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Foxconn Worker Had 16 iPhone Prototypes, Girlfriend Given MacBook
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Jrsy Devil's Advocate®
07/28/09

In reply to Foxconn Worker Had 16 iPhone Prototypes, Girlfriend Given MacBook
Well I guess I was mistaken. I didn't think his family would receive any compensation over this.

$44,000.00 isn't very much for a life though...
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taniquetil
07/27/09

In reply to Foxconn Worker Had 16 iPhone Prototypes, Girlfriend Given MacBook
"Sorry my company was involved in the suicide of your boyfriend/husband.

Here, have a free laptop. I'm sure it'll make up for all your suffering and make us realize the depth of our mistake."

Dear Foxconn and Apple,

Srysly!!??!?!?!?!?

-Me

If it were my girlfriend, I would be calling for an embargo on all Apple goods for the next 50 years and the resignation and public apology of whatever Foxconn asshat executive was involved.
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taniquetil was starred taniquetil was unstarred

MisterWho's Mystery Meat
07/27/09

@taniquetil: Most girlfriends get jack diddly squat when their bf kicks it.
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AquaVictorian(TurboTexas)
07/27/09

@MisterWho Cares: But what is Jack Diddly Squat WAS her boyfriend?
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MrBangBam promoted this comment

aviarun
07/27/09

In reply to Foxconn Worker Had 16 iPhone Prototypes, Girlfriend Given MacBook
How could laptops and money ever replace a lost life? A public apology by the CEO of Foxconn would be the best reward the family could get.
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Kaiser-Machead promoted this comment aviarun was starred aviarun was unstarred

strider_mt2k
07/27/09

In reply to Foxconn Worker Had 16 iPhone Prototypes, Girlfriend Given MacBook
This cow is still giving milk, huh?
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djtooshay
07/27/09

In reply to Foxconn Worker Had 16 iPhone Prototypes, Girlfriend Given MacBook
Is it safe to assume it was a MacBook Pro? It should be. And the higher spec'ed one, too. The person died.
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Hello Mister Walrus promoted this comment djtooshay was starred djtooshay was unstarred

Hello Mister Walrus
07/27/09

@djtooshay: Yeah, seriously. It would have really sucked if they got the normal MacBook Pro. If it was the high end model, then it would be all ok.
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PurpleMonkeyDishwasher:
07/27/09

In reply to Foxconn Worker Had 16 iPhone Prototypes, Girlfriend Given MacBook
Looks like MS will have to once again edit their commercials. You CAN get an Apple laptop for less than $1700.
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badhatharry promoted this comment

imTheKing
07/27/09

@Purple Monkey Dishwasher: god damn son. You are heartless. hahaha
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Purple Monkey Dishwasher promoted this comment imTheKing was starred imTheKing was unstarred

Bigbadbikernerd
07/27/09

@Purple Monkey Dishwasher: Holy Crap that made me spit coffee on my keyboard...damn it! That was tasteless, but funny.
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tok3ninja
07/27/09

@Purple Monkey Dishwasher: Dude.. too soon.. but I cackled.
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OCEntertainment
07/27/09

@tok3ninja: This is the internet. If it happened yesterday, it's not too soon.
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MrBangBam promoted this comment OCEntertainment was starred OCEntertainment was unstarred

Kaiser-Machead
07/27/09

@Purple Monkey Dishwasher: Your cruelty amuses me.
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frigg
07/27/09

In reply to Foxconn Worker Had 16 iPhone Prototypes, Girlfriend Given MacBook
Let's hope and pray the Macbook came preinstalled with LoJack For Laptops.
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exiteden
07/27/09

In reply to Foxconn Worker Had 16 iPhone Prototypes, Girlfriend Given MacBook
gh. Shld ths nw b Gzmd.cm/chnksdvrydy/bttslwyspplsflt
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matt buchanan promoted this comment Edited at 07/27/09 10:33 AM exiteden was starred exiteden was unstarred

exiteden
07/27/09

@exiteden: Hey, if I killed one of them would I get 7 laptops? Not in America. Assholes.
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weatherman promoted this comment exiteden was starred exiteden was unstarred

weatherman
07/27/09

@exiteden: somebody banhammer this asshat, please
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matt buchanan
07/27/09

@weatherman: Obliterated.
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Kaiser-Machead promoted this comment matt buchanan was starred matt buchanan was unstarred

