[MyAppleMenu] Aug 25, 2008

[applesurf at myapplemenu.com]

MyAppleMenu
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**** Is Apple The Fashionable Whipping Boy? <http://www.itwire.com/content/view/20225/1151/>
by Stephen Withers, iTWire
Taking potshots at Apple - specially over security issues - seems to be the flavour of the month. But while such criticisms are sometimes deserved, are they often simply cheap shots?

**** My Switch To A Mac: 3 Things I Find Most Useful As A Grad Student <http://gradhacker.blogspot.com/2008/08/my-switch-to-mac-3-things-i-find-most.html>
by Grad Hacker
Using Mac's built in Preview app is like driving a Ferrari after riding a bike. Adobe does a lot of good things, I'll admit, but making programs that takes an eternity to load is certainly not one of them.

**** iPhone Software Developers Stifled Under Apple's Gag Order <http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-apple25-2008aug25,0,4479285.story>
by Michelle Quinn, Los Angeles Times
Programmers remain bound to not discuss how they create applications, potentially restraining innovation.

**** Greatest Mac Moment #23: Quick Look <http://cultofmac.com/greatest-mac-moment-23-quick-look/2590>
by Craig Grannell, Cult Of Mac
Quick Look. Two words that brilliantly sum up one of the most important and yet least celebrated additions to the Mac experience.

**** MobileMe <http://www.mildmanneredindustries.com/blog/?p=148>
by MildMannered Industries
The problem set for ubiquitous syncing is just very very hard, and the consequences of failure, in terms of user dissatisfaction are too high.

The Tomorrow Weblog
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**** An Open-Source Approach To Tracking Stolen Laptops <http://news.cnet.com/8301-13772_3-10024278-52.html>
by Daniel Terdiman, CNET News.com
The idea behind Adeona is to give people a method for safeguarding their laptops that relies neither on proprietary commercial software nor the centralized servers of the companies that provide such software.

MyAppleMenu Reader
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**** We Did Not Make Ourselves <http://www.newyorker.com/fiction/poetry/2008/09/01/080901po_poem_dickman>
by Michael Dickman, New Yorker

**** Reunion <http://www.newyorker.com/fiction/poetry/2008/09/01/080901po_poem_skinner>
by Jeffrey Skinner, New Yorker

**** Gorse Is Not People <http://www.newyorker.com/fiction/features/2008/09/01/080901fi_fiction_frame>
by Janet Frame, New Yorker

**** Haiku Nation <http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1834674,00.html>
by Jeremy Caplan, Time
Short is in. Online Americans, fed up with e-mail overload and blogorrhea, are retreating into micro-writing. Six-word memoirs. Four-word film reviews. Twelve-word novels. Mini-lit is thriving.

SingaporeSurf
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**** New NCS-SCS 'A Force' In Singapore <http://www.zdnetasia.com/news/business/0,39044229,62045302,00.htm?scid=rss_z_nw>
by Vivian Yeo, ZDNet Asia
SingTel will strengthen its foothold in Singapore's IT services market with a controlling stake in Singapore Computer Systems (SCS), but it remains to be seen if SCS can lend weight to the telco's regional expansion plans, according to analysts.

**** Not Guilty = Innocent? <http://heresthenews.blogspot.com/2008/08/not-guilty-innocent.html>
by News Clips
At some point, when due process has been exercised, there must be resolution, and there must be closure. And all that should matter is that factually, guilt was not proven and so he is not legally guilty. And that's a fact.

**** Voting For Singaporeans Abroad <http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking%2BNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_271779.html>
by Zakir Hussain, Straits Times
Some 150,000 Singaporeans abroad could potentially be eligible to vote in the next General Election, under changes to the law passed on Monday.

**** Productivity Decline In 2007 Not Due To Influx Of Foreign Workers <http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/371541/1/.html>
by Satish Cheney, Channel NewsAsia
Acting manpower minister Gan Kim Yong on Monday said that the decline in productivity in 2007 is partly due to the record employment growth of 234,900 jobs - and not due to an influx of foreign workers.

**** House Probe Sought Vs Filipino Trafficking In Singapore <http://globalnation.inquirer.net/news/breakingnews/view/20080825-156726/House-probe-sought-vs-Filipino-trafficking-in-Singapore>
by Maila Ager, Inquirer.net
A congressional inquiry into the worsening cases of Filipino trafficking in Singapore has been sought by a lawmaker at the House of Representatives.

**** More Changing Headlines: Inflation Hits Poor Harder <http://www.mrbrown.com/blog/2008/08/inflation-headl.html>
by mrbrown
Maybe the headline too long for the revamped ST font, so must change.

