From applesurf at myapplemenu.com Mon Sep 1 13:15:00 2008 From: applesurf at myapplemenu.com (applesurf at myapplemenu.com) Date: 1 Sep 2008 17:15:00 -0000 Subject: [MyAppleMenu] Sep 1, 2008 Message-ID: <20080901171500.70862.qmail@voot.pair.com> MyAppleMenu ==================================== **** Is Steve Jobs Moonlighting In Customer Service? by Dan Frommer, Silicon Alley Insider WHat's the easiest way to get ahold of Steve Jobs? Don't bother calling Apple PR or looking for a quote in buiness press. Just email me, apparently. The Tomorrow Weblog ==================================== **** 20 Tech Habits To Improve Your Life by Gina Trapani, PC World A few new habits can make the difference between staying on task, finding what you need and getting things done — or having a tech meltdown. **** Another Voice Warns Of An Innovation Slowdown by Claire Cain Miller, New York Times Judy Estrin's book is the latest call to action by scientists, technologists and political leaders worried about the country's future competitiveness in technology. MyAppleMenu Reader ==================================== **** Why Me? by Ian Parker, New Yorker Alec Baldwin's disappointment, undimmed by successs. **** The Clay Army by Yusef Komunyakaa, New Yorker **** Face by Alice Munro, New Yorker I am convinced that my father looked at me, really saw me, only once. After that, he knew what was there. **** Beast Brutality by Mary Jo Bang, New Yorker **** The Henry Ford Of Literature by Rolf Potts, The Believer How one nearly forgotten 1920s publisher's "Little Blue Books" created an inexpensive mail-order information superhighway that paved the way for the sexual revolution, influenced the feminist and civil rights movements, and foreshadowed the age of information. **** Staycation Nation by Billy Frolick, Salon This summer's buzzword implies that sitting on your couch can be an adventure. But even the smarmiest euphemism can't turn Paris Hilton into Paris, France. **** A Taste Of The Future? by Christine Muhlke, New York Times On Friday I was wondering whether Slow Food Nation, the four-day San Francisco event that aims to encourage Americans to come to the table, would turn out to be the Woodstock or the Lollapalooza of food. Today, I'm convinced that it's the Davos (minus Bono). SingaporeSurf ==================================== **** Singapore, Malaysia Will Honour ICJ's Ruling On Pulau Batu Puteh by Bernama Singapore and Malaysia have reiterated their commitment to honour and abide by the International Court of Justices judgment on Pulau Batu Puteh, Middle Rocks and South Ledge. **** Waiting For Singapore's Pakatan Rakyat by Fang Zhi Yuan, The Wayang Party Club Of Singapore There is no Anwar Ibrahim in Singapore to unite the weak and fragmented opposition. **** Speakers' Corner = Eater's Corner? by Derrick Ho, Straits Times Tucked at the corner of Hong Lim Green Community Club, those at his waffles cafe, Sweet Stone Express, get a full view of the park's greenery and any activity taking place on the fields. **** Women Trafficked To Singapore Lured Into Prostitution by AFP Philippine embassy officials said there is a growing number of Filipina women lured by human trafficking syndicates to Singapore, Southeast Asia's wealthiest economy. The US State Department, in its 2008 Trafficking in Persons report, put Singapore on its list of countries not doing enough to combat the problem. Singapore should accept there is a problem, said Sallie Yea, an Australian consultant who has researched sex trafficking in Asia. "Singapore is still in denial mode." **** No Takers As Singapore Lightens Rules On Demos by AFP There were no banners, no signs and no shouting on Monday when liberalise drules governing outdoor demonstrations in Singapore took effect at a specially-designated park. Nobody showed up to protest, and activists dismissed the new rules as a token gesture by the government. **** Court Rejects Appeal By SDP's Chee Siok Chin To Overturn Denied Travel Request by 938Live Singapore Democratic Party member Chee Siok Chin has failed in her appeal to overturn a denied travel request. Her appeal on Monday was rejected as she failed to submit the required documents on time. **** Woman Fined For Illegal Assembly by Elena Chong, Straits Times Harkirat Kaur was the first in the group to admit to the gathering near Raffles City Shopping Centre on Sept 10, 2006. **** KNNBCCB: PAP Is Indeed 'More Equal' Than Others! by BothSidesOfTheJohorStraits Some animals are indeed more equal than others, huh? **** No Failure In Electronic Voting System by Ng Sheau Jiuan, Clerk Of Parliament, Straits Times Evidence of the test results on the said sitting day and immediately preceding sitting days incidcated that the electronic voting system was functioning properly. /It's the user's fault! Our stupid users do not know how to use our system. We need to get better users. :-)/ **** TVMobile: Too Soft To Hear, Just Loud Enough To Irritate by Solomon Lim, New Paper Then I realised the real difference. There isn't a TVMobile on the bus! **** Goodness Gracious Me! Did You Get The Facts? by Feed Me To The Fish For the ad nauseam cheerleading that's coming out from ST, I'm indeed grateful to Ms Khalik for having the guts to tell it like it is. I respect her for taking on a minister for the sake of integrity and honest reporting. **** Sorry I Don't Believe In NS by Sam's Thoughts From applesurf at myapplemenu.com Tue Sep 2 13:15:00 2008 From: applesurf at myapplemenu.com (applesurf at myapplemenu.com) Date: 2 Sep 2008 17:15:00 -0000 Subject: [MyAppleMenu] Sep 2, 2008 Message-ID: <20080902171500.27780.qmail@voot.pair.com> MyAppleMenu ==================================== **** Apple iPhone: 8 Million And Counting by Philip Elmer-DeWitt, Fortune **** With iTunes, Schools Join Digital World by Jeanette Rundquist, Star-Ledger Students will take a leap in classroom technology this year, using Apple's iTunes store to post and share educational material. **** Google Chrome: Apps In Tabs by Lukas Mathis, Ignore The Code A better approach to web applications is to bring web applications out of the browser ghetto and make them first-class applications, rather than burying them inside browser chrome you're never going to use anyway. **** The Newest Version Of OpenOffice Passes Test by Bob LeVitus, Houston Chronicle **** Google Creating Its Own Browser Based On WebKit by Robert Palmer, The Unofficial Apple Weblog Google is developing a new web browser built from the groun dup and based on WebKit, the same rendering engine that Safari uses. /We have two embedded-in-OS web rendering engines in the two competing operating system. Microsoft's IE has a longer history, but it is Safari/WebKit that is creating more innovating products by third parties./ **** Apple Hysteria by Thomas Fitzgerald If you put the seeming hysteria aside you begin to see that this backlash is just that, hysteria. **** 4Th Generation iPod Nano Case 'In The Wild' by Arnold Kim, MacRumors.com **** How To Use Google Docs Offline In Safari by Adam C. Engst, TidBITS Like all online word processors, Google Docs has one significant architectural limitation: if you don't have internet access, you documents are completely unavailable to you. Google has been working on eliminating this limitation with a technology called Google Gears. **** Project Calculator 3.0 Adds Quick Filters, Menu Bar by MacNN Blue Banana Software has released Project Calculator 3, a major update to its project time-tracking software. The Tomorrow Weblog ==================================== **** The Human Frailty Of Software by Graeme Philipson, The Age **** Turning Visitors Into Customers by Erica Naone, MIT Technology Review Visting a company's website could result in a cold call. **** A Quick Guide To Netbooks by Kevin C. Tofel, GigaOM MyAppleMenu Reader ==================================== **** Can Poetry In Translation Ever Be As Poetic In Its New Language? by Roger Pulvers, Japan Times Perhaps the answer — and the key to capturing a poem's messages and signals in translation — lies in the word "voice." This would be my answer to my friend's question: that a poem has to speak to readers in the translated language with the same voice it does to readers of the original. **** About Death, Just Like Us Or Pretty Much Unaware? by Natalie Angier, New York Times Do animals grieve like we do? **** Gamign Evolution by Carl Zimmer, New York Times By day, Thomas Near studies the evolution of fish, wading through streams in Kentucky and Mississippi in search of new species. By night, Dr. Near, an assistant professor at Yale, is a heavy-duty gamer, sterring tanks or playing football on his computer. This afternoon his two lives have come together. SingaporeSurf ==================================== **** Political Openness - For PAP Only by Andrew Loh, The Online Citizen On what moral authority would the government be able to require everyone else to adhere to and obey the law if it does not do so itself? **** Friendly Reminders From The Nation-Building Press About The Dangers Of Hong Lim Park by Mr Wang Says So **** Singapore And Malaysia Should Smoothen Their Relations by Bernama Singapore and Malaysia should not create more impediments that could cause unnecessary hardships to the people from both countries, Malaysian High Commissioner to Singapore Datuk N. Parameswaran said. In response, **** Demo Lasted 10 Minutes by Li Xueying, Straits Times Singapore's first legal demonstratin in two decades was held yesterday at the Speakers' Corner - and lasted for all of 10 minutes. At 7pm, five members of a non-profit group, Hearer of Cries, gathered metres from the Clarke Quay MRT station exit at Hong Lim Park to stage a protest against employers who abuse their maids. See Also: Photos From First Day Of "Relaxed Rules" Allowing Public Demonstrations At Speakers Corner , by Jacob's Weblog. **** Money For Nothing But Heartache And Shame For Free by Feed Me To The Fish First ping pong fiasco, then health minister's facts fiasco and now bicycle carnival fiasco. When will they ever learn? From applesurf at myapplemenu.com Wed Sep 3 13:15:02 2008 From: applesurf at myapplemenu.com (applesurf at myapplemenu.com) Date: 3 Sep 2008 17:15:02 -0000 Subject: [MyAppleMenu] Sep 3, 2008 Message-ID: <20080903171502.52805.qmail@voot.pair.com> MyAppleMenu ==================================== **** Second Lawsuit Hits Over iPhone 3G Performance by MacNN Both Apple and AT&T have been sued by William Gills, a customer who complains that the companies have recklessly oversold the iPhone 3G, knowing that neither the device nor AT&T's 3G network can support fast access for the current influx of users. **** MaBaSoft Releases World Clock Deluxe 4.5.5 by Dennis Sellers, Macsimum News **** Developers Should Skip Google's Chrome, And Jump Straight To WebKit by Tom Yager, InfoWorld For web applications, the framework's the thing, and the browser framework that will win the day is WebKit. **** Cumulus 7.6 Adds PDF Rendering, Improves PowerPoint Handling by Peter Cohen, Macworld Cumulus helps businesses manage digital assets. **** AppleJack Now Roars On Leopard by Dan Moren, MacUser AppleJacks lets you perform maintenance procedures such as disk repair, preference validation, and cache cleaning in a handy text-based system. **** iPhone To Be Sold By Two Russian Companies by Dan Nystedt, Macworld UK The new iPhone 3G will be sold by at least two mobile phone companies in Russia, and a third may be added soon. **** Apple Announces Special Event September 9 by Jim Darlymple, Macworld Judging from the invitation sent by Apple, the event will focus on the iPod. With an iPod looking screen and the words "Let's Rock" it seems clear Apple will use the time to spark interest in its products for the holiday shopping season. The Tomorrow Weblog ==================================== **** The Cloud's Chrome Lining by Brian Braiker, Newsweek What Googles browser suggests about the way the search giant views the web. **** Web War by Ari Melber, The Nation The Defense Department has drastically restircged blogging and prevented many enlisted soldiers from visiting social networking sites. Pentagon officials say these measures are designed not only to save bandwidth but to save lives. **** Strip Mining Of Open Source by Richard Hillesley, IT Pro Strip miing of open source can be interpreted as the apropriation of free software code for proprietary gain with no intention of feeding code changes back to the community. MyAppleMenu Reader ==================================== **** As Belt Tighten, Lobsters Shrink And Bar Menus Grow by Frank Bruni, New York Times As the New York restaurant world enters a characteristically busy fall season, what's most striking aren't the flasy openings but the strategic adjustments being made by restaurants that aren't taking their success, or for that matter their survival, for granted. **** Daydream Achiever by Jonah Lehrer, Boston Globe A wandering mind can do important work, scientists are learning - and may even be essential. **** Walking In Fog by Barry Goldensohn, Slate **** Capturing A City's Pulse In Pictures by Seetha Narayan, Boston Globe To take a photograph can be a passionate journey. If you've never felt that way about your impulse clicks of camera and cellphone, talk to Boston Globe veteran Bill Brett. SingaporeSurf ==================================== **** Bloggers 13 by Jeremy Au, Straits Times Perhaps what's more interesting is the process by which the 10 had produced the joint statement, doping it in less than 24 hours. **** Tang Jailed A Day by Khushwant Singh, Straits Times Retail tycoon Tang Wee Sung, 56, was on Wednesday jailed for a day and fined $10,000 for making a false statutory declaration to get approval for a kidney transplatn. He was also fined $7,000 for organ trading. **** Bloggers Urge Aims To Stand Up For Freedom Of Expression by Journalism.sg See Also: Bloggers Say AIMS Report Can Be Improved , by Imelda Saad, Channel NewsAsia. **** Workers' Party Mass Cycling At East Coast Park Cannot, PAP Carnival At West Coast Park Can by mrbrown Noooooo! It is a PAP Community Foundation Event. You know, PCF? The ones who runt he kindergartens! /Totally/ unpolitical, ok? **** Is A Good Foreign Worker One Who Doesn't Live Next Door? Serangoon Gardens Thinks So... by BothSidesOfTheJohorStraits **** Can Radical Also Be Right? by Derrick A Paulo, Today If the government wants to engage citizens in the new media as the report envisions, it cannot always set the agenda. **** Law To Cover More Workers by Goh Chin Lian, Straits Times The manpower ministry is tabling for public consultation a slew of proposed changes to the Emplyment Act, which offers basic benefits such as salary protection, minimum employment terms and dispute resolution. From applesurf at myapplemenu.com Thu Sep 4 13:15:00 2008 From: applesurf at myapplemenu.com (applesurf at myapplemenu.com) Date: 4 Sep 2008 17:15:00 -0000 Subject: [MyAppleMenu] Sep 4, 2008 Message-ID: <20080904171500.54067.qmail@voot.pair.com> MyAppleMenu ==================================== **** Review: Hear 1.0 by Christopher Breen, Macworld Audio-enhancement utilty brings big sound to little speakers. **** Back To School: Writing Tools, Part II by Brett Terpstra, The Unofficial Apple Weblog This second post covers some great tools for compiling all of your thoughts, ideas and research into cohesive, structured documents. **** iPod Nano 4G, Touch 2G Dimensions Revealed? by Charles Starrett, iLounge **** Sync iTunes With Mobile Devices From Sony, Nokia, Sony Ericsson by Lonnie Lazar, Cult Of Mac Salling Software's MediaSYnc is a brand new application that synchronizes playlists, music, and podcasts in iTunes onto mobile devices from Sony, Nokia and Sony Ericsson. **** Review: NetBarrier X5 by Chris Pepper, Macworld NetBarrier X5 provides a good set of features for preventing malicious access to your Mac from the internet. But its tendency to block perfectly legitimate traffic could cause havoc for many users. The Tomorrow Weblog ==================================== **** Small Book Publishers Offered New Technology by Julie Bosman, New York Times MyAppleMenu Reader ==================================== **** Television's Foreign Affair by Thomas Rogers, Salon Adaptations of foreign TV shows are not a new concept, by any means. But the sheer number of this year's imports suggests that the television industry is undergoing, if not a convulsive transformation, a major change in the way it finds its material. SingaporeSurf ==================================== **** Sovereign Funds Agree To Voluntary Principles by Chritopher S. Rugaber, BusinessWeek More than two dozen of the world's government investment funds have agreed on a set of voluntary principles intended to address concerns about their influence. **** Two Perspectives On The Emigrated Ex-Singaporean by Mr Wang Says So **** Liberalising The Films Act? Teach Media Literacy Too by Terence Lee, The Online Citizen When citizens become media literate, fears that unsavoury films and dissenting blogs will cause unreset among the populace can be minimised. **** Why 'No' And 'Yes'? by Tan Ghee Gay, Straits Times Why was the PAP event allowed but the WP one not? I am confused by the seemingly contradictory responses by the authorities, especially since the two events appear very similar in nature. **** George Yeo To Pass Residents' Feedback On Workers' Dorm To Authorities by Pearl Forss, Channel NewsAsia George Yeo, Aljunied GRC MP, said the residents' concerns are legitimate and he will pass their feedback to the Ministry of National Development and Urban Renewal Authority which will be making the final decision. See Also: Residents Air Dorm Fears , by Melissa Sim, Straits Times. **** Unwelcome by Singapore Life And Times Whatever civility we may have cultivated among ourselves is only skin deep, and that skin is particularly thin for people liing in the private houses in Serangoon Gardens. **** Justice And Law: A Crying Shame In Singapore! by Feed Me To The Fish Did Mr Tang get what he got because he's rich and powerful... or is it because he's sick? **** In And Out Of Jail In A Few Hours by Sujin Thomas, Straits Times His total jail time? About two hours. From applesurf at myapplemenu.com Fri Sep 5 13:15:00 2008 From: applesurf at myapplemenu.com (applesurf at myapplemenu.com) Date: 5 Sep 2008 17:15:00 -0000 Subject: [MyAppleMenu] Sep 5, 2008 Message-ID: <20080905171500.97936.qmail@voot.pair.com> MyAppleMenu ==================================== **** Review: BusySync 2.1.6 by Joe Kissell, Macworld After you get past the initial setup, BusySync 2.1.6 is usually invisible in day-to-day use, and makes calendar sharing for a family or small group as painless as it can be without the use of a dedicated calendar server. **** Happy Birthday: iMac Is Ten (In The UK) Today by Jonny Evans, Macworld UK One month on since the tenth anniversary of the 1998 launch of the iMac, todaymarks a decade since the UK arrival of the product. **** A Little Tip: Conversations In Mail by Milind Alvares, Smoking Apples **** The Princess Bride Game by Michael Scarpelli, Inside Mac Games The game looks great ad has great sound and music is enjoyable. However, as a game, the title doesn't really deliver. **** DEVONthink Pro Office 1.5 by Erik Vlietinck, IT.Enquirer **** Back To School: Writing Tools, Part III by Brett Terpstra, The Unofficial Apple Weblog To round out our roundup, we'll take a look at some (possibly) unexpected solutions, as well as some utilities which can aid any writer. **** iPhone-Cannibalizing-iPod Meme Again by The Jaded Consumer So far, Apple seems to be doing pretty well with this. **** What's At Stake For Apple At Tuesday's iPod Event by Philip Michaels, Macworld Apple is coming off a summer marked by several high-profile product launches—and nearly as many exasperating missteps. **** Rejected iPhone Dev To Apple: Pull My Finger! by Jacqui Cheng, Ars Technica "There seems to be a disconnect between Apple's message of allowing vulgarity in the iTunes store but not in the App Store. Also, the message of 'limited appeal' to the iPhone community doesn't seem true." **** Adding Streaming Radio To Apple TV by Christopher Breen, Macworld The Tomorrow Weblog ==================================== **** Bring On The Browser Wars! by Farhad Majoo, Slate Why I'm overjoyed about Google Chrome. **** Does Windows Still Matter? by Joe Nocera, New York Times It seems to me that even without the browser-as-platform, Windows is already dying a death by a thousand cuts. MyAppleMenu Reader ==================================== **** They Still Haven't Cracked The eBook by Alison Flood, The Guardian Sony has just released its Reader. It's slim, tan and a commuter magnet, but I want more. **** A Lesson In Verse by Mark Lawson, The Guardian Carol Ann Duffy's work on violence is ideal for classroom discussion. It's a poem, not a memo. SingaporeSurf ==================================== **** Temasek Sells Senoko Power To Japanese Consortium For S$3.6 Bln by Bernama Singapore's Temasek Holdings finally sold its wholly-owned power generation company, Senoko Power Ltd, to a Japanese consortium, Lion Power Holdings Pte Ltd, for S$3.6 billion. **** Gopalan Nair Found Guilty by Straits Times Former Singaporean lawyer Gopalan Nair was found guilty on Friday of abusing police officers and disorderly behaviour. The prosecution askd the court to jail Nair on the first charge of using abusive words because of the racial nature of the abusive words used, his lack of remorse and his conduct during the trial. **** My Opinion On Single Mums - Single Mothers And Their Predicament In Singapore by Lee Lilian, The Itch To Write While other expectant mothers immerse in the joy of pregnancy, a group of mothers-to-be spend sleepless nights wondering what's next for them and their unborn child. **** Supermarket Giants Cut Rice Prices by Jessica Lim, Straits Times Three major supermarket chains here have lowered their prices on house-brand rice since July and experts say months of record-high antes could be fading into the past. /The three chains — acutally, more like 2 and a half — are Cold Storage, Sheng Siong and Giant./ **** Retiring Abroad: One Ex-Singaporean's Experience by Cheong Wing Lee, Straits Times Retiring overseas is not a bed of roses, but only if one is not prepared to make the necessary adjustments and sacrifices to suit the environment. **** Bloggers Go Offline To Speak Up by Ng Tze Yong and Benson Ang, New Paper **** In Jurong GRC, More Wanted A By-Election Than Not by Au Waipang, Yawning Bread Has the ruling party forgotten about the principle of choice and representation, the very underpinning of democracy? **** Get Out Of My Elite Neighbourhood by Gerald Giam, Singapore Patriot I am dismayed that so many well-to-do, educated professionals in my country can be so blatant about their bigotry against poor people of other ethnic groups and nationalities. From applesurf at myapplemenu.com Sat Sep 6 13:15:01 2008 From: applesurf at myapplemenu.com (applesurf at myapplemenu.com) Date: 6 Sep 2008 17:15:01 -0000 Subject: [MyAppleMenu] Sep 6, 2008 Message-ID: <20080906171501.72669.qmail@voot.pair.com> MyAppleMenu ==================================== **** Rage Against The iMachine by Los Angeles Times Music labels are rebelling against Apple's online dominance. Trouble is, their options are limited. **** Is Steve Jobs Really E-Mailing Apple Customers? Grammatical Analysis Raises Doubts by Brian X. Chen, Wired Though this analysis is inconclusive, the e-mail containing the misuse of "which" appears to be the most suspicious. **** Use A Command-Line AirPort Tool by Rob Griffiths, Macworld The Tomorrow Weblog ==================================== **** Brave New World Of Digital Intimacy by Clive Thompson, New York Times The effects of News Feed, Twitter and other forms of incessant online contact. MyAppleMenu Reader ==================================== **** I Now Pronounce You Totally Confused by Dahlia Lithwick, New York Times It's a testament to our national confusion about the purpose of marriage that the courts can toggle this way between four or five rationales for such a union in a single judicial opinion, with little regard for any one coherent principle. **** New Literary Art Form Discovered! by Ron Rosenbaum, Slate IN praise of the praise of poetry. **** What Goes In The Black Hole Stays In The Black Hole. OK? by James Trefil, Washington Post /The Black Hole Wars/ is as good an introduction as you're going to find to the strange world of black hole astrophysics. Add that to the chance to ride along as real scientists resolve a fundamental issue and you have the makings of a great read. SingaporeSurf ==================================== **** Make The Public Service Productive by Dinesh Weerakkody, The Island THe Singaporean civil servants were highly skilled, dynamic people, who were forward looking, took a broad view of the development process and found the best possible way to achieve the wishes of the people. **** Pressure Builds On Singapore's System by Hugo Restall, Far Eastern Economic Review A siege mentality has been the hallmark of Singaproean politics for four decades, often with good justification given hostile neighboring governments to the north and south. Yet it is increasingly hard today to see how that anxiety can be justified and maintained. The generation now coming onto the political scene grew up in at least moderate prosperity, and may not be so easily bullied into voting for the PAP. It is eager to put down roots and create a civil society. So far the PAP has finessed this aspiration without compromising its control. Prime minister Lee can afford to be sanguine for now, with the security apparatus, corporatist economy and civil service all at his command. Yet if this economic downturn worsens, he will be confronted with a more difficult choice of whether to accede to demands for greater pluralism. As academic Michael Haas once wrote, "Whenever the public exercises the independence of thought that better education brings, 'a danger to be nipped in the bud' or some similar cliche is articulated as the basis for repression." It bears remembering that the laws like the Internal Security Act that have been used in past such exercises remain on the books. If pushed too hard, Lee Hsien Loong still has the means to prove he is his father's son. **** The Problem(s) With Palin by Tym Blogs Too Ah, convervatives and their "small-town values" (read: Asian values?). Because everyone in the big city doesn't give a damn about "family, fidelity, honour and responsibility" (just like anyone with those damn "Western values"). **** Singapore Foreign Investor Appeal Bolsered By Government Efforts by Angie Ng, The Star The Singapore government's pro-active efforts in formulating strategic plans to cushion the economy from unforeseen circumstances are commendable and have given a new lease of life to an otherwise listless property market. **** Mutual Trust And Undertanding On Both Sides Needed by Jolovan Wham, Humanitarian Organisation for Migration Economics, Today Is isloation rather than integration the answer to the problem? **** Own Time Own Target, Carry On by The Online Citizen The institution of NS clearly needs to be adjusted to take into account new realities. The main challenge is to meet questions of fairness and changing expectations. **** Try This Little Experiment by Heng-Cheong Leong, MyAppleMenu In P65 blog, Lim Wee Kiak wrote: "Unfortunately, there are always some black sheeps among the foreign workers that tarnish the reputation and incite fear among residents by their unsocial actions and some may be even criminal. Ministry of National Development should study the issues further to ensure that location of such dorms will result in less distress to residential estates in proximity." Now, try this little experiment: subsitute the phrase "foreign workers" with, say, "Malay." And, all of a sudden, you'll realise how racist this statement can be. (Note: The Housing and Development Board is under the same ministry.)

