[MyAppleMenu] Dec 22, 2008

[applesurf at myapplemenu.com]

MyAppleMenu
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**** MacBook Air Late 2008 <http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2008/12/22/review_laptop_mac_macbook_air/>
by Stephen Dean, Register Hardware
We'll concede that the recently updated MacBook represents much better value for money, and it's hard to imagine that the MacBook Air will sell well in these credit-crunch days. And yet - we still want one. THat's how good the design is.

**** TinkerTool Review: Adjust Hidden Mac Settings <http://mac.elated.com/2008/12/22/tinkertool-review-adjust-hidden-mac-settings/>
by Reality Distortion

**** Banned In Cupertino <http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-10127333-37.html>
by Tom Krazit, CNET News.com
Add one more headache for whoever is running Apple's App Store approval process: edgy books.

**** Apple Sidelines Humanitarian Effort, Attracts Bad Press <http://news.softpedia.com/news/Apple-Sidelines-Humanitarian-Effort-Attracts-Bad-Press-100571.shtml>
by Softpedia

**** Alternatives To Macworld Expo <http://www.geekculture.com/joyoftech/joyarchives/1187.html>
by The Joy Of Tech
"Hello, again."

**** Apple Has Winning Touch In Festive Sales <http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/303edcb2-cfcb-11dd-abf9-000077b07658.html>
by Chris Nuttall and Richard Waters, Financial Times
Apple, with its iPod touch, appears a clear winner this holiday season as US consumers shop for smaller, cheaper, more versatile electroncs.
Michael Gartenberg, vice-president of Mobile Strategy at Jupitermedia, says: "The iPod touch is being positioned as a product that can do multiple things. That gives it that strong value proposition of having lots of capabilities at one price point."

**** Apple Inc: Taking A Look At Mac Pricing <http://financial-alchemist.blogspot.com/2008/12/apple-inc-aapl-taking-look-at-mac.html>
by Turley Muller, Financial Alchemist
The popularity of low-priced PCs stems from the lack of added value for pricier Windows computers, rather than the inability/unwillingness to spend more for a computer. It's incorrect to assert that Mac sales growth is vulnerable to netbooks or cheap PCs. The real challenge facing Apple in this rough economy is attracting new users and enticing current users to upgrade/replace.

The Tomorrow Weblog
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**** Newspaper Shuns Web, And Thrives <http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/22/business/media/22carr.html?ref=todayspaper>
by David Carr, New York Times

**** Washington Is Killing Silicon Valley <http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122990472028925207.html>
by Michael S. Malone, Wall Street Journal
Entrepreneurship was taken for granted. Now we're seeing a lot less of it.

MyAppleMenu Reader
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**** What Your Loneliness Is Telling You <http://www.salon.com/env/feature/2008/12/22/loneliness/index.html>
by Katharine Miezkowski, Salon
According to the new science of loneliness, those holiday blues have an important message for you.

**** The Art Of Prize-Fighting <http://www.prospect-magazine.co.uk/article_details.php?id=10526>
by Tom Chatfield, Prospect
Prizes are a vital part of the modern market for serious literature, but they're also increasingly flawed and compromised. At their best, however, they can still be an important mechanism for ensuring literature's future as a public art.

SingaporeSurf
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**** Singapore Takes On ACCC <http://business.theage.com.au/business/singapore-takes-on-accc-20081222-73p5.html>
by Matt O'Sullivan, The Age
Singapore Airlines is the first carrier to fight the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission's claims that it broke the law by colluding with rivals to set high freight and security surcharges.

**** Will Singapore Require A New Paradigm Of Nuclear Power? <http://vimdy.wordpress.com/2008/12/22/will-singapore-require-a-new-paradigm-of-nuclear-power/>
by Stretegic Thinking

**** Report: Singapore Airlines To Deny Freight Price Fixing Charge <http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/asiapacific/news/article_1449735.php/Report_Singapore_Airlines_to_deny_freight_price_fixing_charge_>
by DPA

**** Flexi Working Hours Catching On In Singapore <http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v5/newsindex.php?id=379838>
by Zakaria Abdul Wahab, Bernama

**** CPF Cut Not Justified At This Point In Time, Says Lim Boon Heng <http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporebusinessnews/view/397904/1/.html>
by Imelda Saad, Channel NewsAsia
Speaking to unionist, minister in the prime minister's office Lim Boon Heng said on Friday that the wage structure in Singapore has enough flexibility such that a CPF cut should be a last resort.

