[MyAppleMenu] Thursday, Jul 31, 2003

[applesurf at myapplemenu.com]

MyAppleMenu Newsletter
Thursday, Jul 31, 2003

MyAppleMenu : Top Stories
-------------------------
Pictures And Sound (David Zeiler, Baltimore Sun)
<http://www.sunspot.net/technology/custom/pluggedin/bal-mac073103,0,7452920.column?coll=bal-business-indepth>
With the iTunes Music Store a proven success, Apple should consider going Hollywood.

MyAppleMenu : News
------------------
UK Outlaws iPod FM Device (Macworld UK)
<http://www.macworld.co.uk/news/main_news.cfm?NewsID=6675>
Use of Griffin Technology's iTrip device has been prohibited by the UK authorities, reports AM Micro.

Best-Kept Secret Dept. (John C. Dvorak, PC Magazine)
<http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,4149,1203278,00.asp>
There is nothing secret about ZeroConf (for Zero Configuration), an initiative begun in 1999. But few Windows users are aware that Apple has initiated its use, with a scheme called Rendezvous.

Free Marble Blast Game Offered To .Mac Members (MacMinute)
<http://www.macminute.com/2003/07/30/marbleblast>
"Race marbles along moving platforms, dodging hazards while collecting sparkling treasures and power-up enhancements to cut seconds off your racing time."

The Musical Tempest In A Digital Teapot (Keith Regan, EcommerceTimes.com)
<http://www.technewsworld.com/perl/story/31219.html>
Analysts are starting to throw up flags of caution about how fast the legitimate music download space will grow. For starters, the economy isn't that great, they say, so discretionary spending is muted.

MPEG Standard Addresses Rights (Paul Festa, CNET News.com)
<http://news.com.com/2100-1025_3-5057852.html>
The Moving Pictures Experts Group has completed an effort on two digital rights management technologies intended to increase the MPEG standard's appeal to the recording industry and Hollywood.

MyAppleMenu : Opinions
----------------------
Big-Screen Laptops: Who Really Needs Them? (David Coursey, ZDNet)
<http://www.zdnet.com/anchordesk/stories/story/0,10738,2914395,00.html>
If you plan to use it in a confined space, probably. But if your notebook never lands on anything smaller than an office desk or your lap -- comfortably seated in a giant Barcalounger at home -- bigger is almost always better.

Discussion: AppleCare For PowerBooks -- Worth It Or Wasted? (Slashdot)
<http://apple.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=03/07/30/2049200>
"What types of experiences have you had with PowerBook failures and replacements?"

MyAppleMenu : Reviews
---------------------
Logitech MX500 (Stefano Scalia, TheMacMind)
<http://www.themacmind.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=294&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0&POSTNUKESID=39ad7f2ce355582602a8ef38ef3c745f>
The MX500 is a great buy if you're in the market for a new high-end mouse, or if you're an extreme gamer looking to up your odds.

Want To Switch To Mac? You Won't Die (Jon Fortt, San Jose Mercury News)
<http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/business/6425470.htm>
As much as Apple tries to drive them into the mainstream, Macs are really specialty machines.

Works, Office Or Something Else? (Jon Fortt, San Jose Mercury News)
<http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/business/6425474.htm>
AppleWorks does fine for basic word processing and spreadsheets, though it's nowhere near as pretty or as powerful as Microsoft's Office vX for the Mac. It's also nowhere near as expensive.

Tame That Unruly Digital Hub Collection With Readerware (Vern Seward, Mac Observer)
<http://www.macobserver.com/review/2003/06/28.1.shtml>
Though it has some annoying 'features', we think you'll find that Readerware, together with a barcode reader, is a big help in taming your book, music, or video collection.

MyAppleMenu : Wintel News
-------------------------
The Microsoft-Linux War Is Over: Linux Won (Dana Blankenhorn)
<http://www.corante.com/mooreslore/20030701.shtml#47001>
It will take a long time, perhaps decades, but the tipping-point has come.

More Wintel news at <http://www.myapplemenu.com/wintel/>

MyAppleMenu Tomorrow: Top Stories
---------------------------------
Linux Is Not A Product (Ian Murdock, CNET News.com)
<http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1107_2-5057755.html>
To me, this kind of "Linux as product" mentality misses the entire point of Linux and the open-source development model that created it.

