MacRumors:

Tim Cook’s second CharityBuzz auction, for a one hour lunch meeting with Cook at Apple’s Cupertino headquarters, ended today at $330,001. Bids for this year’s auction were quite a bit more reserved than the coffee charity meeting Cook auctioned last year, which brought in $610,000.

The money earned from the auction will benefit the RFK Center for Justice & Human Rights, a charity that aims to achieve “a just and peaceful world by partnering with human rights leaders, teaching social justice and advancing corporate responsibility.”

The winner of the auction will be able to meet with Tim Cook for approximately one hour at Apple’s Cupertino campus, on a “mutually agreed upon date.” The cost of the meal is included, but travel to Cupertino must be paid by the auction winner.

Obviously, this is about the charity, but lunch with Tim Cook at Apple HQ is something I’d treasure for a lifetime.

Samsung Electronics Co. officially apologized and promised compensation Wednesday over the sufferings and deaths of its semiconductor workers from illnesses that family members claim are work-related.

“Several workers at our production facilities suffered from leukemia and other incurable diseases, which also lead to some deaths,” said Kwon Oh-hyun, the CEO of the electronics giant.

“We should have settled the issue earlier, and we are deeply heartbroken that we failed to do so and express our deep apology,” Kwon said. He added that Samsung will now make efforts to settle the issue in a sincere manner.

Wow.

This is a pretty astonishing trick. From the original paper:

This is accomplished using a novel combination of binary compatibility techniques including two new mechanisms: compile-time code adaptation, and diplomatic functions. Compile-time code adaptation enables existing unmodified foreign source code to be reused in the domestic kernel, reducing implementation effort required to support multiple binary interfaces for executing domestic and foreign applications.

Diplomatic functions leverage per-thread personas, and allow foreign applications to use domestic libraries to access proprietary software and hardware interfaces. We have built a Cider prototype, and demonstrate that it imposes modest performance overhead and runs unmodified iOS and Android applications together on a Google Nexus tablet running the latest version of Android.

Some thoughts on this. First, since the binaries are not converted into Android binaries, there’s a level of interpretation going on. Meaning, at run time decisions are being made to call a different set of functions than the normal functions. This adds overhead, which means the whole experience is slower than a true native app. From the brief glimpse the students have given into the project (a project description, rather than a look at the code), it’s hard to say how efficient this process can get.

This is a proof-of-concept and not a true working solution. There’s no support for things like GPS, camera, phone, etc. Those critical elements might prove impossible to support.

There are the political questions. Will Apple allow such a thing to exist in the wild? Is there a legal path that lets them stop this technology? If this technology did emerge in a useful way, would this help expand the reach of iOS or provide Android with a mechanism to hinder the sale of iOS devices – Why buy an iOS device when you can buy an Android device and run both OSes?

Finally, I have to wonder if Apple has a skunkworks project somewhere that is trying to run Android on an iPad. Now that would be a nightmare to maintain.

TidBITS:

If you already have an Apple TV, I see no reason to rush out and buy a Fire TV, unless you want easier access to Amazon content. Of course, there’s nothing stopping you from having both a Fire TV and an Apple TV, if they’re within your budget and you have enough TV/receiver inputs.

In the end, I think the most important thing to realize about the Fire TV, and something that most reviews have missed, is that the Fire TV is merely Amazon’s opening salvo.

Good comparison between the two devices and, more importantly, services.

Sometimes we think too much in terms of how our tech gadgets are designed and not enough about how everything is designed. Om Malik has a few for us to look at.

Castro can now automatically play the next episode in your timeline. You can change the sort order of the timeline and have complete control over whether episodes will be streamed over cellular data or not.

Castro uses a new pitch shift algorithm which makes podcasts sound incredibly good when played at fast or slow speeds. No other podcast app sounds this good.

Nice app.

There are demos of each under the explanations.

