[MyAppleMenu] Dec 18, 2008

[applesurf at myapplemenu.com]

MyAppleMenu
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**** Apple May Not Need Macworld, But Many Apple Partners May <http://www.businessweek.com/the_thread/techbeat/archives/2008/12/apple_may_not_n.html>
by Peter Burrows, BusinessWeek

**** That He Not Busy Being Born Is Busy Dying <http://daringfireball.net/2008/12/busy_being_born>
by John Gruber, Daring Fireball
It seems so ugly, the way this has gone down &mdash; but there's no way to break with tradition in a nice way.

**** Shhh...
by Heng-Cheong Leong, MyAppleMenu
Speak volumes... by not saying a word <http://www.silentkeynote.com/>: My name is Lesa Snider King and I'm mad at Apple.
<p class="permlink">Permanent Link to This Post <http://www.myapplemenu.com/2008/12/18/id0034/>

**** Good Reason, Faulty Argument <http://farukat.es/journal/2008/12/127-good-reason-faulty-argument>
by FarukAt.es
Macworld Expo may have been an important venue for many historic Apple announcments, but it's certainly not been the /only/ one over the past ten years and it would be a mistake to give Macworld Expo that kind of credit.

**** iPhone Developers Finally Starting To Dictate What Day Their Apps Goes Live In The App Store <http://venturebeat.com/2008/12/17/iphone-developers-can-dictate-what-day-their-app-goes-live-in-the-app-store/>
by Mg Siegler, Venture Beat
/If Apple doesn't want IDG to dictate its own launch dates, it shouldn't dictate others' too, obviously./

**** Apple's Snow Leopard Prepares To Show Off Its Spots <http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2008/dec/18/apple-snow-leopard>
by Chris Edwards, The Guardian
When Appel senior vice-president Phil Schiller gets up on stage at next month's Macworld, a couple of weeks ahead of the Macintosh computer's 25th anniversary, he will have the opportunity to alter the direction of computing.

**** 'Jobs Premium' Is Worth Billions <http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/18/business/18views.html>
by Rob Cox and Richard Beales, New York Times
Steve P. Jobs has turned Apple into a technology powerhouse &mdash; twice. But how much is he worth to the company? If one compares the value of Apple's revenue streams to the company's market capitalization, nearly $20 billion.

**** Schiller Vs. Ballmer: The Inevitable, Unexpected Keynote Smackdown <http://technologizer.com/2008/12/16/schiller-vs-ballmer-the-inevitable-unexpected-keynote-smackdown/>
by Harry McCracken, Technologizer

**** The Mac Is Dead (Again), Pass The Cider <http://blogs.zdnet.com/Burnette/?p=699>
by Ed Burnette, ZDNet.com
I think what we need is a Mac run-time layer that lets those great Mac programs work well on other operating systems.
/By the time one gets all that underlying libraries running on other platforms, you might as well have ported the entire OS X. Which is no easy task, even for Apple./

**** Tilt Shift Photography On Apple iPhone <http://www.techradar.com/news/phone-and-communications/mobile-phones/tilt-shift-photography-comes-to-the-apple-iphone-496015>
by James Rivington, TechRadar.com
As a novelty app, it could prove to be quite popular among casual snappers.

**** Mac Beats All Comers On Reliability, Support... Again <http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9123738&intsrc=hm_list>
by Gregg Keizer, Computerworld
For the second year running, Apple Inc.'s computers are the most reliable, and its support is the most dependable of all computer makers selling in the U.S., a national chain of computer service shops said today.

**** How Apple Could Survive Without Steve Jobs <http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122955421965715899.html?mod=googlenews_wsj>
by Justin Scheck and Nick Wingfield, Wall Street Journal
There is reason for optimism, based on the evolution of the team that develops Apple's hardware, software and services, some people familiar with the company's internal workings say. Some of them believe the group is now strong enough that, barring an exodus of top talent, the company could keep churning out innovative products without Mr. Jobs.