**** Kong See Wah Is An Audit Manager At DBS <http://wayangparty.com/2008/12/22/kong-see-wah-is-an-audit-manager-at-dbs/>
by The Wayang Party Club Of Singapore

**** Raise GST By 1.5 Percent To Provide Free Public Transport Please <http://www.mrbiao.com/blog/raise-gst-by-15-percent-to-provide-free-public-transport-please.html>
by This Lush Garden Within
/Next, while we are at it, increase further so that we can all have free clothings, food, and flats too./

**** So Now Our Transport Fares Are Not Linked To Oil Prices <http://www.mrbrown.com/blog/2008/12/so-now-our-transport-fare-hikes-not-linked-to-oil-prices.html>
by mrbrown
/I think Raymond Lim's statement need further parsing. What he is saying, which is true, is that the government does not regulate public transport fares directly via the cost of oil price. If one reads between the lines, Raymond Lim is saying either that the public transport companies should be the one taking the initiatives to lower fares, or we should go pressure ComfortDelgro and SMRT, and leave the government out of this./

**** Transport Minister Gunning To Be Finance Minister? <http://singaporecitizen.wordpress.com/2008/12/21/transport-minister-gunning-to-be-finance-minister/>
by Everyday's Life In A Snapshot

**** Wife Of Former NKF Chairman Sentenced To 22 Months' Jail <http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/397872/1/.html>
by Roland Lim, Channel NewsAsia

**** Conditions Of Employment, 2008 <http://www.mom.gov.sg/publish/momportal/en/press_room/press_releases/2008/20081222-conditions.html>
by Ministry Of Manpower, Singapore Government
Many employers are going beyond the basic statutory requirements to provide various family-friendly levae benefits.

**** Mainstream Media Going Downstream: PN Balji <http://theonlinecitizen.com/2008/12/mainstream-media-going-downstream-pn-balji/>
by Andrew Loh, The Online Citizen
Change in the local media will only come if there are threats to its dominance and if there are pressure on its bottomline, said PN Balji. And with the government as its 'biggest stakeholder', policies towards the media will change only if the government feels there is a threat to its position.

**** Transport Fares Not Linked To Oil Prices? Really? <http://theonlinecitizen.com/2008/12/transport-fares-not-linked-to-oil-prices-really/>
by Andrew Loh, The Online Citizen
In past years transport operators have cited increases in oil prices as a reason for asking for fares to be increased.

**** Will Singapore Stay On The Map? <http://www.todayonline.com/articles/293755.asp>
by Alicia Wong, Today
Singapore's name for high-end treatment still draws foreigners, but patients are counting the costs.

**** Keeping Transport Costs Low <http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking%2BNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_317320.html>
by Li Xueying, Straits Times
With 2009 shaping up to be a 'diffcult year', the government will try to moderate public transport costs next year, said transport minister Raymond Lim yesterday.

**** Merry Chinese New Year? <http://tnp.sg/news/story/0,4136,187528,00.html?>
by Ho Liam-Yi, New Paper
Even before the choir boys have cleared their throats for Jingle Bells, the chorus ringing out Chinese New Year promotions and fun activities has already begun.

**** So Sad, So Tragic. Then... Out Come The Camera Phones <http://tnp.sg/news/story/0,4136,187538,00.html?>
by Hedy Khoo, New Paper

**** In Between The Silence <http://theonlinecitizen.com/2008/12/in-between-the-silence/>
by KJ, The Online Citizen
Total power is arrogant; it is corruptible, and it is begrudged too. The knee-jerk resentments are but symptoms of desperation.