[MyAppleMenu] Jan 10, 2008

[applesurf at myapplemenu.com]

MyAppleMenu
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**** What A Difference Apple's Success Makes At CES <http://www.macworld.com/article/131489/2008/01/macatces.html>
by Dan Frakes, Macworld
The reactions CES vendors have towards Mac journalists reflect opinions of the Mac market as a whole, and this year's CES is showing me that more companies than ever before are taking Apple, Mac users, and the purchasing power of Mac owners seriously.

**** PC Gaming Isn't Entirely Lost To Mac Addict <http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2008/jan/10/games.apple>
by Aleks Krotoski, The Guardian
Paradoxically, the PC games I play on the dedicated partition benefit from the Mac hardware and run faster and prettier than on any dedicated PC I've used before. But it would be nice to have the same choice on the OS X platform rather than resorting to a Windows partition.

**** Reading The Runes For Apple <http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2008/jan/10/stevejobs.apple>
by The Guardian
Ahead of next week's Macworld, we asked former Apple employees, and expert observers, to foresee launches and strategy at Cupertino - and Steve Jobs's departure.

**** What Can Microsoft Put Into The Zune Phone?
by Heng-Cheong Leong, MyAppleMenu
Microsoft denies building a phone <http://www.guardian.co.uk/feedarticle?id=7210554> to directly compete with Apple's iPhone. But maybe Microsoft is just lying and buying time. Remember Mr Jobs' claim that no one will watch videos on an iPod?
Apple better be prepared because there is one asset that Microsoft own which Apple cannot easily win: Exchange.
So if one day Microsoft decided to put some Exchange servers on Live.com for Windows customers to use for free, just like Hotmail, you'd know why.
<p class="permlink">Permanent Link to This Post <http://www.myapplemenu.com/2008/01/10/id0027/>

**** The Untold Story: How The iPhone Blew Up The Wireless Industry <http://www.wired.com/gadgets/wireless/magazine/16-02/ff_iphone>
by Fred Vogelstein, Wired
By 2004 Apple's iPod business had become more important, and more vulnerable, than ever. The iPod accounted for 16 percent of company revenue, but with 3G phones gaining popularity, Wi-Fi phones coming soon, the price of storage plummeting, and rival music stores proliferating, its long-term position as the dominant music device seemed at risk.
So that summer, while he publicly denied he would build an Apple phone, Jobs was working on his entry into the mobile phone industry.

**** Adobe's Photoshop Elements 6 For Mac To Debut In Q2 2008 <http://arstechnica.com/journals/apple.ars/2008/01/09/adobes-photoshop-elements-6-for-mac-to-debut-in-q2-2008>
by Justin Berka, Ars Technica

**** Can Macs Conquer The Enterprise? The Time Is Ripe... <http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9056419&source=rss_topic123>
by Robert Mitchell, Computerworld
The field is wide open for a Macintosh insurrection on the business desktop. It could happen, but probably won't.

**** Apple Singles Out HD Podcasts On The iTunes Store <http://www.macuser.com/itunes-store/apple_singles_out_hd_podcasts.php?lsrc=murss>
by Aayush Arya, MacUser

**** Review: Mac OS X 10.5 Server <http://www.macworld.com/article/131454/2008/01/leopardserver.html>
by John C. Welch, Macworld
Mac OS X 10.5 Server is a compelling product; just keep in mind that some of its services don't work as well as they should in a heterogeneous environment.

**** Has The Steve Jobs Reign Of Power Ended? <http://blogs.cnet.com/8301-13506_1-9845125-17.html?tag=bnpr>
by Don Reisinger, CNET News.com
While <movie studios and record labels> still need Apple, the impetus to give in to Jobs' demands has lessened. Once again, we have entered into a situation where the music and movie industries have been able to gain the majority of control in the business and all Apple can do is acquiesce.
/DRM-free at Amazon store? Except for the "Amazon" part, isn't this exactly what Steve wanted? I'm sure the iPod division have no problem with this./

**** Analyst: Apple Far Ahead Of CES Competitors <http://arstechnica.com/journals/apple.ars/2008/01/09/analyst-apple-far-ahead-of-ces-competitors>
by Justin Berka, Ars Technica

**** Best Buy Wants Macs In More Of Its Stores <http://www.news.com/8301-13579_3-9847140-37.html>
by Tom Krazit, CNET News.com
Apple's store-within-a-store partnership with Best Buy is going to expand this year, according to Best Buy executives.

