[MyAppleMenu] May 13, 2008

[applesurf at myapplemenu.com]

MyAppleMenu
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**** Checkout Sales Software Speeds Up <http://www.macworld.com/article/133425/2008/05/checkout.html>
by Peter Cohen, Macworld
MYOB US has announced the release of Checkout 2.1, an update to its point of sale software for Mac OS X.

**** From Windows To Mac, Stuff That May Trip You Up <http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/silverman/5774353.html>
by Dwight Silverman, Houston Chronicle
Any time you make a major change, even with an operating system known for its user-friendliness, there is a learning curve. Here are six common items that regularly flummox Mac newbies.

**** Penumbra: Black Plague Game Released <http://www.macworld.com/article/133424/2008/05/penumbra.html>
by Peter Cohen, Macworld

**** Compass Archives E-Mail <http://www.macworld.com/article/133423/2008/05/compass.html>
by Peter Cohen, Macworld
Hendrickson Software Components on Tuesday announced the release of Compass 1.0, a new utility that archives e-mail.

**** Sex And The iTunes Store <http://apple20.blogs.fortune.cnn.com/2008/05/13/sex-and-the-itunes-store/?source=yahoo_quote>
by Philip Elmer-DeWitt, Fortune
For Apple, it's a strong signal that Steve Jobs has backed away from his stubborn insistence on flat-rate pricing and is ready to start a new round of deal making in Hollywood.

**** Two New Apple Spots Take Aim At Education And Vista <http://arstechnica.com/journals/apple.ars/2008/05/13/two-new-apple-spots-take-aim-at-education-and-vista>
by Jeff Smykil, Ars Technica

**** Jobs, Apple Execs To Present WWDC Keynote <http://www.macnn.com/articles/08/05/13/jobs.keynote.at.wwdc08/>
by MacNN
Apple has confirmed that CEO Steve Jobs, along with a "team of Apple executives," will deliver the keynote at this year's WWDC conference.

**** Movie Magic Screenwriter 6.0 <http://www.macworld.com/article/133394/2008/05/moviemagicscreenwriter.html>
by Tim Haddock, Macworld
Pros willwelcome Movie Magic Screenwriter 6.0.3.111's everything-but-the-kitchen-sink feature set and fully customizable outlining abilities, but Writers Guild wannabes may want to think twice before they cough up cash for features they'll never use.

**** Basic Lesson: Microsoft Listens To Its Users <http://www.macworld.com/article/133398/2008/05/griffiths_vba_office.html>
by Rob Griffiths, Macworld
Thanks, Microsoft, for listening to your customers. It's always pleasing to know that the voice of the user does matter in determining the future direction of a product.

**** Neighbor Plants Reminder Of Its Connection With Apple <http://www.boston.com/business/technology/articles/2008/05/13/neighbor_plants_reminder_of_its_connection_with_apple/>
by Jenn Abelson, Boston Globe
Inspired by the Red Sox fan who buried a David Ortiz jersey under the new Yankee Stadium, Apple reseller Tech Superpowers decided to leave its own subversive treasure under the competition moving in directly behind them on Boylston Street - the massive new Apple store set to open Thursday.

**** Microsoft Releases Service Pack 1 For Office 2008 <http://www.macworld.com/article/133396/2008/05/officesp1.html>
by Jonathan Seff, Macworld
On Tuesday, Microsoft released Service Pack 1 (SP1) for Office 2008 for Mac, designed to add stability, security, and performance enhancements to the suite of office applications.

**** Microsoft To Bring Back Visual Basic In Office For Mac <http://www.macworld.com/article/133393/2008/05/vba.html>
by Jonathan Seff, Macworld
Microsoft on Tuesday announced it wold restore support for Visual Basic for Application (VBA) to Microsoft Office for Mac, a direct result of complaints from uses about the removal of the suite's cross-platform automation functionality.
Although Microsoft offered no specific date when users could expect the next version of Office for Mac, the company said the product is typically revised every two to three years.

**** Analysts: New International Deals Mean Apple Will Exceed Its 10M iPhone Goal <http://blog.wired.com/gadgets/2008/05/while-apple-fol.html>
by Bryan Gardiner, Wired
With these new non-exclusive deals, some analysts say Apple is finally realizing its traditional business model just won't work on a global scale. Moreover, there are actually benefits to being doing away with exclusively.

**** How To Beat The Apple iPhone <http://www.infosyncworld.com/news/n/9336.html>
by Philip Berne, infoSync World
The lesson is that companies who try to blatantly defeat the iPhone will probably fail, because their goal is suspect. Better to try to make the best phone possible.
/And this lesson can easily be applied to other products, from iPod-killer, to Microsoft-Office-killer./

**** Black iPhone Is An Urban Legend <http://www.crunchgear.com/2008/05/12/black-iphone-is-an-urban-legend/>
by John Biggs, CrunchGear
Clearly this is a shopping cart glitch.

**** Why Doesn't Apple Face The Innovator's Dilemma? <http://globelogger.com/2008/05/why-doesnt-appl.html>
by Charlie Wood, Moonwatcher
By choosing to compete on design instead of technology alone, Apple seems to have found a loophole in the Innovator's Dilemma.

**** Google Offers YouTube Video Software For Macs <http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9941551-7.html>
by Stephen Shankland, CNET News.com
Google ahs released basic software called Vidnik that lets Mac OS X users record video with a webcam or built-in camera, trim its length, add tags and a title, then upload it to YouTube.

