Mike Elgan for Cult of Mac:

So that’s what Apple needs to do … Chip away at the problem, iteratively investigating, auditing and fixing. But also pay a little more to suppliers in order to meet these stringent requirements.Apple gets more blame than it deserves for worker abuses in China, and doesn’t get enough credit for the enormous effort the company has expended in raising work standards in China.

I agree with Elgan up to a point, but the danger of Apple paying its suppliers more to meet improved requirements for factory conditions puts it at a disadvantage with its competitors, and that’s not in a place Apple (or its shareholders) wants to be.

In order for things to improve in China, there’s going to have to be a very delicately orchestrated effort between industry, commerce and international diplomacy. Even then, it will take time.

Is this the future of driving?

Wired:

One landmark study cited “human errors” as the “definite or probable causes” of 93 percent of crashes. Faced with the alternatives — that guy who cut us off without signaling, the mom nursing an Ambien hangover who’s drifting into the right lane, the Bluetooth jockey doing 90 mph — I welcome our new robotic Prius-driving overlords.

I love driving but reading the article makes you realize we might be better off if we let computers take over most of the “heavy lifting” of day to day driving.

The Atlantic:

Over the past week, Norway has been witness to some jaw-dropping light shows, the result of an M8.7 class flare and a coronal mass ejection in a direction pointed toward Earth. Many Norwegians shared their photos of the northern lights — or “nordlys” in Norwegian — on Flickr.

Most people have never seen the Northern Lights in person but if you have, it’s sight you’ll never forget.

Wisconsin State Journal:

Madison teachers will soon be handing out Apples to students.The School District for the first time plans to buy more than 600 iPads for use in the majority of schools this spring. Another 800 iPads are expected to be in classrooms by next fall, all paid for with part of $3.4 million from a state-negotiated settlement with Microsoft.

Oh, that’s gotta sting.

Mashable:

In terms of GIFs, we’ve seen everything from mainstream celebrities photobombing major award shows to familiar web trends like cats and Star Wars characters. But when it comes to animated GIFs, one thing is for certain: Humor always wins.

I’m sorry but the above Panda image had me laughing out loud.

Tom Krazit, PaidContent:

There’s nowhere else in the world you can build a modern smartphone or tablet as cheaply, easily, and reliably as the massive factories of companies like Foxconn, which operate on a scale that is difficult to comprehend. The price for doing business with companies like Foxconn is living with the knowledge that these products are being built by people who have signed up for a modern-day version of indentured servitude.So what can be done about that?

Network World:

No need to waste your time sitting through commercials during Super Bowl XLVI when you could be doing other things like eating and drinking and arguing, right? Here’s a sneak peek at some of the geekiest/techiest commercials on tap for the big New England Patriots vs. New York Giants matchup.

Ads from VW, Samsung, GoDaddy and Ferris Bueller is back!

There are a lot of changes in the latest version. Go get it.

Thanks to Universal Audio for sponsoring this week’s RSS feed on The Loop.

Meet Apollo, the first professional, high-resolution computer audio interface that delivers the sound, feel, and flow of analog recording. This 18 x 24 FireWire/Thunderbolt – ready interface combines genuine UA analog design with class-leading 24-bit/192 kHz sound quality and onboard Realtime UAD Processing.

Reuters:

Apple’s Steve Jobs directly asked former Google Chief Executive Eric Schmidt to stop trying to recruit an Apple engineer, a transgression that threatened one junior Google employee’s job, according to a court filing.The 2007 email from Jobs to Schmidt was disclosed on Friday in the course of civil litigation against Apple Inc, Google Inc and five other technology companies. The proposed class action, brought by five software engineers, accuses the companies of conspiring to keep employee compensation low by eliminating competition for skilled labor.

Who said Apple and Google couldn’t be cooperative?

ifoAppleStore:

During the 90-minute JC Penney briefing, former Apple retail chief Ron Johnson explained his plans to remake JCP into “America’s favorite store” over the next three years, admittedly drawing from his 10-year stewardship of Apple’s stores. In fact, the very first item on Johnson’s agenda was to explain why he left Apple, and the very first presentation slide was an Apple logo.“It’s the best decision I’ve made yet,” he said of moving to JCP. The only hard part of the decision was driving to Steve Jobs’ house to announce he was leaving. Jobs looked up at him and asked, “Are you serious?”

