It seems that quite a few children were discovered working in the factories where they assemble Apple products and components. Why this would come as a surprise to anyone is beyond me. Did people think Apple had a special brushed-aluminum facility surrounded by parks and fountains, where volunteer workers happily put together iPads just for the chance to be part of something magical? No, Apple is a gargantuan electronics company just like any other. I keep telling you! Hold them to a higher standard than Acer or Samsung and you’re bound to be disappointed.

The truth, as John pointed out in his series of articles describing China’s manufacturing districts, is that they’re all sweatshops of varying quality. Even 75% of the workflow is overseen correctly and employs no minors or what have you, what about the subcontracting for this piece of memory or that hinge? Can you guarantee that a fair wage was paid for that, or that kids weren’t involved?

It’s a fact of our globalized and consumer-oriented culture that we need to have stuff created as quickly and cheaply as possible. I’m not taking a position on this, I’m just saying that’s the way it is right now, and stuff like kids getting a dollar a day in Chinese factories is a consequence of it.

Ink jet printers are a virtual necessity for many computer owners. Such equipment is reasonably priced, dependable, and render perfect print quality when it is utilized and cared for correctly. Ink jet printers use cartridges that contain black or colour inks. Nearly all colour ink cartridges include cyan, yellow and magenta inks, and this is used to print ink of all colours. In the early days of ink jet printing, it was common for the ink cartridges to cost more than buying a new printer, but things have changed. Today, printer owners have many options, one of which is buying compatible ink jet cartridges rather than brand-name OEM cartridges. Next are some tips on obtaining the maximum out of ink jet printer cartridges.

Compatible Ink Jet Cartridges – Printer Calibration is Essential

For the ultimate use from an ink jet printer cartridge, make certain the printer is correctly calibrated. The majority of printers have software which permits a person to maximize the operation through adjustments. Some printer software also has a cleaning function that helps keep the tiny nozzles that deposit ink onto the paper clean. It’s also important to install the cartridge(s) correctly in the printer. Inappropriately fitted cartridges might seep out which will waste ink and create a predicament which will be tasking to clear up from inside the printer. Many Windows users will find these functions under Printers and Faxes within the Control Panel.

Compatible Ink Jet Cartridges – Other Methods to Avoid Wasting Ink

A good means by which to store up ink is to try employing “draft” as often as you can. Because the majority of software will automatically sets to “normal” or “best” quality, much ink is squandered by working your way up to the end result. In light of this, place the printer mode so that it will automatically go to draft mode and change it to a superior quality mode as you begin to print your completed copy. Swift printing is an additional gain from using draft mode. One more answer to keeping hold of your ink is to access the Print Preview selection in order to exam the completed copy. Print preview is usually a function of the software you’re using, such as a word processing or spreadsheet application. Chances are you’ll find plenty of errors to correct when you use your software’s print preview feature. Printing graphics rapidly depletes ink, so include them only when absolutely necessary. If it is necessary for you to use graphics, print with greyscale and not colour mode. Greyscale works with blank ink, so that you can save the pricier colour ink. Switch off the printer when it isn’t in use so that it doesn’t obstruct the printer head.

Compatible Ink Jet Cartridges – Switching Cartridges

An effective method for not spending a lot of money on ink jet cartridges would be to steer clear of those that are marked with the printer manufacturer’s trademark and select the type which have “compatible” listed on them Compatible cartridges are produced with the precise design that the OEMs have except they aren’t branded with the OEM manufacturer’s name. This the reason that they cost less yet are still as reliable.

While compatible ink cartridges cost less than OEMs, plenty of consumers think that applying ink cartridge maintenance practices doesn’t just save ink but is the reason they are more helpful as well.

Here’s some troubling news for my fellow World of Warcraft players. It seems that hackers, account thieves, and other miscreants have now embraced man-in-the-middle (MITM) attacks to further their evil ways. Blizzard says it’s not a widespread issue, and it’s rather difficult to pull off, but it’s something y’all should be aware of.

The deal is that WoW hackers are able to infect your PC—this is a PC-only problem, mind you, so Mac players can more or less ignore all of this—with a bit of malware that’s then able to initiate the MITM attack. The purpose of this is to intercept your login name, password, and authenticator number so that they can log into your account. Once online, they can do whatever it is you’d be able to do inside the game world: sell items, mail gold to other players, etc. They cannot, it should be noted, delete your actual account or anything like that. Still, it’s potentially devastating, selling all your epics for fast gold, then turning around and selling that gold for real money to someone else.

MITM attacks aren’t new or anything. There’s plenty of programs out there can initiate them rather easily, letting people intercept passwords, instant messages, you name it. They work in that they sit in between your PC and the server you’re trying to connect to. So, if you’re playing WoW, instead of your username and password and authenticator number going directly to Blizzard’s servers, they first go to the hacker’s rogue server, which then passes the info onto your intended server, capturing the information in the process. It’s essentially invisible to you, the end-user, which is why the attacks are so dangerous.

