[MyAppleMenu] Aug 6, 2008

[applesurf at myapplemenu.com]

MyAppleMenu
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**** iPhone App Store Proves The Smartphone Is The Computer <http://www.informationweek.com/blog/main/archives/2008/08/iphone_app_stor.html>
by Alexander Wolfe, InformationWeek

**** Macs Are PCs, Dammit! <http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2327233,00.asp>
by Lance Ulanoff, PC Magazine
I'm not saying that Macs are not wonderful products. We almost always love them when we test them here at PC Magazine Labs. Apple is, without a doubt, the most consistent company in computerdom. But Steve Jobs is not God, and his products are not grown on trees and picked by loving workers who let them ripen on cotton sheets by the window sill.

**** Former Apple Employee Sues For Violation Of Labor Code <http://www.macworld.com/article/134862/2008/08/lawsuit.html?lsrc=rss_main>
by Jim Dalrymple, Macworld
Filed in the United States District Court, Southern District of California, the complaint focuses on the fact that employees were required to work more than 40 hours a week or eight hours in a workday. David Walsh's suit says that Apple then denies the employees proper compensation for that work.

**** Switching To The Mac: Problems And Solutions <http://shumans.com/articles/switching-to-the-mac-problems.php>
by Shuman Ghosemajumder, Shumans.com
OS X uses a different mosue pointer "acceleration curve" than Windows. Windows uses a flatter curve, which makes the mouse respond more naturally, whereas OS X's curve accelerates quicker for speed but slower for smaller, precise movements.

**** Multiple Docks In Mac OS X <http://cybernetnews.com/2008/08/05/multiple-docks-in-mac-os-x/>
by Cybernet
You can create up to five different Docks that you can switch between right from the menubar. Or, what's even better is that you can assign Docks to certain Spaces.

**** Why Switch To The Mac? Five Top Reasons <http://webworkerdaily.com/2008/08/05/why-switch-to-the-mac-five-top-reasons/>
by Samuel Dean, Web Worker Daily
An actual file system, much better video and graphics, cooler looking machines, true plug-and-play, more reliability.

**** MobileMe Problems Show Apple Needs An Infrastructure Lesson <http://gigaom.com/2008/08/05/mobileme-problems-show-apple-needs-an-infrastructure-lesson/>
by Om Malik, GigaOM
Apple's problem is that it doesn't seem to have recognized the fact that it's in the business of network-enabled hardware.

**** Steve Jobs On MobileMe: The Full E-Mail <http://arstechnica.com/journals/apple.ars/2008/08/05/steve-jobs-on-mobileme-the-full-e-mail>
by Jacqui Cheng, Ars Technica
"The MobileMe launch clearly demonstrates that we have more to learn about internet services. And learn we will. The vision of MobileMe is both exciting and ambitious, and we will press on to make it a service we are all proud of by the end of this year."

**** Can The iPhone Rule Gaming? <http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1829037,00.html?cnn=yes>
by Anita Hamilton, Time
It's already a groundbreaking phone and digital music player, and now Apple's iPhone is emerging as a popular gaming device as well.
See Also: iPhone Games: Ars Staff Favorites <http://arstechnica.com/journals/apple.ars/2008/08/05/iphone-games-ars-staff-favorites>, by Jacqui Cheng, Ars Technica.
/Apple should add a speaker to the next iteration of iPod Touch to take advantage of the new games coming soon on the platform &mdash; even though it will probably anony the heck out of me if the young punk sitting next to me on the bus starts playing games without headphones./

**** How Sound Is Consumer Reports' Safari Advice? <http://www.macworld.com/article/134851/2008/08/safariphish.html?lsrc=rss_main>
by Rob Griffiths, Macworld
Should Safari have anti-phishing features? Sure, it should. Should you stop using it today because it doesn't? Not at all&mdash;as long as you're willing to exercise "safe clicking" practices.

**** DiskWrangler File Launcher Improves Leopard Support <http://www.macworld.com/article/134846/2008/08/diskwrangler.html?lsrc=rss_main>
by Peter Cohen, Macworld
DiskWrangler helps you keep your hands on the keyboard instead of reaching for the mouse when it's time to launch applications, documents, mail and web URLs.

