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National Semiconductor gives all 8,500 employees 30GB video-capable Apple iPods

Monday, June 12, 2006 · 6:29 pm · 47 Comments

National Semiconductor Corporation capped off its most successful fiscal year in history today by equipping every one of its 8,500 employees with a 30-gigabyte video iPod. While designed for personal entertainment, the popular Apple MP3 player will be used as a new training and communications tool at National, providing a convenient real-time method for employees to download National podcasts and other employee communications.

“We’re looking for new and more effective ways to communicate with our employees — and the iPods will help us do both,” said Brian L. Halla, National’s chairman and CEO, in the press release.

National announced record operating profits and gross margin Thursday when it announced its Q4 and fiscal year 2006 financial results. The Company’s 1,600 Santa Clara employees celebrated the milestones at National’s annual employee picnic Friday afternoon. Halla announced the Company’s iPod communications program at the picnic.

The analog integrated circuits that National designs, manufactures, markets and sells provide portable devices (such as the iPod) with longer battery life, sharp images and crystal clear sound.

“Our employees were vital contributors to our most successful year in National’s 47-year history, and we wanted to equip them with the tools to help us create more value for our customers,” said Halla. “The Apple iPod exemplifies the next stage of the consumer electronics revolution as content such as downloadable music, movies and digital photos –as well as a compelling user experience– takes center stage. And, it’s analog that makes the difference. This is where National, and our employees, deliver value to our customers.”

Additional company and product information is available at ]http://www.national.com]

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Comment Feed

47 Comments

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☛ Mac Dude™

Monday, June 12, 2006 - 9:50 pm · Reply

Lets get this straight right now!!

I’m not “Nick”.

But it’s nice to see a fellow troll regardless.

Stir up hell NICK!!!

nickie dickie, hehehehe old habits die hard.
mike

Monday, June 12, 2006 - 9:57 pm · Reply

It’s a massive plant in China that houses 200,000 workers. They work 15 hour days and are not allowed visitors. Isn’t outsourcing wonderful? Let’s hear it for the bottom line!

—–

Um, ever heard of the SLAVE TRADE? America’s built on the backs of underpaid, low skill workers. What’s your point?
Matrix3

Monday, June 12, 2006 - 9:57 pm · Reply

@Nick
- Actually your statement:
“so you are saying that if we outsource as many American jobs that we can, it will keep prices down for low income American workers. Brilliant.”

Is correct.

The prices at Walmart would be two to three times higher if they didn’t FORCE price down by using off shore manufacturing.

So for the basics that are found at Walmart- it is saving money for low income workers who would have paid much, much more for the same items if not for foreign manufacturing.
The problem is long-term – where are the jobs going to come from if not for manufacturing?
matrix3

Monday, June 12, 2006 - 10:06 pm · Reply

@Nick
- Are you the same posted on the “Norway Gives Apple Until June 21 to Change iTunes Store Terms”?

If you are – you just advocated Apple should reduce it’s prices for iPods/ Computer Hardware.

Guess what – where do you think those reductions are going to come from? It’s coming from Labor.

If @Nick isn’t the same poster I appologize.
And if you’re not – here’s an example of why Companies are using foreign/off-shore factories.
God

Monday, June 12, 2006 - 10:08 pm · Reply

Nick — Stop living like a horse with blinders on. Try and, you know, see the whole picture!

Maria is right — you’re only trying to feel like a “hero”, but most of us on this board already know what you’re pointing out. And Matrix3 is correct — those wages and standards are actually bery good: FOR CHINA!!!!!!

So, Apple’s basically still playing the good citizen, at least as much as it can whilst staying competitive.

Here’s your word for the day: Context.

Look it up.
Satan

Monday, June 12, 2006 - 10:27 pm · Reply

Nick’s an asshole.
Ampar

Monday, June 12, 2006 - 10:45 pm · Reply

And how many employees got stock options?
Nick

Tuesday, June 13, 2006 - 12:35 am · Reply

Ok, I’ve been thinking about this for a while and talking with my friends about it, and I’ve got it.

Apple should offer a “made in the USA” iPod. It would cost more, maybe $50 or even $100 – whatever Apple could manage while making a reasonable profit. It would be offered so that people who are lucky enough to be able to afford the extra cost AND who wanted to support domestic jobs enough would have a choice.

I never suggested that we pull out of China (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Straw_man), but it would be so cool if people could choose to buy “made the USA” electronics if they had the money and the notion.

This isn’t about hate, racism, clasism, whatever. I just resent it when I don’t even have a choice to support my local economy. I’ll bet you anything that if a “made in the USA” iPod was made available for $50 or even $100 extra, people would buy it. I would. I think that many well-to-do people with big shiny SUVs and American flag stickers would too.
Luc

Tuesday, June 13, 2006 - 12:59 am · Reply

Nick,

Anybody opening his mouth just based on an article without proper background given in it, should first go back to college and learn a bit about reading up the facts and checking them before taking them for true.

