[MyAppleMenu] Jan 13, 2009

[applesurf at myapplemenu.com]

MyAppleMenu
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**** It's A Mac Trap, And We've Been Caught <http://benjeapes.blogspot.com/2009/01/its-mac-trap-and-weve-been-caught.html>
by Ben's Blog
The overall effect is... Windows-like.

**** Apple Quietly Releases iLife '09 Hardware Up-To-Date Program <http://blogs.zdnet.com/Apple/?p=2771>
by Jason D. O'Grady, ZDNet.com

**** Cool Stuff From This Year's Macworld Expo <http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/tech/drmac/6207515.html>
by Bob LeVitus, Houston Chronicle

**** Disclosure Of Information Vulnerability In Safari <http://brian.mastenbrook.net/display/27>
by Brian Mastenbrook
I have discovered that Apple's Safari browser is vulnerable to an attack that allows a malicious web site to read files on a user's hard drive without user intervention.
All users of Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard who have not changed their feed reader application preference from the system default are affected, regardless of whether they use RSS feeds or use a different web browser.

**** A Post-Macworld Apple Event? History Would Seem To Suggest So <http://digitaldaily.allthingsd.com/20090112/a-post-macworld-apple-event-history-would-seem-to-suggest-so/>
by John Paczkowski, All Things Digital

**** Apple Tries To Avoid Sustainability Report <http://www.environmentalleader.com/2009/01/12/apple-tries-to-avoid-sustainability-reporting/>
by Environmental Leader
Recently, Apple ha unveiled a number of new green products, but they're opposed to a shareholder resolution that would require them to publish a corporate social responsibility (CSR) report.

**** Here's Praying That Palm Gives Apple A Run For Its Money <http://news.cnet.com/8301-13505_3-10141094-16.html>
by Matt Asay, CNET News.com
I just want Apple to have to compete again.

**** Thoughts On The Past And Future Of Macworld Expo <http://db.tidbits.com/article/9993>
by Adam C. Engst, TidBITS
Forced change is always scary, without a doubt, and Macworld will have to change to survive.

**** The iPhone "Nano" Makes No Sense To Me <http://blogs.zdnet.com/hardware/?p=3327>
by Adrian Kingsley-Hughes, ZDNet.com
I just can't see how a small "nano" screen would work.

**** Democracy 2 <http://www.insidemacgames.com/reviews/view.php?ID=1008>
by David Allen, Inside Mac Games
It's by no means perfect, but it's a very ambitious outing for a smaller gaming company. I think if you are willing to overlook some of the frustrating aspects of the experience, and really throw yourself into the role of a national leader, you'll be entertained and possibly enlightened as well.

**** Top Mac Software At Macworld Expo 2009 <http://db.tidbits.com/article/10000>
by TidBITS

**** First Look: iWork.com <http://www.macworld.com/article/138128/2009/01/iworkdotcom.html?lsrc=rss_main>
by Dan Miller, Macworld
iWork.com is a convenient way to share iWork documents, particularly with people who don't run iWork themselves.

**** Expo Notes: Restoring The Matte Screen <http://www.macworld.com/article/138137/2009/01/mattescreen.html?lsrc=rss_main>
by Rob Griffiths, Macworld

The Tomorrow Weblog
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**** Building An iTunes For Newspapers <http://www.slate.com/id/2208445/?from=rss>
by Jack Shafer, Slate
Answering David Carr's excellent challenge.

**** Carr's "iTunes For News" Already Exists <http://www.wordyard.com/2009/01/12/carrs-itunes-for-news-already-exists/>
by Scott Rosenberg, Wordyard
It's called Google text ads. It's ad revenue tailored specifically for the web environment. It works, and it's already bringing considerable sums in to many web sites. The problem is, it doesn't bring in /as much/ cash as newspapers want, or have traditionally expected.

**** Penny For His Thoughts <http://www.buzzmachine.com/2009/01/12/penny-for-his-thoughts/>
by Jeff Jarvis, BuzzMachine
The real fallacy in David Carr's delusion is that a news story or an opinion, like a song, is unique&mdash;that you can't get it somewhere else and so you hve to buy the original.

**** Not Your Father's Censorship <http://chronicle.com:80/free/v55/i19/19b00901.htm>
by Harry Lewis, The Chronicle Of Higher Education
Ironically for the American pioneers who expected the internet to foster unprecedented information freedom, its rapid and ubiquitous adoption has created a flexible and effective mechanism for thought control.

MyAppleMenu Reader
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**** Morning Of The Monsoon <http://www.slate.com/id/2208390/?from=rss>
by Diane Mehta, Slate
The blue-black curve of weather sizzles when it smacks the asphalt.<br/>Ocean air tumbles in, loosely shaped in networks of water.

