The Curse of the iPhone 4

Apple founder's character questioned by many interviewees

(NEWSER) - Steve Jobs had an FBI file, assembled during a 1991 background check when Jobs was being considered for an appointment by George HW Bush, and the agency has just made it public after a FOIA request from the Wall Street Journal . Read all 191 pages here , or check out highlights below from the Journal and Gawker :

• Jobs' past drug use is a frequent topic in the file, but interviewees seem to agree that he had left that lifestyle behind him.
• One man calling himself a former "good friend" of Jobs said that the Apple founder is "basically … honest and trustworthy," but that "his moral character is suspect." Jobs, the man continued, "alienated a large number of people at Apple, as a result of his ambition."
• Another source did not want to discuss Jobs, due to "questions concerning his ethics and morality."

Cook rejects charges that company overlooks working conditions

(NEWSER) - Accusations that Apple overlooks serious safety issues with its suppliers are "patently false and offensive," said company CEO Tim Cook in an email to Apple employees, reports Reuters . Cook's email, excerpted at 9to5mac.com , came after a scathing article in the New York Times about factory working conditions at Chinese suppliers. "What we will not do—and never have done—is stand still or turn a blind eye to problems in our supply chain," said Cook. "On this you have my word." More»

Chinese suppliers are supposed to adhere to a code of conduct ... but most don't

(NEWSER) - The news that the Chinese workers who pump out Apple's iPads and iPhones suffer fairly awful working conditions gets a new and very long look in today's New York Times , in an article sourced from Apple's own audits of its suppliers, along with interviews with some 40 current and ex-employees. The Times begins by recounting the real human cost: Poisonous chemicals and explosions have injured more than 200 in the last two years, and killed four. And though current and former Apple execs say the company has focused on improving factories and issued a supplier code of conduct in 2005, more than 50% of the hundreds of suppliers Apple has audited in the last four years have violated at least one part of that code, according to Apple's own reports. More»

Asia provides workers, flexibility that US can't match

(NEWSER) - Last year, President Obama asked Steve Jobs whether iPhones could be made in the US instead of Asia. Jobs was blunt: “Those jobs aren’t coming back." The New York Times takes a long look at why. In short, Asia has a surplus of engineers and factory workers who work cheaply in flexible companies—so flexible that one reportedly roused thousands of workers at midnight to produce redesigned iPhones on a massive scale. Says a former White House adviser: “If it’s the pinnacle of capitalism, we should be worried.” More»

Company received legal threats from Apple, Jobs family

(NEWSER) - The company behind the eerily lifelike Steve Jobs action figure has killed the project after receiving complaints and threats of legal action from Apple and the Jobs family. Officials from the Hong Kong firm In Icon say that while they believe the $100 doll does not violate copyright laws because it doesn't come with likenesses of any Apple products, they have no wish to offend the family of the late Apple chief, the Los Angeles Times reports. More»