apple

Pepsi Amps Up the Sexism with Pickup App

Oct 15, 2009
PepsiCo Inc. ran into trouble trying to be all hip and stuff with an iPhone app aimed at young male consumers of Amp energy drink. It was bad enough that the app was built around the charming idea of bagging 24 different types of women -- and then posting the conquests online. Almost worse was the company's Twittered apology after reception of its "Amp Up Before You Score" app fell flat.

A Phone to Die For

Jul 23, 2009
After losing a prototype iPhone, a Chinese product manager for Apple's overseas manufacturer killed himself by jumping from his apartment window. Apple doesn't directly manufacture its products, but the company's notorious and sometimes belligerent devotion to secrecy isn't playing well in light of reports that Sun Danyong, 25, was harassed before his death by security personnel from his employer's parent firm.

iPhones for Everybody?

Jun 9, 2009
Apple unveiled a faster, more powerful version of its popular iPhone Monday, but the bigger news is that the company slashed the price of the current model to $99. That makes a robust portable computing experience available to a much bigger crowd, assuming they can handle AT&T's horrendously overpriced service.
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Apple Goes to War

Apr 21, 2009
The military has been deploying Apple's iPod Touch and iPhone, loaded with software that aids in translation, intelligence gathering and shooting people. Military iPods will "display aerial video from drones and have teleconferences with intelligence agents halfway across the globe." We civilians are still waiting for copy and paste.

Consumer Takes iPhone Price-Cut Rage to Court

Oct 2, 2007
All those eager Apple aficionados who waited in line for days to get their grabby hands on the first crop of iPhones for $599 a pop, only to watch in despair as stragglers bought them but two months later for a whopping $200 less, may sympathize with an angry New York woman who clearly will not be placated by Steve Jobs' scrambly attempt at refunding his way back into customers' hearts.

Getting iRipped Off

Sep 7, 2007
It might be hard to feel sympathy for someone who spends $600 on a phone, but iPhone owners could use some emotional support, now that Apple CEO Steve Jobs has announced he's cutting the price of the 10-week-old device by a third.

Right Move, Wrong Reasons: Inside the EMI/Apple Deal

Apr 17, 2007
Media analyst, scholar and musician Aram Sinnreich takes a close look at tech giant Apple's joint venture with major recording label EMI to offer music that is free of the restrictions imposed on consumers by "digital rights management." Sounds like music to our ears, and those of the iPod-toting masses, but the author detects a hidden agenda behind the deal.

Campaign Vigilantes Go Viral

Mar 21, 2007
Someone apparently unrelatedrelated to the Barack Obama campaign created a parody of Ridley Scott's classic "1984" Apple commercial, with Hillary Clinton in the role of Big Brother. In true Youtube fashion, it was quickly followed by a video response with Obama as the bad guy. Update: Original video creator's identity exposed!

Watch Where You Point That Laptop

Aug 27, 2006
In the mad rush to make our gadgets go, a battery manufacturer's slight oversight could lead to disastrous consequences, as in the recent recall of 6 million Sony laptop batteries prone to explosion and fire. Lithium-ion batteries, the kind used in many electronic devices because of their power efficiency, are especially vulnerable to this kind of problem.

Think Damage Control

Aug 18, 2006
An Apple Computer audit of labor conditions at an iPod factory in China uncovered employees working longer hours than permitted by its code of conduct. Auditors also said that workers earned ?at least the local minimum wage? -- whatever that may be in Longhua, China.