The ugly side of technology

Do the people in this picture look like animals to you? They do to their boss. Terry Gou, CEO of Foxconn made some interesting comments about his workforce at a recent executive meeting:

Hon Hai has a workforce of over one million worldwide and as human beings are also animals, to manage one million animals gives me a headache.

Before you think that it's just Communist China being Communist China, look around your collection of technology gadgets. How many devices do you have that are sold by Apple, Inc.? Foxconn is the manufacturer of Apple's nifty iDevices. Its employees work for less than $140 per month, and sometimes must work shifts that exceed a 24-hour day. Sweatshop conditions are improved only when employees threaten suicide, according to the Digital Trends web site.