Permanent Link to This Post From applesurf at myapplemenu.com Sun Sep 7 13:15:00 2008 From: applesurf at myapplemenu.com (applesurf at myapplemenu.com) Date: 7 Sep 2008 17:15:00 -0000 Subject: [MyAppleMenu] Sep 7, 2008 Message-ID: <20080907171500.38447.qmail@voot.pair.com> MyAppleMenu ==================================== **** Chinese Don't Wait For Apple Launch To Get iPhone by AFP Chinese consumers are no waiting for Jobs. The country is widely considered the world's biggest market for smuggled, "unlocked" and counterfeited iPhones. **** One Bad Apple by Daniel Lyons, Newsweek Apple tactics might seem like smart business: why not squeeze every penny out of every deal? The problem is that if Apple squeezes too ahrd, some partners may go out of business, harming the ecosystem. Bully behavior also invites backlash, as it did for Microsoft when that company rose to power in the 1990s. SingaporeSurf ==================================== **** Singapore - More An Economy Than A Nation Or A State? by Bear's Den **** Graveyard Solution To Gardens' Housing Issue? by Arul John, New Paper Serangoon Gardens residents don't want to hae a foreign workers' dormitory thre. So is the boondocks, next to Chua Chu Kang cemetery, a better place for a dorm? From applesurf at myapplemenu.com Mon Sep 8 13:15:00 2008 From: applesurf at myapplemenu.com (applesurf at myapplemenu.com) Date: 8 Sep 2008 17:15:00 -0000 Subject: [MyAppleMenu] Sep 8, 2008 Message-ID: <20080908171500.23884.qmail@voot.pair.com> MyAppleMenu ==================================== **** Mac Spore Crippled On Older Machines by Stewart Meagher, The Inquirer The Inquirer can confirm that the latest God game from Electronic Arts, which was much praised for its simultaneous Mac and PC launch, has seemingly been deliberately crippled for owners of older, or lower-end Macs. **** Apple Admit Briton Did Invent iPod, But He's Still Not Getting Any Money by Daniel Boffey, Daily Mail **** Apple Monopolistic? Maybe. Control Freaks? Definitely! by Harry McCracken, Technologizer Ultimately, I think it's that control that drives Apple rather than a desire to cursh anybody. It wants its experience to be /exactly/ what it wants them to be; it's willing to frustrate other companies, and sometimes its own customers, to do so. **** In Pictures: Preparations For Apple's "Let's Rock" Special Event by Leander Kahney, Cult Of Mac There's a lot of busy bees preparing for Apple's special "Let's Rock" event on Tuesday. The Yerba Buena Center for the Arts is humming with Apple staffers, TV crews and scores of security guards. **** How To Report A Bug In A Mac OS X Application by Steven Frank If you report bugs as you find them, following these guidelines, you'll have the best possible chance of getting your problem resolved. The Tomorrow Weblog ==================================== **** New E-Newspaper Reader Echoes Look Of The Paper by Eric A. Taub, New York Times **** Opening Search To Semantic Upstarts by Kate Greene, MIT Technology Review Yahoo's new open-search platform is giving semantic search a helping hand. **** When Academia Puts Profit Ahead Of Wonder by Janet Rae-Dupree, New York Times More than a quarter-century after president Jimmy Carter signed it into law, the Bayh-Dole Act is under increasing scrutiny by swelling ranks of critics. The primary concern is that its original intent - to infuse the American marketplace with the fruits of academic innovation - has also distorted the fundamental mission of universities. MyAppleMenu Reader ==================================== **** The Traffic Guru by Tom Vanderbilt, Wilson Quarterly The idea that made Hans Monderman most famous is that traditional traffic safety infrastructure—warning signs, traffic lights, metal railings, curbs, painted lines, speed bumps, and so on—is not only often unnecessary, but can endanger those it is meant to protect. **** How One's 'Number Sense' Helps With Mathematics by Rob Stein, Washington Post Scientists have for the first time established a link between a primitive, intuitive sense of numbers and performance in math classes, a finding that could lead to new ways to help children struggling in school. **** Paul Theroux: 'No One's Naked Anymore' by Thuku Varadarajan, Wall Street Journal "The ones that amuse me are the ones that make a drama — an ordeal — out of something pretty banal." SingaporeSurf ==================================== **** PM Lee Confident ISD Will Prove Itself Again Amid New Challenges by Valarie Tan, Channel NewsAsia Singapore prime minister Lee Hsien Loong is confident the country's Internal Security Department (ISD) will prove itself again, especially in light of new security challenges, like those arising from the influx of foreigners into Singapore. He is also confident that the department will get over the escape of Jemaah Islamiya detainee, Mas Selamat Kastari. /I know he didn't actually say it, but it seems that PM Lee is hinting that the government has given up capturing Mas Selamat any time soon./ **** Myopia And Its Related Illnesses by The One Dimensional Island The kind folks over at Serangoon Gardens seem to forget that their trash would pile up if not for foreign workers; their roads not smoothened out, their $2m houses not built; gold taps not fixed; their BMW/Mercedes cars not shined. **** "Thieves" Market In Singapore? by Yesterday... Today... Tomorrow **** Barbarians At The Gate by Chemical Generation Singapore Can the government and Serangoon residents negotiate a settlement amicably without political cost to the PAP in time for the next election and Aljunied GRC contest? How would that settlement take shape? **** My Country Isn't Just Homphobic, It's Xenophobic As Well! by W-host Let's face it - the whole Serangoon Gardens issue isn't about security or convenience. It's about race. **** Winds Of Change by The Capricious Cancerian One can't help but note the difference in acceptance levels that these two migrant groups arouse in the itinerant community. **** Beyond All Words by Lxuisa 1000 foreign workers is no joke, at all. It is so close to my house and I'm so enraged I don't know what to say. I guess Singapore's not safe anymore. I am /not/ implying that /all/ foreign workers are potential criminals, rapists, robbers or such, but they do not behave themselves. **** Townships For Foreign Workers by The Capricious Cancerian This throws us back to colonial times when separate townships or enclaves were marked out by the British for the different ethnic groups. And where did that lead us? **** Foreign Attitudes by Gee Siva! We want our own space and are selective about which foreigners will be allowed into it, making a serious dent in the attempts to evolve into a tolerant multi-cultural society. **** Business And Work In Singapore: 10 Good Things by Zern Liew, eicolab Public transport is out of this world (compared to ShittyRail in Sydney). **** Singapore Considers Legalizing Human Organ Trading by One Mans Blog If I've got some guy offering to pay me $1 million for one of my kidneys, why the heck shouldn't I be allowed to sell it? **** Political System Must Improve Our Lives by Chen Hwai Liang, Press Secretary To The Prime Minister, Straits Times Singapore has evolved its own political system. It may not conform to every liberal ideal, but it has delivered stability and progress to this nation for over four decades. /But that is no reason to just yell "la la la" to oneself whenever anyone offers a suggestion or two./ **** Where's The Harm? by John Gee, Transient Workers Count Too, Straits Times This seems to reflect preconceived ideas that are not based on reality. **** Here's The Harm by Le-Anne Teo, Straits Times Svaing costs with unused buildings for this purpose will only lead to more costs - financial, emotional and physical - which will be borne mostly by Singaporeans. **** NS: Bond Way Out For Genuine Emigrants? by Huang Shoou Chyuan, Straits Times The boy will not do NS and, when he renounces his citizenship at 21 and has left for his new country, the money is returned and we have gained a friend. **** Is It A Serangoon Gardens Problem Or SG Insularity Symptom? by Ken Jalleh Jr, New Paper What's clear is this: Never mind a world buffeted by globalisation, never mind all the talk about accomodation and tolerance; when it comes to my own backyard, you don't want to mess with me. **** Stop Making A Mockery Of Rule Of Law: Let's Accept Gays by Ho Kwon Ping, Today If we pat ourselves on the back for being so "bold" as to accept casinos and Formula 1 events into staid Singapore, why can't the boldness extend to a simple act to enable gays to realise their dream — indeed, their simple right — to be normal Singaporeans like anyone else, no more and no less. See Also: On Section 377A - Ho Kwon Ping Speaks Out. More Prominent Singaporeans Should Follow Lead! , by Huang Shoou Chyuan, nofearSingapore. **** Should Companies Gain At Our Expense? by Quek Soo Beng, Today Serangoon Gardens is generally a middle-class and not ultra-rich estate. We all know property values are much about location, which translates to desirable qualities such as safety, privacy, availability and adquacy of support services and facilities. If these deteriorate, demand and hence, prices of properties, will be affected significantly. **** FM George Yeo Says Townships For Foreign Workers Being Considered by Margaret Perry, Channel NewsAsia The Ministry of National Development is "seriously considering how to create townships for foreign workers which are sustainable and self-contained," foreign minister George Yeo told reporters at a community event on Sunday. **** New Fund To Help Low-Income Families Pay For Pre-School by Hoe Yeen Nie, Channel NewsAsia It is a collaboration between the self-help group the Chinese Development Assistance Council (CDAC) and Singapore's largest childcare provider, NTUC Childcare. About S$200,000 has been set aside for the fund so far, and it is expected to help up to 100 children in its first year. From applesurf at myapplemenu.com Tue Sep 9 13:15:01 2008 From: applesurf at myapplemenu.com (applesurf at myapplemenu.com) Date: 9 Sep 2008 17:15:01 -0000 Subject: [MyAppleMenu] Sep 9, 2008 Message-ID: <20080909171501.9154.qmail@voot.pair.com> MyAppleMenu ==================================== **** The Thrill Of The Hunt by Andy Ihnatko, Celestial Waste Of Bandwidth If you /do/ know squat... well, you're that much ahead of the game. And then there's MAMP. **** Spring Cleaning 10 Boasts File, Image Sorting Tools by Philip Michaels, Macworld Spring Cleaning goes through hard drives looking for duplicate files, inactive aliases, old cache files, and other such clutter. **** MYOB Polishes Mac Integration In FirstEdge And AccountEdge by Stephen Withers, iTWire **** A Few Neat Little Programs For You To Peruse by Bob LeVitus, Houston Chronicle While many programs require an entire column to describe, many more useful and interesting programs can be explained in just a sentence or two. Here are a few of my favorites. **** When Will Apple Finally Get Into The Web? by John Brandon, Computerworld What they really need to do is just get moving on web development. Turn Apple into a company that is as innovative on the web as they are on the desktop and with hardware. /Even discounting MobileMe, Apple has one of the most usable web browser on a mobile device. I don't think Apple need to prove its "get-it"-ness with iTunes XX./ **** How iTunes Could Become The Ultimate DVD Ripper - And Why Apple Won't Let It by John P. Falcone, CNET News.com Apple makes nothing if you rip a DVD, but it (and its studio partners) split anywhere from $3 to $15 per flick, depending if you rent or buy. The company isn't likely to kill off that revenue stream anytime soon. **** What Apple Investors Will Be Looking For During Tomorrow's Keynote: A Healthy Steve Jobs by Dan Frommer, Silicon Alley Insider **** Do Subscriptions Make Sense For iTunes? by Christopher Breen and Philip Michaels, Macworld Would such a move be a good idea for Apple? /Music subscription can well be the new radio. Do it for your customers, Apple./ **** Are G3 Macs Still Viable Work Machines? by Simon Royal, Low End Mac **** Tune In Tomorrow For Apple Event Coverage by Adam C. Engst, TidBITS It's ironic - Apple is in many ways finding itself in Microsoft's shoes. The more products you have, and the tighter the integration between them, the harder it is to push something out the door quickly and cleanly. **** Dan Lyons Takes Off The Mask And Throws Down THe Gauntlet With Apple by Ryan Block Trust me, there are many, /many/ things to groan about Apple over — its obsessive control in all aspects of business, its reluctance to try genuinely new markets and products, the way it handles media — but these complaints are not those things. **** WireTap Anywhere Records From Multiple Sources by Andy Affleck, TidBITS WireTap Anywhere gives you full control over exactly what audio can be recorded in your preferred audio recording software. **** Analysis: After A Tough Summer, Apple Enters Its Comfort Zone by Jim Dalrymple and Philip Michaels, Macworld **** Resellers Forced To Remove Apple Keywords From Ads by MacNN Australian Apple resellers are fearing that online sales leads are going to begin to vanish as Apple-related advertisements from Google's AdWords service have disappeared. The Tomorrow Weblog ==================================== **** Spinspotter's Campaign Against Bias Targets The Wrong Problem by Scott Rosenberg, Wordyard **** Esquire Cover Goes Digital by Associated Press **** Bytes Of Life by Monica Hesse, Washington Post For every move, mood and bodily function, there's a web site to help you keep track. **** You've Got Interruptions by Suw Charman-Anderson, Sydney Morning Herald Email is proving a dangerous distraction and is just as addictive as gambling. **** The Omnigoogle by Nicholas Carr, Rought Type If hot dogs became freebies, mustard sales would skyrocket. MyAppleMenu Reader ==================================== **** Winter Accident by Laura Polley, Slate **** Why So Serious? by Alex Ross, New Yorker How the classical concert took shape. **** Burn Lake 2 by Carrie Fountain, Swink **** The Creation Simulation by Margaret Robertson, Seed Why does a blockbuster video game that embraces biological evolutin resemble intelligent design? **** Friendly Invaders by Carl Zimmer, New York Times Exotic species reciee lots of attention and create lots of worry. But some researchers argue that attitudes about exotic species are too simplisitc. While some invasions are indeed devastating, they often do not set off extinctions. They can even spur the evolution of new diversity. **** How Has The Joy Of Sex Changed Since 1972? by Stuart Jeffries, The Guardian The New Joy of Sex offers a woman's perspective for the first time. **** The Culture Of Prosperity by Wolfgang Kasper, Policy This book asks big questions: Why are some societies rich and others poor? Why did the Industrial Revolution occur in the seventeenth century, in England? Why do some societies—in Africa, for example—find sustained growth so elusive? SingaporeSurf ==================================== **** Asia's Muslims Put On A Feast For Fasting Month by Miral Fahmy, Reuters Ramadan may be a month of fasting, but for many Asian Muslims it's a gastronomical feast. **** Macau's Success Spurring Asia's Gaming Industry: Experts by AFP Macau's success as a gaming haven is spurring the industry in Asia, with some countries already building massive casinos and other moving to legalise them, experts said Tuesday. **** Singapore Diversifies The Volatile Electronics Industry by Bernama **** PTW Week: World Class Service? by Andrew Loh, The Online Citizen At the end of the day, treating commuters as treasured customers (which they are and should be viewed as) is what makes the system world class. **** Between Cowardice And The Rule Of Law by Au Waipang, Yawning Bread If messy compromises are no good and one side of clarity impossible, then there is only one side left: repeal. **** Public's Trust In Charities Up by Theresa Tan, Straits Times Public confidence in charities has rebounded, three years after the National Kidney Foundation (NKF) scandal rocked Singapore and confidence in charities sank to a low then. A new survey by the National VOlunteer and PHilanthropy Centre found that 40 per cent of respondents had 'above moderate to compete confidence' in charities, compared to only 28 per cent in a similar survey done in 2006. **** Why Can't They Understand? by Holey Baloney Singaporeans have become so paranoid that they seem to think that everything that goes against their perception of normal is dangerous. **** Different Interpretation Of Serangoon Garden Incident by My Singapore News Racism is definitely not an issue. It is social class. A mismatch of social class and a clash of social lifestyles and habits. **** Public Bus Transport (Part 2) - Singapore's First Air-Conditioned Public Bus by Peter Chan, Good Morning Yesterday I had my first ride in an air-conditioned bus in 1962. It was the Singapore Traction Company (STC) using the Japanese Isuzu bus. **** PAP, PCF, And WP by Heng-Cheong Leong, MyAppleMenu Is it a stupid idea to ban political parties from organizing a cycling trip? Yes. But does that mean there is no difference between PAP and PCF?

