What company/companies are threating their workers better and how do you know that? I seriously want to know, not just asking to undermine your point.

Me too, I am considering to leave the macbooks (sadly) to support my principles but it is not an easy task to find a company that threat their workers better.

Because this thread is becoming heated, I am going to bow out. But before I do, I looked into how companies reacted after the 2009 Foxconn stories and based my decision on who reacted, what they admitted, and incidents associated with them since then. Remember, not all Foxconn employees are forced to work with the same chemicals or conditions. Also, Toshiba doesn't use them at all. (I went with another brand, but am walking away because the Apple fanboys are in a mood today...)

My impression is that all the laptop manufacturers have their hardware assembled by the likes of foxconn. With which company did you go?

All the large ones do, yep; laptop production is bizarrely centralized.

I am not sure you can find a fair trade laptop.

"According to a study by Oekom Research, a ratings agency with a focus on sustainable investment, 42% of consumer electronics manufacturers are guilty of violating labor rights, far worse than the next two offenders: textiles (30%) and mining (24%)."

Relevant article : http://techland.time.com/2012/01/27/will-the-world-ever-see-...

>Although Apple has amazing hardware, I had to decide if I was willing to support their practices or possibly use a machine that offered less CPUs/dollar.

That new laptop you bought was manufactured at the exact same factory where they manufactured Apple products. Good job.