**** NewsGator Turns NetNewsWire Loose For Free <http://db.tidbits.com/article/9388>
by Glenn Fleishman, TidBITS
NetNewsWire 3.1 is the latest release of the long-developed news aggregator of RSS and Atom feeds. And it's now free.
See Also:
NetNewsWire 3.1 Is Free <http://inessential.com/?comments=1&postid=3461>, by Brent Simmons, Inessential.com. Every developer wants to be able to work on the software they love, make a living at it, /and/ give it to the world for free. Usually you get to pick two out of three&mdash;if you're lucky. Me, I get all three.

**** iPhone Users, Secure Your Connection At Macworld Expo <http://db.tidbits.com/article/9391>
by Glenn Fleishman, TidBITS
The iPhone and Mac OS X - like all major operating systems designed for personal computers and mobile phones - don't secure data sent over Wi-Fi by default.

**** The Vanishing Numeric Keypad <http://pogue.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/01/09/the-vanishing-numeric-keypad/>
by David Pogue, New York Times
The embedded number pad was eliminated to make the MacBook more closely resemble the aluminum Apple keyboards.

The Tomorrow Weblog
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**** Same Old Electronics Show, With Some Intriguing New Ideas <http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/10/technology/personaltech/10pogue.html?ex=1357621200&en=2532e535fd374336&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss>
by David Pogue, New York Times

**** Fixated On TVs, And What's On Them: Mkaers At Big Show Boast Their Sets Are Thin, Sharp And Rich In Content <http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/10/technology/10electronics.html?ex=1357621200&en=dc02cd15259c6229&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss>
by Matt Richtel, New York Times
The Consumer Electronics Show displayed the hope of the industry: televisions connected to the internet and ready to receive new forms of entertainment on demand.

MyAppleMenu Reader
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**** The Lost Art Of Cooperation <http://www.wilsoncenter.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=wq.essay&essay_id=358763>
by Benjamin R. Barber, Wilson Quarterly
What's gone wrong here? Why, as a nation, are we so obsessed with competition, so indifferent to cooperation?

**** Can A Woman Pilot A War Novel? <http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/books/2008/01/can_a_woman_pilot_a_war_novel.html>
by John Sutherland, Guardian
It's still pretty much a male preserve in real life, so why has AL Kennedy chosen to grasp the fictional joystick?

SingaporeSurf
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**** Govt May Consider Combining Annuity, Healthcare Insurance <http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporebusinessnews/view/321819/1/.html>
by May Wong, Channel NewsAsia
Professor Robert Merton, Nobel Laureate, Harvard Busienss School, said: "The idea of cobining the annuity with healthcare insurance is that when the person has the need for extra health treatment, such as long-term care, it's less likely that they'll live long and so the extra cost of paying for that medical expense is offset by the fact that they don't have to pay the annuity for a long period. That offsetting risk of the two allows the provider to give a better price for the combined contract of medcal plus annuity."

**** Singapore Plays With Fire <http://www.commentarymagazine.com/blogs/index.php/waldron/1853>
by Arthur Waldron, Commentary
I had a strong sense of trouble lurking beneath the surface when a Singaporean colleague recently wrote me about the growing numbers of Chinese from the People's Republic who are coming to Singapore.

**** Switch To New Singapore Index Frustrates Traders <http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssFinancialServicesAndRealEstateNews/idUSSIN18138520080110>
by Kevin Lim, Reuters

**** Malaysia's AirAsia Sees Growth On KL-Singapore Route <http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssIndustryMaterialsUtilitiesNews/idUSSIN16272820080110>
by Reuters

**** Pirce Of A Place In United World College? $200,000 <http://www.straitstimes.com/Latest%2BNews/Singapore/STIStory_a2.html>
by Ho Ai Li, Straits Times
With demand outstripping supply for places in popular international schools here, at least two are offering places for sale.

**** Scrap Metal Seller Arrested After Suspicious Transaction <http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/321816/1/.html>
by Chio Su-Mei, Channel NewsAsia

**** Asian Countries Are Below Average In E-Government Readiness: UN Survey <http://computerworld.com.sg/ShowPage.aspx?pagetype=2&articleid=7332&pubid=3&tab=Home&issueid=122>
by Zafar Anjum, Computerworld Singapore
The latest United Nation's (UN) survey, measuring the readiness of member countries to adopt e-government, has found that many Asian countries are falling behind western nations. India, the Philippines, Singapore, and thailand have not kept up with other countries.
Even though Singapore continues to lead the region in the latest index, it fell from the seventh spot in 2005 to the 23rd in the overall international ranking.

