Apple online customer satisfaction drops to lowest point in four years

In a survey of more than 24,000 customers, Apple’s (AAPL) online customer satisfaction during the Thanksgiving and Christmas shopping seasons was found to be at its lowest in the past four years according to Forsee, an industry analyst firm. Apple slipped out of the top five for highest online customer satisfaction during the holiday shopping season, falling to a score of 80/100 – a drop of three points from 2011. Meanwhile, Amazon (AMZN) maintained its spot at the top with a score of 88/100. Forsee’s survey based the scores on “appeal of merchandise, website functionality, and the quality of website content.” The survey’s full findings are available below.

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Hundreds honor Ravi Shankar in California

Hundreds of friends and family have paid tribute to sitar virtuoso Ravi Shankar at a public memorial service near his San Diego-area home. The musician was remembered Thursday as an unfailingly generous teacher with a gentle spirit and sense of humor whose music fostered understanding between East and West. Conductor Zubin Mehta said he felt like a "little crumb" listening to Shankar play. Olivia Harrison said Shankar helped a young George Harrison achieve a more meaningful life. Shankar's daughters, singer Norah Jones and Grammy-nominated sitarist Anoushka Shankar, were in the audience at the Self-Realization Fellowship center in Encinitas, the oceanfront suburb where the musician lived for the last two decades.

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Rapper 'Fat Joe' admits tax evasion in NJ court

The rap artist "Fat Joe" pleaded guilty Thursday to failing to pay taxes on nearly $3 million in income he earned over two years for performances and music royalties. The platinum-selling artist, whose real name is Joseph Cartagena, was once a Billboard chart topper with hits like the duet "What's Luv" with the R&B singer Ashanti. Cartagena entered the plea in federal court in Newark because some of the companies he earned money from are incorporated in New Jersey. The 42-year-old Miami Beach, Fla., resident entered pleas to two counts covering years 2007 and 2008. His sentencing will take into consideration the government's initial allegation that he failed to pay income taxes for years 2007 through 2010. Federal prosecutors said the total tax loss to the government for those four years was $718,038. Wearing a navy suit, Cartagena looked fit and considerably slimmer than the former size that had earned him his rapper nickname. He has been very public about his efforts to shed weight after fellow rap stars died from obesity-related issues and was recently in Newark to speak to schoolchildren about health and fitness. In federal court Thursday, when asked by U.S. Magistrate Cathy Waldor if he understood the charges he was facing, he replied, "I super-understand it." Cartagena's lawyer, Jeffrey Lichtman, said outside federal court that his client "had already taken steps to resolve this situation" before he had been charged. He said the rapper hoped to pay back the taxes by the time of his sentencing April 3. Cartagena owned the Somerville-based Terror Squad Production Inc. and Miramar Music Touring Inc., according to court papers. He also earned income from FJTS Corp., during the time in question. The judge set bail at $250,000 and released Cartagena until his sentencing. He could face up to two years in prison and a fine of up to $200,000, plus penalties from the Internal Revenue Service.

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Twitter post offers clue to The Civil Wars' future

While there still remain questions about the future of The Civil Wars, there's new music on the way. Joy Williams, one half of the Grammy Award-winning duo with John Paul White, said Thursday during a Twitter chat that she was in the studio listening to new Civil Wars songs. It's a tantalizing clue to the future of the group, which appeared in doubt when a European tour unraveled last month due to "irreconcilable differences." At the time, the duo said it hoped to release an album in 2013. It's not clear if Williams was referring Thursday to music for a new album or for a documentary score they have composed with T Bone Burnett. They're also set to release an "Unplugged" session on iTunes on Jan. 15. Nate Yetton, the group's manager and Williams' husband, had no comment — though he has supplied a few hints of his own by posting pictures of recording sessions on his Instagram account recently. The duo announced last summer it would be working with Charlie Peacock, who produced its gold-selling debut "Barton Hollow." The photos do not show Williams or White, but one includes violin player Odessa Rose. Rose says in an Instagram post: "Playing on the new Civil Wars record... Beautiful sounds." Even with its future in doubt, the duo continues to gather accolades. Williams and White are up for a Golden Globe on Jan. 13, and two Grammy Awards on Feb. 10, for their "The Hunger Games" soundtrack collaboration "Safe & Sound" with Taylor Swift. Williams' comments came during an installment of an artist interview series with Alison Sudol of A Fine Frenzy sponsored by The Recording Academy.