Blizzard has already identified the piece of malware that initiates the MITM attack, so be on the lookout for emcor.dll. Be sure to keep your anti-virus software up to date.

One final bit: the odds of you being a victim of such an attack are quite low, if only because it requires so much work for the hacker to pull off; you’d have to be hacked a the very moment he wants to break into your account, and that’s something that simply doesn’t happen. Rather, your account will be compromised on, say, Monday, but it won’t be until the following Saturday that the hacker actually access your account. And again, the worst thing that could happen with this kind of attack would be for someone to sell off your character’s items and gold, then, for good measure, delete your character—your actual account cannot be tampered with. That may be a distinction without meaning, yes.

So yeah, just be sure to keep your anti-virus software up to date, and keep your wits about you. Stay away from the shady parts of the Internet!

via wow.com

The guys behind Shanzai.com – a blog covering the very best in China and Indian shanzai products – are taking the world of shanzai online with a new crowdsourcing site called Shanzaistudios.com

Basically, its your standard crowdsourcing model or better yet “Social Production” – the site puts up a product they can manufacture in China and everyone visiting the site gets to help form the final design that gets made and sold.

While the first product is very interesting to tablet fans (a tablet bag ‘natch) its how deep they plan to go that is exciting. While in Hong Kong, I was able to chat with one of the founders and they were telling me that ultimately this is the way to get a more personalized cellphone or a tablet device, but starting smaller and building it up is their initial goal.

Said the founders:

“Actually, we see the key to success in crowdsourcing or social production as we call it is finding the right manufacturing partners who understand the business model and have the flexibility to meet the different demands of our community. This is very different approach than mass volume production but it is one that shanzai manufacturers understand instinctively because they themselves have grown by developing niche market products in small-size lots.”

Beyond the tablet bag, they are getting into LED lighting which they have direct contacts at factories in China to manufacture and they are looking to hear what the community that grows really wants to get in to. Don’t like the JooJoo or the iPad, this could be your shot to help make the one you really want.

Crowdsourcing success is going to depend on the quality of the people in the crowd. I’ve not yet seen this work in a true social way, but sites like Crowdspring.com (for logo designs), Kickstarter.com (creative projects investments) and Local-motors.com (the design of a car) are going for it in various ways.

But in a world where the dictatorship of Apple makes the most coveted products, do we need a bunch of wanabee-Jonathan Ives try to make something for a group to buy? Can a group of 10, 100 or 1,000 agree on something they would all buy?

Who’s got Mark Burnett’s number? I’ve got a reality show to pitch him.

Reader Dan of the UK sent us this image of the UK iTunes store, where things are a little more Cool Britannia, if you know what I mean.

As I said before, this is all about image in the US. We’re a delightfully prudish people, aren’t we?

If you['re| are] [looking out|searching|looking] for a [world|arena|sector] of Warcraft profession that offers you a[n opportunity| chance] to earn a decent [amount|quantity] of gold then [consider|think about] the cooking profession.  This much under valued trade offers you the [opportunity|chance] to make cooking recipes, much[ want| need|-need]ed by other players, [for|in return for] money from sales of your finished recipes at the [auction|sale] house.

A WoW Warcraft cooking guide is available to those who [want|need] to add a little [panache|style|flair] and flavo[r|ur] ( if you['ll| may| can] excuse the [pun|joke] ) to your game.  [There is no|There isn't any|There's no] dish too obscure in [WOW|world of warcraft|World of Warcraft], and you [could|may] be asking yourself, why would you w[ould like|ish|ant] to take up cooking?  Well, as explained in the World of Warcraft cooking guide it [can|could|may] also be[ very| exceedingly] [useful|helpful|handy], as food is the [technique|method|strategy] of how players heal after being in combat.

If your [character|personality] is one that [need|require]s food to [cure|heal|fix], it is [recommended|advisable|a good idea] to [coach|train] in cooking, as you[ wi|']ll be [ready|in a position|able] to get food for next to no [money|cash|money], [thus|therefore|so] always remaining healed.

As a secondary profession, WoW Cooking complements Fishing [really |very |]well.  That['s because| is due to the fact that| is because] while fishing can make you good amounts of gold, selling cooked fish is even more [rewarding|profitable|worthwhile].  Also cooked fish provides healing.  A[part|side] from fish, [just about|pretty much] anything you can cook can be sold.  Some recipes also give you some [trul|reall|ver]y good buffs during raids and other [scenario|situation|eventualitie]s.

[Once|When] you have levelling your cooking [simp|quickly and easi|efficient]ly by following this guide, you [must|should|need to] [start getting|get|start to get] into the Dalaran cooking dailies.  You can do these from 350 onwards, and they have great rewards!  For each cooking daily you get [one|at least one|1] Dalaran Cooking Award, which are used as currency for [fantastic|amazing|wonderful] recipes to help you and your party with buffs.  For more WoW cooking [system|technique|secret]s go to: WoW Cooking Guide
.