**** Exclusive Interview With Student Protestor <http://campus-observer.org/index.php/news/exclusive-interview-with-student-protestor.html>
by Michael Wan, Campus Observer
NUS exchange student Pia Muzaffar Dawson did the unthinkable last November. Along with two exchange students, the 22-year-old took her changes with Singapore's tough laws against public protests by marching down Orchard Road into an area guarded by about 1,000 armed police and soldiers.

**** Singapore Is World's Busiest Port Yet Has 32% Of World's Corals? <http://www.starbamboo.com/2008/01/10/singapore-is-worlds-busiest-port-yet-has-32-of-worlds-corals/>
by Hun Boon, Star Bamboo Singapore
You can be sure that in Singapore, economic interests will always trump all others.

**** Malaysian Government Says Jetstar Eligible For Kuala Lumpur-Singapore Route <http://peanuts.aero/low_cost_airline_news/airline/6700/59/Malaysian+Government+says+Jetstar+eligible+for+Kuala+Lumpur-Singapore+route++>
by XFN Asia

**** Has Singapore Found The Secret To Satisfaction? <http://abcnews.go.com/2020/story?id=4097264&page=1>
by Bill Weir and Sara Holmberg, ABC News
Citizens willing to trade civil liberties for a cleaner, safer, efficient society.

**** Means Testing: The Ideal Soluton? <http://www.nusps.org/discussion/means-testing-the-ideal-solution/>
by NUS Pharmaceutical Society

**** One Of The Reasons Why Singpaore Is Creatively-Paraplegic <http://edsperience.vox.com/library/post/one-of-the-reasons-why-singapore-is-creatively-paraplegic.html?_c=feed-atom>
by ed'sperience
By marginalising those whom are different, they stop the mouth of the river, whilst feeding on the dminiishing puddle.

**** Means Testing Just Means We Should Be More Proactive <http://aaron-ng.info/blog/means-testing-just-means-we-should-be-more-proactive.html>
by Aaron Ng, Hear Ye! Hear Ye!
Hospitalisation can be expensive business but it need not be if one takes up private medical insurance.

**** Why Only Kopitiam Critics? <http://www.todayonline.com/articles/231350.asp>
by Jonathan Lim Wen Zhi, Tan Meng Lee, Jason Chiam, Today
Singaporeans may... be deterred having seen some opposition politicians taken to task for irresponsible actions and speechs. The result is that citizens continue to express their political opinions in the kopitiams and marketplace instead of political forums.

**** Condom Ads Near School To Be Reviewed??!!!! <http://edroos.blogspot.com/2008/01/condom-ads-near-school-to-be-reviewed.html>
by Edroos Alsagoff
Aren't we forgetting another large group of people who, whether we choose to believe or not, are engaging in sexual activities?

**** Not Wrong To Up Salaries To Retain, Recruit Civil Service Staff <http://www.straitstimes.com/ST%2BForum/Online%2BStory/STIStory_194539.html>
by Tan Hau Teck, Straits Times
Sitting on our hands hoping that more people develop 'love and loyalty' will not work, and neither will asking others to do the job, while one remains in their own private sector jobs.
/This is a strawman. We shouldn't, of course, not reward public servants for a job well done, and hope that they are patriotic enough to continue to do the job without rewards. The issue that some people don't see is that for many people &mdash; especially the talented and experienced &mdash; the reward must not come merely from a monetary angle./

**** Another Burden On Taxpayers <http://www.straitstimes.com/ST%2BForum/Story/STIStory_194621.html>
by Tan Hong Pew, Straits Times
Public health care is another punishment for the minority of <income> tax-paying citizens. It appears <they> are treated as second class citizens devoid of any state benefits.

**** Need To Reconcile Some Issues On Means Testing <http://www.straitstimes.com/ST%2BForum/Story/STIStory_194612.html>
by Felix Ang Kok Hou, Straits Times
While I agree the rich should be subsidised less than the poor, I am unable to reconcile some issues.
/The bottom line: how much are we saving, and where will the saving be distributed? Will the government cop out by justifying this as a future potential savings, which no one has any accurate figures?/
See Also:
How Khaw Can Win Over Minds <http://www.todayonline.com/articles/231371.asp>, by Charles Tan, Today.

**** Why Only A Footnote, F&amp;N? <http://www.todayonline.com/articles/231401.asp>
by P N Balji, Today
A great opportunity to take corporate disclosure to a new level was lost.