I just read the linked article about the worst movie on IMDb (as of May 1st). The movie is called Gunday (here’s the IMDb link). As the story goes, Gunday’s low rating is the result of a marketing misstep and not a true indicator of it’s aesthetic or enjoyability:

“Gunday,” which came out of the huge Bollywood studio Yash Raj Films in February, isn’t that bad. There are a few large plot holes and unconvincing character motivations, but the dance sequences are top-notch, the costumes are fun, and Irrfan Khan’s portrayal of a world-weary policeman is as good as his fans have come to expect. In India, it’s the top-grossing February movie in Bollywood history. The New York Times’ Rachel Saltz ended her review of “Gunday” by calling it “downright enjoyable.” RogerEbert.com gave it three out of four stars. Variety called it “a boisterous and entertaining period crime drama.”

But the film made a misstep that has doomed it to the bottom of the IMDb pile. “Gunday” offended a huge, sensitive, organized and social-media-savvy group of people who were encouraged to mobilize to protest the movie by giving it the lowest rating possible on IMDb. Of “Gunday’s” ratings, 36,000 came from outside the U.S., and 91 percent of all reviewers gave it one star. The next lowest-rated movie on IMDb — 1.8 stars overall — has a more even distribution of ratings, with only 71 percent of reviewers giving it one star. The evidence suggests the push to down-vote “Gunday” was successful, and that shows just how vulnerable data can be, especially when it’s crowdsourced.

And this is the problem with crowd-sourced sites like IMDb. Is it fair to change even one “1 star” review in this system? Do you mark the movie with an asterisk to let people know that there might be something fishy with the data?

This is the nature of allowing people to vote. Some votes are votes of protest. Some people value cinematography above all else. Others accentuate plot. In this case, voters value a specific political point. Bumps in the data make crowd-sourcing interesting and, perhaps, less dependable.

Personally, I get a little thrill every time I find a little gold nugget of a movie that I really love but which is poorly rated on crowd sourced sites. One of my favorite examples is The Big Picture, directed by Christopher Guest and starring Kevin Bacon with some great cameos by Martin Short, John Cleese, Richard Belzer, and others. The Big Picture spent most of its life rated in the high fives or low sixes, but I found it incredibly enjoyable.

Your mileage may vary. And that’s the beauty of it.

Reuters:

The case underlines the battle between advocates of free expression and supporters of privacy rights, who say people should have the “right to be forgotten” meaning that they should be able to remove their digital traces from the Internet.

The ruling by the Luxembourg-based European Union Court of Justice (ECJ) came after a Spanish man complained to the Spanish data protection agency that an auction notice of his repossessed home on Google’s search results infringed his privacy.

The case is one of 180 similar cases in Spain whose complainants want Google to delete their personal information from the Web. The company says forcing it to remove such data amounts to censorship.

Bottom line, the ruling says that if a search on your name results in a link to a site, you have the right to ask that that link be removed from the search results. Presumably, your request will be granted, now by law, if the link reveals personal info that you do not want made public.

This has big ramifications. Will Google, Yahoo, etc. appeal? I suspect they will. If this ruling stands, will it make its way to the US and other jurisdictions? Tough call.

That is just an insane amount of money.

You can also check out Part 1 of this series, which was published last December.

Re/code:

It took me a while to get into Internet-based “streaming” music services. But I’ve finally warmed up to the idea that music files don’t have to be something that I physically possess.

And streaming music services have finally gotten to the point where they offer enough value to offset the occasional interruptions in play or the intrusive ads.

I’ve been exploring some of the lesser-known features of streaming music services like Pandora, Spotify, iTunes Radio and Beats Music. (Beats, of course, may soon be acquired by Apple for $3.2 billion.) There’s a handful of others out there, including Rdio, Songza, Google Play Music and iHeartRadio, but the first four I mentioned are the ones I focused on for this column.

Do you use streaming music services? Which ones? What do you like/dislike about them?

Imagine if poring over your finances were as easy as using your favorite app, or smartphone. – “The Apple of finance,” Quartz.

Now it is, with Betterment.

Betterment is the most preferred online financial advisor, integrating technology and years of investment expertise in one elegant application already being used by over 30,000 customers. Betterment has eliminated the unnecessary costs and complications of investing intelligently. It’s straightforward investing for all, whether you have $10,000 or $10 million.

Betterment lets you manage multiple investment goals in one delightful place. Our UX and UI are adored by design enthusiasts, separating us from the red tape of other investment providers. Betterment is slick on the outside, with killer technology under the hood, and our free iPhone and Android apps help you stay connected to your diversified portfolio at all times.