Permanent Link to This Post **** COE And ERP by Heng-Cheong Leong, MyAppleMenu Rachel Chung , in The Online Citizen, like many other writers on the internet, makes the same argument for restricting the number of COE so as to reduce the cost of ERP. The implcation she is making is that this will reduce the total cost of owning and using a car. However, she failed to make any estimates how much the cost of COE will increase if the number of COEs is reduced so that there will not be jams on the CTE. My layman guess is that there will not be any significant savings for the dirvers at all. Her suggestion, in my opinion, will not lower the cost of owning and driving a car in Singapore one single bit. Furthermore, the government's land transport policy here is to decouple the cost of ownership and the cost of usage. This means that a person using a car to drive between Yishun and Raffles Place daily will have to pay more than a person using a car to drive between Yishun and Senoko daily. This makes sense: you contribute to the congestion, you pay more. However, Ms Chung advocated "legistrating measures to restirct car ownership." The result will then be that the person that commutes between Yishun and Senoko will have to pay the same price as the person who commute between Yishun and Raffles Place. Is that even remotely fair? That's like telling everyone to pay the same price to eat at the hawker center, whether you are eating a bowl of noodles with fishball or a bowl of noodles with abalone — just because you are occupying the same table. You use more, you pay more. Simple logic.

Permanent Link to This Post **** Police Justifies Why PAP Can Cycle While WP Couldn't. Do They Still Think Singaporeans Are Morons? by BothSidesOfTheJohorStraits **** Why WP Didn't Get Permit For Event by Paul Tay, Singapore Police Force, Straits Times The event on Aug 31 was very different. The permit was issued after taking into account the organiser and the nature of the event. It was organised by the PAP Community Foundation, which is a registered charity and not a political party. The event was not assessed to have the potential for disorder and unruly behaviour. It was a carnival that involved children and families from various kindergartens and educational institutions. **** Two Issues Surrounding The Rule Of Law In Singapore Are Cause For Concern by Ng E-Jay, Sgpolitics.net Issue 1: Should human rights considerations influence the law? Issue 2: Is it mockery of the law to keep a rule with no intention to prosecute? **** Bloggers Do Not Advocate "Near Free-For-All" by Gerald Giam, Singapore Patriot This was a letter sent by Choo Zhengxi to the Straits Times in response to an article about the so-called "Bloggers 13." We were not granted the right of reply. From applesurf at myapplemenu.com Wed Sep 10 13:15:01 2008 From: applesurf at myapplemenu.com (applesurf at myapplemenu.com) Date: 10 Sep 2008 17:15:01 -0000 Subject: [MyAppleMenu] Sep 10, 2008 Message-ID: <20080910171501.97581.qmail@voot.pair.com> MyAppleMenu ==================================== **** Five Things I Love About OS X by Crooked Moon Frameworks and integrations that are system wide and actually works (Yes Microsoft, I'm looking at you.) **** Next On Apple's Agenda: Video Game Supremacy by Mat Hartley, Globe And Mail While the attention was focused on the latest gizmos and TV content, Apple's chief executive may have shown his hand for the company's next big thing: video games. **** iTunes 8 And Large Libraries: Faster, Much Faster by Kirk McElhearn, Kirkville **** How The iPod Nano 4G Speaks by The Mac-cessibility Site iTunes taps into your Mac or PC's processing power to generate tiny audio files for the various menus, artists, album, song titles, in your library. When you sync, that information is sent to your iPod nano 4G. **** Get Leopard And Windows To Play Nice by Ryan Faas, Computerworld Mac OS X and Windows machines don't get along, right? Wrong. Try out tips for cross-platform happiness on your network. **** Living With A MacBook Air by Matt Hately, Outsourcing Innovation I finally did it. After years of making fun of Macs, I am now a Mac owner and a member of the fully converted. **** Bonjour For Windows 1.0.5 Patches Two DNS Vulnerabilities by Robert Vamosi, CNET News.com **** iPhone Apps A Major Trend At DemoFall by Daniel Terdiman, CNET Download Blog **** One Reason Why OS X Is Better Than Vista And Linux by Davey Winder, iTWire That reason is simple usability. A single word that encompasses everything about the Apple approach to an Operating System. **** Shocker! Steve Jobs Blames It All On Hedge Funds by Joe Nocera, New York Times To the ranks of chief executives who blame those terrible meanies who run hedge funds for their troubles, we can now add a new name: the one and only Steve Jobs. According to Jim Goldman, who interviewed Mr Jobs today on CNBC after his latest razzle-dazzle product announcement, the Apple chief executive said the rumors that he had suffered a recurrence of cancer came from "hedge funds with a big short position in Apple." **** iTunes 8 by Sven-S. Prost, Quarter Life Crisis The things I noticed were those which - just like in previous iTunes updates - look like ad-hoc UI changes that could have done with more care. **** Analysis: Putting Apple's Musical Moves Into Perspective by Jim Dalrymple, Macworld While Apple didn't unveil anything radical Tuesday, analysts said it would be a mistake to dismiss the releases as no big deal. **** iTunes Crashes Music Recommendation Party; Rivals Rejoice by Eliot Van Buskirk, Wired While Genius is no big deal, its smooth, easily accessible nature will likely cause at least a minor uptick in music sales through the service. **** Apple Event: A Few Extra Details You Didn't Get by Jacqui Cheng, Ars Technica The new iPod nanos now have a feature that speaks every menu and song info, which is especially nice for those who are hard of sight. **** Music To No-One's Ears: When An Apple Event Really Doesn't Rock by Craig Grannell, Cult Of Mac This time Apple was the one telling us we were going to see something big, when all we got were skinny things we already knew about anyway. **** First Impressions: BBEdit 9 Versus Coda 1.5 by Craig Grannell, Cult Of Mac I'd rather like someone ot smush these two apps together. **** The iPod Classic's Final Act by Peter Cohen, Macworld The end of the road is in sight for the venerable iPod classic. Meriting barely a passing mention during Apple's "Let's Rock" press event on Tuesday, the device is now available in only a single 120GB model for $249. **** Apple Updates QuickTime, Front Row For iTunes 8 by Peter Cohen, Macworld **** Apple Promises Fewer Dropped Calls With iPhone 2.1 by Peter Cohen, Macworld iPhone 2.1 software is expected to be released on Friday, Sept 12, 2008. **** New-Look iPod Touch And iPhone 2.1 "Bug Fix" Announced by Mark Hattersley, Macworld UK The new iPod touch incorporates the side controls from the iPhone so you cna adjust the volume without using the touch-screen. Like the iPhone, it now also sports a built-in speaker. Steve Jobs - a known music fan - joked that "it's for casual listening; it's not for audiophiles." **** App Store Downloads Top 100 Million, Games A Centerpiece by Peter Cohen, Macworld Jobs said that there are now more than 700 games available from the App Store. The abundance of games make the iPod touch "the funnest iPod ever," said Jobs. **** New-Look Nano Highlights Apple's iPod Changes by Philip Michaels, Macworld The new iPod nano, introduced by Apple CEO Steve Jobs during a press briefing in San Francisco Tuesday, is touted as the thinnest iPod ever built and features a taller form factor with a larger screen than the previous nano. **** Apple Releases iTunes 8, Welcomes NBC Back To Store by Peter Cohen and Philip Michaels, Macworld The new version of iTunes available for download Tuesday contains new browsing options and accessibility enhancements. But the major new addition is Genius, a feature that creates playlists from songs in your music library "that go great together, with just one click," Jobs said. **** Why Go To WWDC When You Can Go To C4? by Dan Moren, Macworld It's hard to use mere words to convey just how much fun the C4 conference is. For one thing, it kind of presuppose that your idea of fun is being crammed into the windowless basement of a hotel along with over 150 other Mac nerds. Let's be honest: you've probably got places you'd rather be. But just in case you missed out, let me tell you what, exactly, you /could/ have been doing with your past weekend. **** Bean 1.3.3 by Dan Frakes, Macworld For most people, it's a good middle ground betwen TextEdit and something like Pages or Word. **** Review: NetNewsWire 3.1 by Dan Frakes, Macworld NetNewsWire 3.1.7 is a stellar example of a newsreader done right, offering a huge number of features and options while remaining simple to set up and use. The Tomorrow Weblog ==================================== **** History Of The Browser User-Agent String by Aaron Andersen, WebAIM Everyone pretended to be everyone else. **** Why Mozilla Is Committed To Gecko As WebKit Popularity Grows by Ryan Paul, Ars Technica **** Old Web Idea Finally Finds A Home by Barbara Ortutay, Associated Press Game companies expect micropayments to make virtual fortunes. MyAppleMenu Reader ==================================== **** The Senior-Citizen Cookbook by Sara Dickerman, Slate How your food needs will change as you get older. **** For Better, For Worse, For Richer, For Pasta by Kim Severson, New York Times Marcella Hazan's husband, Victor, who has written every word of English in her cookbooks, has created the ultimate translation: her memoir, written by him in her voice. **** Concerns Beyond Just Where The Wild Things Are by Patricia Cohen, New York Times Maurice Sendak on the death of his longtime partner, his recent triple-bypass, and the celebration of his 80th birthday at the 92nd Street Y. **** Why Real Estate Won't Go Bust, And Other Book-Title Bloopers by Louise Radnofsky, Wall Street Journal A financial crisis, a historic presidential campaign and a series of political scandals have scrambled how people understand the world in the past few years. For some authors, that presents a ticklish problem. **** The Glass Stampede by Justin Davidson, New York Magazine As this last great building boom winds down, our architecture critic asks: Does the new see-through city look better or worse than the one it replaced? **** Origin Of The Specious by AC Grayling, New Humanist Decreaing religious hegemony and rapidly increasing scientific and technological knowledge have gone pari passu during the last four centuries, in mutually reinforcing tandem: the less religion, the more science; the more science, the less religion. And this is a universal phenomenon. SingaporeSurf ==================================== **** Townships For Foreign Workers Could House Up To 20,000 Under One Roof by Imlda Saad, Channel NewsAsia The concept of foreign worker townships is new in Singapore but self-contained dormitories had sprung up, like one at Penjuru Place in the Western part of Singapore, which houses 6,000 foreign workers. **** What Do You Mean We Don't Have A Masterplan? by Singapore Democratic Party You mean that all this time the government didn't have a plan or "some idea" of how many foreign workers this island can hold? Not only is the admission shocking, it is also a wake up call to Singaporeans. We don't question, much less oppose, the government's policies and assume that everything it does is in order. Until things are too late, that is. **** Dear Political Correspondents, Why Take The Moral High Ground On Serangoon Gardens? by Toadjuice 1,500 people who are foreign and different. Suddenly living next door to you. Can anyone honestly tell me that they are comfortable with that? I am not. But hey, it's not my fault. **** Who Decides Whose Dreams Are More Important? by Memories Of Mattemma All they really care about is their own wealth and issues? **** Singapore Says US Should Avoid 'Xenophobic' Response by Thomson Financial Singapore prime minister Lee Hsien Loong said Tuesday the United States should treat investments from sovereign wealth funds objectively and avoid a 'paranoid xenophobic' response. **** PTW: From Third World To First by Tan Kin Lian, The Online Citizen The current approach of "leaving it to the market" does not seem to produce good results. /One reason is because the other side of the equation, the location of residential houses and office / factory buildings is not done via "leaving it to the market."/ **** Holland V Valets Not Leaving by Sumathi V. Selvaretnam, Straits Times The valets at Holland Village have been operating without a licence for more than a year now, the housing board has said, and yesterday, they continued flouting the rules despite the presence of wardens who warned them to stop. /I'm not sure what rights does the HDB (or the government) have the allow them to be able to ban valet parking. The only justification I see in this article is an act that made it "illegal for anyone to conduct a business in HDB carparks," which, to me, simply means that the valet business can just continue to operate outside of HDB carparks. Surely it's not illegal to accept payments to drive and park a car in HDB carparks?/ **** Why A Jail Term Shouldn't Have Been Sought by Lee Wei Ling, Straits Times The prosecution had the discretion to decide what charges Mr Tang should face. Neither the principle of equality before the law nor any other principle required the prosecution to abdicate its duty to exercise its discretion. **** MM: System Has To Evolve by Lee Siew Hua, Straits Times Minister mentor Lee Kuan Yew, who is turning 85, says he will fortify Singapore's future as long as he can. In that light, he spoke of two imperatives: Singapore's political system must evolve. And the country must stand up to external stresses. **** NTU Placing Research Above Teaching? by Liew Hanqing, New Paper In the short term at least, the loss of teaching faculty could put students at a significant disadvantage. **** Passenger Service Charge At Changi To Go Up By $5 by Leong Wee Keat, Today >From Jan 1, the Passenger Service Charge will go up from $15 to $20 at Terminals 1, 2 and 3. The Passenger Security Service Charge at the Budget Terminal and Seletar Airport will be raised by $2 to $8. **** If Double Standards Can Apply To Gays, What About To Hota? by Tan Yen Ling, Today As it now stands, men who have same-sex sexual relations are committing a crime but are "above the law" as they will not be prosecuted — as assured by the authorities. **** SDP's Policy Paper On Land Transport by Sgpolitics.net **** Cycling Around The Point by Melvin Tan, A Blog @ Singapore From applesurf at myapplemenu.com Thu Sep 11 13:15:00 2008 From: applesurf at myapplemenu.com (applesurf at myapplemenu.com) Date: 11 Sep 2008 17:15:00 -0000 Subject: [MyAppleMenu] Sep 11, 2008 Message-ID: <20080911171500.28079.qmail@voot.pair.com> MyAppleMenu ==================================== **** Ten iTunes Tips That Even Steve Jobs Might Not Know Of by Milind Alvares, Smoking Apples Here are a bunch of random tips that should help you navigate better through this ever-growing application. **** iPod Nano And iPod Touch Take-Apart Results In A Shocking Discovery! by Aayush Arya, MacUser It turns out that there's a Bluetooth chip inside the iPod touch. Tunrs out that the Bluetooth chip in question is there for a reason, and a well advertised one at that—Nike+iPod. **** Apple's iPhone Debut Delayed Indefinitely by Kim Tong-hyung, Korea Times With state regulators slow to lift the software requirements that prevented foreign handset makers from gaining ground here, Koreans aren't likely to get a taste of the iPhone craze at least until next year. **** iTunes 8 Disrupts PwnageTool Jailbreaking by iPodNN Apple has taken steps in iTunes 8 to prevent people from jailbreaking iPhones and iPod touches, claims the unofficial iPhone Dev Team. **** Revolution 3.0 Development Software Released by Peter Cohen, Macworld **** Will The Carriers Kill The iPhone? by Bill Snyder, InfoWorld Developers are cranking out cool app after cool app for Apple's iPhone 3G and other smartphones. But if bandwidth stays skimpy, no one will care. **** iTunes 'Genius' Is Half-Savant, But Here's What We Really Need... by Graham Webster, CNET News.com It's a monumental pain to handle a library larger than can fit on one's laptop drive. **** The iPod Touch Has Got Game by Dan Costa, PC Magazine Since the invention of its App store, Apple is offering more games, making them easier to download, and, frankly, providing a better gaming experience, thanks largley to that touch screen and accelerometer. /Frankly, after Wii came out from nowhere and beat PS3 and Xbox, I don't think Nintendo and Sony (and even Microsoft) will be sleeping and miss out on this potential threat from the fruit company./ **** Macnifying OS X: Learning To Utilize Actiivty Monitor by Jackson Chung, MakeUseOf.com One of the first things I do every time I get my hands on a brand new Mac is to add Activity Monitor to the Dock. **** U Scream, I Scream: We All Scream When iTunes 8 Goes UI Crazy by Dan Moren, MacUser That's why Apple has standard UI widgets, so idiots like me don't spend several minutes searching around iTunes 8's interface trying to figure out /how to make the Genius sidebar disappear/. **** Apple iPod Touch (2Nd Generation) by Tim Gideon, PC Magazine The iPod touch remains the best portable media player on the market, period. **** A Better Alternative To iTunes' Genius Suggestion Engine: Tangerine! by Dean Putney, Cult Of Mac Tangerine! figures out what songs go well together by actually listening to the song itself. **** Apple iPod Nano (4Th Generation) by Tim Gideon, PC Magazine The iPod nano 4G represents a clear improvement in both form and function. **** Apple Makes Good On Green Promises by Lonnie Lazar, Cult Of Mac The new line of iPods announced yesterday are all free of terribly toxic chemicals such as PVC, BFRs, mercury and use arsenic-free glass. **** Notes And Observations Regarding Yesterday's 'Let's Rock' Apple Special Event by John Gruber, Daring Fireball The overall takeaway from yesterday's news is that Apple's music and iPod business is right on track. There was nothing exceptional or particularly surprising, but the incremental improvements and changes were significant. A solid year's worth of progress. **** An Inside Look At Apple's Sneaky iTunes 8 Upgrade by Ed Bott, ZDNet.com Once again, Apple is using its automatic update process to deliver massive amounts of new software to users, including a device driver that has a long and checkered history of causing the Blue Screen of Death to appear. **** Hands-On: iTunes 8 Rethinks Features And Rocks New Ones by David Chartier, Ars Technica While iTunes 8 didn't bring everything we would have liked to see, the major new Genius and Grid features, along with a healthy variety of not just polish but actual retinking, makes this a solid update for Apple's media management software and store. **** Jobs And Co. Settle Pool Of Backdating Lawsuits For $14 Million by Sam Oliver, AppleInsider Apple chief executive Steve Jobs, along with members of his current and former management team, have agreed to a settlement that will bring closure to nearly 20 investor derivative lawsuits over backdated stock options. **** What Happened To The Ever Changing iTunes Note Color? by Derik DeLong, MacUser I may be the only one that feels this way, but iTunes should get an icon makeover with every major version, even if just a color shift. **** You Spin Me Right Round, Apple by Craig Grannell, Cult Of Mac Put simply, are we, as writers and commentators on Apple and its output, being too hard on Steve and co.? **** First Look: Fourth-Generation iPod Nano by Dan Frakes, Macworld Overall, the new iPod nano looks like a solid upgrade in most areas, despite slightly-shorter video-watching battery life (and, to some of us, a step backwards in shape). **** New iPods Exclused From Apple Back To School Promo by Jim Dalrymple, Macworld **** First Look: iPod Touch by Christopher Breen, Macworld The speaker is regrettably nothing like the iPhone's speaker. I attempeted to watch Chinatown while listening to the audio only through the iPod touch's built-in speaker and I had a difficult time discerning the dialog even with the volume turned all the way up. **** First Look: iTunes 8.0 by Rob Griffiths, Macworld The new Genius feature worked well at both helping me find things in my library I hadn't listened to lately, as well as new music from groups I otherwise may never have found. The new visualizer is stunning, and the performance improvements with large libraries will be welcomed by many. **** iTunes 8 Generating Problems With AirPort Express? by MacNN Accounts mention the software displaying error codes when trying to use the AirTunes option, used to stream music wirelessly to remote speakers. The Tomorrow Weblog ==================================== **** Could Life Evolve On The Internet? by Brandon Keim, Wired If princples of life are universal, could life emerge on the internet? **** Startup Conferences Showcase Tech's Dilemma by Therese Poletti, MarketWatch **** Memo From Demo: Six Startups Worth Watching by Robert X. Cringely, InfoWorld Contrary to popular opinion, all the cool new stuff doesn't come from Apple or Google. MyAppleMenu Reader ==================================== **** Rumors About Me by Yasutaka Tsutsui, translated by Andrew Driver, Zoetrope **** Five Stories by Barbara Henning, Jacket SingaporeSurf ==================================== **** On Foreign Worker Dormitories... by Extreme Prejudice By allowing such large number of foreigners to be at one single place, I must ask, if our government trust foreigners more than they trust us? **** Traffic Diversion Scheme To Ease Congestion At Woodlands Checkpoint by Channel NewsAsia A three-month trial traffic diversion scheme will be imlemented from September 15 to help ease the traffic congestion problem at Woodlands Checkpoint. **** My Maiden Speech At Hong Lim Park by Goh Meng Seng, Singapore Alternatives **** Foreign Workers Prefer To Stay Away From Residential Estates by Imelda Saad, Channel NewsAsia The idea of a self-contained township for foreign workers has been given a thumbs-up by foreign workers themselves. But foreign worker advocates said more should be done to help these workers integrae with the wider community. /Nothing in this article substantiates the first paragraph and the headline of this report./ **** Overtaking Indonesians, Malaysians Top Home Buyers In Singapore by Antara News Malaysians overtook Indonesians as the top foreign buyers of private homes in Singapore in the second quarter, a property consultancy said Thursday. **** Are We An Elitist Society? by Figuratively Speaking As I read others' comments and reasons for not wanting the dorm built in Serangoon Gardens, I feel ashamed that I once harbored such unfair thoughts about them. **** Oh No, The Condo People Are Coming by S. Murali, New Paper I plan to start a petition in my neighbourhood soon. It is to stop the building of a huge condominium in my estate at Bishan Street 22. **** Not A Winning Formula For Some by Jessica Yeo, Today It is not what some retailers in the Marina Bay area are hoping to hear, but their concern that regular diners and shoppers will stay away during the F1 event is looking a distinct possibility. **** A Lawyer Does Not Act On His Accord by Michael Hwang, The Law Society Of Singapore, Today Under the Legal Profession (Professional Conduct) Rules, a lawyer is under the duty to defend any person on whose behalf he is instructed on a criminal charge irrespective of any opinion which he may have formed as to the guilt or innocence of that person. With reference to Mr Rajaratnam's statement in paragraph three of his letter that "Lawyers should also be legally bound to pay costs to an innocent accused person", he may wish to note that a large majority of criminal prosecution in Singapore is carried out by the State and the minister has stated that the government is not presently considering the payment of compensation to accused persons who were acquitted after a trial. **** MM Lee Says SWFs Should Not Be Lumped As A Single Entity by Wong Siew Ying, Channel NewsAsia Minister mentor Lee Kuan Yew has warned against lumping sovereign wealth funds together as a single entity, as each fund is set up with different motivations and objectives. **** Health Minister Says Singapore's Healthcare Budget WIll Have To Go Up by Pearl Forss, Channel NewsAsia Health minister Khaw Boon Wan has said that Singapore's budget on healthcare will have to increase. But individuals must also be prepared to foot the bill if they want better care. **** PTW: Union Leader And MP And Also Board Member Of Transport Company? by Andrew Loh, The Online Citizen Can an MP represent or protect the interests of his or her constituents (who are consumers of services) if he or she is also a board member of the companies which are providing such services? What if he or she is, at the same time, also a union leader, representing the interests of workers? **** One Nation Under Lee Seizure To Be Raised At UN Meeting by Singapore Democratic Party **** Police: Stop Justifying The Unjustifiable by Gerald Giam, Singapore Patriot Why are the police doing the job of the public relations manager of the PCF? From applesurf at myapplemenu.com Fri Sep 12 13:15:00 2008 From: applesurf at myapplemenu.com (applesurf at myapplemenu.com) Date: 12 Sep 2008 17:15:00 -0000 Subject: [MyAppleMenu] Sep 12, 2008 Message-ID: <20080912171500.87151.qmail@voot.pair.com> MyAppleMenu ==================================== **** Apple Rolls Back Problem Driver In New iTunes 8 Update by Ed Bott, ZDNet.com Apple has responded quickly to reports that its initial release of iTunes 8 caused STOP errors (AKA the Blue Screen of Death) on some Windows machines. From the evidence, it's pretty clear that Apple ditched its new driver code and simply rolled back to the older version. **** Apple Improves Security In iPhone 2.1 by Peter Cohen, Macworld Among the many improvements to the iPhone with the 2.1 software update posted on Friday are changes meant to enhance security on the device. **** Pure Genius: How Apple Is Killing Windows Vista With iTunes 8 by Davey Winder, iTWire Apple will be able to say that Windows Vista is unstable and still crashes with that Blue Screen of Death in its next advertising campaign. Genius! **** Review: Freeway 5 Pro by Deborah Shadovitz, Macworld Freeway 5 Pro (version 5.2) is a good choice for professional designers who do not want to learn HTML and CSS. **** It's Time For Some Apple TV Updates by Ryan Faas, Computerworld Sure the Remote application for the iPhone/iPod touch is a little easier to use for changing music selection than the standard Appel remote, but I still think a gathering of friends hanging out in your house is a perfect setting for Genius. **** Apple Adds, Then Pulls, MobileMe From iTunes 8 by Mark Hachman and Jamie Lendino, PC Magazine As of Thursday morning, Apple removed the controversial MobileMe control panel from the iTunes 8 for Windows installation. **** iPhone Takes Screenshots Of Everything You Do by Brian X. Chen, Wired If you've got an iPhone, pretty much everything you have done on your handset has been temporarily stored as a screenshot that hackers or forensics experts could eventually recover, according to a renowned iPhone hacker who exposed the seucrity flaw in a webcast Thursday. **** Mac 101: Using Your Windows Keyboard by Robert Palmer, The Unofficial Apple Weblog If you switch frequently between a Mac and a PC, chances are you have to deal with a Windows keyboard from time to time. Thankfully, this can be easy with third-party utilities, or even features already built in to Mac OS X. **** Apple's Genius Music Recommendations Offer Mixed Results by Michelle Quinn, Los Angeles Times **** What Happens When You Let A Complete Stranger Hold Your iPhone by Shawn Blanc I was clearly in an awkward situation, and this lady was oblivious to it. She was enthralled and apparently had no pre-conceived notions about social boundaries. **** iTunes 8 Adds Per-Podcast Settings by Adam C. Engst, TidBITS Three years after adding podcast support to iTunes, Apple has finally given us the ability to control podcast download and retention settings on a per-podcast basis. /A lot of my smart playlists and workflow that I've set up is, precisely, to work arond iTunes' lack of individual podcast control. I guess I'll have to thnk of ways of simplifying my stuff to take advantage of this new 'feature'./ **** First Impressions: iTunes 8 by Craig Grannell, Cult Of Mac **** Apple Refutes NBC's Pricing Policy Claims by Greg Sandoval, CNET News.com "We're glad to have NBC back and they are participating under the same terms with all the other content providers," Eddy Cue, vice president in charge of Apple's iTunes Store, said. See Also: NBC And Apple Still Bickering Over iTunes Pricing Minutia , by Jacqui Cheng, Ars Technica. **** FunctionFlip 1.1 by Dan Frakes, Macworld FunctionFlip sits in your menu bar and lets you choose the behavior of each "special" F-key. **** Set Some Missing iTunes 8 Preferences by Rob Griffiths, Macworld Each of these preferences can be toggled with a simple one-line Terminal command. **** The iPod Classic Is Just Keeping The Seat Warm by Dan Frakes, Macworld Once Apple can offer an iPod touch with iPod-classic capacity at a price that's not outrageous, consider it the final nail int he classic's coffin. **** Attendee Registration Opens For Macworld Expo by Peter Cohen, Macworld The Tomorrow Weblog ==================================== **** What's Happening In Mobile: A Peek At New Products, Services by Sam Diaz, ZDNet.com SingaporeSurf ==================================== **** Mega Projects In Singapore May Not Be Enough To Offset External Slowing by Ng Baoying, Channel NewsAsia As the global economy slows, some have started to question if large projects like these are enough. **** Much Ado About Nothing, PTC? by Leong Sze Hian, The Online Citizen **** Singapore Goes After Dow Jones Again by Asia Sentinel The island republic's attorney general files contempt charges against the Wall Street Journal Asia for unfavorable editorials. **** The Mr And Mrs Tan Gamit by Au Waipang, Yawning Bread In the long run, these laws will ruin us. Each generation of ministers will be less secure than the last, more dependent on the rigging (oops, I mean the views of the mythic heartlanders, Mr & Mrs Tan) to stay in power than winning an open contest of ideas. But don't we know: Insecure people make the worst leaders? **** Indonesian Court Rejects Temasek Appeal by John Aglionby, Financial Times Indonesia's supreme court has rejected most of an appeal by Temasek Holdings against a lower court verdict that Singapore's state-owned investment company violated anti-monopoly laws through its indirect ownership of stakes in the country's biggest two mobile phone companies. Temasek was convicted of monopolising the market. **** Unfriendly? by LienPangRen If you don't show respect to your host, don't expect the same treatment back. Get on with life and just queue like everyone else. **** Singapore's Survival Depends On Friendly "Malaysian Hinterland"! by BarkingMagpie If Pakatan Rakyat were to form a government it will be more apt to be bullied into submission by the more aggressive Singapore's PAP. **** Singapore Proceedings Target Wall Street Journal by Wall Street Journal Singapore's attorney general applied to the country's court for contempt proceedings against the company that publishes The Wall Street Journal's Asian edition and two senior editors. "We are aware of the statement issued by the Singaproe Attorney General's office regarding the applicatino for contempt proceedings against The Wall Street Journal Asia," a Dow Jones spokesman said. "While we are reserving comment on the application until we receive official notifications, we do not believe the articles were contemptuous of the Singapore courts." **** Singapore Introduces 'Unfriendly' Restrictions by Nelson Benjamin, The Star Singapore has imposed a new ruling which has been described as "unfriendly" — including introducing restrictions against Malaysian VIPs and High Commission staff vehicles entering or leaving the island republic. Members of the Johor royalty, Malaysian VIPs and High Commission staff were previously allowed "easy access" where they could use the bus lane at the causeway or the Second Link to avoid getting caught in the massive traffic snarl. They can no longer enjoy the privilege. **** Bus And Train Fares Up On 1 October by Channel NewsAsia Adult Ez-ink fares on buses and trains and the senior citizen concession Ez-link fare will see a flat increase of 4 cents per ride. However, this will be offset by the 15-cent increase in transfer rebate from the current 25 cents to 40 cents. **** Fare Increase Not Fair To Lower Income by Leong Sze Hian, The Online Citizen PTC's fare increase formula may not be very fair to lower-income grous, as it is based on the average wage increase. /Question from me: how do the transport vouchers impact?/ **** Wall St Journal Asia Sued by Sue-Ann Chia, Straits Times The Singapore government is taking the Wall Street Journal Asia newspapers and its editors to court, accusing them of contempt of court. It alleges that three articles the WSJA hd published in June and July 'impugn the impartiality, integrity and independence of the SIngapore Judiciary.' **** Keeping Fuel Surcharge For Fares Is Unfair by Cindy Goh, Straits Times In the past month, prices of crude oil and petrol have been adjusted four or five times. However, no one has told the companies I mentioned to remove the fuel surcharge. /ComfortDelgro had publicly stated the fuel surcharge will be removed "when diesel prices fall back to $1.19 per litre which was the market price on 17 December 2007." Singapore Airlines had just announced it will "cut fuel surcharges on some of its international flights."/ **** Allow Prisoners To Write More Letters? by Lionnel Lim, Today **** 11Am And Still Not Open? Pay $50 by Karen Wong, New Paper If you happened to be at the Bugis Street market in the morning lately and wondered why the stalls were open so early, read on - there is a good reason. The stall owners may be slapped with a fine of $50 a day if they open any later than 11am. /Simply put, middlemen suck./ From applesurf at myapplemenu.com Sat Sep 13 13:15:01 2008 From: applesurf at myapplemenu.com (applesurf at myapplemenu.com) Date: 13 Sep 2008 17:15:01 -0000 Subject: [MyAppleMenu] Sep 13, 2008 Message-ID: <20080913171501.25017.qmail@voot.pair.com> MyAppleMenu ==================================== **** Apple iPod Nano Fourth-Generation (8GB/16GB) by Jeremy Horwitz, iLounge You'd be hard-pressed to find another player that's as cool and versatile as this for the price. **** App Store: I'm Out by Fraser Speirs I will never write another iPhone application for the App Sotre as currently constituted. Writing software is a serious investment of time and energy. Apple's current practice of rejecting certain applications at the final hurdle - submission to the App Store - is disastrous for investor confidence. **** Review: iTunes 8 by Scott McNulty, Macworld iTunes is worth upgrading to for Genius alone. The reined podcast settings and new visualizers are also welcome additions. Grid view looks pretty, with a properly prepared library, but isn't the most practical way of browsing your library especially in an age when the single is outselling the album. **** Podcasting App Rejected From The App Store by Jim Dalrymple, Macworld A new podcasting application has been refused entry into the App Store because it "duplicates the functionality of the Podcast section of iTunes," according to a note the developer received from Apple. **** How To Find Hidden Preference Settings by Rob Griffiths, Macworld MyAppleMenu Reader ==================================== **** The Sound Of Light by Patricia E. Dempsey, Washington Post Throughout her childhood, she could hear the foghorn of the lighthouse through her bedroom window. Now she had a chance to finally see it. **** Attack Of The Megalisters by Mick Sussman, New York Times The state of the art in used-book selling these days seems to be less about connoisseurship than about database management. **** Macau Hits The Jackpot by David Devoss, Smithsonian Magazine In just four years, this 11-square-mile outpost on the coast of China eclipsed Las Vegas as gambling's world capital. **** Fall Down, Go Boom by Morgan Clendaniel, Good Playgrounds became safer and less inspired at a time when kids needed them most—when competition for children's attention from video games and television meant that they provided the only outdoor playing time a child might get. SingaporeSurf ==================================== **** News Focus: Temasek Loses Legal Battle In RI's Supreme Court by Andi Abdussalam, Antara News After a legal battle for about five months, Singapore's state-owned investment firm Temasek Holdings Pte Ltd has to accept an unfavorable decision by the Indonesian Supreme Court. **** Six Short Political Films First Passed By Singapore Censors by DPA **** 'Yes, The Country Needs Them — But Not In My Backyard' by Seah Chiang Nee, The Star **** Bloggers Take Public Transport Debate To Speakers' Corner by Channel NewsAsia Saturday's event is a prime example of how Singapore bloggers are moving from behind the comfort of their computer screens to the real world. **** How Much Each Extra Stroke Cost: MHA Replies by Toh Yong Chuan, Ministry Of Home Affairs, Straits Times The government was advised by AGC and the mediation resulted in a settlement. It is one of the terms that the agreements should be kept confidential. Any litigant, including the government, will have to observe that. **** New Rules At Our Border Checkpoints by Alicia Wong, Today Singapore has implemented new rules at its immigration checkpoints — the Causeway and the Second Link — restricting access to the VIP lanes, said Mr Walter Chia, a press officer for the Singapore High Commission in Malaysia, in a letter to The Star newspaper. **** Changes To Rules On Reserves? by Zakir Hussain, Straits Times An amendment to the Constitution will be tabled in Parliament on Monday by finance minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam. This is expected to deal with how the government calculates how much of the returns on investment of its reserves it can use for spending in any financial year. **** It's Official - Promoting A Cause Is Illegal: Part 1 by Singapore Democratic Party That's the nub of the problem: It's the rule — real or not, it's the rule. **** PAP Dominance Is Impervious To Alaternative Online Content by James Gomez, Journalism.sg From applesurf at myapplemenu.com Sun Sep 14 13:15:01 2008 From: applesurf at myapplemenu.com (applesurf at myapplemenu.com) Date: 14 Sep 2008 17:15:01 -0000 Subject: [MyAppleMenu] Sep 14, 2008 Message-ID: <20080914171501.87530.qmail@voot.pair.com> MyAppleMenu ==================================== **** Thousand Bite Gleefully On New Apple by Garry Barker, The Age The elegant galleries of Chadstone Shopping Centre had never seen the like of it. More than 1000 people queued from 4.30am for a store opening - three-deep in a line that snaked through half a kilometre of the centre. **** A Bridge Too Far by Paul Kafasis, O'Reilly Digital Media Blog The stifling is nothing compared to the chilling effect we'll see from arbitrary rejections like this. **** Why iPhone Is An Unreliable Platform by Dave Winer, Scripting News If you need the approval of the platform vendor to ship an app, then it isn't a platform. It's an integrity thing. The idea that it's a platform should mean no individual or company has the power to turn you off. The Tomorrow Weblog ==================================== **** It's Getting Crowded by Barrett Sheridan, Newsweek Online communities of curious amateurs represent the future of business, says a new book. SingaporeSurf ==================================== **** TOC At The Speakers' Corner by Aaron Peng, A New Beginning It warms my heart to know and see that there are so many people willing to spend their time listening, and in a sense protest against the fare hikes on a Saturday evening. **** Hospitalized Lee Kuan Yew Delivers Speech On Widening Wealth Gap by DPA He emphasized the importance of successful individuals giving back to society and named as examples Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and legendary investor Warren Buffet. **** Kopi Tiam Singapore Restaurant by Timeless Facade From applesurf at myapplemenu.com Mon Sep 15 13:15:00 2008 From: applesurf at myapplemenu.com (applesurf at myapplemenu.com) Date: 15 Sep 2008 17:15:00 -0000 Subject: [MyAppleMenu] Sep 15, 2008 Message-ID: <20080915171500.34693.qmail@voot.pair.com> MyAppleMenu ==================================== **** Apple's Latest iPhone Sees Slow Japan Sales by Yukari Iwatani Kane, Wall Street Journal Two months after its launch, the latest version of APple Inc.'s iPhone is showing strong sales around the world — except in Japan. One big challenge is that Japanese users already have access to some of the most advanced mobile-phone technologie in the world. **** Apple CEO Steve Jobs Targeted By New Stock Options Lawsuit by Jonny Evans, Macworld UK **** NetShare Banned From App Store by MacMembrane **** Podcaster Developer Uses Little-Known "Ad Hoc" Mode To Distribute Banned iPhone App by Sarah Perez, ReadWriteWeb Given that Apple has confirmed the existence of a "kill switch," we wonder if they will start using it to wipe banned, but distributed, apps such as this from our iPhones. **** Of Course You'll Keep Developing For The iPhone by Michael Arrington, TechCrunch Developers will complain, but ultimately they'll play by whatever rules Apple demands. Even if those rules are ambiguous and subject to change regularly without notice. **** How Apple Can Mitigate Developer Frustration by Amit Chowdhry, Pulse 2.0 How will developers know whether their app is good enough for Apple? I'm thinking one approach that might be beneficial is to have an idea submission page. Before the devleoper takes the time to code around Apple's API, he or she submits the idea to Apple. And if they get the approval, then they are good to develop the application. /This will not work for Apple, as this will simply invite more lawsuits against Apple./ The Tomorrow Weblog ==================================== **** Accessible Science by Carolyn Y. Johnson, Boston Globe Hackers aim to make biology household practice. **** Safe Transactions With Infected PCs by Erica Naone, MIT Technology Review A new tool assumes that a PC is loaded with malware—and protects transactions anyway. **** Impossible by Rands In Response You're the one who is actually responsible for delivering the imposible, and all I'm asking is that you consider the request, because agreeing to engage in the impossible