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Posts with tag factory

Flickr Find: Inside an Apple manufacturing plant

It looks like Flickr user dinsdale79 was lucky enough to get an inside tour of Apple's manufacturing plant in Ireland. He took a bunch of pictures, though nothing of a sensitive nature (so I am pretty sure no one will be fired over these pictures, so no need to comment about that).

This is a chance that few Mac users get, a chance to see how Macs are made, and tested. Sadly, the factory doesn't look like Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory, but those parts might be top secret.

Update: It was fun while it lasted. The set is down, there is nothing to see here. Move along.

Update II: I removed the pic that was on this post at the request of the original poster. It would seem he uploaded the pictures to Flickr but forgot to mark them private. Live and learn, I suppose.

Solution for broken car interfaces with new iPod software


We don't know how wide-spread this problem is, but I figured if this frustrating complicatioin happened to one user, he probably isn't the only one: SecurityMonkey at the ITtoolbox Blogs posted a tragic story with a happy ending involving Apple's latest iPod software update and factory car interfaces. This dramatic tale of heart-wrenching loss and emotional reuniting with his iPod + car integration kit begins with the software update for is 5G iPod that iTunes 7 requires. Upon connecting his recently updated iPod to the factory Nissan adapter in his car, the display presented the 'No iPod' error message pictured above.

Ultimately, SecurityMonkey was able to recover his factory iPod connectivity with the daring attempt of using the Restore function now built into iTunes 7. Granted it's a time-consuming process since it requires re-syncing all the music back onto an iPod (it also erases any data/files on the iPod, so back those up), but upon reuniting his refreshed iPod with his Nissan - their techno-sexy love was once again in full bloom.

Again, this is the first report we've seen of issues like this, so we have no idea which iPod models this affects, or which decks and interfaces are experiencing these quirks. If any of y'all run into similar problems, give us the details in this post's comments, or submit a tip via our tips form.

iPod factory admits to violating Chinese labor laws

Sounds like things might not be so squeaky clean in the "iPod City" after all, as Engadget has dug up some dirt on the Foxconn factory's admission of breaching Chinese labor laws. Specifically, Foxconn has admitted their employees work about 80 extra hours each month - which is a tad above and beyond the 36 extra hours that Chinese law allows for. To make matters worse though, Apple launched an investigation into the factory once this issue broke, "but has found no problem with Foxconn", to quote a factory spokeswoman from the ChinaCSR.com report. Here's hoping Apple is delving a bit deeper into the matter beyond what is likely a preemptive quote from a spokesperson eager for the issue to simply go away.

Flickr Find: Mac factory circa 1984



Check out this great shot posted by Flickr user wackymac. Apparently it depicts a Mac assembly line from 1984. He writes:

"This is a photo of the original Macintosh factory in Fremont, California. It was the first of its kind for the computer industry, featuring advanced automated technology with a Just-In-Time manufacturing system. It was Steve Jobs' decision to make this kind of factory for the first Macs. This factory was able to produce a 128k Macintosh every 27 seconds."

You know, the current machines are beautiful, but there's just something about the compact Macs that I'll always love.

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