For many years now, I’ve been of the opinion that, to judge a country, it’s rules and regulations, it’s habits and it’s culture, you have to be there and experience it. I’ve done that ever since I’ve been working, in Singapore, Scotland, the Netherlands, Turkey, USA and now Thailand.

It opened my eyes from the very first day being overseas!

Now, for China, been there many times, Longhua, indeed close to Hong Kong, is one of those places where income is very low according to our standards, but:
in a place where a meal cost less then USD 0.10
where most people live with all their family in one house
(sharing the cost of living and reducing it 10-fold!)
where income is still shared between all family-members
(often 4 or 5 earning income supporting a total of 10 or more people)
where an apartment is not more than a 2 room flat with a toilet/shower but considered to be sufficient by all standards

US$ 50,00 is a very generous salary!

Shanghai is a far more expensive area to live, exactly the reason why the difference in salary is so big.
Now, most of these people are also not bothered for paying tax. Across Asia, most people are tax-exempt. That is a simple measure of the government to keep income low and their country competitive.

Another thing overlooked, even in countries like Thailand, where income has a minimum by law of USD 4.69 p/day in Bangkok (but lower in the provinces!), companies are still using labour from neighbouring countries because they are paid even lower still! How incredible does that sound to you?

It is not only facts, it is a lot more that you have to look at. All these people are working hard yes, but 15hours a day does not happen without extra-time payments and other conditions. For them to have meals and housing is a luxury that provides a net salary that is high by local standards.

Visited Mektec here in Thailand 2 weeks ago. Guess what? Only female workers there. Nothing else because they are better skilled and more precise at their work. (Mektec is an electronics parts assembler)
Luc

Tuesday, June 13, 2006 - 1:10 am · Reply

Some more, why not.

Construction industry, always a temporary construction site, here is where you find all the odd-labor, the people that work for absolute minimum wages.

Now, their housing normally consists of written-off 40ft containers, doors and windows cut out and stacked 3 high with platforms inbetween.
No aircon, 10 people per container, shared toilet/shower, etc. etc.

These are local building companies, working with local standards! Are these workers in a clean environment, with that wage, housing paid for, worse off than those construction workers? Nope, by far the better pick is the factory.

You can’t imagine living in a room with 4 other people on a US 50,00 wage, but you also can’t imagine that you can buy a meal outside for US 0.10 or less. It’s all about the complete picture, not just one or two parts of it.
Nick

Tuesday, June 13, 2006 - 3:00 am · Reply

Luc:

I appreciate your mature and polite tone, but I’m more interested in preserving American jobs than I am in Chinese labor reform. It’s really none of my business how China decides to set its laws.

I would like to have the option of paying extra to get USA-made goods though. It’s like when I go to the grocery store: I can buy chicken eggs at $1.25 a dozen that come from hormone-injected chickens that are raised de-beaked in small cages, or I can (and do) buy chicken eggs for $3.75 per dozen that come from chickens raised on a farm, roaming around and raised drug-free. I don’t have to be smug about it – crap, they’re just chicken eggs – but I like being able to support business done well.

I would feel really good about paying an extra $100 for an iPod that was made in the USA, since I’m fortunate enough to be able to afford it. I think many other Americans would feel good about it too. It might not seem to make economic sense in the short-term, but I believe that every little bit helps.
Luc

Tuesday, June 13, 2006 - 4:13 am · Reply

Hey NIck,

You’re either up late or awake early, either way, nice to see a response.

I agree on your eggs-example as such, but preserving American jobs by getting production back to the USA shows a very limited view to me.
For me it is almost certainly a mistake of USA-government… The government has to provide a framework that pushes the economy in a certain direction and maintaining it’s healthiness and growth. Now, for a highly developed country like the USA, that direction (bar some specialized industries) is away from production, there is no escaping from that.

The USA, like many other ‘first world countries’, have developed into a service-sector only economy. All development, all logistics, all design, basically all high-paid jobs are done in the USA, outsourcing the low-paid ones to other countries.
If the government has a deficit in low-wage labour versus low-paid jobs, then there has been a structural mistake in economic & social development.
How can you solve that? Manufacturers can’t by themselves! Though you seem a bit idealistic (nothing bad at all), most of your country’s people will not or can not be like that. So what’s going to happen? No need to explain that I guess.

The USD 100,00 that you like to spend extra on a USA-produced iPod would be better spent donating it on scholing-projects for those low-wage job-seekers, providing an opportunity to move up the ladder.

Fact is that the USA-government has dropped the ball on that. They’ve cut back on scholing while low-wage jobs disappeared. Instead of scholing they’ve tried to close the borders, but in an international community, where worldwide trade is common practice even for small manufactures, as a country, you can’t do that anymore without getting punished.