shatters normality and ignore fears and I love that. MyAppleMenu Reader ==================================== **** Trying To Understand A Father's Suicide by Chuck Leddy, Boston Globe Novelist and Cambridge resident Joan Wickersham's deeply moving memoir seeks to comprehend the incomprehensible. **** The Nobel Truths Of Suffering by Aleksandar Hemon, New Yorker **** 21 by Bob Dylan, New Yorker **** 17 by Bob Dylan, New Yorker **** Names by Marilyn Hacker, New Yorker **** Remember Movies Before The Cellphone? by Zachary Pincus-Roth, Los Angeles Times For screenwriters, the sheer ubiquitousness of the cellphone can be a nagging detail to account for — or a handy device on which to hang a plot point. SingaporeSurf ==================================== **** Dr M Takes Cheap Pot Shots To Stir Racial Unrest In Singapore Gain by Mohammad Fairuz, The Wayang Party Club Of Singapore I wonder what motives Dr Mahathir had in making such disparaging remarks abot a neighboring country. Perhaps he should put his own house in order first before meddling in the affairs of his neighbors. **** Merrill Deal May Ease Temasek Pain, But Risk Remains by Saeed Azhar, Reuters Bank of America's purchase of Merrill Lynch in a $50 billion deal highlights the risk Singapore's Temasek and other sovereign funds took in betting on a financial sector whose troubles are far from over. With an average price of between $23 and $24 paid per Mirrill share, Temasek could make a small paper gain given Bank of America is paying $29 a share in an all-stock deal. **** Short Film On Elderly Poor Rated NC16 by Martyn See, No Political Films Please, We're Singaporeans No mention is made in the certificate on why the film has been deemed unsuitable for viewers under the age of 16. **** Home Afairs Ministry Release 5 JI Detainees On Restriction Orders by S. Ramesh, Channel NewsAsia The home affairs ministry has released five Singapore members of the Jemaah Islamiyah terrorist network on restriction orders. This came after their Orders of Detention issued under the Internal Security Act expired. **** Singapore To Amend Constitution To Draw More Income From Reserves by Ng Baoying, Channel NewsAsia The government now wants to expand the pool of investment returns to include capital gains and loses, while maintaining the 50 per cent spending cap. **** Baby Bonus Scheme Will Not Be Extended To Fifth Child And Beyond by Channel NewsAsia The Baby Bonus scheme will not be extended to the fifth child and beyond. This was said by minister of state for community development, youth and sports, Mrs Yu-Foo Yee Shoon. "It is a policy that we don't encourage or incentivise them to have more children, especially because of this big cash bonus." **** Prime Minister's Office Press Statement by MMO, PMO, Singapore Government Minister mentor Lee Kuan Yew had a comfortable night. **** Temasek Undecided On Merrill Lynch Stake by AFP Singapore investment firm Temasek has not yet decided on what to do with its stake in Merrill Lynch, which is to be bought by Bank of America, sources said. Temasek is the single largest investor in Merrill Lynch after making investments totalling US$8.3 billion. **** Singapore Jobless Rate Rises by Straits Times Singapore's jobless rate rose to 2.3 per cent in June, for the second quarter in a row even as total employment growth remained strong in the second quarter, driven by the robust construction sector. **** Public Transport Companies - A Good Buy? by Market Uncle Public transport is meant for the general public. Keeping it affordable is one of the main objective for the regulators. But to the transport companies, being listed stipulates them to maximises profit for their shareholders. How they manage these conflicting interest will always be a torny issue. **** Milestones by Benjamin Cheah, The Lionheart It is now up to activists and bloggers to speak up and engage the people and the government to realise their vision. **** Stop Blogging And Start Doing! by Lost In Communication Wow... public speaking /and/ a proposal to the government! Even the anti-blogger and cynic in me have to applaud that. Well done. **** Films Of Demos And Assemblies Get Approved By The Authorities by Andrew Loh, The Online Citizen **** One Nation Under Lee Receives Warm Reception In Johor Baru by Singapore Democratic Party **** Camping - Singapore Style by Everyday Singapore I guess the upside of camping Singapore style is that McDonalds, home of the S$.60 ice cream cone, is only 3 minute walk from your tent's front door. /Or, maybe, something like this ?/ **** Unjusitifed Fears? by Zul Othman, Today New statistics show foreigners, including construction workers, commit fewer crimes in relation to Singapore residents. **** Singapore Scores In Perc Judiciary Survey by AFP Regional financial centres Hong Kong and Singapore have the best judicial systems in Asia, a survey of expatriate business executives showed. **** Are We Now Self-Suffient? by Lin Yanqin, Today **** If Serangoon Gardens Is 'Middle-Class', What Am I? by SM Ong, New Paper **** Bloggers Speak Up Against Public Transport Shortcomings At Speakers' Corner by Selene Cheng, The Online Citizen From applesurf at myapplemenu.com Tue Sep 16 13:15:01 2008 From: applesurf at myapplemenu.com (applesurf at myapplemenu.com) Date: 16 Sep 2008 17:15:01 -0000 Subject: [MyAppleMenu] Sep 16, 2008 Message-ID: <20080916171501.28411.qmail@voot.pair.com> MyAppleMenu ==================================== **** Microsoft Beats Apple's iTunes Genius With MixView by Gizmodo If the purpose of Genius is to invite you to expand your musical horizons, this is definitely not the right way to entice listeners to do so. **** VMware Fusion 2.0 Available by Jim Dalrymple, Macworld The new version adds over 100 new features and enhancements. Among the changes is AutoProtect, a new feature VMware described as being like Time Machine for your virtual machine. **** WebObjects 5.4.3 Available Now by Jonny Evans, Macworld UK Apple upgrades its web application development stalwart. **** A Deeper Look At Mac OS X 10.5.5 by Rob Griffiths, Macworld **** Review: Fourth-Generation iPod Nano by Dan Frakes, Macworld If you're in the market for your first nano, you can't go wrong. And if you've been waiting to upgrade a 1G or 2G model, now's the time to buy; compared to the similarly shaped 2G model, the new nano is better in every way except for the sharp corners. **** Apple iPod Classic by Jeremy Horwitz, iLounge Despite its advances in battery life and capacity for the $249 asking price, the iPod classic i sno longer trailblazing in any way. **** Mozilla Security Chief: Apple Should Open Up by Dan Goodin, The Register While Mozilla's security chief Window Snyder praised much of the behind-the-scenes work of Apple's security professionals, she said it's not enough that the work is carred out in secret. **** Ballinger Students Get New Laptops by Matt Phinney, Go San Angelo Minutes after getting a new laptop, Tucker Travis sat in his morning classroom with the computer open, on the verge of finding out just what it could do. **** Apple Update Finally Fixes Important DNS Bug by Robert McMillan, IDG News Service Apple has released a security update for its Mac OS X operating system, fixing a critical internet security flaw that the company had failed to properly patch in late July. **** Will Apple Ever Fully Liberalize Mac OS X Virtualization? by Eric Lai, Computerworld Apple has only grudgingly allowed Mac OS X to be run on virtual machines. **** Does Constant Time Machine Activity Compromise Disk Longevity? by Charles Moore, Low End Mac How can it not? **** Things That Podcaster's Rejection From The App Store Is Not About by John Gruber, Daring Fireball Podcaster, so far as I can tell, compiles with every written guideline in the SDK Agreement. If other guidelines exist, Apple should dd them to the agreement. The point is not that Apple /can't/ reject apps arbitrarily. The point isn't about what Apple /can/ do but what they /should/ do. **** Mac OS X 10.5.5 Update Focuses On Bug Fixes by TidBITS Apple today released Mac OS X 10.5.5, rolling in a large number of bug fixes. As far as we can tell, there are no new feaures, but thanks to Apple's moderately detailed release notes (thanks, Apple!), users can get a sense of whether or not 10.5.5 is likely to resolve particular problems. **** Printing Selected Text by Christopher Breen, Macworld Once iPrint for OS X is installed, just select some text, press Control-Option-P, and the selected text in the active window prints. **** Review: Second-Generation iPod Touch by Chirstopher Breen, Macworld **** GrandTotal Invoicing Application Debuts by Peter Cohen, Macworld GrandTotal helps freelancers, small and medium-sized businesses and others to generate personalized invoices, estimates and account statements for their clients. The Tomorrow Weblog ==================================== **** Porn Passed Over As Web Users Become Social: Author by Belinda Goldsmith, Reuters Social networking sites are the hottest attraction on the internet, dethroning pronography and highlighting a major change in how people communicate, according to a web guru. MyAppleMenu Reader ==================================== **** Gut Instinct's Surprising Role In Math by Natalie Angier, New York Times A host of new stuides suggests that the two number systems, the bestial and celestial, may be profoundly related, an insight with potentially broad implications for math education. **** Publishing's Back-Room Alchemists by Alex Clarke, Telegraph Internet or not, writers will always be grateful for an astute editor. **** The Home Team by Peter Hessler, New Yorker How the Chinese experienced the Olympics. **** Fast Lane To The Future by Don Belt, photography by Ed Kashi, National Geographic Magazine A new superhighway linking its four major cities is bringing old and new India into jarring proximity. **** 6 Food Mistakes Parents Make by Tara Parker-Pope, New York Times A series of simple meal-time strategies can help even the pickiest eater learn to like a more varied diet. SingaporeSurf ==================================== **** MAS Urges AIA Policyholders Not To Terminate Policies Hastily by Pearl Forss, Ryan Huang and Wong Siew Ying, Channel NewsAsia With regards to AIG, MAS said: "The value of these assets is not linked to AIA's or AIG's financial condition, but like all investments, their value may be affected by general market conditions." The MAS assured the public that "AIA currently has sufficient assets in its insurance funds to meet its liabilities to policyholders." **** Citizen Soldiers: The Unsung Pillar Of The Singapore Armed Forces by Military Life: Memoirs Of A Conscript In The Lion City As I delve deeper into my own perspectives as a citizen soldier, I realise my own views on te impact of conscription on the psyche of a male citizen has resonated among my fellow nsmen. **** ERP Gives Commuters A Choice by Straits Times Many more bus commuters and drivers are now able to get to work and home on time since more electronic road pricing (ERP) gantries came up in the city centre and expressways, said transport minister Raymond Lim on Tuesday. **** 'New Uncertainties' For Singapore by Straits Times Trade and industry minister Lim Hng Kiang said in Parliament on Tuesday that the meltdown in the US financial market is causing 'new uncertainities' for Singapore. **** Queue Forms At AIA Branch At Raffles Place As Policy Holders Seek Answers by Channel NewsAsia Some Singaporeans are concerned that AIG, one of the world's largest insurers could be the next financial giant to fall after Lehman Brothers. **** Oral Answer To Parliamentary Questions On PCF Event At West Coast Park On 31 Aug 08, 16 September 2008 by Ho Peng Kee, Ministry of Home Affairs, Singapore Government It was not a cycling event but a Family Day Carnival. The only cycling was when the prime minister and the other speical guests made their entrance by cycling a short distance from where the prime minister had alighted from his car to the stage. Secondly it was not organized by a political party but a registered charity. The authorities considered the family day setting and community service focus of the event as well as the status of PCF as a registered charity and did not object to the event as the policy of disallowing outdoor political events did not apply in this situation. **** Move To Ease Congestion At Woodland Checkpoint Causes Jam At BKE by Ting Kheng Siong, Channel NewsAsia A three-month trial of a new traffic diversion scheme to ease congestion at the Woodlands Checkpoint has resulted in another jam further away. **** Temasek Could Profit On Merrill Takeover: Economist by AFP Singapore's Temasek Holdings could walk away with a profit from its stake in investment bank Merrill Lynch despite the Wall Street firm's battering by a housing crisis, an economist said Tuesday. "It still might work out well from their perspective," said David Cohen, of global research house Action Economics. **** The Cherished Right Of Reply, Refused. by Vexillum II **** BofA Buyout Can't Quite Save Temasek's Investment In Merrill by The Deal Unfortunately, the markets haven't been kind to the stocks of either BofA or Merrill. **** OK With Workers Living Nearby by Arlina Arshad, Straits Times News that a disused school in Serangoon Gardens was to be converted into a foreign-worker dormitory stirred a big outcry among residents there. In reality, however, that line has been crossed and workers have been living in residential estates for some time. **** At Malaysia's Freedom Film Fest 2008 by Au Waipang, Yawning Bread From applesurf at myapplemenu.com Wed Sep 17 13:15:01 2008 From: applesurf at myapplemenu.com (applesurf at myapplemenu.com) Date: 17 Sep 2008 17:15:01 -0000 Subject: [MyAppleMenu] Sep 17, 2008 Message-ID: <20080917171501.91593.qmail@voot.pair.com> MyAppleMenu ==================================== **** Next-Generation Mobile Is All About The Cloud by Tom Yager, InfoWorld **** Invasion Of The i-Men by Giles Turnbull, Cult Of Mac **** Apple Remote App Updated For iPhone, iPod by Jim Dalrymple, Macworld The new version allows you to create Genius playlists and create and edit playlists in iTunes. **** Dropbox: File Synchronization And Sharing Couldn't Be Easier by Rich Ericson, Computerworld Dropbox combines file and folder mirroring/syncornization with an easy-to-use online interface that's efficient and well designed. **** The Mystery Of iTunes 8 And The Disappearing HD TV Shows by Aayush Arya, MacUser **** Apple Posts 1.0.2 Firmware For Fourth-Gen Nano by iPodNN No details of individual fixes. **** Hands On: Clips, The Mac Clipboard Utility For Power Users by David Chartier, Ars Technica With flexible ways to visualize snippets, an appreciated dose of flashy animation, and an overall look and UI that fits extremely well with Mac OS X, Clips has scored a place in our Login Items. **** Google Gears For Safari Shifts Out Of Beta by Chris Foresman, Ars Technica Gears is a plug-in as well a set of APIs that web app developers can use to add offline functionality to their web apps. **** SmartSound Ships Sonicfire Pro 5, Music Discs by MacNN SmartSound says it has released Sonicfire Pro 5, the latest version of its audio production software, geared toward pairing soundtracks with video. **** Apple Remote Desktop Client, Admin Updated by Jim Dalrymple, Macworld **** Apple Releases Digital Camera Raw Compatibility Update by Jim Dalrymple, Macworld **** Finale PrintMusic 2009 Released by Jim Dalrymple, Macworld MakeMusic on Tuesday released Finale PrintMusic 2009, an application that allows you to print publisher-quality sheet music. **** Review: 2G iPod Classic by Christopher Breen, Macworld Apple has done very little to improve the iPod classic with this iteration—that's not necessarily a bad thing. It remains the iPod to own if you want to carry a lot of media with you. **** Quickly Access Grid View Options In iTunes 8 by Rob Griffiths, Macworld Did you also know that, depending on which arrangement you've selected, you can further group and/or sort your music? **** Spanning Sync 2.0 Adds Contact Syncing by Jim Dalrymple, Macworld Synchronizing your calendars and contacts with Google just got a bit easier with the release f Spanning Sync 2.0. **** Apple Releases Security Update 2008-006 by Jim Dalrymple, Macworld The Tomorrow Weblog ==================================== **** Are Today's Young Entrepreneurs Kinder And Gentler Than Their Forebearers? by Steven Berglas, BusinessWeek **** Why People Pirate Games by Jason Kottke, Kottke.org MyAppleMenu Reader ==================================== **** Superfood Or Monster From The Deep? by Julia Moskin, New York Times Orange juice laced with anchovies is one example of the latest way major food companies are competing for health-conscious consumers: plugging one food into another and claiming the health benefits of both. **** Instead Of Eating To Diet, They're Eating To Enjoy by Tara Parker-Pope, New York Times After decades of obsessing about fat, calories and carbs, many dieters have made the unorthodox decision to simply enjoy food again. **** The Strange History Of Final Games In Stadiums Slated For Demolition by Neil deMause, Village Voice Loot, loot, loot for the home team. **** Talking Amongst Your Shelves by David Barnett, The Guardian A novel way to organise your boks is to use different titles to spell out new phrases. **** Royal Harp by Maura Stanton, The Atlantic **** Is Pornography Adultery? by Ross Douthat, The Atlantic It may be closer than you think. **** The Art Cheats Who Betrayed My Father by Rachel Cooke, The Guardian Kate Rothko Prizel remembers the long and bitter court case, his brutal suicide and how she still mourns the loss of her father. SingaporeSurf ==================================== **** Shelter For Abused Foreign Workers Faces Eviction by UCAN **** What Lee Hsien Loong Didn't Say About The ISA by Gandhi Ambalam, Singapore Democratic Party The specter of the Internal Security Act (ISA) has again been hoisted by prime minister Lee Hsien Loong. **** Gopalan Nair Jailed 3 Months by Zakir Hussain, Straits Times Former Singaporean lawyer Gopalan Nair was sentenced to three months jail on Wednesday after he was found guilty of insulting a High Court judge in a posting on his blog. **** HDB To Build More New Flats, Rental Units To Meet Rising Demand by Wong Siew Ying, Channel NewsAsia **** Foreign Workers Dorm In Serangoon Gardens Not Definite by 938Live Minister for national development Mah Bow Tan has stressed that no decision has been made regarding the builidng of foreign worker dormitories in Serangoon Gardens. **** NTU Censors Campus News Coverage Of Chee Soon Juan Visit by Terence Lee, The Online Citizen **** Gopalan Nair Found Guilty by Straits Times Former Singaporen lawyer Gopalan Nair was found guilty on Wednesday of insulting a High Court judge in a posting on his blog. **** Queues Continue At AIA by Straits Times **** Written Answer To Parliamentary Question On Recent Immigration Actions By ICA, 16 September 2008 by Wong Kan Seng, Ministry of Home Affairs, Singapore Government The recent immigration actions taken by ICA against a few Myanmar nationals were not the result of political pressure or requests from the Myanmar government. **** Orchard Road Sales Up by Yeo Ghim Lay, Straits Times Retail sales in Orchard Road went up, not down, after the Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) network in the shopping belt was expanded. **** Top Marks For Singapore's IT Industry by Tan Weizhen, Straits Times However, Singaproe can improve on research and development and the creation of new intellectual property. **** Military Relations Between Malaysia And Singapore Remain Strong by Zakaria Abdul Wahab, Bernama Military cooperation between the Malaysian and Singapore armed forces remains strong despite some occasional glitches in bilateral relations between the two countries, said Malaysian High Commissioner to Singapore Datuk N. Parameswaran. **** Inmates Have Enough Opportunity To Stay In Touch With Loved Ones by Lee Chee Kwong, Singapore Prison Service, Today We will consider requests from inmates to send additional letters on a case-by-case basis, based on compassionate grounds. **** AHA Assures HDB Fire Insurance Plans Not Affected by Pearl Forss, Channel NewsAsia **** The Issue Is About Civil And Political Rights, Not Merely Why PCF Activity Is Different From PAP Activity by Ng E-Jay, Sgpolitics.net If the government has the arbitrary power to deny a political party the right to carry out all outdoor activities simply by using the excuse that any such activity has the potential to lead to chaos, it is an abrogation of citizens' basic rights, no more no less. **** Improving On The Government's Plans For Public Transport by Gerald Giam, Singapore Patriot From applesurf at myapplemenu.com Thu Sep 18 13:15:01 2008 From: applesurf at myapplemenu.com (applesurf at myapplemenu.com) Date: 18 Sep 2008 17:15:01 -0000 Subject: [MyAppleMenu] Sep 18, 2008 Message-ID: <20080918171501.16364.qmail@voot.pair.com> MyAppleMenu ==================================== **** Games Are Serious Business For Apple by Winda Benedetti, MSNBC Most observers could see the thought bubble hovering over Jobs' head clear as day: /Take that Sony and Nintendo! Your portable gaming machines don't stand a chance!