**** Olympic Medal, Singaporean And Typical Singaporean Mentality <http://blog.alicecheong.com/?p=338>
by Alice Cheong In Wonderland
We have cultivated new generations of apathy locals, whom many are often self-centred, while lamenting the lost of their "birthright" to better things and environment without lifting a finger to work for them.

**** Changes Planned To Allow 18 Year Olds To Go Into Busienss <http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/371521/1/.html>
by Channel NewsAsia
Plans have been laid out to make it easier for young entrepreneurs to go into business.

**** Not Guilty = Innocent? <http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking%2BNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_271738.html>
by Straits Times
Acting law minister K. Shanmugam in Parliament on Monday said: 'It is entirely possible for a person to have committed acts which amount to a crime and yet, there may be no conviction. No serious lawyer will question this possibility."
/This is a dangerous statement from the government, and, no matter how K. Shanmugnam defends it, definitely undermines the principle of "innocent until proven guilty."/
/Look, it's "innocent" until proven "guilty". If the procesecution cannot prove "guilt", then it must be "innocent". It's a binary concept: Either one is innocent or one is guilty: there can be no in-between./
/I definitely do not want the government to start drafting laws for people who are not "legally guilty" but "guilty in fact". We do not want the government to start, for example, lock up people who have not been proven guilty in the courts./
/(I am not denying the fact that people do get away under the legal system, escaping the consequences of committing crimes. But it is *not* up to the government to claim "guilt in fact". As far as the government is concerned, if it cannot prove the guilt in a person, then the person must be innocent in the government's eye.)/

**** Singaporeans Can Demonstrate At Speakers' Corner From Sep 1 <http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/371502/1/.html>
by Imelda Saad, Channel NewsAsia
Singapore citizens may organise or participate in demonstrations at the Speakers' Corner without having to obtain a police permit from September 1. The demonstrations may relate to anything except matters concerning race and religion.

**** SingTel Makes Bid For Singapore Computer Systems <http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssTechMediaTelecomNews/idUSSIN13622220080825>
by Jan Dahinten, Reuters
Singapore Telecommunications said it has bought a 60 percent stake in Singapore Computer Systems for S$140 million as it seeks to boost its IT business.

**** Singapore's H1 Inflation Up 7.1% On-Year <http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporebusinessnews/view/371473/1/.html>
by Channel NewsAsia
Singapore's inflation rate in the first half of 2008 increased 7.1 per cent compared with the same period a year ago. Food, housing and transport and communications were the three main groups contributing to the surge in inflation for income groups across the board.

**** Why Now? Ask Officials <http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking%2BNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_271708.html>
by Marc Lim and Shing Huei, Straits Times
Team Singapore officials in Beijing told The Straits Times that while Ms Lee Bee Wah may have the interests of the players at heart, they questioned the timing of her revelation that team manager Antony Lee's services were no longer required by the Singapore Table Tennis Association (STTA).
See Also:
Ms Lee Bee Wah: A New Broom Sweeps Indiscriminately <http://theonlinecitizen.com/2008/08/ms-lee-bee-wah-a-new-broom-sweeps-indiscriminately/>, by The Online Citizen. The lesson for our political leaders is this: due process in ascertaining guilt or exoneration matters more than well-publicized fist thumping.
Something Is Seriously Wrong Indeed <http://yawshinleong.blogspot.com/2008/08/something-is-seriously-wrong-indeed.html>, by Yaw Shin Leong. It is most disturbing for fellow Singaporeans to hear the STTA president does not want to disentangled in 'this whole issue', when 'this whole issue' was started by the very same person in the first place. Her action speaks volume about her leadership precepts.
Singapore Table Tennis Break Up - Management Vs Team <http://sagaden.blogspot.com/2008/08/singapore-table-tennis-break-up-mgt-vs.html>, by Saga's Den. If a MP can turn around her words, I will not have confidence in her at all.

**** Give Up Citizenship? Brothers Must Do NS First <http://www.straitstimes.com/Singapore/Story/STIStory_271584.html>
by Amelia Tan, Straits Times
Three brothers, born to a Norwegian father and Singaporean mother, want to give up their Singapore citizenship. But the Ministry of Defence has said no. Not until they do their national service.

**** Scholarships, An Uneven Playing Field <http://www.todayonline.com/articles/272718.asp>
by Nazry Bahrawi, Today
More early intervention schemes needed?

**** Babies Wanted, But Only In Traditional Families, The Traditional Way <http://www.yawningbread.org/arch_2008/yax-926.htm>
by Au Waipang, Yawning Bread
In every one of these issues, the stumbling block is not concern for the wellbeing of the child, but luddite moralism, plain and simple.