**** Dave "Switch" Taylor: Producing M.I.A. <http://www.apple.com/logicstudio/action/switch/?sr=hotnews?sr=hotnews.rss>
by Joe Cellini, Apple

**** Apple And Steve Jobs Had Good Reason To Dump Macworld <http://www.suntimes.com/business/1336409,ihnatko-apple-macworld-jobs-121708.article>
by Andy Ihnatko, Chicaco Sun-Times
Folks have wondered about the timing of Apple's announcement, coming as it does just three weeks before Expo. I've seen no hard data supporting to any firm conclusion, but I suspect that it was an act of consideration. If Apple had made this announcement a few months sooner, it would have rightly or wrongly been seen as a tipoff that this would be a good year to stay home. It would have sandbagged the show.

**** Fearless: Apple's Macworld Expo Exit Is Part Of Its DNA <http://arstechnica.com/staff/fatbits.ars/2008/12/17/fearless-apples-macworld-expo-exit-is-part-of-its-dna>
by John Siracusa, Ars Technica
While other companies are paralyzed with indecision, or cling relentlessly to what has worked in the past, or are seduced by sentimentality, Apple is busy murdering its darlings.

**** Apple And The Peril Of Innovation <http://news.cnet.com/8301-13506_3-10125323-17.html?tag=bnpr>
by Don Reisinger, CNET News.com
Apple's capacity to deliver groundbreaking products every few months at its varous events is severely diminished. Simply put, Apple doesn't want to have to force itself to innovate for the trade show just to satisfy hype-driven media outlets.

**** Macworld Expo Minus Apple: Traditions Meet Market Reality <http://blogs.zdnet.com/Apple/?p=2658>
by David Morgenstern, ZDNet.com
The Macworld Expo has been a way to bring customers and solutions together. That confluence now appears in peril, and it can't be done at the stores.

**** Blood Ties <http://www.insidemacgames.com/reviews/view.php?ID=989>
by John Samsel, Inside Mac Games
Purely as a hidden object game, there are better ones, but there are much worse. What hurts the game most is just the lack of mini-games to add variety.

**** Analyst: A Post-Jobs Era Is Looming <http://arstechnica.com/journals/apple.ars/2008/12/17/analyst-a-post-jobs-era-is-looming>
by Jeff Smykil, Ars Technica

**** Migrate Data From PC To Mac <http://www.macworld.com/article/137618/2008/12/pctomacdata.html?lsrc=rss_main>
by Christopher Breen, Macworld

**** Digidesign Releases Pro Tools 8 <http://www.macworld.com/article/137615/2008/12/protools.html?lsrc=rss_main>
by Jim Dalrymple, Macworld
Among the many changes in Pro Tools 8 is completely redesigned user interface.

**** AT&amp;T's Refurbished iPhone 3Gs Are A Lame Deal <http://arstechnica.com/journals/apple.ars/2008/12/17/atts-refurbished-iphone-3gs-are-a-lame-deal>
by Erica Sadun, Ars Technica
For that $50 you save, you get a used, possibly scratched unit with a possibly much-reduced warranty and you're /still/ stuck with a two-year commitment.

**** iPhone Gaming Is Maturing As More Major Games Join The Fray <http://arstechnica.com/journals/apple.ars/2008/12/17/iphone-gaming-is-maturing-as-more-major-games-join-the-fray>
by Chris Foresman, Ars Technica

**** Orange In France Loses iPhone Exclusivity <http://www.macworld.com/article/137608/2008/12/iphone_france.html?lsrc=rss_main>
by Mikael Ricknas, IDG News Service
The iPhone will no longer be available for just Orange subscribers in France after a decision by the national competition council announced Wednesday.

**** Apple Expo Paris Cancelled <http://www.macworld.com/article/137605/2008/12/appleexpo.html?lsrc=rss_main>
by Jim Darlymple, Macworld
Reed Exhibitions will not hold Apple Expo Paris in 2009. The show organizers confirmed its plans for /Macworld/ on Wednesday.