/ **** Convert Video For Any Device by Jonathan Seff, Macworld Make your DVDs and other videos play on an iPod, iPhone or Apple TV. **** Hacker Posts QuickTime Attack Code by Gregg Keizer, Computerworld A hacker has released attack code that exploits an unpatched vulnerability in QuickTime, just a week after the company updated the media player to plug nine other serious vulnerabilities, a security researcher said Wednesday. **** Apple's Anti-DRM Stance: Why It's More Talk Than Action by Peter Burrows, BusinessWeek Personally, I don't buy it. **** Just Tell The Truth, Apple by Sascha Segan, PC Magazine **** Echoing The Campaign Of A Rival, Microsoft Aims To Redefine 'I'm A PC' by Stuart Elliott, New York Times Apple executives have been "using a lot of their money to de-position our brand and tell people what we stand for," said David Webster, general manager for brand marketing at Microsoft. "They've made a caricature out of the PC," he added, which was unacceptable because "you always want to own your own story." **** Fresh 'Discoveries' From iPod, Zune by Katherine Boehret, Wall Street Journal Apple's Genius is a helpful tool when it comes to quickly making playl,ist, and its iTunes sidebar might reveal fresh related content. But the Zune software truly allows people to discover more about their own music and that of others. **** Time Machine: Customized Backup Schedules by Jeff Gamet, Mac Observer **** A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The File System by Matt Asay, CNET News.com A funny thing has happened in the past year. I've stopped using my hard drive. **** iPhone Hobbled By High Prices In Japan, Lack Of 3G In India by Priya Ganapati, Wired For Apple, it may be time to take a closer look at its buisness in Asia. Unless the company can move swiftly to change its strategy, it may find itself locked out of the largest telecom markets of the world. **** Inside The iPhone App Store Acceptance Process by Niall Kennedy As of yesterday afternoon Podcaster had provisioned 1130 devices for distribution across 12 different copies of the application hosted on Google Code. **** 4G iPod Nano Available In 4GB For Some International Markets by Chris Foresman, Ars Technica **** Promising Prospect: Fantasktik 1.1 by Dan Frakes, Macworld Fantasktik addas a thin, well, /task bar/ to your screen that includes a button for every window, with windows grouped by program. **** StuffIt Deluxe 2009 Debuts by Peter Cohen, Macworld New features in StuffIt Deluxe 2009 include QuickLook and Time Machine support for Leopard users. The Tomorrow Weblog ==================================== **** Thinking Outside The Business Is More Than Box Clever by Silicon Republic **** Making Money From Social Ties by Erica Naone, MIT Technology Review Advertisers are building complex applications to try to engage users on social networks. **** Innovation Lessons From Hollywood by Scott Kirsner, BusinessWeek The movie industry has traditionally resisted change. Yet it has adapted, mainly in response to outsiders who learned how to approach it. MyAppleMenu Reader ==================================== **** Realism Is Not Something To Grow Out Of by Stephanie Cross, The Guardian Experimental fiction can be terrific, of course, but it's not superior to conventional storytelling. **** Country For Old Men by Peter D. Kramer, Slate David Lodge's touch wavers when the topic is aging. SingaporeSurf ==================================== **** AIA Loses 2,000 Policies by Lorna Tan, Straits Times Worried policyholders terminated some 2,000 policies with AIA Singapore in the last few days despite a US government bailout of its parent company, global insurance giant American International Group (AIG). This worked out to be less than 0.1 per cent of the 2 million plus AIA policies here, said American International Assurance Company, a wholly-owned subsidiary of insurance giant AIG. **** Hundreds Of Millions Of Cash Smuggled To Singapore Daily by Jakarta Post Cash wroth hundreds of millions of rupiah is being smuggled to Singapore daily, the Indonesian Navy said during a raid in Batam on Wednesday. **** Foodie's Day Out by Rashmi Uday Singh, India Today Group Online I am being shown how to eat my way through Singapore's street food (which is actually not sold on the street at all). **** Singapore Math Teaching Method Is Gaining Supporters Group Says It Was 'Naive' On Teacher Pay Plan by Lisa Schencker, Salt Lake Tribune A group that wants to put the Singapore method of teaching math in Utah schools is gaining support among lawmakers. **** Korea, Temasek Keen To Know Terms Of Merrill Takeover - Exec by Kim Yeon-hee and Saeed Azhar, Reuters **** Singapore's GIC Says To Explore Morgan Stanley by Saeed Azhar, Reuters The Government of Singapore Investment Corp (GIC), one of the world's biggest sovereign funds, said on Thursday it will explore investing in Morgan Stanley if it is approached. **** Hundreds More Throng AIG Singapore Offices by AFP Hundreds of anxious policyholders lined up for the third straight day in the hot sun outside Singapore offices of global insurance giant American International Group Inc. (AIG) on Thursday. **** Just A Point Of Legal Information by Modernburrow.lah.cc It is not arbitrary in nature, it is delegated authority. **** An Experience To Remember by Serena Days Crisis is over for AIG/AIA for at least the next 24 months. Indeed, a memorable experience for me and my clients the night before Fed came to rescue. **** Trial For Insulting Judge by Dharmendra Yadav, Think Happiness The judge hearing the trial, Justice Kan Ting Chiu, left the most significant impression on me. I thought he was extremely patient with both the prosecution and defence. The voice of reason prevailed and Justice Kan dealt with Nair fairly. **** Legal Papers Served On DJ Daily by Sue-Ann Chia, Straits Times Legal papers have been served on the publisher and two editors of the Wall Street Journal Asia (WSJA) by the Singapore government, which is taking them to court for contempt of court. **** HDB - The New Old Folks' Home? by Liang Dingzi, Today Our Asian makeup is quite different, and the real question is whether the HDB rental flat has become a less severe and more consolatory alternative to the old folks' home. **** Jalan Kayu Residents Find Ways To Coexist With Foreign Workers by Pearl Forss, Channel NewsAsia When two dormitories housing 6000 foreign workers sprung up in the private estate of Jalan Kayu in 2005, it led to a flood of complaints from residents. 3 years down the road, not only have foreign workers become a common sight here, they are even mingling with residents. From applesurf at myapplemenu.com Fri Sep 19 13:15:03 2008 From: applesurf at myapplemenu.com (applesurf at myapplemenu.com) Date: 19 Sep 2008 17:15:03 -0000 Subject: [MyAppleMenu] Sep 19, 2008 Message-ID: <20080919171503.77756.qmail@voot.pair.com> MyAppleMenu ==================================== **** Apple Expo 2008: The Highlights From Paris by TechRadar.com Peripherals, software and a notable absence from Apple itself. **** A Mac Rig That'll Make Your Eyes Bleed by Giles Turnbull, Cult Of Mac Admit it: you've always wanted an office like this, haven't you? Your dual-monitor setup looks a bit pathetic now, doesn't it? **** Why Today's College Student Has A Mac And An iPhone Instead Of A Dell And A Blackberry by Kiley Dorton **** Writing Roots: I (Heart) Steve Jobs by Christina Katz, Writers On The Rise My first Mac spared many a professor my atrocious handwriting. More importantly, it prepared me for the current internet age. And thank goodness for that. **** Is Apple's Success The Result Of Luck Or Skill? by Don Reisinger, CNET News.com It's easy to say that Steve Jobs knows it all, if you're an Apple zealot, and even easier to say he knows nothing when you hate Apple. But in reality, Apple's success is due to significant skill and a healthy portion of good luck. /And to add on, without skill, one cannot take advantage of any portion of good luck./ **** Microsoft May Have Thrown Apple An iPod Nano Headache by AppleInsider Apple is notifying some of its customers this week that it will be unable to meet quoted delivery times for its new 16GB iPod nanos, fueling rumors that the company was forced to make a last minute change to the product line, possibly at the hands of rival Microsoft. **** Hasta La Vista, Vista! I'm Back To Mac, Jack! by John Shore, Crosswalk.com Apple's operating system doesn't try to protect me, guide me, help me, inspire me, direct me, correct me, or question my choice of breakfast cereals. It pretty much lets me be. **** Apple Updates Compressor, Apple Qmaster by Jonathan Seff, Macworld **** Apple Named In Lawsuit Against Singer Chris Daughtry by Jim Darymple, Macworld The lawsuit names Apple as one of the defendants because Apple distributed the song on its iTunes Store. **** The Limits Of iPod Touch/iPhone Restrictions by Christopher Breen, Macworld Parental controls are built-in, but those controls are about as sturdy as a damp piece of bathroom tissue. MyAppleMenu Reader ==================================== **** Read Me A Story, Brad Pitt by Nate DiMeo, Slate When audiobook casting goes terribly wrong. **** Democracy On The Wane by Joshua Kurlantzick, Boston Globe In country after country, democratic reforms are in retreat. The surprising culprit: the middle class. SingaporeSurf ==================================== **** Top Three Socio-Political Blogs In Singapore And Malaysia by The Wayang Party Club Of Singapore **** AIMS Gets Feedback To Create Virtual Speaker's Corner by S Ramesh, Channel NewsAsia There had been robust and strong criticism of some parts of the committee's report, said the chairman of Advisory Council on the Impact of New Media on Society (AIMS), Cheong Yip Seng. **** Down Grading Or Wising Up? by SimonSimple **** Recent Arrests A Reminder That Blogging Comes With Risks by John Timmer, Ars Technica If there's a theme to any of these cases, it's that the line between real-world actions and blogging is vanishingly small. **** Shapes And Sizes That Matters by Whenever I Think, I Think Of You It's funny how we make of someone based on everything else but his or her heart. **** Singapore Races For A New Image by Steve Mollman, Wall Street Journal City-state sees Formula One as a ticket to showing off its splashy side. **** JBJ Seeks Ruling On Constitution by Ansley Ng, Today Lawmakers have debated it at length and the government has stated its position in Parliament. But lawyer and opposition politician Joshua Benjamin Jeyaretnam is not letting the by-election issue rest. He wants the judiciary to give its opinion on whether it is unconstitutional to not call for a by-election in a Group Representative Constituency (GRC) should a Member of Parliament vacates his or her seat or dies. **** Everytime You Touch, You Say Goodbye by Singapore Biennale 2008 Blog Visitors to the Singapore Biennale do not have art etiquette and don't know how to keep their hands to themselves. **** Facing Down A Grave Security Threat: Politics by Au Waipang, Yawning Bread **** A Child Is A Child by Tan Kin Lian, The Online Citizen From applesurf at myapplemenu.com Sat Sep 20 13:15:00 2008 From: applesurf at myapplemenu.com (applesurf at myapplemenu.com) Date: 20 Sep 2008 17:15:00 -0000 Subject: [MyAppleMenu] Sep 20, 2008 Message-ID: <20080920171500.4680.qmail@voot.pair.com> MyAppleMenu ==================================== **** The Mac Switch - 2 Years Later by eB Photography **** New Microsoft Ad: I'm A Mac, But I'm Listening by Raymond Leon Roker, Huffington Post If a commercial can say something 85% of U.S. computer users have probably felt at one point, it's that Microsoft can bring as many counterparts to John odgman's character as the Apple side can. As a die-hard Aple fan, I got the message. **** Apple's Best iPod Ever? Touching Is Believing by Tom Rose, Boston Herald The design improvements are minimal, the hardware remains largely the same and many of the software advances are the work of other companies, yet Apple's new iPod touch represents a giant stride forward for portable entertainment devices. **** New Offiical Apple Program For Teaching iPhone Dev At Uni by Chris Foresman, Ars Technica Apple has started a new, official program for university professors and instructors wishing to teach courses in iPhone development. The program is offered via Apple's Developer Connection to accredited, higher education institutions in the US for free. **** Apple Issues Safety Alert For iPhone 3G Power Adapter by Peter Cohen, Macworld Apple on Friday announced the Ultracompact USB Power Adapter Exchange Program. The program allows users of iPhone 3G units with the ultracompact USB power adapter to exchange it, free of charge. Apple has initiated the exchange because of a safety issue. The Tomorrow Weblog ==================================== **** A Vignette About Vignette's Reinvention by Jim Kerstetter, CNET News.com **** The Looming Crisis: Personal Syndication Overload by Rafe Needleman, CNET News.com Today, for kicks, I tried to draw a map of all the places I write content, all the places it is displayed, and all the intermediate services that re-post my content in places other than where I orginally write it. MyAppleMenu Reader ==================================== **** Burn Her! by Tim Harford, Slate Why it's dangerous to be a witch in a recession. **** Laughter In The Dark by Jack Handey, New York Times In general, the easiest way to locate the Humor section in any bookstore is to go through the front entrance of the bookstore and to the farthest point from the entrance. That's where the Humor section will be. **** 'American Lightning' By Howard Blum by Richard Rayner, Los Angeles Times How the dynamiting of the Los Angeles Times in 1910 shaped the city for the next 100 years. **** Empire Of Ice by Jeanne Marie Laskas, GQ On a $500 million man-made island in the frozen Arctic Ocean, just off the coast of a vast, uninhabitable tundra known as Alaska's North Slope, a pipeline begins. In temperatures that hover around forty-five degrees below zero, in perpetual darkness, a tight-knit band of roughnecks spends twelve hours a day, seven days a week, drilling down, down into the earth and pulling up precious crude. If you want to know how badly we need oil, here is your answer. SingaporeSurf ==================================== **** Japanese On Signs At The Expense Of Tamil Irks Singapore's Indians by Japan Economic Newswire Via Acquire Media NewsEdge Singapore's use of Japanese on signboards in an apparent bid to lure more Japanese tourists has roused concern among some ethnic Indians who make up almost 10 percent of the city-state's citizens, with some feeling snubbed at the exclusion of their native language Tamil. **** The Mechanics Of A Multi-Cultural Country by Shamsiah Ali, Cultural Diplomacy News The unique aspect about this country is the fact that despite having a population composed of a myriad of races, religions and ethnicities, the people identify themselves as one entity: as Singaporeans. **** Burmese Patriots "Undesirable," Says Singapore Government by Au Waipang, Yawning Bread Can you penalise someone when the rule he is said to have broken is an unjust rule in the first place? **** The Political Opening Up - Is It For Real? by Catherine Lim All the changes being currently witnessed, far from being the result of a new mindset and vision of the government in response to the needs of the people, are no more than a necessary, and hence forced and reluctant, response to outside forces that it has no control over. **** Hard Hit By U.S. Meltdown by Seah Chiang Nee, The Star These days being a world banking hub is beginning to look like a great idea turned sour for Singapore, particularly its investment in foreign banks, as the citizens are finding out. The US meltdown is hitting this financial centre like a tonne of bricks at a time when it is already in the midst of an economic slowdown and super-high inflation. **** TechX Contest Preps Non-Superpower Military Bots For Urban War by Wayne Ma, Popular Mechanics Like DAPRA's competitions in the U.S., Singapore's new robot showdown offers big bucks for smart bots, and these iRobot mods could lead the way for smaller countries to hand-build autonomous armies of their own. **** An Oversight, Not Abetment by Malaysian High Commissioner To Singapore, Today I take serious exception to the allegation by Mr Walter Chia that "a Malaysian Commission vehicle attempted to abet an immigration offence by ferrying a Malaysian overstayer from Singapore to Johor". The fact is that a Malaysian worker who was medically unfit had been discharged on April 18 by a Singapore hospital and the hospital had sought our help to repatriate him to Malaysia to continue his treatment. The worker was found at our security post in the High Commission in a wheelchair at around 4 pm that same day. In view of the worker's medical condition, we made an urgent decision to send him to a a hospital in Johor Bahru. It was only that realised that he had overstayed in Singapore by one day. This was a geniue oversight and not an attempt to "abet an immigration offence". Since the word "abet" bad been used, let me state for the record that on Sept 11, the High Commission had received an urgent request late in the evening of that day from the Singapore Foreign Ministry. Our assistance was sought to move a subject, linked to a very high Singapore personality, who had been injured and whose passport had been mislaid from Johor Bahru to SIngapore for medical treatment. The point I wish to make is that when the Singapore Foreign Ministry requested for our assistance, the subject did not possess a passport. When we rendered this assistance, at no time did it ever occur to us that the Singapore Foreign Ministry was asking us "to abet an immigration offence". We did this out of the goodness of our hearts and the high friendship that we hold for the Singapore people. **** KF Seetoh On Singaporean Street Food by Sarah DiGregorio, Village Voice Eleven years ago, KF Seetoh realized that Michelin was "bullshit, man," and started work on his own guidebook, the Makansutra. **** AG Walter Woon Says Prosecutions In Singapore Are Not Done Arbitrarily by S. Ramesh, Channel NewsAsia From applesurf at myapplemenu.com Sun Sep 21 13:15:00 2008 From: applesurf at myapplemenu.com (applesurf at myapplemenu.com) Date: 21 Sep 2008 17:15:00 -0000 Subject: [MyAppleMenu] Sep 21, 2008 Message-ID: <20080921171500.50635.qmail@voot.pair.com> MyAppleMenu ==================================== **** MailWrangler And The Apple App Store by Angelo DiNardi **** Apple Kind Of Accussed Of Stealing Ideas For The iPhone by Charles Jade, Ars Technica **** Digging Deeper by John Gruber, Daring Fireball Microsoft's new ads emphasize the same message as Apple's: That the Mac is the one and only brand-name computer in the world. The Tomorrow Weblog ==================================== **** Online Literacy Is A Lesser Kind by Mark Bauerlen, Chronicle Of Higher Education **** Mozilla Admits Firefox License Mistake by Gregg Keizer, Computerworld MyAppleMenu Reader ==================================== **** Salons Are Cultivating Another Kind Of Creative Class by Tyrone Beason, Seattle Times Cosmetologists and esthetists, like those being trained at Seattle's Greenwood Academy of Hair, rank somewhere between parents and lovers among the world's most dedicated validators and confidants. SingaporeSurf ==================================== **** The Soldier's Hurdles During The Fasting Month by Mr Wise Guy Blog **** The Assault On Reason by The Online Citizen The government substitutes politicking for proper debate. **** Pride To Be Staged In Singapore by Rex Wockner, Between The Lines News Singapore's first gay pride parade is scheduled to take place Nov. 15 at Hong Lim Park, the locale where the government recently announced it will allow demonstrations. **** The Road To Singapore Is Paved With Good Intentions by The Foreigner In Formosa With the best of intentions, Singapore's Oligarachs lifted their country from poverty. But somewhere along the way, they also turned it into a prison. A nice, clean, well-regulated prison. From applesurf at myapplemenu.com Mon Sep 22 13:15:01 2008 From: applesurf at myapplemenu.com (applesurf at myapplemenu.com) Date: 22 Sep 2008 17:15:01 -0000 Subject: [MyAppleMenu] Sep 22, 2008 Message-ID: <20080922171501.85588.qmail@voot.pair.com> MyAppleMenu ==================================== **** MercuryMover 2.0 Window Resizing Tool Released by Peter Cohen, Macworld **** Apple's App Store Is A Winner by Cliff Edwards, BusinessWeek There are not many products out there that keep me occupied for hours with a wealth of entertainment, information, and productivity features. For that, you've got to give Apple credit. The Tomorrow Weblog ==================================== **** Technology Doesn't Dump Us Down. It Frees Our Minds. by Damon Darlin, New York Times Over the course of human history, writing, printing, computing and Googling have only made it easier to think and communicate. MyAppleMenu Reader ==================================== **** Fear Of Fairy Tales by Joanna Weiss, Boston Globe "Fairy tale" may be our shorthand for castles and happy endings, but these classic stories have villians, too - nefarious witches, bloodthirsty wolves, stepmothers up to no good. And scholars have come to see the stories' dark elements as the source of their power, not to mention their persistence over the centuries. SingaporeSurf ==================================== **** Singapore Wage Growth To Halve If Recession Hits - Union by Koh Gui Qing, Reuters Wage growth in Singpore will probably halve to 2-2.5 percent in 2009 from around 4-5 percent this year if the country slides into a recession in the third quarter, a top labour