venerable desktop. Apparently, that’s not the case. New York Times technology columnist David Pogue spoke to an anonymous Apple executive who said that the company’s desktops are getting a makeover, perhaps by 2013.
This report might ease the worries of some Mac-heads, including Instapaper founder Marco Arment, who bluntly claimed earlier today that “The message is clear: Apple doesn’t give a s*#( about the Mac Pro.” The Mac Pro hasn’t had a full redesign since its release in 2006, and its basic look and feel is similar to the Power Mac G5, a machine that initially came out nine years ago.
Here’s the full list of devices that will be compatible with iOS 6 when it releases this fall.
Apple’s new IOS mapping app: Siri integration, 3D mapping, and um, is that Gill Sans? Eric Gill would be proud. (more)
New iOS 6 feature Guided Access allows for the disabling of portions of the screen — to assist the accessibility community with using the devices — and also allows the device to be placed in single-app mode.
Introducing Passbook: Apple’s new app for storing credit card info, movie tickets, boarding passes, and more.
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