Ready to invest? We’re excited to offer readers of the Loop three months of Betterment investment management for free.

This is great, funny, and entertaining.

Looks fun. I don’t use this type of thing on The Loop, but a lot of sites do.

The move is a big upfront expense on Apple’s part, but could pay off in the long run if the company can lure online customers away from retailers such as Amazon.com Inc and Best Buy Inc, industry experts say.

According to retail-intelligence firm StellaService, customers who buy a product from Apple’s online store can get a refund in under a week, versus 10 days previously.

Anything Apple can do to increase customer satisfaction is a win.

Joe Caiati shares his list of favorite tech podcasts. I am always looking for new podcasts to add to the rotation. I now have a few new ones I’m going to explore. Thanks, Joe.

Got your own favorites? Please do weigh in on the comments.

This story was posted in February 2013. It is a fascinating read, made current by the recent rumors of Apple’s possible acquisition of Beats Electronics.

According to the story, Monster Audio (the folks behind Monster cables and the like) did the original engineering work behind the Beats headphones. They also held the patents. As the story unfolds, you learn how what could have been a lucrative deal for all parties slowly unravelled.

Read it yourself, draw your own conclusions, but wow, that is some story.

Reuters:

One of the plaintiffs in a lawsuit that accuses tech firms including Apple Inc and Google Inc of conspiring to hold down salaries has asked the court to reject a $324 million settlement negotiated by his own lawyers.

Michael Devine, one of the four named plaintiffs in a class action of 64,000 people, described the tentative settlement as “grossly inadequate” in a letter to the judge in the case.

The proposed settlement is about one-tenth of experts’ estimates of potential damages and is lacking in any penalty, he said.

How different was the original goal versus the announced settlement?

The workers planned to ask for $3 billion in damages at a trial scheduled to begin at the end of May, according to court filings. That could have tripled to $9 billion under antitrust law.

That’s a huge difference.

WSJ (paywall):

The head of the Federal Communications Commission is revising proposed rules for regulating broadband Internet, including offering assurances that the agency won’t allow companies to segregate Web traffic into fast and slow lanes.

The new language by FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler to be circulated as early as Monday is an attempt to address criticism of his proposal unveiled last month that would ban broadband providers from blocking or slowing down websites but allow them to strike deals in which content companies could pay them for faster delivery of Web content to customers.

Bottom line, the original plan allowed for “paid prioritization” (fast lanes and slow lanes on the net) and the new language specifically disallows it. Hoping this plays out as stated and doesn’t get softened by corrupt influences.

The Daily Dot:

It’s been made clear by the many reports and unnamed sources from every reputed site on the Internet—and by Tyrese—that Beats Electronics will soon be acquired by Apple for around $3.2 billion. But what has not been made clear is why, and why now.

Many have questioned whether Apple has run out of ideas—but this is one of the best decisions Apple has made in years. There are three main reasons why this deal likely happened, and all three show that Apple CEO Tim Cook has a keen awareness of the position his company finds itself in and is willing to make the necessary changes to keep Apple on top.

The author makes some very interesting points. I agree the key to the deal is Iovine.

Bloomberg:

Lee was operated on early yesterday at Samsung Medical Center after being resuscitated and stabilized the previous night at Soonchunhyang University Hospital following an acute myocardial infarction, according to an e-mailed statement from Samsung Group spokeswoman Rhee So Eui.

As to the question of succession planning:

Naming his son as vice chairman “was a clear step” in terms of succession, Heo Pil Seok, Chief Executive Officer at Midas International Asset Management Ltd. in Seoul, said by phone yesterday.

The game is called “Drowning in Problems”. Takes about 10 minutes to play through. Interesting game mechanic.

Some notable progress. When you see the final result, remember these pictures. The land is almost completely cleared. I suspect the trees will return.

Seems to me, the land in the center is at a higher level than the land on the outside of the ring. I wonder if that’s just a trick of the lens or if that’s really true. If so, I wonder what the purpose is there. I love watching this unfold.

A visual walk through the critical events in the creation of the billion dollar Beats empire. A fun read. If this deal with Apple does get consummated, it’ll be interesting to see if Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine become part of the executive team at Apple, as suggested by the Wall Street Journal.