union official said on Monday. **** The Most Important Meal by Meiadeleite.com The clear coffee mugs of the hawker centers are lined up in the shelves, ready to be used. When you look at time you can see a thick white layer sitting on the bottom of the mugs. **** The Singapore Formula For Ethnic Harmony by My Very Own Glob It is diabolically simple - just don't talk about it. **** Funding F1 Is More Important Than School Upgrading: Have Big Business And Glam Gone To Singapore Government's Head? by BothSidesOfTheJohorStraits A F1 race on the busy streets of Singapore propels us into instant international 'cool-doom', while new state-of-the-art classrooms will hardly make us sexy globally, correct? **** OB Markers, Not Apathy, Deter Interfaith Dialogue by Isabel Chew, Straits Times If we are so afraid of offending people's sensibilities, we may end up propagating even more stereotypes and misconceptions. And these sentiments will eventually fester and result in an even greater loss for Singapore as a multi-religious society. **** Tharman Says Singapore's Financial Institutions Stable by Pearl Forss, Channel NewsAsia "We are glad that overall, if you look at what is happening in Singapore compared to other financial centres, confidence in the market has been retained," says finance minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam. But he said a technical recession - defined by two consecutive quarters of economic contraction - is possible in Singapore. **** Police Ban On Tamil Language Discussion At Speaker's Corner Proves The Liberalization Is Mere Tokenism by Ng E-Jay, Sgpolitics.net From applesurf at myapplemenu.com Tue Sep 23 13:15:00 2008 From: applesurf at myapplemenu.com (applesurf at myapplemenu.com) Date: 23 Sep 2008 17:15:00 -0000 Subject: [MyAppleMenu] Sep 23, 2008 Message-ID: <20080923171500.17235.qmail@voot.pair.com> MyAppleMenu ==================================== **** Apple Shuts Down Podcaster, Again! by Almerica Blog It seems that Apple has shut me down. I can no longer provision any more devices. **** Circus Ponies Releases Notebook 3.0, Adds Sketching by MacNN **** Review: Storyist 1.4 by Nathan Alderman, Macworld Writers who thrive on structure and need a solid framework to wrangle their copious notes will enjoy Storyist's approach to writing. **** Apple Of Mark's Eye by Chin Wong, Manila Standard Today **** Adobe Unveils CS4 Suite by Jim Dalrymple, Macworld If there is a consistent theme in Creative Suite 4, it's integration. **** The Apple, PC Divide by Nathan Halverson, The Press Democrat As Apple pushes deeper into the mainstream market, bitterness is brewing between PC and Mac users. **** Apple's Patch Process A Mess, Say Researchers by Gregg Keizer, Computerworld Apple's patching process proves that the compnay isn't serious about moving Macs into the enterprise, security researchers said today. "You get an update from Apple and it's always a surprise," said Andrew Storms, director of security operations at vendor nCircle Network Security Inc. "The first thing you do is sit down with you team, look at the update, set priorities and assign resoruces. And then the next day, another update arrives, and you have to do it all over again." **** Papaya 1.2 Adds Uploading, Enhanced User Interface by MacNN Lighthead Software today released Papaya 1.2, the latest version of its file transfer program. **** iPhone App Store: Let The Market Decide by Wil Shipley, Call Me Fishmeal It's a huge mistake for Apple to appoint themselves arbitrator of what's cool, or to even /appear/ to do so. It's an equally huge mistake for Apple to decide that all innovation must come from Apple. **** The Indestructible Apple Store? by Philip Michaels, Macworld People who predicted a disaster of Gateway proportions seriously underestimated how well Apple thought out its retail plans. And that kind of planning and vision suggests a company that will be able to coolly respond to whatever conditions the retail market happens to throw at it. **** Association For The Blind Pleased With New iPod Nano by Jeff Smykil, Ars Technica The American Federation for the Blind is "applauding Apple's moves," which include adding talking menus and large font options to the UI. **** Default Fonts And Pages by Christopher Breen, Macworld Pages falls somewhere between a word processor and a page layout application. As such, it relies on templates to do its work. The Tomorrow Weblog ==================================== **** Chrome Antics: Did Google Reverse-Engineer Windows? by Peter Bright, Ars Technica **** Chuck Knol by Farhad Manjoo, Slate Why Google's online encyclopedia will never be as good as Wikipedia. **** Google Throws Down Open Open Source Gauntlet by Maggie Shiels, BBC MyAppleMenu Reader ==================================== **** Though Your Sins Be Scarlet by David Biespiel, Slate SingaporeSurf ==================================== **** No Prescription Needed: MM by Li Xueying, Straits Times In governing Singapore, minister mentor Lee Kuan Yew sees no need to follow anyone's prescription on democracy. **** Backsliding From Transparency International by Richard Murphy, Tax Research UK Switzerland and Singapore, along wita ll the others up there in this wrong-headed table, are simply not clean states. **** FEER Defamed PM, MM by Zakir Hussain, Straits Times The High Court has ruled that the publisher and editor of the Far Eastern Economic Review (Feer) defamed minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew and prime minister Lee Hsien Loong in a July 2006 article in the magazine. **** Road Closures Due To F1 Lead To Traffic Jams In Some Areas by Ryan Huang, Channel NewsAsia The first day of F1-related road closures in the Marina Bay area has turned into a traffic nightmare for some, with road users stuck in traffic jams for up to an hour during the morning rush hour. **** CPF Regrossed Balances by CPF Board, Singapore Government (Note: Link is to a PDF document.) **** Singapore GIC Says Worst Of Crisis May Not Be Over by Saeed Azhar and Kevin Lim, Reuters The Government of Singapore Investment Corp said on Tuesday the worst of the financial crisis may not be over, but it would continue to scour for opportunistic investments in sectors such as financials. **** Tourist Arrivals Fall For Third Consecutive Month by 938Live See Also: Singapore Aug Visitor Arrivals Falls, Outlook Grim , by Reuters. Singaore received fewer tourists compared to a year ago in August, the third straight month of decline, reflecting falling demand for travel as the global economy slows and the credit crisis unfolds. Tourism Sector Performance For August 2008 , by Singapore Tourism Board, Singapore Government. **** River Light-Up May Not Wear Well by Au Waipang, Yawning Bread One can't help but ask: Is the lighting scheme a bit of a one-trick pony? **** Singapore Inflation Cools, Central Bank Seen Easing Policy by Reuters Singapore's August inflation cooled further from a 26-year peak as food and transport costs eased, giving the central bank more room to loosen monetary policy as the economy slows. See Also: Singapore Consumer Price Index August 2008 , by Department of Statistics, Singapore Government. **** Singapore GIC Earns 4.5 Percent Real Return Over 20 Years by Kevin Lim and Saeed Azhar, Reuters The Government of Singapore Investment Corp (GIC), one of the world's biggest sovereign funds, said it achieved a real return of 4.5 percent over 20 years to March but saw a tougher environment ahead. See Also: Singapore's GIC Turns To Emerging Markets For Returns , by Chen Shiyin and SHamim Adam, Bloomberg. **** Flawed Statement Of An Opposition Politician by Ravi Philemon, The Online Citizen **** Time FOr An Ombudsman In Singapore by Groundnotes **** Park Here Only If Going To The Park by Lediati Tan, New Paper The NParks is concerned about the increasing abuse of free parking in its carparks, especially by weekend car owners and workers in factories and offices near the carparks. From applesurf at myapplemenu.com Wed Sep 24 13:15:01 2008 From: applesurf at myapplemenu.com (applesurf at myapplemenu.com) Date: 24 Sep 2008 17:15:01 -0000 Subject: [MyAppleMenu] Sep 24, 2008 Message-ID: <20080924171501.55855.qmail@voot.pair.com> MyAppleMenu ==================================== **** Confessions Of A Microsoft Mac User by Jason Burns, Philoking.com The computer I use is suited to the task I choose, so to speak. **** As Apple Shares Slide, What About Sales? by Arik Hesseldahl, BusinessWeek Some analysts fear slowing demand in a weaker economy, but others think Mac, iPod, and iPhone sales are likely to continue their ascent. **** Top 10 iPod Tips And Tricks by Rene Millman, Absolute Gadget **** I'm A PC by YouTube I'm a PC and so is a Mac. **** MacVCR Utility Records What's On Your Screen by Peter Cohen, Macworld **** You Control: Desktops 1.3 Adds Leopard Compatibility by MacNN You Software has released You Control: Desktops 1.3, an update featuring Mac OS X 10.5 compatibility for the workspace-management application. **** Apple Extends Non-Disclosure To App Store Rejection Letters by Arnold Kim, MacRumors.com Apparently, Apple has now started labeling their rejection letters with Non-Disclosure (NDA) warnings. /I wonder if Apple will eventually add a warning: "If you break the NDA, you'll never work in this town again!"/ **** Apple iPhone Shoppers Can Now Start Buying Process At Home by Sam Oliver, AppleInsider Appel this week announced its new "Begin at Home" iPhone buying procedure which is designed to help accelerate sales of the device during the upcoming holiday shopping season. **** Adobe Says Mac Users Won't Miss 64-Bit Support Much In CS4 by Chris Foresman, Ars Technica **** First Look: Photoshop CS4 by Lesa Snider King, Macworld Are these big changes? You betcha. Will they take some getting used to? Heck yes. Will you like them? For the most part, the answer is a resounding yes. **** Sync Devices In iTunes Via Keyboard Shortcut by Rob Griffiths, Macworld **** iPhone 3G Lawsuit Blames Apple, AT&T For Cracks, Slow Speed by Chris Foresman, Ars Technica The latest in a string of class action suits over the iPhone 3G targets Apple and AT&T over "deceptive, improper or unlawful conduct in its design, marketing, manufacturing, distribution, and sale of Apple's iPhone 3G series of mobile phones." **** REALbasic 2008 Release 4 Adds New Features by Peter Cohen, Macworld The Tomorrow Weblog ==================================== **** IBM Threatens To Leave Standards Bodies by Jeremy Kirk, IDG News Service IBM is threatening to leave organizations that set standards for software interoperability because of concerns that their processes are not always fair. MyAppleMenu Reader ==================================== **** Atomic Prose by Chris Wilson, Slate Why can't science journalists just tell it like it is when it comes to particle physics? **** Is E-Literature Just One Big Anti-Climax? by Andrew Gallix, The Guardian Technology - the very stuff e-lit is made of - has turned out to be its Achilles heel. **** The Big Rewind by Jan Swafford, Slate How /The Rest is Noise/ changes our understanding of 20th-century music. SingaporeSurf ==================================== **** Online Petition For Investors Who Bought Lehman-Linked Structured Products by 938Live **** Perils For The Retail Investor by Mr Wang Says So Of course, the thicker and more technical the prospectus is, the less likely it is that the retail customer will actualy attempt to read it. That's the irony. /I'm not sure whether Mr Wang will agree with me, but my opinion is that, in general, more regulations doesn't equal to better protection./ **** Smooth-Flowing Traffic Around Marina Bay, But Retailers Report Poor Sales by Pearl Forss, Channel NewsAsia Human traffic in the shopping malls was poor on the whole, leading retailers to report a 30 to 70 per cent drop in sales. **** AIDS 2008: Criminalisation A Hot Topic by David Menadue, Positive Living Such laws are ineffective, they are about retribution and punishment rather than measures that really support those at risk. **** Singapore Urges Banks To Update Investors On Lehman Brothers Losses by DPA **** Singapore Counts On F-1 Night Race To Brighten Economic Gloom by Grant Clark, Bloomberg Hosting major sports events is part of Singapore's strategy to diversify the economy from its traditional manufacturing base and to attract tourists, economists say. The F-1 effect will be felt over years and won't be measured by the experience of this weekend's race alone. **** SWF Watch: Government Of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC) by Rachel Ziemba, RGE Monitor In this report, there is one glaring exception. No information on the size of Singapore's assets under management. GIC repeated the oft-stated figure that it manages well over $100 billion. GIven that it has said so for almost a decade, its assets under management may well be much larger. From applesurf at myapplemenu.com Thu Sep 25 13:15:01 2008 From: applesurf at myapplemenu.com (applesurf at myapplemenu.com) Date: 25 Sep 2008 17:15:01 -0000 Subject: [MyAppleMenu] Sep 25, 2008 Message-ID: <20080925171501.69152.qmail@voot.pair.com> MyAppleMenu ==================================== **** Technology Allows Almost Anyone To Live Out Their Hollywood Dreams by Vincent Jackson, Press Of Atlantic City "Once I got a computer and a camera, I thought the sky's the limit." **** iTunes To Host Unsigned Tracks From Pure Play by MacNN **** Apple Keyboards Need Better Key Labelling by Craig Grannell, Cult Of Mac Although Apple's current keyboard line is an imporvement on the keyboards of old, there's massive inconsistency across the range. **** AppStore Management Draws Anti-Competitive Claims by Lonnie Lazar, Cult Of Mac **** Really Feeling The Music by David Pogue, New York Times Two alternative earbuds are now available in the United States; both neatly solve all of the hearing, safety and fit problems of the traditional disc-style earbuds. Instead of going in your ear, they pass the audio signal through your bones or catilage. They'd be perfect, if they weren't so flawed in their own ways. **** Things Are Rosy In Apple's Walled Garden - For Some by Charles Arthur, The Guardian Openness to all comers constitutes the difference between a platform, like Android, and a walled garden, like the iPhone (and, to be fair, pretty much every other mobile phone). **** The Vista From Here Is Terrible As The Mac Attracts More Converts by Matt Asay, CNET News.com It is these "influencers" that Microsoft should be most concerned about losing. Microsoft has completely lose its "cool" factor. Those that can afford to buck the IT department's preference are all running Mac OS X now, and not because they must. **** Apple Releases Java Updates For Tiger, Leopard by AppleInsider **** Don't Drive iPhone Developers Away, Apple by Jason Snell, Macworld If developers are afraid to write programs for the iPhone that aren't games, to-do lists, and tip calculators, for fear that all their hard work will be wasted by a malicious or capricious Apple rejection notice, they will stop writing programs for the platform. And the well of innovative, interesting iPhone software will dry up. /Unfortunately, the scary thing is this: Apple can probably survive with just games alone on the iPhone. If DS Lite can be a bestseller, so can iPhone with tons of games. Remember "funnest"? Apple sure seems to be hinting that games are all they care about./ **** First Look: InDesign CS4 by Galen Gruman, Macworld Much of what's new in this sixth version of the page-layout program is under the hood, with new underlying file formats based on the XML standard and programming hooks that over time should make it easier to use InDesign files and functionality in automated publishing environments. **** ShoveBox Adds Annotation by Peter Cohen, Macworld ShoveBox enables you to capture, process and organize incoming information — "snippets" you don't want to forget, but data you can't act on at that moment. MyAppleMenu Reader ==================================== **** L.A. Fusoin Restaurants Create Easy Blends Without Borders by C Thi Nguyen, Los Angeles Times There are two kinds of fusion cooking. The first kind is self-conscious about its fusion; it exists in order to cross boundaries. But in Southern California, there's another kind of fusion cooking. **** The Virgin King by John Ashbery, New Yorker **** Three by Andrea Lee, New Yorker **** One And Done by Joanna Weiss, Slate How not to be the first contestant kicked off a reality show. SingaporeSurf ==================================== **** Tiger Airways Increases Singapore-Kuala Lumpur Flights by Channel NewsAsia **** Is Engaging The Mainstream Media Pointless? Part 1 by Au Waipang, Yawning Bread Today, I found myself quoted in three different articles in two newspapers, and I guess it's as good a time as any to exlain why I believe in engagement. **** Single Session Primary Schools by Jane Ng, Straits Times As part of sweeping changes to be made to all primary schools which will move toward a single session, all their teachers will have to be university graduates from 2015. **** Government Approves New Biomass-Coal Multi-Utilities Complex On Jurong Island by Channel NewsAsia The government has approved Tuas Power's proposal to build a new biomass-coal multi-utilities complex (MUC) at the Tembusu cluster on Jurong Island. The MUC will provide services and utilities such as steam, chilled water and electricity catered predominantly for industrial use. **** Morals And Gobal Society: Let Loose In Dubai, Button Up In Singapore? by The Daily Transit **** Singapore Escort Girls Cash In On Grand Prix Traffic by Daryl Loo, Reuters Big spenders in Singapore for the city state's first ever Formula One Grand Prix this weekend have boosted business for high-end social escort agencies by a fifth, a local paper reported Thursday. **** Changed Singapore Dream: Fleeing The City Of Possibilities by Dharmendra Yadav, The Online Citizen **** 'Not Anti-Competitive' by Ansley Ng, Today A regulatory agency has thrown out complaints by a private school group that the Consumers Association of Singapore (Case) and NTUC Income were being anti-competitive in introducing a scheme to provide tuition fee insurance for private schools. **** Maternity Perks Urged For Maids by Today The proposed changes to the Employment Act may see more local workers coming under its umbrella, but two non-government organisations want the protection extended to domestic workers too — including the provision of the latest maternity benefits. **** A Report In Time by Wall Street Journal Asia GIC's report doesn't come anywhere near the level of disclosure that sovereign wealth funds managed in democratic states like Norway provide to their citizens. More transparency may be in GIC's own best interest. Knowing more about how GIC manages money is in Singaporeans' best interests, too. **** Lee Hsien Loong V Review Publishing CO Ltd And Another And Another Suit <2008> SGHC 162 by Singapore High Court **** Singapore Wants Independents To Oversee Lehman Products by Daryl Loo, Reuters Singapore's central bank has asked financial institutions that sold structured products linked to Lehman Brothers to appoint independent parties, who will oversee and investigate complaints from concerned investors. "While MAS cannot order financial institutions to pay compensation, we are committed to ensuring a fair resolution process for all affected investors," said MAS deputy managing director Shane Tregillis in the statement. From applesurf at myapplemenu.com Fri Sep 26 13:15:00 2008 From: applesurf at myapplemenu.com (applesurf at myapplemenu.com) Date: 26 Sep 2008 17:15:00 -0000 Subject: [MyAppleMenu] Sep 26, 2008 Message-ID: <20080926171500.4967.qmail@voot.pair.com> MyAppleMenu ==================================== **** iPhone Officially Launching In Russia In October by Dan Moren, Macworld **** The Curse Of Apple MobileMe's "Connection Failed" by Dave Rosenberg, CNET News.com **** According To Hoyle, It's 2009 by Steven Sande, The Unofficial Apple Weblog **** Apple Wins Dismissal Of Lawsuit Over iPhone Batteries by Thom Weidlich, Bloomberg News Apple Inc. won dismissal of a lawsuit claiming it didn't immediately disclose the limited life of batteries for its iPhone or their $86 replacement cost, including delivery. **** Hong Kong Apple Store Selling Unlocked iPhone 3G by Techgoondu Hong Kong's online Apple Store has started selling unlocked iPhone 3Gs. /Approximately US$700 and US$800 for the 8GB and 16GB model./ **** Apple Netbook? Not With Mac OS X by Heng-Cheong Leong, MyAppleMenu Will Apple go into the "netbook" business? Bascially, a cheap laptop that can be sold cheaply because of smaller screen and less "power". I think a big clue is out there for all to see: the MacBook Air. Apple didn't compromise on the screen, not because it didn't want to, but because it can't. The operating system — along with many of the desktop applications — simply cannot work with a small screen. And given that the screen is one of the more expensive component of a laptop, I don't see Apple getting into this market with a small laptop anytime soon. And that's why I was a little surprised to find Apple not expanding on the iPhone/iPod Touch product line to take on the netbook market. And that's why I see Apple's refusal to open up the CocoaTouch platform so damaging. See Also: Wrong Reasons For Why No Netbook From Apple , by Magnus Nystedt, Shuffle Gazine. A better argument for why Apple would not do a netbook is that Apple is doing well enough with the MacBook and MacBook Air.