Fair practice would mean open border for trade so that all countries have a fair chance to get work for their people to earn proper living. Again, the USA like many other countries easily forget about it and even at this moment they are still cutting back on education-budgets and all, unwilling to solve the real problems behind all this.

I am more of a realist, work with what you have and not with what you like to have. Seen people all around the world, somehow making ends meet. Asia opens your eyes in many ways, community still means community here.

Read up on the King of Thailand if you like. He brought a lot of good values and ideas to Thailand exactly doing that, working with what is available. Promoting small scale, self sufficient economics. Thai people first, promoting/developing it’s roots, it’s strengths.
Very inspirational man, very interesting read on his life.

Cheers,
Luc
d

Tuesday, June 13, 2006 - 4:33 am · Reply

Lots of crybaby, yellow belly libs posting. ‘Wahhh, the government won’t solve my problems, waaah, I am a vicitm of eveybody and everything, waahhh.’

Goddamed cry babies. You candyasses have no idea whatsoever what hardship is.
Luc

Tuesday, June 13, 2006 - 5:05 am · Reply

try me…
Bartsimpsonhead

Tuesday, June 13, 2006 - 6:56 am · Reply

From my (English) point of view, your whole “buy American” campaign is quite laughable.

Firstly, could American factorys make products any better than countries in other parts of the world?
Er, possibly not. Then the reputaton of US made, more-expensive products which often break down would drive people to seek out products made it other countries.

Remember, people buy Japanese cars because they are far more reliable than American ones – this is why GM and Ford are can’t sell enough cars to make good profits (that, and welfare packages demanded by the unions which the companys can’t match any more).

Would the bosses of the companys making the products in the US pay good wages to attract US workers?
Er, probably not. They’d just pay their workers the minimum wage, so that they can make as much profit as if the product was made abroad.
And of course, if you paying minimmum wage, your going to attract and employ a largly black/hispanic workforce, which is going to attract more people into America from Mexico/Porto Rico/Cuba, etc. Illegals?

As Luc said, America operates on a ‘service industry’ basis and no longer has the infrastructure to operate a manufacturing industry…
To Nick

Tuesday, June 13, 2006 - 7:11 am · Reply

Nick,

Got your point,

So you are now no longer buying any stuff that is made by slave-labor in communist China?

If you do, you are to blame for this situation, not Apple.
the Realist

Tuesday, June 13, 2006 - 8:19 am · Reply

his argument is still better than yours.
BustingTheSkullsOfIdiots

Tuesday, June 13, 2006 - 9:08 am · Reply

Hmm. I think it’s funny to hear people (especially moronic bigoted Brits) slamming off on America as not having any industrial base anymore. You do realize that a goodly number of those Japanese cars are built in the U.S, right? You do realize that a lot of manufacturing takes place on a local level with car shops, fabrication shops, and so forth? If you want something done custom, where do you go? You either build it yourself (American ingenuity) or you pay someone else to do it (American ingenuity). You can’t buy it online or overseas.

You do know that Glad (for just one example) makes all their stuff in America, and so does Wahl, right? As far as American car quality, you do know that Cadillac is pretty much near the top, right? And you have seen the latest Mustangs and Chargers, right? (Ford is dead and so is Dodge — right.)

Sure, there are some problems but the biggest one is the huge tax burden that Americans and businesses face. I’m talking Medicare + SSN + insurance. That cost is what makes American businesses uncompetative. Europeans are also finding this out. So don’t smirk, you idiotic Brit. Your businesses are just as outsourced (hello Cambridge electronics)!
Big Al

Tuesday, June 13, 2006 - 10:44 am · Reply

Nick,

These don’t look like American jobs to me. They look like Chinese jobs. America with it’s rampant unionism cannot compete anymore on the world stage. Just ask GM about that. If you are not going to get rid of the unions then trade barriers are your only way out. No wonder Unionists are anti-globalization.

Asian workers deserve jobs just as much as American workers do. If you don’t like goods made off shore then buy American. Good luck finding electronic goods made in the USA. Good luck finding any quality good made in the USA at a competitive world price. Americans will not buy junk at the world price even if it is made in the USA. Americans will not buy good stuff at a higher price just because it is made in the USA. Check out the nearest Walmart if you don’t believe me.

Something is terribly wrong with your system if you can’t find decent American made goods at the world price. Complaining about off shore workers making less money per hour is just ludicrous. Just anti-globalization bullshit.
Charko

Tuesday, June 13, 2006 - 11:37 am · Reply

China Guy!

You silly prick.
You think they’re LUCKY!!
Wake up man!
They have the choice between starvation and slave labour.
There’s enough information about the conditons of Chinese factory workers on and off line.
Read it please!
I can’t believe you’re so cruel – I hope just misguided.