The Tomorrow Weblog
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**** In Business, It's Better To Be Mediocre Than Great <http://www.pcworld.com/article/155627/in_business_its_better_to_be_mediocre_than_great.html>
by Jeff Bertolucci, PC World

**** Yahoo To Scrub Personal Data After Three Months <http://www.macworld.com/article/137600/2008/12/yahoo.html?lsrc=rss_main>
by Jeremy Kirk, IDG News Service
Yahoo said Wednesday it will anonymize most of the data it collects about people's web searches after three months, a move that could put further pressure on competitors Google and Microsoft to do the same due to privacy concerns.

MyAppleMenu Reader
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**** John Milton's Vision <http://www.opendemocracy.net/article/john-milton-s-vision>
by Theo Hobson, Open Democracy
If we are to honour Milton on his 400th birthday we must clealry recognise the persistence of his otherness - the fact that he cannot be claimed as a noble exemplar of the national soul. The nation chose against him, and still does.

SingaporeSurf
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**** Memories @ Old Ford Factory <http://blogofsorts.wordpress.com/2008/12/18/memories-old-ford-factory/>
by Yesterday... Today... Tomorrow

**** A Few Notes On Singapore <http://electricstars.wordpress.com/2008/12/17/a-few-notes-on-singapore/>
by All The Electric Stars Are Shining
The Bangladeshi and/or Indonesian construction workers are some of the most shunned and disfavoured people on this island.

**** Singapore Mulling A Pensions Cut? <http://www.pressrun.net/weblog/2008/12/singapore-mulling-a-pensions-cut.html>
by Blowin' In The Wind
Why not tell it like it is?
/Because cutting CPF rates can be considered a major failure of the current government - the whole point of the variable salary component initiative is to remove the need to use such a blunt instrument in cutting business costs./

**** Will The PAP Allow Singaporeans To Review Its 'Welfare' System? <http://wayangparty.com/2008/12/18/will-the-pap-allow-singaporeans-to-review-its-welfare-system/>
by Fang Zhi Yuan, The Wayang Party Club Of Singapore

**** Mukhriz Supports Call For A New Johor-Singapore Bridge <http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Wednesday/NewsBreak/20081217200543/Article/index_html>
by Bernama
Umno Youth executive council member Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir has expressed support to the call to revive the construction of a new bridge connecting Johor and Singapore.

**** Global Warming Fight: Singapore Ranks Thirty-Eighth <http://csr-asia.com/weekly_detail.php?id=11568>
by Vijay Ramani, CSR Asia

**** Singapore's Exports Decline On Electronics, Drugs <http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601080&sid=aQom88npwO6o&refer=asia>
by Shamim Adam, Bloomberg
Singapore's exports fell the most in more than six years in November as weakening orders for electronics and drugs from developed and emerging markets led to the longest slump in overseas sales since 2002.
Singapore's economic growth this year may miss the government's forecast of 2.5 percent as the global economy worsens amid a credit crisis, trade minister Lim Hng Kiang said yesterday.

**** Answers To An Unexplainable World
by Heng-Cheong Leong, MyAppleMenu
The Explainer is one of the regular features of Slate that I enjoyed. And it has come up with list of questions <http://www.slate.com/id/2206835/?from=rss> that it didn't answer this year. And the two questions I'm interested in finding out the answers are:
"I live in Washington, D.C., and we have very long escalators coming out of the Metro. If I grabbed the handrail when I first step onto the escalator and did not let go until I was at the top, my body would be almost prostrate across the steps. As I go higher on the escalator, I have to readjust the hand that is grabbing the rubber handrail. Why can't the companies that make escalators sync the steps and the handrails so that they go the same speed?" /Yes, I've noticed this in Singapore's MRT too./
"Why don't humans have a mating season?" /But, honey, this *is* the time./
<p class="permlink">Permanent Link to This Post <http://www.myapplemenu.com/singapore/2008/12/18/id0016/>

**** Bank RM Has Courage And Integrity <http://tankinlian.blogspot.com/2008/12/bank-rm-has-courage-and-integrity.html>
by Tan Kin Lian
A RM of a bank called me. He is willing to come forward to sign a statement that he has been giving the wrong information about the credit-linked notes to the bank customers, due to his ignorance.