MyAppleMenu Tomorrow: News & Opinions
-------------------------------------
Microsoft Research Preps Usenet Analysis Tool (Joris Evers, IDG News Service)
<http://www.nwfusion.com/news/2003/0730microresea.html>
Researchers at Microsoft are working on technology that makes it easier to navigate Usenet news groups and could eventually help clear clutter in e-mail inboxes, a Microsoft researcher said Tuesday.

Firms To Spend Big On Mobile E-Mail (electricnews.net)
<http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/68/32083.html>
Currently, only a tiny proportion of people with business mobile phones use their handsets for e-mail, but Analysys says this is about to change.

Low Prices Expected To Dampen Wi-Fi Revenues (Antone Gonsalves, TechWeb)
<http://www.techweb.com/wire/story/TWB20030730S0015>
While the Wi-Fi market is expected to grow over the next few years, revenues will remain relatively low as vendors drop prices to grab market share.

MyAppleMenu Reader: World
-------------------------
Are We Safer Now? (Eric Boehlert, Salon)
<http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2003/07/31/security/index_np.html>
The war on Saddam has made the U.S. less secure, say foreign-policy experts.

America Is A Religion (Geroge Monbiot, Guardian)
<http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,3604,1007741,00.html>
US leaders now see themselves as priests of a divine mission to rid the world of its demons.

MyAppleMenu Reader: Science & Tech
----------------------------------
Nanotech: It's Not Easy Being Green (Sarah Graham, Scientific American)
<http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?chanID=sa004&articleID=00077C33-511E-1F20-B8E780A84189EEDF>
Researchers and activists go to loggerheads over the science of small.

MyAppleMenu Reader: Life
------------------------
I'll Have Three Big Macs, Two Large Fries And A Lawyer (David Shaw, Los Angeles Times)
<http://www.latimes.com/features/food/la-fo-matters30jul30,1,4300195.story?coll=la-headlines-food>
So, the misguided folks eager to cast the purveyors of fast food and snack food as the moral and legal equivalents of Big Tobacco seem to be gathering steam. Or is it just hot air?

Type Casting: Geek 'Star Wars' Is Full Of Characters (Paul Farhi, Washington Post)
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A5690-2003Jul30.html>
Simon  Jansen is the computer-age equivalent of the guy who builds a reproduction of the Taj Mahal out of toothpicks, or "The Last Supper" from wedges of cheese.

To: Mom And Dad Re: Homesickness (Katie Hafner, New York Times)
<http://www.nytimes.com/2003/07/31/technology/circuits/31camp.html>
Digital technology has blazed a trail to summer camp, and with it have come misgivings.

The Politics Of Oxymoron (Roger Sandall, New Criterion)
<http://www.newcriterion.com/archive/21/sum03/sandall.htm>
For behind the claim that the modern world consists of "civilizations" (plural), and not just "civilization" (singular), a lot of linguistic mischief is afoot.

MyAppleMenu SingaporeSurf : Top Stories
---------------------------------------
The Shifting Sands Of Time -- And Singapore (Bill Guerin, Asia Times)
<http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Southeast_Asia/EG31Ae01.html>
In a region with some of the most ubiquitous white-sand beaches in the world, there is an unlikely sand war in Southeast Asia, fueled to a major extent by the steadily growing island of Singapore and the suspiciously shrinking Indonesian island of Riau, and complicated by the politics of Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore.

MyAppleMenu SingaporeSurf : News & Opinions
-------------------------------------------
NTU Dons Say Disputed Job Data From MOM Website (Wlater Fernandez, Channel NewsAsia)
<http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/45772/1/.html>
The academics said that if their findings are not reflective of the actual situation, then the Manpower Ministry has the duty to revise the statistics it publishes on its own website.

Govt Rebuts NTU Dons, Says Bulk Of New Jobs Didn't Go To Foreigners (S Ramesh and Walter Fernandez, Channel NewsAsia)
<http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/45762/1/.html>
The bulk of new jobs created in the past five years did not go to foreigners, the Government stresses as it strongly rebuts employment figures put out by two economics professors from the Nanyang Technological University.

---
Modify your subscription at <http://www.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/applesurf-list>

MyAppleMenu is edited by Heng-Cheong Leong. This site is not affiliated with Apple Computer, Inc., or any other companies in any manner. Apple, the Apple logo, Macintosh, Power Macintosh, PowerBook, iMac, iBook, iPod, and eMac are registered trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc. All other brands or product names are trademarks of their registered holders. Copyright (C) 1996-2003 Heng-Cheong Leong. All rights reserved.