[MyAppleMenu] Jul 12, 2007

[applesurf at myapplemenu.com]

MyAppleMenu
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**** Mac Virus Threat Still "Insignificant" <http://software.silicon.com/os/0,39024651,39167818,00.htm?r=2>
by Munir Kotadia, Silicon.com
The Mac's resilient platfom, its advanced automatic software update tools and the apparent lack of attention from malware authors means Apple users are far safer from attack than users of Windows.

**** iPhone: AT&amp;T Deal Under Scrutiny By Government, Verizon <http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/07/07/11/iphone_att_deal_under_scrutiny_by_government_verizon.html>
by Aidan Malley, AppleInsider
Apple's multi-year iPhone contrct with AT&amp;T has become the poster child for the ills of the cellphone industry in a US House committee debate, with Verizon also casting its own doubts on the device.

**** First Come The Hype, Then The Actual iPhone; Now, The Accessories <http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/12/technology/circuits/12basics.html?_r=1&ref=technology&oref=slogin>
by Erica Taub, New York Times

**** iPhone Spurs Mobile Development Renaissance <http://weblog.infoworld.com/yager/archives/2007/07/iphone_spurs_mo.html>
by Tom Yager, InfoWorld

**** Lightning Strikes Reported By iPod Users <http://www.denverpost.com/nationworld/ci_6350365>
by Linda A. Johnson, Associated Press
Listen to an iPod during a storm and you may get more than electrifying tunes.

**** A Closer Look At iPhone Lust <http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1642324,00.html?xid=rss-business>
by Bill Tancer, Time
Why would a rational well phone-equipped person consider dropping a perfectly good device and pluning down $599 (because a 4 gig model is out of the question if an 8 gig model is available) for a new phone? With analysts estimating over 500,000 phones sold just last weekend, perhaps search term data could help us figure out why we've gone iPhone crazy.

**** Mac Desktops Are "Smarter Money", Says CIO <http://software.silicon.com/os/0,39024651,39167796,00.htm?r=2>
by Andy McCue, Silicon.com
"We are feeling the pinch of the aggressive revenue targets of Microsoft. We are asking ourselves, 'are they fit for our business?'."

**** iFamily For Tiger 2.2: Simple Interface Makes Collecting Family Data Easy <http://www.macworld.com/2007/07/reviews/ifamily22/index.php?lsrc=mwrss>
by Jeffery Battersby, Macworld
While some odd data-entry options make the program less than perfect, iFamily for Tiger is an excellent program for collecting and managing your family history.

**** QuickTime 7.2/iTunes 7.3.1 Now Available <http://www.tuaw.com/2007/07/11/quicktime-7-2-itunes-7-3-1-now-available/>
by Scott McNulty, The Unofficial Apple Weblog
Support for full-screen viewing in QuickTime Player.

**** Shade/Shape Turns Over To V3.0 <http://www.macnn.com/articles/07/07/11/shade.shape.30.released/>
by MacNN
Vision Effects has begun shipping the third edition of Shade/Shape, a program that converts 2D illusstrations and animations into 3D models, complete with lighting, reflection and bump-maps.

**** Apple Resellers Concentrating On Small Businesses <http://arstechnica.com/journals/apple.ars/2007/07/11/apple-resellers-concentrating-on-small-businesses>
by Justin Berka, Ars Technica
The rise of online sales and the ability to buy products straight from Apple via your local Apple Store has hurt many Apple resellers, but a good number are hanging in there and finding new ways to sell Apple products.

**** Adobe Fixes Critical Flash Bugs <http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9026824&source=rss_topic123>
by Gregg Keizer, Computerworld
Three critical vulnerabilities in Flash Player that could let hackers infect Windows, Mac OS X and Linux systems, were patched yesterday by Adobe Systems Inc.

**** Bracing For The Other Shoe <http://www.macworld.com/weblogs/editors/2007/07/backlash/index.php>
by Christopher Breen, Macworld
In the hope that I might bring a measure of balance to the Apple accolades &mdash; and thus, perhaps, fend off the wors of the blow-back when the media inevitably tires of Apple &mdash; I'd like to offer a few lessons learned over the years.

The Tomorrow Weblog
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**** Researchers Take Google Approach To Understanding Photos <http://news.com.com/Researchers+take+Google+approach+to+understanding+photos/2100-1025_3-6196093.html?tag=nefd.top>
by Stephen Shankland, CNET News.com
Carnegie Mellon University researchers are finding that a cmputer with enough information at its fingertips can act smart even if it doesn't really understand what it's doing.

MyAppleMenu Reader
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**** Composing Murdoch's Disclosure <http://www.slate.com/id/2170225/fr/rss/>
by Jack Shafer, Slate
It's almost as long as the Manhattan telephone book.

**** Swarm Behavior <http://www7.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0707/feature5/index.html>
by Peter Miller, National Geographic Magazine
A single ant or bee isn't smart, but their colonies are. The study of swarm intelligence is providing insights that can help humans manage complex systems, from truck routing to military robots.

**** Cooking For One? My Compliments To The Chef <http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/10/AR2007071000322.html?nav=most_emailed>
by Kathryn Banakis, Washington Post
Cooking for one is its own luxury: of experimentation, of self-expression an dof popcorn for dinner, if that's what you feel like.

