[MyAppleMenu] Jan 31, 2008

[applesurf at myapplemenu.com]

MyAppleMenu
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**** Mac Gaming Site Launches For Disabled Users <http://www.macworld.com/article/131887/2008/01/assistivegaming.html>
by Peter Cohen, Macworld

**** Can Apple's iPhone Success Be Sustained Like The Mac's? <http://weblog.infoworld.com/tech-bottom-line/archives/2008/01/_iphones_ipods.html>
by Bill Snyder, InfoWorld
What matters in all this OS brouhaha is what paying customers think; to that end, it appears that Apple's strategy of a controlled, high-quality platform is succeeding.

**** Almost Half Of US Teens Use iTunes <http://www.macworld.co.uk/ipod-itunes/news/index.cfm?RSS&NewsID=20304>
by Jonny Evans, Macworld UK
NPD research confirms iTunes leads the pack in teen downloads.

**** Amazon.com Buys Audible; March Into Digital Content Distribution Continues <http://blogs.zdnet.com/BTL/?p=7818>
by Larry Dignan, ZDNet.com
If you couple Audible with Amazon's march into DRM-free music distribution the e-commerce giant is building quite a content arsenal.

**** Crazy Apple Rumors Site On Hold Indefinitely <http://www.news.com/8301-13579_3-9861626-37.html>
by Tom Krazit, CNET News.com

**** What iPhone Needs To Meet Aple's 2008 Target, Ask Wozniak <http://www.itwire.com/content/view/16388/1023/>
by Stan Beer, iTWire
At Macworld 2007, Steve Jobs stated that the global market was 1 billion cellphones a year and that Apple wanted to get 1% of it by the end of 2008 and sell 10 million iPhones. By any reasonable defintion, that means Apple ahs to sell 10 million iPhones in this calendar year &mdash; not from June 29 2007 until December 31 2008.

**** Goodbye To .Mac <http://www.applematters.com/index.php/section/comments/2204/>
by Chris Howard, Apple Matters
It has never been an overly good value.

**** Is Apple Under Attack From A Whisper Campaign? <http://blogs.zdnet.com/Apple/?p=1238>
by David Morgenstern, ZDNet.com
So, where did this notion of Apple's lack of quality come from.

**** The Race For The Ultra-Lightest <http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/30/AR2008013003447.html?hpid=news-col-blog>
by Rob Pegoraro, Washington Post
With the new MacBook Air, Apple has sketched out a sleek, stark vision of tomorrow's computer.

**** Take Heed, Apple: The iPhone Wants To Be Free <http://machinist.salon.com/blog/2008/01/30/missing_iphones/>
by Farhad Manjoo, Salon
Because what other choice does Apple have?

**** Four Proposals Up For Vote At March Apple Sharehodlers' Meeting <http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/08/01/30/four_proposals_up_for_vote_at_march_apple_shareholders_meeting.html>
by AppleInsider

**** Apple; Apple TV Rental Update "Not Quite Finished" <http://arstechnica.com/journals/apple.ars/2008/01/30/apple-apple-tv-rental-update-not-quite-finished>
by Jacqui Cheng, Ars Technica
In a release sent out this morning, the company said that it now plans to make the free software update available to current Apple TV owners "in another week or two."

**** Review: MacBook Air <http://www.macworld.com/article/131864/2008/01/macbookair.html>
by Jason Snell, Macworld
If the story of the MacBook Air is a story about compromise, the decision about whether the MacBook Air is a product worth having can be answered by one question: How much are you willing to compromise?

**** Not-So-Big Love <http://ihnatko.com/index.php/2008/01/30/not-so-big-love/>
by Andy Ihnatko, Celestial Waste Of Bandwidth

**** News Flash To Reporters And Analysts: Apple Doesn't Do Loss Leader Products <http://www.blackfriarsinc.com/blog/2008/01/news-flash-to-reporters-and-analysts>
by Blackfriars' Marketing
Apple doesn't sell products at a loss. It would undermine the market value of their products that they have labored for decades to build up.

**** Apple's MacBook Air Support Docs Reveal One-Of-A-Kind Solutions <http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/08/01/30/apples_macbook_air_support_docs_reveal_one_of_a_kind_solutions.html>
by Aidan Malley, AppleInsider
Without a built-in optical drive or a user-replaceable battery, the MacBook Air requires several unusual solutions that may stymie experienced Mac users.

The Tomorrow Weblog
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**** The Big Lie About Free <http://www.longtail.com/the_long_tail/2008/01/the-big-lie-abo.html>
by Chris Anderson, The Long Tail
Whether it's pop stars or Wall Street analysts, the biggest misconception of free is that no cost = no value.

