[MyAppleMenu] Jan 1, 2008

[applesurf at myapplemenu.com]

MyAppleMenu
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**** Just What's SO Special About Apple RAM To Justify The Crazy Price? <http://blogs.zdnet.com/hardware/?p=1095>
by Adrian Kingsley-Hughes, ZDNet.com
Ridiculous.

**** Five Ways You Can Make Life Easier For New Mac Users <http://www.tuaw.com/2007/12/31/five-ways-you-can-make-life-easier-for-new-mac-users/>
by Michael Rose, The Unofficial Apple Weblog

**** VectorWorks 2008 <http://www.macworld.com/article/131296/2007/12/vectorworks.html>
by Greg Miller, Macworld
Extensive additions and user focus enhance versatile CAD program.

**** Fix Mac Slowdowns <http://www.macworld.com/article/131342/2007/12/2502workingmac.html>
by Macworld
Does your Mac seem to be getting slower over time?

**** Sound Studio 3: Sound Editing Program Offers Balance Between Power And Ease Of Use <http://www.macworld.com/article/131289/2007/12/soundstudio3.html>
by Lee Sherman, Macworld
Soud Studio 3.5.5 is an easy-to-use tool that fits smoothly into your daily workflow without requiring a degree in audio engineering.

**** The Year's Biggest Mac Stories <http://www.macworld.com/article/131346/2007/12/top10news.html>
by Philip Michaels, Macworld

The Tomorrow Weblog
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**** In The Contest Between PCs And Laptops, An Open-And-Shut Case <http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-laptop1jan01,0,4090816.story?track=mostviewed-splashpage>
by Michelle Quinn, Los Angeles Times
After decades as the computer of choice for homes and businesses, the desktop PC is being pushed to the scrap heap by its smaller, nimbler sibling: the laptop.

**** Internet Access Is Only Prerequisite For More And More College Classes <http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/30/AR2007123002796.html?nav=most_emailed>
by Susan Kinzie, Washington Post
Berkeley's on YouTube. American University's hoping to get on iTunes. George Mason professors have created an online research tool, a virtual filing cabinet for scholars. And with a few clicks on Yales web site, anyone can watch one of the school's most popular philosophy profesors sitting cross-legged on his desk, talking about death.

MyAppleMenu Reader
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**** Self-Exam <http://www.newyorker.com/fiction/poetry/2008/01/07/080107po_poem_olds>
by Sharon Olds, New Yorker

**** Cairo, N.Y. <http://www.newyorker.com/fiction/poetry/2008/01/07/080107po_poem_eady>
by Cornelius Eady, New Yorker
The town near our house<br/>Isn't fancy, but it is ripe.<br/>At present, it is still on<br/>The wrong side of<br/>The Hudson River.

**** Outage <http://www.newyorker.com/fiction/features/2008/01/07/080107fi_fiction_updike>
by John Updike, New Yorker

**** For China's Journalism Students, Censorshiop Is A Core Concept <http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/30/AR2007123002312.html?nav=most_emailed>
by Edward Cody, Washington Post
The party's Central Committee in 2001 urged Chinese media and journalism schools to adopt the concept of "Marxist journalism." The term was broadly interpreted to mean journalism that the government views as improving society and taking account of Chinese realities, including censorship under one-party rule.

**** Second Thoughts On Life, The Universe And Everything By World's Best Brains <http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2008/jan/01/sciencenews.evolution>
by James Randerson, The Guardian
The changes of mind that gave philosophers and scientists new insights.

**** The Library's Helpful Sage Of The Stacks <http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/31/arts/31rese.html?_r=1&oref=slogin>
by Sam Roberts, New York Times
Most writers remember exactly how they they met David Smith.

**** In 2008, A 100 Percent Chance Of Alarm <http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/01/science/01tier.html?ex=1356843600&en=332d7925259bbbe0&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss>
by John Tierney, New York Times
When judging risks, we often go wrong by using what's called the availability heuristic: we gauge a danger according to how many examples of it are readily available in our minds.

SingaporeSurf
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**** Shareholder Criticises Singapore Airlines, China Eastern Deal <http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5g_Pe4LNjih54T1kOAfjyJ_f5Lfow>
by AFP
A key China Eastern Airlines shareholder said Tuesday a bid by Singapore Airlines to raise its stake in the mainland carrier undervalued the company, the latest blow to the turbulent deal.

**** NTUC Chief Urges Singaporeans To Be Prepared To Live With Higher Fuel, Food Prices <http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/320183/1/.html>
by Wong Mun Wai, Channel NewsAsia
The best way to meet this challenge is for Singapore to focus on economic development, and according to NTUC chief Lim Swee Say, this is the most sustainable strategy.

**** 6 Percentage Point Reduction In CPF Housing Withdrawal Limit From Jan 1 <http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/320156/1/.html>
by Satish Cheney, Channel NewsAsia
See Also:
Reminder: CPF Changes From 1 January 2008 <http://mycpf.cpf.gov.sg/CPF/News/News-Release/N_12December2007.htm>, by CPF Board.

**** HIV Patients Deserve Respect Too <http://wadupsg.wordpress.com/2008/01/01/hiv-patients-deserve-respect-too/>
by WAD Up! Singapore

**** JC, Sec Schools Slapped With Warning Letters <http://tnp.sg/news/story/0,4136,152131,00.html?>
by Liew Hanqing, New Paper
This year, the Ministry of Education sent warning letters to three schools where illegal downloading was rampant.

**** Blogging Is A Criminal Hobby, Part 1 <http://www.yawningbread.org/arch_2007/yax-830.htm>
by Au Waipang, Yawning Bread
Digital media in Singapore is caught in multiple driftnets of legislation and by-laws. If they are enfroced, 90% of bloggers wil be facing fines or jailtime.

**** PM Sets 2008 Agenda In 3 Areas <http://www.straitstimes.com/Free/Story/STIStory_191604.html>
by Peh Shing Huei, Straits Times
Prime minister Lee Hsien Loong yesterday set the government's agenda for 2008: It will tackle major issues in three areas that have a significant impact on Singapore's lives - in health care, transport and education.
/The question we have to ask is: what problems in the three areas are we going to solve? Solving taxi driver's income, for example, is very different from solving the lack of taxis during peak hours in CBD. What are the government's priorities?/

**** Late Buses Due To Jams, Wet Weather <http://www.straitstimes.com/ST%2BForum/Story/STIStory_191666.html>
by Kuek Chor Ling, SMRT Corporation, Straits Times
The routes along bus service 75 were subjected to heavy traffic jams in the evenings during the week of Dec 10.
/DId the bus companies and LTA justified spending all that money on the GPS thing by saying that jams can now be monitored so that replacement buses can be send to avoid disruptions? Now that the system is in place, SMRT is saying that a replacement bus system will "not optimise <their> limited resources"? So we spent all these money just to have fancy bus arrival boards?/

**** Performance-Linked Pay More Harm Than Good <http://www.straitstimes.com/ST%2BForum/Story/STIStory_191676.html>
by Gilbert Goh Keow Wah, Straits Times
The performance-pegged bonuses, though commendable, may create too much tension in the school environment, when teaching should primarily be a vocation that practitioners do out of love. If a teacher carries out his job with the intention to perform well to gain ore bonuses, then teaching may not be the right profession for him.
/I do not agree that performance-linked pay is harmful. What is harmful, I believe, is paying purely by objective KPIs. (For example: number of students gettting As.) That will just encouraging people gaming the system, while penalizing people with good talents that just happens to fall outside the KPIs./