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Apple couldn't deliver on the much-hyped promise of forced Chinese labor, reporting that the company found pretty decent conditions at the Foxconn factories that make its iPods. The only real problem was some excessive overtime:

"We did find that the weekly limit on hours worked was exceeded 35 percent of the time, and so the supplier is changing its policy as a result of the audit," an Apple spokesman, Steve Dowling, said. Apple said it limits the workweek to 60 hours, with at least one day off.

Over 60 hours, over 35 percent of the time? Hell, that's half the time the average Apple engineer puts in. Have you ever tried to arrange dinner with one of these people? "Well, I'll finish work at eight, so I can squeeze in an hour before I do a project at home."

Apple Finds No Forced Labor at iPod Factory in South China [NYT]