**** iPhone Security Tips <http://db.tidbits.com/article/9614>
by Rich Mogull, TidBITS
We iPhone users check email and browse the web on our iPhones as much as on our Macs, but there's on key difference: the iPhone is always in a pocket and always on the network. While there isn't a lot you need to do from a security standpoint, I do have a few recommendations that stem from how we use iPhones differently than other devices.

**** Essentials 2 For iPhoto Improves Digital Photos <http://www.macworld.com/article/133418/2008/05/essentials2.html>
by Peter Cohen, Macworld
Essentials 2 for iPhoto includes "Make It Better," a tool that lets you compare color, contrast and brightness adjustments side-by-side. You can then pick the best-looking images, and adjust your picture accordingly.

**** Pixelmator 1.2 Adds Rulers Tool <http://www.macworld.com/article/133403/2008/05/pixelmator.html>
by Peter Cohen, Macworld
Pixelmator is an image editing application that incorporates selection tools, painting tools, retouching tools, layers and color correction capabilities, typography elements and filter-based effects.

The Tomorrow Weblog
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**** Microsoft's Telescope For Everyone <http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/may2008/tc20080512_867866.htm?chan=top+news_top+news+index_news+%2B+analysis>
by Heather Green, BusinessWeek
For people who have gazed up at the night sky in wonder and wished they had someone there to identify what they were looking at, Microsoft's Worldwide Telescope is coming to the rescue.

**** In The Age Of TiVo And Web Video, What Is Prime Time? <http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/12/business/media/12ratings.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss>
by Brian Stelter, New York Times

**** Welcome To The Social Mess? <http://www.news.com/8301-13577_3-9941984-36.html?tag=nefd.lede>
by Caroline McCarthy, CNET News.com
One prominent data portability evangelist hinted that we're at an inflection point where the social web could either become more connected or just more confusing.

MyAppleMenu Reader
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**** The Story Of The Father <http://www.slate.com/id/2188045/?from=rss>
by Tony Hoagland, Slate

**** Procrastination Lit <http://www.slate.com/id/2191252/?from=rss>
by Jessica Winter, Slate
Great novels about wasting time.

**** Lollygagging Through Life <http://www.slate.com/id/2190919/?from=rss>
by Emily Yoffe, Slate
I'm joining procrastinators anonymous &mdash; can I get past step one?

**** In 'Cannery Row,' A Preserved Simplicity <http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/07/AR2008050703994.html>
by Jonathan Yardley, Washington Post
Not many books of our youth survive unscathed into what passes for our maturity, and many other books await that maturity before we are ready to appreciate and understand them. For me, Steinbeck eventually gave way to William Faulkner, but I decline, now, to thumb my nose at my old friend as I bid him farewell.

SingaporeSurf
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**** "Mediocre" Governments, Happiest Nations <http://www.insanepoly.com/blog/?p=522>
by Insane Polygons

**** Does Singapore Deserve Its Press Freedom Ranking? <http://theonlinecitizen.com/2008/05/13/does-singapore-deserve-its-press-freedom-ranking/>
by Terence Lee, theonlinecitizen

**** Court Ruling On Temasek Reveals Government Mismanagement <http://old.thejakartapost.com/detailheadlines.asp?fileid=20080513.A04&irec=3>
by Vincent Lingga, Jakarta Post
To the laymen, the Cenral Jakarta District Cout's ruling Friday that the Singapore government-owned Temasek holdings and its subsidiaries breached anti-competition laws through minority cross-ownerships in PT Indosat and PT Telkomsel is both a worrisome and confusing logic.

**** Coffee In Singapore! Ah... Heaven! <http://bamboorain.wordpress.com/2008/05/13/coffee-in-singapore-ahheaven/>
by Bamboo Rain:Through His Eyes
In flavor, I think that in many cases the local coffee is better than a Starbucks, especially in the price.

**** Singapore Is Making Some Of The Mistakes That Led Empires To Ruin. <http://ian.onthereddot.com/2008/05/13/singapore-is-making-some-of-the-mistakes-that-led-empires-to-ruin/>
by Ian On The Red Dot
History is filled with cautionary tales about empires that expand beyond their means and who rely on foreign talents/labour to sustain the expansion.

**** Stop Demolishing, Start Integrating <http://www.yawningbread.org/guest_2008/guw-149.htm>
by Tan Mingjuan, Yawning Bread
If Singapore wants both to retain and attract talent, it must give its people a say in how our country is going to be developed.

**** Problem? Let Us Test CashCard <http://www.todayonline.com/articles/253486.asp>
by Suman Balani, Nets Singapore, Today
We discovered that the number of complaints have risen in tandem with the growth in the ERP gantries and extended hours of ERP operations.
/That is the wrong metrics to measure, I believe. It should be the number of ERP users that Nets should be benchmarked against, not the number of ERP use./

**** Shaw House, Shaw Centre May Undergo Major Revamp Next Year <http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporebusinessnews/view/347247/1/.html>
by Timothy Ouyang, Channel NewsAsia
Another landmark near Orchad Road may soon get a facelift. Channel NewsAsia understands that Shaw Organisation is considering a major redevelopment of Shaw House and its neighbouring Shaw Centre. According to sources, plans are in the pipeline to expand Shaw Organisation's Lido Cineplex, and to add more retail space.