It will be interesting to see how Johnson can bring the Apple Retail experience to JCP.

148Apps:

With over 1.5 million votes cast (over three times the number cast last year) and a record number of nominations, we now have the winners of the 2011 Best App Ever Awards. Thanks to all that voted, nominated, and made these fantastic apps!

Awards were handed out in over one hundred categories including Best Visual Design, Most Innovative, Best Time Killer and more.

Federico Viticci:

In 107 days since iCloud went live, and 235 since Apple’s announcement at WWDC ’11, it appears the majority of third-party developers are still considering whether or not iCloud is something worth investing their time — and customers’ money — or not.

An interesting read.

Molly Wood at CNET:

The company has been actively auditing its suppliers for labor, health, safety, and other concerns since 2007. Yet, as the Times points out, problems remain–the kinds of problems that kill people. It’s time for Apple to get serious, publicly and with vehemence, about addressing safety and rights violations, and firing suppliers who don’t comply.Is it fair to single out Apple?

It’s a valid question but one without an easy answer.

Chris Foresman:

Users who rely on the desktop version of OmniPlan but wish to manage complicated projects and workflows on-the-go will soon be able to pinch and swipe their way to Gantt chart nirvana. According to Omni Group CEO Ken Case, project management app OmniPlan will make its way to the iPad, perhaps as soon as the second quarter of this year.

Great news from Ars Technica. The Omni Group make some great apps.

Some of these things are really funny.

I like the first one.

Arik Hesseldahl:

Jon Rubinstein, the former Apple executive who took over handheld maker Palm and moved with it to Hewlett-Packard in a 2010 acquisition, has left HP effective today, AllThingsD has learned.Rubinstein is said to have no immediate plans, and had completed a 12-24 month commitment to stay with HP after the acquisition. “Jon has fulfilled his commitment and we wish him well,” HP spokeswoman Mylene Mangalindan said.

Unfortunate, but not unexpected considering what’s happened with Palm and webOS.

I’m working on a review of Studio Devil, but I’m impressed enough with the modeling that I wanted to let everyone know about it now. It’s very accurate and sounds great.

Alex Spektor, Associate Director at Strategy Analytics, said, “Global smartphone shipments grew 54 percent annually to reach a record 155.0 million units in Q4 2011. Apple overtook Samsung to become the world’s largest smartphone vendor by volume with 24 percent market share. Apple’s global smartphone shipments surged 128 percent annually to 37.0 million units, as distribution of the iPhone family expanded across numerous countries, dozens of operators and multiple price points.”

Mark Gurman for 9to5Mac, quoting from Tim Cook:

“As a company and as individuals, we are defined by our values. Unfortunately some people are questioning Apple’s values today, and I’d like to address this with you directly. We care about every worker in our worldwide supply chain.”

Apple PR hasn’t responded publicly to the New York Times’ recent allegations about Foxconn working conditions, and I don’t expect they will. I do believe that Cook and Apple PR knew full well this letter would find its way out the door, however.

Apple isn’t Foxconn’s only customer, just its highest profile one at the moment, thanks to the popularity of Apple’s products and its remarkable profits. Apple doesn’t have direct control either over the way Foxconn does business or Chinese fair labor standards. But we can hope that the company – along with many others – continues to use its influence as a major customer to positively affect working conditions there.

Also, it’s worth underscoring that Apple is much more transparent about the standards it employs for measuring supplier responsibility than many other consumer electronics makers.

MG Siegler gives us a rundown of Motorola’s quarterly earnings. Hint: It’s not good — Motorola couldn’t ship as much as Apple sold.

Most of us are big fans of our iPhones but have you ever compared it to other smartphones?

iPhone vs Lumia vs Galaxy

Clark Little's "Sand Monster"

Not Clark Little. He stands in two feet of water and lets fifteen foot waves pound him into the sand – all to get some amazing shots of the surf from a viewpoint few of us have ever seen.

Check out the gallery of pictures and videos on his web site.

The New York Times:

Apple and its high-technology peers — as well as dozens of other American industries — have achieved a pace of innovation nearly unmatched in modern history.However, the workers assembling iPhones, iPads and other devices often labor in harsh conditions, according to employees inside those plants, worker advocates and documents published by companies themselves. Problems are as varied as onerous work environments and serious — sometimes deadly — safety problems.