[MyAppleMenu] Jan 4, 2008

[applesurf at myapplemenu.com]

MyAppleMenu
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**** So Who Is FairPlay Protecting, Exactly? <http://www.businessweek.com/technology/ByteOfTheApple/blog/archives/2008/01/so_who_is_fairp.html?campaign_id=rss_blog_byteoftheapple>
by Peter Burrows, BusinessWeek
Given all the remarkable changes in the music business in the past few months, I'd say its time for a "More Thoughts on Music" memo from Steve.
/If iTunes embraces film rental, will subscription music be next? FairPlay remains./

**** PC Makers Take A Stylish Turn To Tackle Apple <http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB119940267392266173-GFn5NZhaCDRQ6y6r24PxlKWV4sQ_20080203.html?mod=tff_main_tff_top>
by Robert A. Guth, Justin Scheck and Don Clark, Wall Street Journal
Spurred in part by the success of Apple Inc.'s innovative products, as well as a consumer shift toward notebook computers, PC makers have begun a radical overhaul of their machines' appearance.
/If you think that Macintosh is selling purely on the looks of the machine, then you are sorely wrong. I think most PC makers know that the operating system and the applications make a lot of difference too. Unfortunately, this is the part where most PC makers have little control over what they push out of their factories./

**** Where Keyboard Shortcuts Win <http://daringfireball.net/2008/01/where_keyboard_shortcuts_win>
by John Gruber, Daring Fireball
I've always thought this was a good rule of tumb for developers when deciding which menu item commands should get keybaord shortcuts.

**** NeoOffice: The Open-Source Office Suite Alternative For Macs <http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,2243394,00.asp>
by Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols, eWeek
It may give you all of the office functionality you need without any of the costs of the new Microsoft Office.

**** Antitrust Lawsuit Charges Apple With Monopolizing Online Music <http://www.informationweek.com/news/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=205207895>
by Thomas Claburn, InformationWeek
The complaint takes issue with Apple's refusal to support the Windows Media Audio format.

**** Hitachi Sees iPod Hard Drive Market Dwindling <http://www.macworld.com/article/131381/2008/01/1inch.html>
by Peter Cohen, Macworld

**** QuickBooks Can Still Delete Data, Intuit Warns <http://www.macworld.com/article/131380/2008/01/quickbooks.html>
by Peter Cohen, Macworld

**** CrushFTP 4.5 Adds Better iCal Support <http://www.macnn.com/articles/08/01/03/crushftp.45/>
by MacNN

**** First Look: Microsoft Office For Mac 2008 <http://arstechnica.com/reviews/apps/mac-office-2008-review.ars>
by Jonathan M. Gitlin, Ars Technica
In typical Microsoft fashion, the newest version builds on prior examples to do what it's supposed to.

**** Apple Patent Reveals Docking Station For Ultramobile PC <http://www.macworld.com/article/131382/2008/01/patent.html>
by Elizabeth Montalbano, Macworld
A U.S. patent granted to Apple on Thursday seems to support reports that the company is working on an ultramobile PC to compete with Microsoft and its hardware partners in the market.

The Tomorrow Weblog
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**** Evaluating Prospects For Linux Growth In 2008 <http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080104-evaluating-prospects-for-linux-growth-in-2008.html>
by Ryan Paul, Ars Technica

**** Toward A Simpler Digital Nirvana <http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/346027_msfthome04.html>
by Todd Bishop, Seattle Post-Intelligencer

**** E-Textbooks - For Real This Time? <http://insidehighered.com/news/2008/01/03/ebooks>
by Andy Guess, Inside Higher Ed

**** The Scoble Scuffle: Facebook, Plaxo At Odds Over Data Portability <http://www.news.com/8301-13577_3-9839474-36.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20>
by Caroline McCarthy, CNET News.com

MyAppleMenu Reader
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**** Why Life Is Good <http://www.newstatesman.com/200801030023>
by Matthew Taylor, New Statesman
A dangerous gap exists between our personal experience, which is mainly happy, and our view of a society in decline.