Kaiser-Machead
07/27/09

@matt buchanan: Man I haven't seen a disemvoweling nigh on to 2 months. *sniff* Been so long

Why the hell do I "approve" the shitty comment below the disemvoweled and not even respond to it?
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Edited by Kaiser-Machead at 07/27/09 11:19 AM Kaiser-Machead was starred Kaiser-Machead was unstarred

LewPhoenix
07/27/09

In reply to Foxconn Worker Had 16 iPhone Prototypes, Girlfriend Given MacBook
Every prior writer about this story should be ashamed of themselves. As ususal you took part of a story and in stead of finding all the facts you made your own conclusion. Everyone wanted to hate Apple and Foxconn. No one could ever think that the guy actually did do something wrong. The world may not be a perfect place but its not that evil.

As for this threat of a boycott agains apple and or foxcann. YOU ARE ALL HIPOCRATES!!!! China is not a democracy nor a republic. You buy many of their goods already. If you stop purchasing from apple/foxconn but still continue with your notmal purchased you have changed nothing.

I am in no way going to stop purchasing goods from China. I am aware of the poor conditons their. That is why I do not live their nor an I that concerned with visitng them. In the end though, "man" has an option to work and these individuals have chosen to do so in this country. No one is forced to work.
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Hello Mister Walrus promoted this comment LewPhoenix was starred LewPhoenix was unstarred

Hello Mister Walrus
07/27/09

@LewPhoenix: You're right. In all probability, Sun's working conditions were similar to those of millions of workers in developing and third world countries. We would be hypocrites to condemn Foxconn for this incident while continuing to use hundreds of imported goods. That's just how the world works.

People here love human rights, but guess what? We love capitalism more. No one is going to throw their iPod in the trash over this, no matter how much we whine. In a couple of weeks, this whole thing will be forgotten.
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Bigbadbikernerd
07/27/09

@Hello Mister Walrus: Not to mention that if you don't buy their products, the people have to work somewhere else, and that somewhere else just might be a brothel.
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KiKadet
07/27/09

@LewPhoenix:
Hippocrates.
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MrBangBam promoted this comment KiKadet was starred KiKadet was unstarred

taniquetil
07/27/09

@Hello Mister Walrus:

Also because whining about human rights on the internet costs a grand total of zero dollars.

Whining about human rights in real life by symbolically trashing an iPod costs $200, and to even the most die-hard human-rights people, that's not a sacrifice they're willing to make.
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Hello Mister Walrus promoted this comment taniquetil was starred taniquetil was unstarred

Hello Mister Walrus
07/27/09

@taniquetil: You've just proved my point. Your comment implies that a dollar value can be assigned to principals like the appreciation of human rights.
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MrBangBam
07/27/09

@Hello Mister Walrus: I think he was agreeing with you.
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my name is jonas
07/27/09

In reply to Foxconn Worker Had 16 iPhone Prototypes, Girlfriend Given MacBook
Why would you continue to give prototypes to a worker with "a history of disappearing products" then torture the guy for "misplacing" one? This whole things sounds fishy. If they really knew he had a history of stealing or leaking prototypes he would have lost his job, and would not have been given iphone prototypes. Foxconn is making up excuses to cover their asses.

Is a human life really only worth $44k and a macbook? This is pathetic.
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The Lab promoted this comment my name is jonas was starred my name is jonas was unstarred

Steve Abbott
07/27/09

@my name is jonas: I wish I could "promote" this or "approve" it... but I am not cool enough :(

I agree wholeheartedly!

I like to think that there is more to this story than anyone outside the company will ever know.
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The Lab promoted this comment Steve Abbott was starred Steve Abbott was unstarred

The Lab
07/27/09

@my name is jonas: There are some fishy parts to the story and, as Steve said, there is probably more here than we'll ever know.

