今日科技速递：苹果中国代工工厂的人性化改革

只要奥巴马签署相关法案，Netflix将在2013年增加‘社交功能’ 科技博客TPM IdeaLab

    早在2011年，加拿大和拉丁美洲的Netflix用户就可以将账号与Facebook绑定，分享观影记录。不过，Netflix一直没有把这项功能引入自己的大本营——美国。这是由于1988年颁布的“视频隐私保护法案”（VPPA）。该法案禁止公司透露与用户相关的任何“个人识别信息”，例如租赁记录等，除非法律调查等特殊情况，否则将面临起诉。

苹果中国代工工厂的人性化改革 《纽约时报》

    人文关怀正在进行中。厂房里楼梯较低的天花板上安装了泡沫。嗡嗡作响的机器中加装了自动关闭装置。濮小姐得到了梦寐以求的椅子。这个秋天，她甚至还听说一些工友收到了柔软的坐垫。

    这些变化还延伸到了苹果（Apple）总部所在地加州。去年，这家电子行业巨头将企业社会责任部的员工数量增加了两倍，同时开始重新评估与代工商的关系。苹果甚至还要求竞争对手协助自己控制中国工人的过度加班，甚至一改常态，主动开始与劳工组织接触。

谷歌的移动未来已经到来 科技博客TECHCRUNCH

    那么，这与Google Now有何联系？眼镜计划（Project Glass）本质上就是Google Now加上增强现实技术以及可穿戴计算。上方视频中展示的谷歌眼睛所有功能中，唯一一项尚未在Google Now中实现的重要功能是与朋友分享位置信息。这显然已经不再是什么技术难题。但我感觉谷歌暂时之所以没有在Google Now中添加此功能是为了避免用户对该服务的隐私问题感到不安。

苹果 vs.谷歌 vs.Facebook vs.亚马逊 《华尔街日报》

    毫无疑问，这四家公司都把搜索视为吸引用户、从中获利的一大法宝。谷歌搜索法盛行多年——用户在搜索框中敲入文字进行搜索。现在，竞争对手们祭出两大秘密武器，打算对谷歌反戈一击：大力发展智能手机等移动搜索；推出一系列有好友推荐功能的搜索服务。

Netflix 'social features' coming in 2013, once president signs bill [TPM IdeaLab]

    Users in Canada and Latin America have had the ability to link Netflix and Facebook accounts and share viewed movies since 2011, but Netflix hasn't moved to offer it in its home country, the U.S., yet, due to a 1988 law — the Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA). The law prohibits companies from disclosing "personally identifiable information," including rental history, about any consumer, except in some special cases, such as for law enforcement investigations — or else they can be sued.

Signs of changes taking hold in electronics factories in China [THE NEW YORK TIMES]

    Other reforms were more personal. Protective foam sprouted on low stairwell ceilings inside factories. Automatic shut-off devices appeared on whirring machines. Ms. Pu got her chair. This autumn, she even heard that some workers had received cushioned seats.

    The changes also extend to California, where Apple is based. Apple, the electronics industry's behemoth, in the last year has tripled its corporate social responsibility staff, has re-evaluated how it works with manufacturers, has asked competitors to help curb excessive overtime in China and has reached out to advocacy groups it once rebuffed.

Google's mobile future is now [TECHCRUNCH]

    So what's the connection with Google Now? Project Glass is essentially Google Now plus augmented reality and wearable computing. Out of all of the Google Glass features you see in the video above, the only really important one that isn't implemented in Google Now yet is location sharing with your friends. That's obviously not a major technical problem anymore, but my feeling is Google is holding back from adding something like this to Now for the time being to avoid making users feel queasy about the privacy implications of the service.

Apple vs. Google vs. Facebook vs. Amazon [THE WALL STREET JOURNAL]

    Meanwhile, all four companies see search as a big opportunity for retaining and profiting off customers. While Google's paradigm of typing queries in a search box has prevailed for years, now its rivals want to undercut the Web-search giant through mobile search on smartphones and other devices, and a slew of search services that allow recommendations from friends.