MyAppleMenu Reader
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**** The Dynastic Question <http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/31/opinion/31kristof.html?_r=1&ref=opinion&oref=login>
by Nicholas D. Kristof, New York Times
In a presidential campaign that has involved battles over everything from Iraq to driver's licenses, one sweeping topic has gone curiously unexamined: Does it diminish American democracy if we keep the presidency int he same two families that have held it since 1989?

**** Dip Once Or Dip Twice? <http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/30/dining/30curious.html?ex=1359349200&en=ea38af4414ee9643&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss>
by Harold McGee, New York Times
Just in time, a scientific report has some new findings that may cause fotball fans to take a second look at that communal bowl of dip.

SingaporeSurf
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**** Healthcare: Uniquely Singapore, F1 Or F9 - How Mean Can Means Testing Be? <http://theonlinecitizen.com/2008/01/31/healthcare-uniquely-singapore-f1-or-f9-how-mean-can-means-testing-be/>
by Leong Sze Hian, theonlinecitizen
The outcome of means testing may be akin to "reverse means testing", as the majority who are lower income or who live in HDB flats, may all have to pay hgher premiums, to in a sense, subsidise richer Singaporeans who fail means testing.

**** Analysts Mixed On More ERP Gantries And Higher Rates <http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/326066/1/.html>
by Satish Cheney, Channel NewsAsia
/I think the message should be getting into many people's head: the point of the ERP is not to shift traffic from one road to another, as the BKE/Bikit Timah Road example given in this article. The point of the ERP system is get people not to drive./

**** A Postcard From Singapore VIII <http://blogs.reuters.com/photo/2008/01/31/a-postcard-from-singapore-viii/>
by Joachim Herrmann, Reuters

**** The Price Of Silence <http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2008/01/price-of-silence.html>
by The Boy Who Knew Too Much
Yo may question my extension of the situation into other artistic realms by point out that the stated reason that foreigners could not perform was that no foreigner was allowed to comment on Singapore affairs. Yet, all art, of any kind, is a comment on the societies to which the artist has been exposed.

**** Singapore Unemployment Rate Falls To 10-Year Low Of 1.6 Pct In Q4 <http://www.forbes.com/markets/feeds/afx/2008/01/30/afx4595783.html>
by Thomson Financial
Singapore's unemployment rate fell to a decade-low of 1.6 percent in the fourth quarter in seasonally adjusted terms, as a strong domestic economy created more job opportunities, data from the Ministry of Manpower showed Thursday.
See Also:<br/>Employment Situation In Fourth Quarter 2007 <http://www.mom.gov.sg/publish/momportal/en/press_room/press_releases/2008/20080131-employment.html>, by Ministry of Manpower, Singapore Government.<br/>Foreigners One-Third Of Singapore Workforce - Govt <http://globalnation.inquirer.net/news/breakingnews/view/20080131-115952/Foreigners-one-third-of-Singapore-workforce--govt>, by AFP.

**** Using A Sledgehammer On A Thumbtack <http://aaron-ng.info/blog/using-a-sledgehammer-on-a-thumbtack.html>
by Aaron Ng, Hear Ye! Hear Ye!
Sometimes, I just wish that my government loosen up a little and stop assuming that Singaporeans are mindless zombies that will absorb anything and everything that other people have to say.

**** Failure <http://www.insanepoly.com/blog/?p=473>
by Insane Polygons
Sometimes failure is not the worst thing in life.

**** No More NS Men Falling Flat On Their Feet <http://www.thecheers.org/news/Asia-Pacific/news_9725_No-more-NS-men-falling-flat-on-their-feet.html>
by Crystal Tein, TheCheers

**** Mixed Views Of Road Ahead <http://www.todayonline.com/articles/235211.asp>
by Neo Chai Chin, Today

**** Will Changes To ERP Reap Desired Results? <http://www.todayonline.com/articles/235200.asp>
by Leong Wee Keat, Today
This "critical" review of the ERP system, which has changed little since 1998, aims to ensure motorists see the benefits of paying.

**** Door Shuts On Flat Applicant Of 'Other' Race <http://www.straitstimes.com/ST%2BForum/Story/STIStory_201887.html>
by John McHenderson Lackey, Straits Times
I am proud to call Singapore my home but feel it is time for Singapore to recognise that in today's world the traditional definitions of race/ethnicity no longer exist.

**** Government Pays GST For Subsidised Patients <http://www.straitstimes.com/ST%2BForum/Story/STIStory_201890.html>
by Karen Tan, Ministry of Health, and Cheong Swee Ying, Ministry of Finance, Straits Times