iOS 4, Google Apps and Auto-Lock Issues

TUAW is reporting that Google Apps users who tried to setup their account using Microsoft Exchange (ActiveSync) ended up with auto-lock automatically set to 1 minute.

“Apparently this is due to the security certificates that Google uses with its Exchange servers. The servers can force security options on compatible devices, which your iPhone becomes once it is running iOS 4.

To be clear: if you have a regular Gmail account and set it up using Exchange, this auto-lock requirement will not be triggered. But if you use Google Apps for your personal domain, it may.”

Some Google users have also reported other sync issues with iOS 4, head over this thread if you’ve been experiencing problems too.



Steam User? You Shouldn’t Upgrade to 10.6.4

It seems like Steam for Mac doesn’t play well with Mac OS X 10.6.4. Valve itself has issued a warning to users who logged in during the weekend on Steam:

“The recent 10.6.4 update from Apple has noticeable performance issues for NVidia graphic chip owners running high performance games. If you wish to avoid this, you should consider waiting to install the 10.6.4 update until Apple has had the opportunity to address this issue. Full details of what is contained in the 10.6.4 update can be found here: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4150. If you have already installed this update and believe your graphic performance is affected, please contact Apple support (http://www.apple.com/support/) for details on what to do.”

If you’re a Steam user and care about your game performances, perhaps you should wait for Apple to fix these problems. Should happen soon.





New York Times Interviews Foxconn Employee

What’s it like to work at Foxconn’s hellish factories? The New York Times interviewed  24 Yuan Yandong, whom describes his technical ten hour nightshift as an assembler of hard drives.

“His task is to help complete 1,600 hard drives — his workshop’s daily quota — and to make sure every one is perfect. Seated in the middle of the assembly line in his black Foxconn sports shirt, cotton slacks and company-mandated white plastic slippers, he waits for the conveyor belt to deliver a partly assembled rectangular hard drive to his station. He places two plastic chips inside the drive’s casing, inserts a device that redirects light in the drive and then fastens four screws with an electric screwdriver before sending the drive down the line. He has exactly one minute to complete the multistep task.”

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