unions

A group of Apple retail store employees is working to form a union to fight for better wages and combat what it says is "unfair treatment" from the company.

Macworld, along with several other media outlets were contacted earlier today by a group calling itself the "Apple Retail Workers Union." The group, the size of which is unknown, currently has a simple placeholder Web site with the quote "At Apple, our most important resource, our soul, is our people. Our Time Has Come," on its front page, along with a feedback form for other … Read more

The cost of broadband globally has dropped around 50 percent in the past two years, according to data out this week by the International Telecommunications Union, but such access is still beyond the income of many around the world.

As individuals may still be getting hit with high bills for broadband Internet, the ITU said that the overall drop was driven by decreases in developing countries, where broadband fell on average by 52 percent the past two years. That compares with price drops of just 35 percent in more developed nations.

The ITU noted, however, that even with the lower … Read more

Sony and Apple could face a backlash from EU data protection officials following recent privacy-related issues surrounding their flagship products.

During a speech earlier today in Brussels, Belgium, European Union Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding noted that both companies needed to rebuild customer trust, saying "those in charge have to take the relevant technical and organizational measures to guarantee protection against data loss or an unjustified access."

The speech, which was covered by Bloomberg, comes days after Sony's announcement that as many as 100 million user accounts were exposed as part of an attack targeting its PlayStation Network … Read more

"They've got a man up there. It's Gagarin."

With those fictionalized words (see video below), spoken by actor Jeff Goldblum in Philip Kaufman's terrific 1983 screen adaptation of Tom Wolfe's "The Right Stuff," millions of viewers were ushered into the era of manned space flight.

Goldblum's harried alert to a roomful of top American policymakers represents just a little of the reaction in the United States to what happened 50 years ago today, on April 12, 1961, when 27-year-old Flight Major Yuri Gagarin, who was born on a collective farm west of Moscow … Read more

In a somewhat ironic twist, Microsoft said this evening that it will file a formal complaint against Google tomorrow with European antitrust regulators.

Microsoft, which itself has been the subject of several antitrust probes in the United States and abroad, argues that Google is engaging in anticompetitive behavior in search, online advertising, and smartphone software, Microsoft general counsel Brad Smith wrote in a blog explaining the action.

"Google has done much to advance its laudable mission to 'organize the world's information,' but we're concerned by their broadening pattern of conduct--including walling off access to content and data--that … Read more

As Japan grapples with a nuclear reactor crisis in the aftermath of the devastating earthquake and tsunami, many in the U.S. have been wondering about the safety of nuclear power plants closer to home.

In a well-timed report issued yesterday, the Union of Concerned Scientists examines a number of incidents and "near-misses" at plants in the United States in 2010 and gives the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission mixed reviews on its role as the nation's nuclear safety inspector.

The timing of the report is also significant as it coincided with President Obama's announcement yesterday … Read more

Links from Thursday's episode of Loaded:

Motorola will sell the Wi-Fi-only Xoom for $599.

The European Union is going to revamp its 16-year-old online privacy laws.

Apple changes in-app purchase protocol so that any additional purchases require a password.

Samsung releases a new line of laptops for students and office workers.

Google updates collaboration messaging within Google Docs.

Despite all the warnings about using a cell phone behind the wheel, many drivers, especially younger ones, still seem to be clueless about the danger, or willing to risk it anyway.

A majority of 63 percent of people under 30 admitted to using a cell phone while driving in the past 30 days, according to the results of a poll released yesterday by Consumer Reports as part of a story for its April issue. Further, 30 percent of those also said they texted behind the wheel during the same period.

Those numbers compare with 41 percent of those over 30 … Read more