Linked List: October 3, 2016

Monday, 3 October 2016

Washington Post Feature on Cobalt Mining in the Congo 

Terrific feature by The Washington Post on the treacherous small-scale mining for cobalt — an essential component of lithium-ion batteries — in the Congo. Here’s a bit on Apple’s role:

Apple, in response to questions from The Post, acknowledged that this cobalt has made its way into its batteries. The Cupertino, Calif.-based tech giant said that an estimated 20 percent of the cobalt it uses comes from Huayou Cobalt. Paula Pyers, a senior director at Apple in charge of supply-chain social responsibility, said the company plans to increase scrutiny of how all its cobalt is obtained. Pyers also said Apple is committed to working with Huayou Cobalt to clean up the supply chain and to addressing the underlying issues, such as extreme poverty, that result in harsh work conditions and child labor.

The whole story is fascinating and incredibly well-reported and illustrated. But you must watch the video shot by a creuseur (French for “digger”) descending into one of the mines. It’s so clearly dangerous and profoundly claustrophobic, I found it hard to breathe while watching.

Nick Bilton on Twitter as an Acquisition 

Nick Bilton, writing for The Hive:

What happens next to Twitter is anyone’s guess. But I do know that, for the first time, Twitter now has a Plan B. A few months ago, while reporting a feature story about the future on the company for Vanity Fair, I asked a number of executives what might happen if Dorsey, who seemed like a Hail Mary option, couldn’t turn Twitter around. What was Plan B, I asked them? “There is no Plan B,” I was told. “This is it.”

I admired their fortitude, but there was no denying that an acquisition had to be the next option on the table. And one executive humored me in a guessing game about who the dream buyer might be. But after I ticked off all the usual suspects — Yahoo, Google, Facebook, Apple, Microsoft — that tried to buy Twitter years ago, in one way or another, I was met with the same resounding answer: “no.”

“Then who?” I asked this executive.

To which the executive replied, elusively, “It’s a small world after all.”

The Microsoft Band Is Dead 

Chris Welch, writing for The Verge:

In a statement earlier this month, Microsoft insisted that it remains “deeply committed to supporting our customers and exploring the wearables space.” (HoloLens is technically a wearable, after all.) At the time, Microsoft also noted that the Band 2 was still actively being sold — but that’s no longer the case as of today. The Band’s software development kit, which allowed apps to be created for the device, has also been removed. Also in September, the company renamed its smartphone health app to Microsoft Band; that software remains available for existing users.

Honestly, I’d pretty much forgotten that the Band even existed. I think it was obviously a hobby for Microsoft, not a major initiative, but still, this is what a flop looks like.