**** The Angriest Man In Television <http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200801/bowden-wire>
by Mark Bowden, The Atlantic
How David Simons's disappointment with the industry that let him down made The Wire the greatest show on television&mdash;and why his searing vision shouldn't be confused with reality.

SingaporeSurf
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**** The Healthcare Funding Gap <http://www.yawningbread.org/arch_2008/yax-832.htm>
by Au Waipang, Yawning Bread

**** Air China's Priorities <http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/b6b49a48-ba87-11dc-9fbc-0000779fd2ac.html>
by Jamil Anderlini and Paul Betts, Financial Times
If Air China management put half the energy it has devoted to blocking the CEA deal into improving its services and getting its flights to run on time, it would be so far ahead of its rivals that it would not have to worry about problems in competing with modern airlines such as SIA.

**** Theory Of Everything <http://tantalizine.com/?p=80>
by Tantalizine
Singaporeans as a whole have really short attention spans.

**** Silence Of The Crowd? <http://signorekai.wordpress.com/2008/01/03/silence-of-the-crowd/>
by Reality Of Kai
So should we remain silent and let the problems continue till one day they all come back to bite us in the ass?

**** Staking A Claim In The New Singapore <http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/01/04/properties/03resing.php>
by Sonia Kolesnikov-Jessop, International Herald Tribune
In the space of a few years, Sentosa Cove, the only residential development on Sentosa Island, has become one of Southeast Asia's most exclusive and expensive addresses.

**** Stallholders Say: We Are Worried But Hopeful <http://tnp.sg/news/story/0,4136,152354,00.html?>
by Shree Ann Mathavan, New Paper

**** Why Shouldn't A Bus Service Be Cheap? <http://www.todayonline.com/articles/230405.asp>
by Zhuang Yizhong, Today
Such decisions make me wonder if the PTC is out of touch with public sentiment and whether the interests of public transport commuters are being safeguarded.
See Also:
Bus Fare Too Cheap? Is There Another Point Of View <http://www.myapplemenu.com/singapore/2007/12/31/id0010/>, by Heng-Cheong Leong, MyAppleMenu.

**** Allow Only One En Bloc Shot <http://www.todayonline.com/articles/230370.asp>
by Yeo Han Tiong, Today

**** Can Money Buy A Civil Servant's Conscience? <http://www.mr-endoh.com/life/can-money-buy-a-civil-servants-conscience/>
by Endoh Pure Ranting Room

**** There's Profit In Temasek's Model <http://www.straitstimes.com/Free/Story/STIStory_192599.html>
by Bruce Gale, Straits Times
Temasek Holdings may be getting bad press in Indonesia these days over allegations that it broke the country's anti-trust laws, but at least some of the nation's policymakers are holding up the Singapore company's success as something worth emulating.

**** There's A Reason It's Called 'Public Service' <http://www.straitstimes.com/ST%2BForum/Story/STIStory_192649.html>
by Ranjiv Sivanandan, Straits Times
Poor motivation and poor work dynamics, distinct from pay, may be a more critical root cause to address.

**** Cabbies Are Earning More <http://www.todayonline.com/articles/230379.asp>
by Ansley Ng and Jinny Koh, Today
Some cabbies had griped about seeing their takings plummet since fares were hiked three weeks ago &mdash; but an initial finding by the largest taxi opeator here suggests that the contrrary is, in fact, true.

**** CBD Parking Icon To Fall Before Demand For Office Space? <http://www.todayonline.com/articles/230415.asp>
by Esther Fung and Ng Jing Yng, Today
Plans are afoot to transform the iconic Market Street Car Park, built in 1964, into an office building possibly by 2011, according to CapitaCommercial Trust, the real estate investment trust that owns the eight-storery edifice.