**** At M.I.T., Large Lectures Are Going The Way Of The Blackboard <http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/13/us/13physics.html?_r=1&ref=todayspaper>
by Sara Rimer, New York Times
For as long as anyone can remember, introductory physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology was taught in a vast windowless amphitheater known by its number, 26-100.
But now, with physicists across the country pushing for universities to do a better job of teaching science, M.I.T. has made a striking change.

SingaporeSurf
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**** NTUC Fairprice Pledges No Retrenchments In Next Two Years <http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/402125/1/.html>
by Ting Kheng Siong, Channel NewsAsia
The union-led cooperative has pledged not to retrench workers in the next two years and plans to send some 5,000 frontline staff for further training.

**** Singapore Bureaucrat's Cooking Trip Sparks Outcry <http://af.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idAFTRE50C23X20090113>
by Melanie Lee, Reuters
A Singaporean bureaucrat who wrote about taking his family on an expensive cooking course in France has sparked ire from locals, with some accusing him of extravagance given the city-state is in recession.

**** Singapore Press Drops As Investment Loss Hurts Profit <http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601080&sid=aIqHeHKt5rMk&refer=asia>
by Chen Shiyin, Bloomberg
Singapore Press Holdings Ltd., the city-state's biggest newspaper publisher, fell after saying first-quarter profit dropped on a loss on investments and as an economic slowdown eroded advertising demand.

**** Why There Mustn't Be An Election This Year <http://www.yawningbread.org/arch_2009/yax-967.htm>
by Au Waipang, Yawning Bread
If an election is called, and it is not due to greed for power, but instead due to this reading of our economic future, then it is really bad news indeed.

**** Good-For-Nothing PAP Hooligans Only Know How To Bully Own Singapore Citizens <http://wayangparty.com/2009/01/13/good-for-nothing-pap-hooligans-only-know-how-to-bully-own-singapore-citizens/>
by The Wayang Party Club Of Singapore

**** More Pain To Come For Singapore's Property Market <http://theedgesingapore.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1623:assif-article&catid=972:Assif%20Shameen%20(2009)&Itemid=54>
by The Edge Singapore
If you thought the local property market was fairly close to bottom and it was time to start looking at bargains, think again.

**** Singapore Is Second Freest <http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking%2BNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_325526.html>
by Michelle Tay, Straits Times
Singapore has again been ranked the world's second freest economy, after long-time rival Hong Kong, which retains the top position for the 15th straight year. The republic scored 87.1 on the Index of Economic Freedom, which is published annually by The Wall Street Journal and American conservative think-tank The Heritage Foundation.

**** Fire Attack On MP Draws More Amusement Than Outrage From Netizens <http://singaporeenquirer.sg/?p=1157>
by Fang Zhi Yuan, The Singapore Enquirer
While few netizens condemned the violent act and expressed their sympathies for the victim, others gloat about his misfortune openly making Mr Seng and the ruling PAP to which he belongs to the butt of many crass jokes.

**** "I Hope Singapore Government Punish Them" <http://theonlinecitizen.com/2009/01/&igrave;i-hope-singapore-government-punish-them&icirc;/>
by Andrew Loh, The Online Citizen
"My wife crying, my mother crying, my father crying," Delowar said to me when I asked him if he told his family that he was returning to Bangladesh. "Everything I lost," he added. He had sold his land and borrowed from the bank to raise S$9,000 to come to work in Singapore. In the end, he is paid a measly S$600 to bring home with him.

**** The AIMS Report: Fire-Fighting The MICA Way <http://groundnotes.wordpress.com/2009/01/12/the-aims-report-fire-fighting-the-mica-way/>
by Groundnotes
Amidst the euphroic headlines and self-congratulatory media fanfare, the fact is MICA's response was a demonstration in fire-fighting - it accepted recommendations for practices that were /already happening/ and that it has /absolutely no control over/.

**** Self-Defense For Females In Singapore <http://daphnemaia.sg/2009/01/13/self-defense-for-females-in-singapore/>
by Daphne Maia
What can girls use for self-defense in Singapore?

**** How To Manufacture All-Rounded Students <http://mrwangsaysso.blogspot.com/2009/01/how-to-manufacture-all-rounded-students.html>
by Mr Wang Says So
Overall, I think that DIrect School Admission (DSA) is an excellent idea. However, one can also see how the DSA can backfire.

**** Are Netizens Living In THeir Own Ivory Towers In Cyberspace? <http://wayangparty.com/2009/01/13/are-netizens-living-in-their-own-ivory-towers-in-cyberspace/>
by Fang Zhi Yuan and Jeremy Yau, The Wayang Party Club Of Singapore
Electoral battles are won at the grassroots level and not in internet chatrooms.