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Hundreds honor Ravi Shankar at California memorial

Hundreds of friends and family on Thursday remembered sitar virtuoso Ravi Shankar as an unfailingly generous teacher with a gentle spirit and sense of humor whose music fostered understanding between East and West. Olivia Harrison said Shankar helped her late husband George Harrison achieve a more meaningful life when he was a young Beatle. "They were like father and son as well as brothers," Harrison said on an outdoor stage decorated with garlands of white flowers at the Self Realization Fellowship center in Encinitas, the oceanfront suburb north of San Diego where Shankar lived for the last two decades. Conductor Zubin Mehta said he felt like a "little crumb" listening to Shankar play and credited his close friend with introducing India to the world. Shankar died last week in San Diego at age 92. His wife, Sukanya Rajan, and daughters — singer Norah Jones and Grammy-nominated sitarist Anoushka Shankar — sat in the front row as speakers paid tribute. The audience listened to clips of Shankar's music and recorded voice. "Music is the only language I really know," Shankar said in one clip. Under blue skies on a warm Southern California morning, a family friend read messages from political and cultural luminaries including musicians Phillip Glass and Peter Gabriel, who thanked him for teaching them. The audience heard excerpts from newspaper stories that trumpeted Shankar's enormous influence. Labeled "the godfather of world music" by Harrison, Shankar helped millions of Westerners — classical, jazz and rock lovers — discover the centuries-old traditions of Indian music. From Harrison to John Coltrane, from Yehudi Menuhin to Andre Previn, he bridged the musical gap between East and West. Pirashanna Thevarajah, one of his students, said Shankar was the reason he pursued a music career and that his teacher sometimes believed more in him than he believed in himself. He called Shankar "a very simple soul with a wonderful sense of humor." Thevarajah said Shankar followed his puns with the line, "That's why the call me a pundit." Film director Joe Wright, Shankar's son-in-law, recalled a risky medical operation that Shankar's family was unsure he would survive. Though he made it through, Wright thought he might never again see Shankar alive as he was rolled into the operating room. Wright saw Shankar's fingers moving as he was wheeled away.

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New Miss Universe says win shows confidence is all

The 20-year-old Rhode Islander who brought the Miss Universe crown back to the U.S. for the first time in 15 years is hoping that her quick rise through the beauty contest ranks and an onstage stumble will show women that anything is possible. Perched high above the Las Vegas Strip in the Planet Hollywood winner's suite Thursday, Olivia Culpo told The Associated Press that her yearlong transformation from Boston University sophomore to pageant winner proves that women can accomplish anything to which they set their minds. "My first pageant was a year ago and already I'm Miss Universe. It's kind of incredible," she said. She pointed to the fact that she stumbled on her red velvet evening dress Wednesday night before beating out beauty queens from 88 countries as proof that confidence and poise matter more than perfect performance. "I like the fact that I tripped last night in my evening gown. I think that that's cool," she said. "And you learn from it: Don't step on your dress," she added with a laugh. The former Miss USA spent the first day of her reign surrounded by stylists and handlers, wearing a scarlet mini-dress with cutout cap sleeves and sky-high silver heels. Plates of cupcakes and croissants went untouched as she sipped from a water bottle with a straw. For the past six months, Culpo has shared a New York City apartment with outgoing Miss Universe, Leila Lopes of Angola. The two titleholders traditionally room together. Her coronation ended a long losing spell for the U.S. in the competition. An American had not won the Miss Universe title since Miss Hawaii, Brook Lee, won in 1997. A middle child of five, Culpo was studying theater and communications at Boston University when she decided to enroll in the Miss Rhode Island pageant last year to improve her stage presence. The petite brunette ended up winning that contest in a rented $20 dress with a hole in the back. She claimed the Miss USA crown in the spring, despite losing an earring during the interview portion. Culpo said she studied world events, prepared for interview questions and memorized proper walking and posing techniques using stacks of flashcards. The aspiring actress took a year off from Boston University to fulfill the travel and charity obligations that come along with the Miss USA crown, and now says she will not return to her former college. "I do want to finish my education," she said. "I just don't think that Boston has a big enough market for what I want to do." As Miss Universe, Culpo will advocate for HIV prevention, the official platform of the title holder, but does not intend to speak out on other issues. She did have a word for the "pageant moms" who have caught the nation's attention on reality television shows such as TLC's "Toddlers & Tiaras." "If you think that your child is going to be really sensitive to the fact that they might not win — which they probably won't — you shouldn't do it because it's not healthy if they get the feeling that they're not good enough or they're not worthy," she said. Culpo's mother, a professional viola player, discouraged her from entering the world of beauty competitions last year. "I didn't see the point; I thought it was silly and a waste of time," Susan Culpo said. But she changed her mind when she saw the joy her daughter brought to hometown fans. On Thursday, the mayor of Culpo's home town of Cranston, R.I., called her win an inspiration for the city, state and nation. Asked moments before the Miss Universe show why pageants remain relevant, Donald Trump, who co-owns the competition with NBC, responded that everyone likes beautiful women. His winner had a different take: "It really comes down to being able to inspire others by being comfortable with yourself. You have to show girls that everyone is different, everyone has things they don't like, but they work it and walk the runway," Culpo said. "There is no ideal body. It's just taking what you have and working it.

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