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.

That is just an insane amount of money.

This came from Microsoft’s TechEd Conference. Good for them, and Apple.

"About 27 million downloads" of the Office for iPad apps around the world since launch.

— Paul Thurrott (@thurrott) May 12, 2014

.

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.

Many thanks to Smile Software for sponsoring The Loop’s RSS this week with PDFpen Scan+. PDFpen Scan+ 1.3 offers a redesigned user interface to make scanning simpler. Cropping is fast and precise. Bulk scanning is quicker with post-process image editing. OCR and preview the results, then copy the text for use elsewhere. Share your scanned PDF, with embedded OCR text, by email or via your favorite cloud service. PDFpen Scan+ is universal for iPad and iPhone and is available on the App Store.

Marketing Insight, a South Korean firm that tracks users satisfaction rankings across a variety of factors, compared Apple’s iPhone 5s against Samsung’s latest Galaxy S5, LG G Pro2, Nexus 5 and other models. While Apple overall was significantly above average across every category, Samsung was ranked below average in design, display, processing speed, multimedia speed, size and weight, usability, response to touch, latest tech and UI design.

Sucks to be Samsung.

Email exchanges between National Security Agency Director Gen. Keith Alexander and Google executives Sergey Brin and Eric Schmidt suggest a far cozier working relationship between some tech firms and the U.S. government than was implied by Silicon Valley brass after last year’s revelations about NSA spying.

In a 69-page decision (you can read it below), the three-judge panel ruled that Oracle can pursue copyright claims against Google for the parts of Java that it used in creating Android. Oracle has argued that Google used the code without authorization.

Google’s not out of the woods yet.

The Internet turned itself inside out last night with reports that Apple was in talks to purchase Beats Electronics for $3.2 billion. It’s an interesting rumor, to be sure, but it has also baffled everyone.

Apple is stocking up on talent. I hope this guy can help the iPhone camera take better night shots.

In a somewhat surprising move, Apple is rumored to be in talks with Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre’s Beats Electronics that could see the audio accessories and music streaming service acquired for $3.2 billion.

Under the supposed deal, Apple would gain control of Beats’ audio hardware division as well as the firm’s subscription-based music streaming service. The Beats management team would report to Apple CEO Tim Cook.

This is getting interesting.

Smart words from Gruber.

The vast majority of the new threats found was on Android (no surprise there), which accounted for 275 out of 277 new families we saw in this period, leaving 1 new malware apiece on iOS and Symbian.

I don’t understand why people keep buying this shit. Get off the bus and take a plane.

Much respect, Josiah.

“Ive is our generation’s most innovative and influential figure in the field of industrial design—no other design mind has done more to transform the way we visualize and share information,” said SFMOMA Director Neal Benezra. “SFMOMA was the first museum on the West Coast to establish a department of architecture and design, and we’re thrilled to celebrate Ive’s revolutionary achievements.”

Congrats Jony.

It turns out more iPhone users do in fact prefer wine to beer. They are also more likely to own stock and to have flown on a plane in the past year. Meanwhile, Android users are more likely to rely on public transportation, describe themselves as religious, have eaten McDonalds in the past month or to smoke tobacco.

Ozzy and Zakk are such a great team. Beautiful song.

WANT!

Graham Spencer for MacStories:

Today I am back to revisit the topic of entertainment services. The purpose, as was the case last time, is to see the international availability of entertainment services from Apple, Google, Microsoft and Amazon. Not only have we updated the information on all of these, but we have also added data about the availability of Rdio, Spotify, Deezer, Netflix, Hulu, Kobo, and Nook.

Great story with lots of good information.

Let’s remember one of the cardinal rules of social media. Out of 100 people, 1% will create the content, 10% will curate the content, and the other 90% will simply consume it. That plays out on this blog, that plays out in Twitter, and that plays out in most of the services we are invested in.

Very interesting post from Fred Wilson.

Some good thoughts from Om Malik on how Apple can change iTunes. I don’t know that I agree with everything, but there is no doubt that iTunes, which started as the center our media files, has become bloated.

Perhaps even making the iPhone/iPad, when connected, a system service instead of opening iTunes. Removing some of this from the app may help it focus again.

Thanks to Khoi, I feel old too.

London black-cab drivers are planning to cause gridlock in the city to protest against car service Uber.

The Licensed Taxi Drivers Association complains that Uber’s drivers are using a smartphone app to calculate fares despite it being illegal for private vehicles to be fitted with taximeters.

This is one of the few instances where I like both parties.