The Good NET Guide

Posts Tagged ‘ethical’

Following up on our story about the hilariously absurd use of goats to mow the lawns around Google’s headquarters instead of lawnmowers, we were able to get a comment from PETA, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. PETA is okay with letting the goats be goats (eating grass and looking cute), but they have some major concerns about how they’ll be treated in doing these tasks.

Says Amy Cook, an Assistant Manager of Marketing for PETA:

PETA has no problem with letting goats do what goats want to do (e.g., look cute and eat weeds), but we do have concerns about how the goats may be transported, whether they are provided with access to shelter during storms and shade as well as water during hot weather, where they are housed when they aren’t “working,” what kind of veterinary care they receive, and what becomes of old and/or excess goats. PETA has found over and over that whenever animals are used by a business to make money, corners are cut and animals often suffer as a result. And that really gets our goat, if you’ll pardon the pun.

You think Google, with its “don’t be evil” mantra, would be kind to the goats. But then again, they have been cutting food supplies to employees during tough times, so you have to wonder if the goats would be left without an ample supply of water as well. Also, veterinary care seems like one of those goat perks that might be on Google’s cost-cutting checklist.

But you never know. I’m going to reach out to Google for comment.

Update: And here’s the response from Niki Fenwick, a Google representative:

Google takes the wellness of our employees very seriously and we pride ourselves on having a responsive and adaptable culture. The lawn-mowing goats are not, of course, full-time Google employees - but we would certainly respond directly to any concerns about their treatment. I can confirm that during their time in Mountain View, like other Google employees, each goat is entitled to a free organic lunch.

Love me some organic salad, hope the goats do too.

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Last month, Sookie Solutions got the bad news that its iPhone app, Peekababe, was getting rejected from the App Store. The reason? Excessive sexual content. Well today, it’s here, sexy as ever.

Here’s the gist: The app features pictures of several women wearing clothes. You can swipe from side to side to get different women/clothes combinations. But if you touch the screen, those clothes magically dissolve leaving you with a bikini or lingerie-clad lady. You can then set these girls as your wallpaper.

Yes, it’s kind of silly in a juvenile way, but the real story is that Apple first rejected the app, then later accepted it. Perhaps this is another sign of easing restrictions on the App Store. After all, the app seems to do basically the exact same thing it did before. But it also appears to be yet another tale of the app approval process causing confusion. “It took us close to 1 month to get approved. The approval standards should be more specific and easier to understand. You will see that our app content is very similar to already approved apps’ content,” developer Alan Bigio tells us.

He goes on, “One thing that you may want to suggest is that Apple sets up a pre-approval process where developers send an idea, and Apple can accept it or reject it before developers waste time. In the long run this could even benefit Apple, because too often they have their employees wasting time with apps that get reject for very simple things.” That’s an interesting idea, certainly with developers getting increasingly annoyed by the uneven app approval process, it seems like something needs to be done.

So why did Apple approve the app this time? Well it may be because Sookie now includes a 12+ rating for it. “My rating was based on the guidelines that they have for the iTunes store. Better to be safe than sorry,” Bigio says. There is also a clear note saying that it does not contain any nude or pornographic pictures. 12+ is kind of funny though. Something tells me a lot of parents wouldn’t want their 12-year-old playing with this app.

There have been plenty of other “sexy” apps that have appeared the App Store over time, including iStrip, MagicPen, Wobble and Bikini Babes. But Peekababe seems to have the clearest images and is definitely one of the most blatantly sexual yet. And watch out, because in the next version, you’ll get a sexy cowgirl, a hot nurse, and “many more babes too!,” the app promises. Check out the video below to see it in action. The app is $0.99 in the App Store.

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