**** The Bliss We Can't Buy <http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/10/AR2007071001425.html?nav=most_emailed>
by Robert J. Samuelson, Washington Post
The popularity of happiness research suggest that economists and other social scientists think they can devise public policies to elevate the nation's feel-good quotient. This is an illusion.

**** Window Of Possibility <http://www.orionmagazine.org/index.php/articles/article/308>
by Anthony Doerr, Orion
Why the Hubble Ultra Deep Field is the most incredible photograph ever taken.

**** The World's Best Candy Bars? English, Of Course <http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/11/dining/11cand.html?ex=1341806400&en=297b7d54098dc6a1&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss>
by Kim Severson, New York Times
For the rarefield palate that can appreciate the soft, immediate pleasure of an inexpensive candy bar, it's not difficult to give the edge to sweets from the realm of the queen.

SingaporeSurf
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**** Singapore's Tourism Drive Leaves Room For Hotel Stocks To Grow <http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118417959512363603.html?mod=googlenews_wsj>
by Jonathan Cheng, Wall Street Journal
As Singapore invests in its future as a tourism hub, buying into a chunk of the city-state's hotel business might be a smart way to play that growth.

**** High In IT Competitiveness But Singapore Lags In R&amp;D Efforts <http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporebusinessnews/view/287662/1/.html>
by Hedirman Supian, Today
A new study on global IT competitiveness ranks SIngapore highly, but it said the Republic's Achilles' heel lies in research and development, specifically in patent generation &mdash; the single biggest indicator of IT competitiveness.

**** Luxury Homes In Singapore No Longer A Bargain <http://nationmultimedia.com/worldhotnews/read.php?newsid=30040509>
by DPA
Luxury private home prices in Singapore are fast approaching those in Hong Kong and no longer offer the bargain of two years ago compared to some of the world's largest cities, a JP Morgan report said on Thursday.

**** Blood Shortage Was Not Cause Of Death: Raffles Hospital <http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/287574/1/.html>
by Ng Baoying and Chua Su Sien, Channel NewsAsia
The woman who died after giving birth to twins over the weekend was not denied blood, and her death was not because there was insufficient blood available at the time, according to Raffles Hospital.
But Raffles Hospital clarified while it is common practice to ask relatives and well-wishers to help replenish stock, it is never a requirement for blood to be released by the blood bank.
/As far as I can tell, Raffles Hospital didn't refute that its staff has given contradicting statements given to the family &mdash; that "higher authorities" needed to release more blood, and that blood donation is a must-have requirement. Over-zealous hospital staff, or a cover-up?/

**** Tree's End Is Near <http://www.todayonline.com/articles/199610.asp>
by Lin Yanqin, Today
It cost the Land Transport Authority $200,000 to save this 80-year-old tree in the middle of Braddell Road from being felled two years ago, but the authorities have decided it has to be chopped down after all.
/Too many "near-accident" situations./
See Also: A Story Of An Old Angsana Tree <http://sgtransport.blogspot.com/2007/07/story-of-old-angsana-tree.html>, by Daniel Chin, Singapore's Land Transport. It seems everyone is happy with the odd arrangement, until a few important passers-by happened to pass by the area.

**** Choose From 7,107 Flavours <http://www.asianewsnet.net/lifestyle.php?aid=10944>
by Vangie Baga-Reyes, Straits Times
When they say Singapore is fast becoming a multi-regional hub of culture and cuisines, Philippine cuisine had better be part of it. And so, with 7,107 Flavours opening on the second level of Marina Square along the famed Raffles Boulevard shopping strip, our Filipino food can now be at par with other better-known culinary fare in the region.

**** Singapore Expects FTA Deal With China By Next Year <http://www.straitstimes.com/Free/Story/STIStory_138103.html>
by Goh Sui Noi, Straits Times
Singapore can expect to conclude its free trade agreement (FTA) with China by next year, deputy prime minister Wong Kan Seng said yesterday. But both countries would have to work very hard to achieve that target, he added.

**** SBS Transit Should Explain 'New' Pram Policy <http://www.straitstimes.com/ST%2BForum/Online%2BStory/STIStory_137959.html>
by Wendy Lin Wenni, Straits Times

**** Good Governance, But Where's The Voice? <http://www.todayonline.com/articles/199587.asp>
by Loh Chee Kong, Today
First, the good news: Singapore continues to rank among the best in five out of six areas in the World Bank's latest worldwide governance indicator report.
But the bad news is that in the category of "voice and accountability," which measures political, civil and human rights, the Republic's score hit its lowest since 1996 and it was placed in the bottom half of the 212 countries and territories surveyed.

**** I Regret <http://stressed-teacher.blogspot.com/2007/07/i-regret.html>
by Stressed Teacher
When was the last time you saw a local big-wig take responsibility for his mistake?

The Shuffe by MyAppleMenu
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**** I Was Awake... <http://www.letchermusic.com/music.htm>
by Chris Letcher
Click here to listen <http://www.letchermusic.com/IWasAwakeICouldNotMov.mp3>.

**** Deep Frieze <http://www.letchermusic.com/music.htm>
by Chris Letcher
Click here to listen <http://www.letchermusic.com/DeepFrieze.mp3>.