John Lister

Apple, Inc. says it has discovered that three of its overseas suppliers used a total of 11 staff whose ages were below the legal work minimum. It also found evidence of many workers performing excessive hours or earning below the local minimum wage. ... The firm reports 17 "core violations" of its standards were uncovered this year. This includes three facilities where workers were hired at 15 years of age, despite local minimum working ages being 16. Other problems include eight cases of workers being charged extortionate fees, three cases of suppliers using unauthorized contractors for ... (view more)

A senior Microsoft executive has forecast that 300 million copies of Windows 7 will be sold during 2010. That comes just days after Microsoft reported sales of 90 million Windows 7 licenses to date. The comments came from chief operating office ... Kevin Turner, the man effectively responsible for Microsoft's day-to-day operations. He was speaking to the London School of Economics. Sales Outweigh Economic Conditions Turner said he expected the positive response to the new operating system to drive sales, outweighing a natural reluctance by businesses to spend large amounts amid harsh economic ... (view more)

The Microsoft browser ballot has been under way for a few days now, and there's already an indication that some people are moving away from Internet Explorer. How the Microsoft Browser Ballot Works This week saw the debut of a scheme which prompts ... Internet Explorer users in Europe to choose one or more browsers from a list of the 12 most popular on the continent. It's a system put together by Microsoft to stave off regulator criticism that including Internet Explorer as the default browser in Windows gave it an unfair advantage in its market over competitors such as Apple's Opera Browser, ... (view more)

Microsoft has revealed that the next edition of its mobile operating system (OS) won't be backwards compatible. That may hurt sales of current handsets which, though not obsolete, will soon be second-string. The company confirmed that it won't be ... possible to upgrade phones running Windows Mobile 6.5 to the new system, set to be released this year. As part of a rebranding, the system will formally be known as Windows 7 Phone series rather than Windows 7 phone. The reason for the lack of upgrade is that Microsoft is severely restricting the scope available for handset designers with version 7. ... (view more)

Microsoft is reminding users that support for several editions of Windows will end beginning April 13, 2010. It will mean no more security updates, though users can easily upgrade to supported editions without charge. The affected editions are ... Windows XP with the second service pack (SP) and Vista with no service pack applied. In other words, if you haven't already installed at least Windows XP Service Pack 3 or Vista Service Pack 1, your computer will be exceedingly vulnerable to security exploits (and hackers). Service packs are collections of security and software updates which are ... (view more)

Google is among several firms testing a new device that could replace the need for receiving electricity through power cables. It coincides with the search giant getting a license to buy and sell power in bulk, most likely to get a cheaper supply of ... energy. The device, known as the Bloom Box, is produced by the relatively new firm Bloom Energy. It's roughly the size of a refrigerator and is filled with fuel cells which can create electricity through an emissions-less chemical process. The process hasn't been fully detailed (the company plans a public launch shortly) but it involves a ... (view more)

Microsoft looks set to severely restrict the range of phone designs compatible with the forthcoming Windows Phone 7 series. Right now, it appears there will be just three basic styles of handset with the new system. A recent podcast featured two ... members of Microsoft's Australian division discussing plans to restrict manufacturers to three different chassis, the basic physical design of the phone. Three Windows Phone 7 Chassis Classes The first design will be for touchscreen phones and includes some very specific requirements: a 800x480 pixel screen, an accelerometer, a 5 megapixel radio, a 1 ... (view more)

Microsoft is trying to harness the power of social networking for its own connectivity tool, email program Outlook. But rather than start its own network, Microsoft is aiming for an easier way to manage existing accounts. The firm has announced a ... beta program to integrate LinkedIn directly with Outlook. It's also announced partnerships are in the works for both Facebook and Twitter. LinkedIn is a primarily business-oriented tool for tracking networks. As well as acting like an online resume, it's designed for people to be able to make new business contacts through shared contacts. The site ... (view more)

Google was one of several companies attacked over the Christmas period in an exploit of an Internet Explorer zero-day flaw that has since been dubbed ' Operation Aurora '. And now, it seems that the hunt for the individuals responsible for hacking ... into Google's network in China is heating up. Two educational establishments have denied any connection, but investigators believe they've tracked down the man who wrote the code used in the attack. Computer Security Schools Under Suspicion Last week the New York Times quoted sources saying the attacks had been linked to the Lanxiang Vocational ... (view more)

Microsoft has been recently criticized for suggesting that it may charge phone companies to use its newly-unveiled mobile operating system, Windows Phone 7 (previously known as Windows Mobile 7). However, other analysts argue that charging for the ... operating system is both reasonable and sensible. The charge was led by the Business Insider website, where a columnist estimated that Microsoft's annual revenue from licensing the Windows Phone 7 system will be around $300 million. That's clearly no trifling sum, as Dan Frommer argues, but it's a tiny part of Microsoft's annual income of around $66 ... (view more)