Permanent Link to This Post **** The Latest Victm Of The iPhone NDA: Developer Books by Ed Oswald, Technologizer **** Adobe's CS4 Includes Some Multi-Touch Goodness by Jeff Smykil, Ars Technica **** The Cell Phone Wars by Farhad Manjoo, Slate If users threaten to quit the iPhone because it lacks certain apps, you can bet that Jobs will find a way to respond. Over the years, he's shown a willingness to embrace openness when it has suited Apple's bottom line—the iPod, after all, works on Windows computers. Until that day comes, the iPhone will reamin semi-open for buisness. /Apple now has the resources to create products if that's what the customer wants: from Safari to iTunes to Final Cut Pro. This is what Apple didn't have during the Mac vs Windows era./ **** First Look: Drive Genius 2.1, Disk Utility by MacNN This utility provides basic maintenance tools for repairing corrupted directories, clong drives and volumes, and defragmenting files. **** First Look: Illustrator CS4 by Ben Long, Macworld Revamped interface and new tools lead the changes in latest version. The Tomorrow Weblog ==================================== **** How Some Companies Are Doing It Right by David Pogue, New York Times **** Counting Every Vote by Erica Naone, MIT Technology Review California's secretary of state says open-source software is needed to safeguard electronic voting systems. **** Muxtape Is Dead. Long Live Muxtape! by Eric Krangel, Silicon Alley Insider **** Want To Be The Next Google? by Bernard Moon, OhmyNews Create enduring values. MyAppleMenu Reader ==================================== **** A Writer Alone At Last by Joyce Wadler, New York Times The latest boook by Susan Cheever, novelist, biographer and daughter of the late John Cheever, is a cautionary tome that chronicles her addiction to sex. **** Luxury Apartments As The New Aphrodisiac by Janet Maslin, New York Times In her fifth book about ambitious, covetous, pampered New Yorkers, Candace Bushnell laments the decline of art, the bitchiness of gossip and the crass commercialization of publishing. **** When Books Could Change Your Life by Tim Kreider, Baltimore City Paper Why what we pore over at 12 maybe the most important reading we ever do. SingaporeSurf ==================================== **** AirAsia Increase Flights And Waive Fuel Surcharges For Singapore-KL Flights by Timothy Ouyang, Channel NewsAsia The Malaysian budget carrier AirAsia has upped the ante in the fight for greater marketshare on the lucrative Singapore-Kuala Lumpur (KL) route. **** Five Gantries Won't Be Built by Christopher Tan, Straits Times The government has put the brakes on its ambitious ERP expansion plans. Five out of six new electronic road-pricing gantries scheduled to be up in November will not be built. Meanwhile, the LTA has completed its review of ERP rates in the city and Chinatown areas and will slash prices by $1 at several gantries. **** Singapore Aug Output In Surprise Drop, Recession Looms by Melanie Lee, Daryl Loo and Saeed Azhar, Reuters Singapore's August factory output unexpectedly fell as the deepening credit crisis cut global demand for Asian exports, increasing the risk of recession and that the central bank will loosen monetary policy. **** Population Grew To 4.84 Million, Boosted By Strong Non-Resident Growth by Imelda Saad, Channel NewsAsia **** Dow Jones Seen To Appeal Singapore Ruling by John Burton, Financial Times Dow Jones is expected to appeal a defamation ruling by a Singapore supreme court judge against the Far Eastern Economic Review that was brought by two of the city-state's top officials, potentially setting the stage for a legal showdown in Hong Kong, where the monthly magazine is based. Although the Singapore courts have not yet held a hearing to assess damages, Feer has no assets in Singapore that could be seized. If Lee Hsien Loong, the Singapore prime minister, and Lee Kuan Yew, his father and former prime minister, decide to collect damages, they would have to go to the Hong Kong courts. **** Charging Extra: 'Why Must Other Taxi Companies Always Follow What Comfort DelGro Does?' by Tan Shao Ken, Straits Times Is it the norm for other taxi operators to follow whatever ComfortDelGro does? /Simple answer: It simply makes business sense. The demand is still much higher than supply, and not following what ComfortDelgro charges simply means leaving money on the table. After all, charging less than what ComfortDelgro charges will not bring you more businesses and more earnings, because you don't have the capacity to do more businesses./ **** 'Hong Lim Green' To Turn Somewhat Pink by Andre Yeo, New Paper Riding on the new, relaxed rules on protests at the park's Speakers' Corner, Mr Roy Tan, 50, is planning a gay pride parade. **** MAS Issues Guidelines On Structured Finance Resolutoins by Desmond Wong, Channel NewsAsia **** Raining On The Parade by Singapore Sojourn **** The Stork Is Still Not Quite Convinced by Gerald Giam, The Online Citizen Political will, strong as it may be, is up against much more powerful societal forces. From applesurf at myapplemenu.com Sat Sep 27 13:15:01 2008 From: applesurf at myapplemenu.com (applesurf at myapplemenu.com) Date: 27 Sep 2008 17:15:01 -0000 Subject: [MyAppleMenu] Sep 27, 2008 Message-ID: <20080927171501.13839.qmail@voot.pair.com> MyAppleMenu ==================================== **** App Store Reviews: Credit Where It's Due by Fraser Speirs Don't hijack the purpose of a review to push your ideas about software pricing. **** Pear Note 1.0 Noe Taker Records Audio, Video, More by MacNN **** Secret Controls For The New iTunes 8 Visualizer by Rob Griffiths, Macworld These hidden keys offer even more control over the behavior of the visualizer. **** First Look: After Effects CS4 by Jeff Foster, Macworld Motion graphics app undergoes major upgrade as part of CS4 release. SingaporeSurf ==================================== **** Lost Flock Seeking To Have A Proper Say by Seah Chiang Nee, The Star The general consensus: It's a positive move but it doesn't signify any change in the PAP mindset, which can only come after Lee Senior has made his exit. That could mean Singapore's sub-community of young dissenters will remain - and grow. **** Viewer Advisories And The Laugh Test by Au Waipang, Yawning Bread **** The Systematic Problems Of Public Transport by Goh Meng Seng, Singapore Alternatives **** Don't Be A Stupid Cupid by Gerald Giam, Singapore Patriot From applesurf at myapplemenu.com Sun Sep 28 13:15:01 2008 From: applesurf at myapplemenu.com (applesurf at myapplemenu.com) Date: 28 Sep 2008 17:15:01 -0000 Subject: [MyAppleMenu] Sep 28, 2008 Message-ID: <20080928171501.41007.qmail@voot.pair.com> MyAppleMenu ==================================== **** Twelve Essential Apps For Tweaking Your Mac by TechRadar.com Make OS X behave the way you want it to. **** The App Store Is A Mess by Levi Buchanan, IGN There are some great games in there. If you can find them. **** Mario V. Apple: On Like 'Donkey Kong' by Brian Caulfield, Forbes Of course, if you believed everything you read on the internet, you'd never think Apple could dream of taking on mighty Nintendo. Unless, say, you were to start checking the math. **** Back To My Mac Needs To Go Back For Improvements by Glenn Fleishman, Seattle Times After nearly a year of using Back to My Mac, writing and revising a long electronic book on the topic, and answering several hundred e-mails about the service from readers of this newspaper and my book, I have to conclude Back to My Mac isn't a solution for most users. The Tomorrow Weblog ==================================== **** Free, Legal And Online: Why Hulu Is The New Way To Watch TV by Frank Rose, Wired MyAppleMenu Reader ==================================== **** Why Did The Moron Write Jokes? by Gene Weingarten, Washington Post A: Because he had this column to fill. **** More Than Just A Beautiful Face by Stephanie Zacharek, Salon Gorgeous, sure, but it was Paul Newman's sly spark that made us love him — and he never stopped reinventing himself. **** What My Copy Editor Taught Me by Dorothy Gallagher, New York Times I mention Helene's death because she was not only my first editor, but the editor of my life. **** God's Words by Jessa Crispin, The Smart Set The (unnecessary) rise of the spiritual memoir. SingaporeSurf ==================================== **** Democracy And Human Rights: The Singapore Model by Thatjayman's Weblog **** Reflections 7 - A Democratic Society In Name by Sharon's Weblog I fear it is a matter of time before Singapore repeats the history of China during Deng's rule. **** Singaoreans Flock To JB For Raya Goodies by Gladys Tay, The Star **** Singapore Studying How To Reimburse Those Who Donate Their Organs To Strangers by May Wong, Channel NewsAsia Health minister Khaw Boon Wan said the reimbursement amounts have not been determined and more details will only be announced early next year. /Well, looks like it's a go./ **** A Question Of Representation by The Online Citizen Why the prime minister's reasoning about by-elections is seriously flawed. **** Some Papers To Cost More by Straits Times From applesurf at myapplemenu.com Mon Sep 29 13:15:01 2008 From: applesurf at myapplemenu.com (applesurf at myapplemenu.com) Date: 29 Sep 2008 17:15:01 -0000 Subject: [MyAppleMenu] Sep 29, 2008 Message-ID: <20080929171501.16700.qmail@voot.pair.com> MyAppleMenu ==================================== **** Steve Jobs And The Portal To The Invisible by Tom Junod, Esquire In his controling hands, technology became both the engine and the emblem of transcendence. But as the iPhone slips from his grasp, Jobs is making his final bid for immortality. **** Apple Faces iTunes Test Case In Norway by Associated Press Norway's top consumer advocate said Monday he is taking Apple Inc. to the government's Market Council in a test case seeking to force the American company to open its iTunes music store to digital players other than its own iPod. **** Apple TV: End Of An Error? by Larry Dignan, ZDNet.com **** Apple's App Store Schizophrenia Driving Developers Crazy by Chris Foresman, Ars Technica The Tomorrow Weblog ==================================== **** Old People Facebook Disasters by Michael Martin, Salon Professionals over 30 have joined the networking site in droves, but with great convenience can come great embarrassment. **** Net Radio Bill Passes House by Greg Sandoval, CNET News.com MyAppleMenu Reader ==================================== **** The Idiot President by Daniel Alarcon, New Yorker **** TAG by Anne Carson, New Yorker **** Romanesque by Rosanna Warren, New Yorker **** The Cab Ride I'll Never Forget by Kent Nerburn, Zen Moments We're conditioned to think that our lives revolve around great moments. But great moments often catch us unaware - beautifully wrapped in what others may consider a small one. **** I Remember Adlestrop by David McKie, The Guardian Reference books may seem austere, but they can brim with charm and personality. SingaporeSurf ==================================== **** Asian Cities Compete For Slice Of The Art Boom by Thomas Bell, Telegraph Singapore is vying to join Shanghai, Beijing and Hong Kong as a regional centre in the Asian art trade as the market rapidly multiplies in value. **** Electricity Bills Up 21% by Liaw Wy Cin, Straits Times Electricity bills for Singapore households will go up by about 21 per cent from Wednesday - the highest one-time increase in seven to eight years - due to higher oil prices. **** Penny Wise Ringgit Foolish by Lim Sue Goan, Sinchew Temasek is smart in doing business as it has long been investing globally. **** Singapore The Big Winner In First Night Grand Prix by Ossian Shine, The Guardian The South-East Asian city-state's staging of a spectacular and innovative race has left the motor racing world agog with admiration. **** Khaw Boon Wan: A Magician With His Words... by BothSidesOfTheJohorStraits How many flip-flops does a minister have to do before we decide that he is not a man of his words? /On the other hand, to quote Stephen Colbert, you also don't want someone who "believes the same thing Wednesday as he did Monday. No matter what happened Tuesday."/ /In other words, flips flops should be okay. If all you can criticise a person is that he "flips flops", then you really have no grounds to criticise./ **** Shopping? No Time, We're Lost by Loh Chee Kong, Today It was little wonder that shops were left counting their losses, with some downing shutters early due to the poor business. See Also: Fans Drawn To Flyer But Not To Shops , by Esther Ng, Today. **** The 'Intangibles' That Matter by Lin Yanqin, Today For most Singaporeans, the transformation of this vast expanse of prawn farms and salt flats into a thriving green city may not mean much — but projects such as these in China are vital to Singapore's future, says senior minister Goh Chok Tong. **** It's Not Just About Chee, But Media Lunacy by Terence Lee, The Online Citizen The censorship shows an utter lack of common sense on the bureaucracy's part. Perhaps they have lost touch with the sentiments of the student body, but surely they have not lost touch with their logical judgments as well? **** More People On This Island, But Poorer by Au Waipang, Yawning Bread From applesurf at myapplemenu.com Tue Sep 30 13:15:01 2008 From: applesurf at myapplemenu.com (applesurf at myapplemenu.com) Date: 30 Sep 2008 17:15:01 -0000 Subject: [MyAppleMenu] Sep 30, 2008 Message-ID: <20080930171501.79493.qmail@voot.pair.com> MyAppleMenu ==================================== **** SousChef Finds Recipes In Cloud, Provides 10-Ft Mode by MacNN The digital cooking assistant software supports an online cloud concept for finding recipes, ranks recipes based on available ingredients, and can suggest substitute ingredients when needed. **** The Long-Term Questions For Apple by Saul Hansell, New York Times If I were an Apple investor, I would be more concerned about how Apple reacts to the consumer slowdown that simply the fact that demand may be off somewhat. **** Analysis: No Blu-Ray On Macs, And Nobody Cares by Danny Gorog, APC Apple is stalling on Blu-ray for as long as it can, and consumers don't care. **** My Vote Is For Apple by Wallace E Boston, Jr Apple's focus on design and functionality has been a huge plus. **** Ballmer Needn't Fear The Mac... Just Yet by Dennis Howlett, ZDNet.com Given the SMB sector is Microsoft's bread and butter by volume and recent news that Apple's laptop products are doing rather well, perhaps Ballmer should have something to wory about. But only from those who are prepared to view a move to Mac as an opportunity to completely re-evaluate how they are using IT to run their business. For some that will be a breath of fresh air, for others their Wintel addiction will be too powerful. **** First Look: Pear Note 1.0, Note-Taking Utility by MacNN **** iPhone Black == Brushed Metal? by Corporation Unknown Gratuitous use of black UI only serves to distance an application from the smooth interface flow. **** Apple Shares Drop 17.5 Percent by Dawn Kawamoto, CNET News.com Apple shares fell 17.5 percent in early trading Monday, as two noted brokerage firms scaled back their recommendations to a "hold" from a "buy." **** Omniweb 5.8 Released To Fanfare, Street Parties by Jonathan M. Gitlin, Ars Technica The update brings with it the same WebKit as used in Safari 3.1, aong with some security patches, bug fixes, and a few other tweaks that make the most Mac-like of browsers even better. **** Apple Should Reset All App Store Reviews by Peter Cohen, Macworld I'd like to suggest that Apple take the only reasonable approach left to it: Take a mulligan. A do-over. Zap /all/ comments from the App Store and start over at square one. **** App Store Customer Reviews Now Require Purchase by Dan Moren, Macworld **** First Look: Premiere Pro CS4 by Antony Bolante, Macworld The Tomorrow Weblog ==================================== **** Tech Companies Vulnerable To Wall Street Woes by Tehrese Poletti, MarketWatch **** Cloud Computing: Trap Or Treasure? by Larry Borsato, The Industry Standard **** Newspapers First Need To Redefine 'News' To Move Forward Online by Steve Outing, Editor And Publisher It's no surprise that current news offerings of most newspaper web sites are outdated. To survive, they not only need to do the obvious stuff that's been discussed by me and other industry experts ad nauseam, but also expand the range and depth of the news that they offer. They need to add the micro-personal to their news menu. MyAppleMenu Reader ==================================== **** Reading Shouldn't Be A Numbers Game by Regina Powers, Los Angeles Times Although I am elated that many famlies are visiting my public library more frequently because schools send them, I am distubed at how infrequently parents and teachers are allowing young readers to /choose/ what to read. **** The Crying Hill by Yusef Komunyakaa, Slate **** Respect For Religion Now Makes Censorship The Norm by Jo Glanville, The Guardian When publishers are too intimidated to print even novels that may offend, it shows how far we've lost our way on free speech. **** Storied Lives by Bob Thompson, Washington Post There are hard ways and easy ways to get ideas for books, and both were on display Saturday at the National Book Festival on the Mall. SingaporeSurf ==================================== **** Comments Of Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong In Response To Media Queries On The Demise Of Mr J B YJeyaretnam by Prime Minister's Office, Singapore Government What do I remember or respect most about Mr J B Jeyaretnam? Even though I did not agree with his political cause, I respect his fighting spirit to advance it and his willingness to pay a price for it. **** Political Watchers Remember JB Jeyaretnam As A Determined Fighter by S Ramesh, Channel NewsAsia **** More SIA Singapore-KL Flights by Karamjit Kaur, Straits Times Singapore Airlines is pumping capacity into the Singapore-Kuala Lumpur sector, ahead of market liberalisation in December. **** 29,000 People To Be Automatically Banned From Singapore's Casinos by Pearl Forss, Channel NewsAsia /I can't tell from the report where this 29,000 number came from./ **** RIP Ben Jeyaratnam RIP Courage by The Star There is no state in this world where a Japanese, a Chinese or Korean has led which has ever enjoyed democracy. It is part of their culture to be subservient where force and pain are the alternative to compliance and 'wealth of survival' the reward for being mum. **** WP Pays Tribute To Former Secretary-General JB Jeyaretnam by Lee Siew Hoon and Imelda Saad, Channel NewsAsia A statement from Workers' Party's secretary-general and Hougang MP Low Thia Khiang said the party mourns the passing of a giant in Singapore politics and sends its deepest condolences to Mr Jeyaretnam's family on their bereavement. The party also paid tribute to Mr Jeyaretnam for his commitment and contributions to public service. **** Singapore Opposition Leader Dies by BBC News Dubbed the Grand Old Man of opposition politics, analysts said Mr Jeyaretnam was a thorn in the side of Singapore's minister mentor Lee Kuan-yew. His death came just days before he was to appear in the High Court to seek an order that a by-election be held for a seat that is currently vacant. **** Democracy: Is Singapore A Fair Place To Live In? by Global Problems, My Thoughts And Views We do not have unstable political climate, making our streets a much safer place to walk in. Who doesn't like to be spponf ed in a safe, secure and comfortable environment? **** Thinking About Mr. JBJ by The Anti Neo-Democracy Theorist **** Singapore's Speech To UN On The Independent Variables Of 'Good Governance' And 'Democratic Governance' by BothSidesOfTheJohorStraits If it really true that 'good governance' that is more important than 'democracy'? **** What Role Do The Media Play In Singapore? by This Lush Garden Within Given that there aren't many choices of newspapers and news channels to turn to, is it really wise to operate the media in such a way that people would rather turn to the internet for 'real' news and instead take the local media as more of entertainment? **** Shouldn't New HDB Flats Be Priced Less Than Market Rate? by Gilbert Goh, Straits Times I wonder if HDB has lost its mission to allow Singaporeans to own affordable housing with cheap loans. **** Former Opposition MP JB Jeyaretnam Dies Of Heart Failure by Lee Foong Ming, Channel NewsAsia Former opposition MP and former secretary-general of the Workers' Party, Mr JB Jeyaretnam died early Tuesday morning due to heart failure.