To answer your rhetorical question, the whole idea of compensating someone for the loss of a loved one is difficult at best. Our government has a renumeration calculation based on a number of factors, predominantly earning potential. So many people in the world earn so little that "fair" US compensation would be paltry at best. Therefore, there are undoubtedly billions of human lives that our government would value less than a laptop.
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I Party With Smoot
07/27/09

In reply to Foxconn Worker Had 16 iPhone Prototypes, Girlfriend Given MacBook
This is just like the time my mom got hit by that van and my dad wound up with a lifetime Bang Bus account...
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I Party With Smoot was starred

The Lab
07/27/09

@I Party With Smoot: So wrong, but then why am I laughing?
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selfprofessedgeek
07/27/09

In reply to Foxconn Worker Had 16 iPhone Prototypes, Girlfriend Given MacBook
sorry about your loss.... here's an Apple laptop!
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Margatron promoted this comment selfprofessedgeek was starred

Margatron
07/27/09

@selfprofessedgeek: "My bf committed suicide due to corporate culture and all I got was this awesome laptop."
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Edited by Margatron at 07/27/09 10:08 AM Margatron was starred Margatron was unstarred

Jrsy Devil's Advocate®
07/25/09

In reply to Foxconn iPhone Worker Sun Danyong's Final Messages
As cruel as this may sound I don't expect to see any measure of justice served here nor is Sun's family likely to be compensated in anyway for his unfortunate death.

I'm also certain if this was any product other than one from Apple this story would have been quietly and quickly swept under the rug...
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SunayanaKangaroo
07/24/09

In reply to Foxconn iPhone Worker Sun Danyong's Final Messages
How do we know that Sun actually jumped? Hell, someone could have used his phone to post any message and then pushed his ass off of the balcony. Maybe he did get scapegoated. Wait, this is Asia we're talking about and human life ain't cheap there and something like this could never happen... err.. nevermind.
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frigg approved this comment SunayanaKangaroo was starred SunayanaKangaroo was unstarred

frigg
07/24/09

@SunayanaKangaroo: For all we know he was victim of a Minority Report-like conspiracy in which he willingly or unwillingly participated in his own death to frame Foxconn. Given the stakes, you could generate 100 different Philip K. Dick stories to explain what went down in 100 different ways.
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frigg promoted this comment frigg was starred frigg was unstarred

kylenalepa
07/24/09

In reply to Foxconn iPhone Worker Sun Danyong's Final Messages
I'm torn on this whole situation. There are three parties in this situation, Foxconn, Apple, and Sun Danyong, and I think that it's still unclear as to which of the three is responsible for Sun Danyong's death.

We've seen allegations that Foxconn uses force in their dealings with their employees. AFAIK, we haven't seen proof one way or the other. Physical reprimanding aside, I think it's clear that security and confidentiality at Foxconn is taken very seriously.

The reason it's taken so seriously is because Apple is a notoriously secretive company. Leaks of Apple products are exceedingly rare and one could argue that the reason for that is that Apple has made it a part of their corporate identity that leaks are unacceptable. As another commenter said, the leaks by Chinese case manufacturers of iPhone 3G prototypes may have resulted in Apple taking a more aggressive stance with their manufacturing partners in China regarding upcoming products.

The final piece in the puzzle is Sun Danyong. Ultimately, he's the one that chose to end his own life. However, what was the source of the pressure that resulted in him feeling that suicide was the only option? Was it Foxconn, whose relationship with Apple may have been permanently damaged as a result of the missing prototype? Was it Apple, whose emphasis on secrecy made a misplaced or stolen prototype a much bigger offense that it might have been at a different company? Did Sun Danyong have any mental issues that caused him to make an irrational choice when faced with what happened? Or was it Chinese culture itself, where suicide has traditionally been viewed as a means to regain one's honor when they have committed an offense?

I don't think we'll ever know for sure, but the fact of the matter is that a young man is dead that shouldn't be, and his loss should be mourned.
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Mingdaking
07/26/09

@kylenalepa: Chinese culture doesn't see suicide as a means to regain honor...that's Japanese...
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kylenalepa promoted this comment Mingdaking was starred Mingdaking was unstarred

kylenalepa
07/27/09

@Mingdaking, @Sean Su: Yeah, I thought it was only Japanese at first, but because a lot of Japanese culture originated from China, I checked it out (admittedly, on Wikipedia) and suicide in China has been viewed at some time as a means to escape shame (I mistakenly wrote "regain honor" in my original post).

"Chinese culture has historically taken an ambivalent view on suicide. It has been commonly mentioned throughout Chinese history and frequently tolerated, if not explicitly sanctioned. It is frequently used as a means of escaping tragedy and shame, an especially strong pressure given the collective aspects of traditional Chinese culture." (emphasis added)

Source: Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_views_of_suicide#China)
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Edited by kylenalepa at 07/27/09 10:39 AM kylenalepa was starred kylenalepa was unstarred

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