Workers poisoned while making iPhones

By China correspondent Stephen McDonell

Updated 24 minutes ago

The workers say they were using the chemical n-hexane to glue and polish Apple products. (AFP: Emmanuel Dunand)

• Related Story: Apple hit with iPhone 4 antenna lawsuit

Workers in southern China, who say they were assembling Apple laptops and iPhones, have become seriously ill after using a dangerous chemical.

For tonight's Foreign Correspondent, the ABC snuck into a hospital in Suzhou to speak to them.

They say they were using the chemical n-hexane to glue and polish Apple products.

After breathing in the chemical's vapours, they became dizzy and numb and eventually they could not walk.

Some workers have been hospitalised for more than nine months.

Apple would not confirm it has sourced products from these companies, but said it has tightened its requirements regarding workplace safety at its suppliers.

Dirty Secrets airs tonight on Foreign Correspondent at 8PM on ABC 1.

Tags: business-economics-and-finance, company-news, health, occupational-health-and-safety, china

First posted 57 minutes ago

The ABC is at it again. Using old news to promote its own shows. Its not new, I know, but it is not a practice I believe the ABC here in Australia should continue to use.

This story actually broke last year and was widely reported earlier this year by a number of news outlets.

Fair enough - this is actually about the news-documentary to be aired on "Foreign Correspondent". So why is this in the news list? Why not use the advertising space on the abc.net.au website to promote the show? The only reason...it sounds news-like, sensational, attention grabbing.

Grubby, indeed ABC. Stop inventing news to promote yourself! If I want to find out what's on ABC TV tonight, I will check the TV Guide, don't pretend its news!

For the real story - just google "Apple and n-hexane". eg. N-hexane Poisoning Scare At Apple Supplier In China - February 22, 2010. Now that was news!

Sylvestor

It feels like the whole world is holding its breath for the Apple tablet. But maybe we’ve all been dreaming about the wrong device. This is Courier, Microsoft’s astonishing take on the tablet.

Courier is a real device, and we’ve heard that it’s in the “late prototype” stage of development. It’s not a tablet, it’s a booklet. The dual 7-inch (or so) screens are multitouch, and designed for writing, flicking and drawing with a stylus, in addition to fingers. They’re connected by a hinge that holds a single iPhone-esque home button. Statuses, like wireless signal and battery life, are displayed along the rim of one of the screens. On the back cover is a camera, and it might charge through an inductive pad, like the Palm Touchstone charging dock for Pre.

How rather cool! No doubt there will be those that 'diss' the product because it imitates a book, but hell, its different and kinda cool!

And it would seem the Microsoft backrooms have outdone Apple - with the rumoured for how long now? Apple Tablet. The Courier has some very neat features, and comes as part of the novel concepts Microsoft have been developing, including the Tabletop. Yet to prove itself technically and to the market, this might be an interesting bun-fight between the two monolithic organisations.

I guess, if nothing else, Apple, as they sometimes do, could always take a look at Courier and then start work on the MacTablet! ;)

Read the full story @ www.gizmodo.com.au.

Sylvestor
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