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The fiscal cliff explained in GIFs
So, apparently Congress isn’t voting on the fiscal cliff tonight. Which means we’re going over.
Uh oh! So what happens then?
Our colleague Jeanne Sahadi has a slightly more nuanced take. -Stacy
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How Apple calculates Tim Cook’s salary
Tim Cook took home a cool $4.2 million this year, according to a regulatory filing Apple submitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday.
Compared to the $1 annual salary Steve Jobs used to make, Cook would seem to be doing pretty well for himself. But Apple claims Cook is woefully underpaid.
Cook’s annual salary was boosted to $1.4 million this past year, and he earned all of his eligible cash bonus — 200% of his salary, or $2.8 million. When determining Cook’s pay, Apple said it considered its “financial results, Mr. Cook’s responsibilities as CEO,” and the amount he makes compared to “CEOs at peer companies.”
Who are those peer companies? A few of the direct competitors you’d expect (Amazon, Google, Microsoft, Dell, and Hewlett-Packard), some giant tech companies (Oracle, Cisco, Intel and IBM), Apple’s wireless partners (AT&T, Verizon, and Qualcomm), and a bunch of media giants (Comcast, DirecTV, News Corp. Disney, and CNNMoney parent company Time Warner).
In calculating Cook’s salary, Apple included more media companies in its comparison this year, adding DirecTV and Viacom, and tossing out Texas Instruments. Is Apple TV on its way? Hmmm…
Despite giving Cook a 50% raise, from $900,000 in 2011, Apple noted that its CEO’s pay “remains significantly below the median annual cash compensation level for CEOs at peer companies.”
Don’t feel too bad for Tim, though. Last year, Cook received a pay package — filled with incentives that vest in 2016 and 2021 — currently worth more than $500 million.
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The scariest ‘gift’ from our seasonal PR haul
Tech journalists get a mountain of boxes in December filled with holiday tchotchkes and gizmos. We held a vote and officially named this the weirdest:
Everyone who walked past did a doubletake. This just screams ‘Mapquest,’ right? Right? -Stacy
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Smalera: Color color, without color →
Oh Color. Here was our launch day coverge: http://cnnmoneytech.tumblr.com/post/4065687380/image-gaping-void-ms-paint-ok-now-its
I got caught up thinking about the hype around the Color launch and re-read a bunch of launch-day stories (ie, most likely embargo’ed in exchange for access), just for kicks. These are the stories and lines that stuck out at me, posted without further, er, color:
What’s powerful about Color is…
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Turning on Do Not Track in Google Chrome
The promise of Do Not Track was supposed to be that with a simple push of the button, ad networks will no longer be able to track your online behavior.
Not only is Do Not Track the opposite of simple, it also does absolutely nothing.
To illustrate, here’s how Do Not Track was implemented in Google Chrome — the world’s most-used browser, according to some studies.
Step 1: Click on “Settings”
So far so good.
Step 2: Click on “Show advanced settings”
Obviously, any user would be able to figure this out.
Step 3: Click on “Send a ‘Do Not Track’ request with your browsing traffic
Oh, right, I see it. The last privacy option. Alright, check…
Step 4: Read the disclaimer
Oh, that’s not it? Wait, what the hell does this mean? This seems to be saying that Do Not Track doesn’t guarantee that I won’t be tracked. I should probably learn more.
Step 5: Click on “Learn more”
Oh, I see. Does Do Not Track do anything? “At this time,” no.
Step 6: Close that window, and click “OK.”
Got all that? Six steps, to achieve nothing. Hooray for Do Not Track! -David