**** iTunes Maintains Stranglehold On US Music Sales <http://www.macnn.com/articles/08/08/05/itunes.controls.us.music/>
by MacNN
The NPD Group says that iTunes maintained an existing lead, despite competition from major, firmly established corporations.
/And we are talking about all forms of music sales, online and offline. Wow. Who'd imagine this ten years ago, when Apple was shopping (or rather, begging) for a new OS./

The Tomorrow Weblog
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**** Compressing Light <http://www.technologyreview.com/Infotech/21176/?a=f>
by Lauren Rugani, MIT Technology Review
A new way to compress light could make optical communications on computer chips more practical.

**** IBM, Linux Dealers Seize Chance To Market 'Microsoft-Free' Desktop <http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Linux-and-Open-Source/Selling-the-MicrosoftFree-Desktop/>
by Chris Premimesberger, eWeek

**** Designers On Quest To Build $12 Computer <http://news.bostonherald.com/business/technology/general/view/2008_08_04_Designers_on_quest_to_build__12_computer/>
by Jerry Kronenberg, Boston Herald
"My generation all had Apple IIs that we learned to type and play games on. If we can get buy-in from programmers, we can develop these devices and give (Third World) schools Apple II computers labs liek the ones I grew up with."

MyAppleMenu Reader
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**** In Changing Harlem, Soul Food Struggles <http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/06/nyregion/06soulfood.html?_r=1&oref=slogin>
by Timothy Williams, New York Times
Soul food is dying in Harlem and elsewhere in the city. The reasons can be chalked up to the vagaries of contemporary city life: Changing tatstes; health consciousness; the fast-food culture; and an influx of wealthier young adults &mdash; including African-Americans, long a customer base for soul food restaurants &mdash; who are more comfortable eating Indian or Thai dishes.

**** The Coffee Fix: Can The $11,000 Clover Machine Save Starbucks? <http://www.wired.com/gadgets/miscellaneous/magazine/16-08/mf_clover>
by Mathew Honan, Wired
The Clover coffeemaker debuted in a handful of cafes in 2006 and was promptly hailed as the best thing to happen to coffee lovers since the car cup holder.

**** Paying Homage To What's Vanished In Beijing's Race To Modernize <http://www.boston.com/ae/books/articles/2008/08/05/paying_homage_to_whats_vanished_in_beijings_race_to_modernize/?rss_id=Boston+Globe+--+Book+reviews>
by Michael Kenney, Boston Globe
By the time Michael Meyer arrived in 1997, Beijing's old neighborhoods were being gutted and rebuilt skyward in the run-up to this summer's Olympics.

**** Sunday Morning Lifeblogging: Adventures In European Subtitling <http://fistfulofeuros.net/afoe/culture/sunday-morning-lifeblogging-adventures-in-european-subtitling/>
by Guy La Roche, A Fistful Of Euros
Subtitlers do everything in their power to make sure people do not notice all their billiant solutions to difficult problems.

SingaporeSurf
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**** 1 In 2 Singaporeans Would Vote A Female President <http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/365191/1/.html>
by Ansley Ng, Today
One in two Singaporeans would vote a female president into the Istana, and four in five would accept a woman cabinet minister, if a recent survey is anything to go by.
/Of course, the role of the president in Singapore government is still mostly a ceremonial one, while most Singaporeans don't see how they can have a choice in deciding who will be cabinet ministers. (Heck, most Singaporeans don't even have any choices when it comes to MPs.)/

**** A Ploy To Launch Volume-Based Pricing By ISPs? <http://www.straitstimes.com/ST%2BForum/Online%2BStory/STIStory_264803.html>
by Waleed Hanafi, Straits Times
So "No", Straits Times and local ISPs, the problem is not "insatiable bandwidth hogs", the problem is the failure to provide sufficient international network bandwidth to handle the traffic you have promised subscribers to carry.

**** Right-Size GRCs Back To Their Original Spirit And Intent To Spur Political Growth <http://www.straitstimes.com/ST%2BForum/Story/STIStory_264864.html>
by Jacob Tan, Straits Times
The dominance of super-GRCs today has retarded political progress, and bred cynicism and apathy.

**** Are Maids Human? <http://www.glass-castle.org/blog/2008/08/are-maids-human.html>
by Glass Castle Blog
Why did the Straits Times choose to publish this patchwork of stereotypes? And to do so, moreover, under a headline that feeds into all the sexist, infantilising themes that already feature far too frequently in conversations about FDWs.

**** The Straits Times And The Online Competition <http://www.pressrun.net/weblog/2008/08/the-straits-times-and-the-online-competition.html>
by Blowin' In The Wind
The Straits Times is the authoritative source of news about Singapore. It has good journalists whom we have come to trust and respect. But it has to raise the bar online.