[MyAppleMenu] Jan 16, 2009

[applesurf at myapplemenu.com]

MyAppleMenu
====================================

**** Jobs Or No Jobs, Apple's Pipeline Of Products Is Intact (For Now) <http://venturebeat.com/2009/01/16/jobs-or-no-jobs-apples-pipeline-of-products-is-intact-for-now/>
by Mg Siegler, Venture Beat
While Cook may run the business just fine, who's going to dream up the products?

**** Don't Worry About Apple <http://www.cringely.com/2009/01/don&iacute;t-worry-about-apple/>
by I, Cringely
In the long run the goal won't be to replace Steve, anyway, but to transcend him, because Steve was far from the perfect leader.

**** Cook Relies On Core Values As Jobs' Surrogate At Apple <http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-timcook16-2009jan16,0,5145081.story>
by Dawn C. Chmielewski and Jessica Guynn, Los Angeles Times
The chief operating officer's accomplishments include transforming the firm's supply chain operations.

**** In The Beginning: The Making Of The Mac <http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9125939&source=rss_topic123>
by Ryan Faas, Computerworld
The course of events that led to the Mac as we know it was convoluted, the result of luck or coincidence as much as planning. But those events began with desire of Apple executives to develop a next-generation computer following the success of the Apple II.

**** Opinion: The Top 10 Standout Macs Of The Past 25 Years <http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9125967&source=rss_topic123>
by Michael DeAgonia, Computerworld
To celebrate the Mac's 25th anniversary, I looked back over the years and picked 10 Apple computers that altered the company's course and changed the way the world works and communicates.

**** Can Apple Fill The Void? <http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/16/technology/companies/16apple.html?_r=1>
by Brad Stone, New York Times
Some Apple watchers and former employees are skeptical about Apple's fate if it is forced to soldier on without Mr. Jobs.

**** Health Isn't A Private Issue When You're A Legend <http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/16/business/16nocera.html?_r=1&ref=business>
by Joe Nocera, New York Times
Enough is enough. If Mr. Jobs wants privacy, he should resign from Apple. Barring that radical move, Mr. Jobs' medical problems will continue to be a "distraction," as he himself put it in that recent e-mail message &mdash; and a big one.

**** Apple Faces Issues Of Disclosure <http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2009/01/15/ST2009011503924.html>
by Peter Whoriskey, Washington Post
The argument that Apple has a duty to discover and disclose Steve Jobs' health status has grown more persuaive, business and legal experts say.

**** AppTheater Offers "View Before You Buy" iPhone Game Videos <http://arstechnica.com/journals/apple.ars/2009/01/15/apptheater-offers-view-before-you-buy-iphone-game-videos>
by Jeff Smykil, Ars Technica
AppTheatre is a new site trying to make the process of choosing of your next title a little easier by providing user-submitted videos of iPhone game gameplay.

**** Five Background Apps For Your MacBook <http://theappleblog.com/2009/01/15/five-background-apps-for-your-macbook/>
by Lisa Hoover, The Apple Blog
Throughout the course of the workday, I open and close dozens of apps on my MacBook. There are five tools, however, that I keep running continuously in the background on my laptop.

**** The Genius Behind Steve Jobs <http://money.cnn.com/2009/01/15/technology/cook_apple.fortune/index.htm>
by Adam Lashinsky, Fortune
The man at the helm of Apple for the next six months while CEO Steve Jobs is on leave is an exacting executive who shares his boss' perfectionism and obsession with detail.

**** Top Five Mistakes We Hope Apple Makes While Steve Jobs Is Gone <http://www.infosyncworld.com/news/n/10052.html>
by Philip Berne, infoSync World
While Steve Jobs isn't looking, we'd like to see Apple slip out a few new products, like an Apple Tablet and some other intriguing, if doomed, device ideas.

**** Apple Approves E-Book After Dirty Words Removed <http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-10144025-37.html>
by Tom Krazit, CNET News.com
An e-book submitted to Aple's App Store has been approved after the author removed language that apparently offended Apple.

**** Fake Mini iPhones Ring Alarms For Apple And Hi-Tech Manufacturers <http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/law/article5511231.ece>
by Karl Barnfather, The Times
Opportunistic counterfeiters have apparently jumped the gun by selling a device that has not yet been invented. But how did this happen and how concerned should businesses be?

**** Caution, Change Surround Apple's Quarterly Report <http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/caution-change-surround-apples-quarterly/story.aspx?guid={375BE7F6-3F9E-4724-B6C5-802EAE10644B}>
by Rex Crum, MarketWatch
With chief executive Steve Jobs going out on medical leave for the next five months, there is a definite snese of change going around Apple Inc. as the company prepares to deliver its fiscal first-quarter report on Jan. 21.

**** Apple's Cook Pushes Staff In Lieu Of Jobs's Magic <http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=a4yJ3mqvYDRo&refer=home>
by Dina Bass and Connie Guglielmo, Bloomberg
Cook's management style won't be a shift for employees. He's been quietly running the company for several years, said Mike Janes, who worked with the executive for five years at Apple.

**** CNBC Denies Banning Fake Steve Jobs, Defends Jim Goldman <http://www.alleyinsider.com/2009/1/cnbc-denies-banning-fake-steve-jobs-defends-jim-goldman>
by Henry Blodget, Silicon Alley Insider
CNBC believes that Goldman's personal note to Steve Jobs forced Apple to come clean. Jim himself does not argue that he forced Apple's hand.

**** Punishing The Wizard: On Apple And Steve Jobs <http://blogs.oreilly.com/digitalmedia/2009/01/punishing-the-wizard-on-apple.html>
by Mark Sigal, O'Reilly Digital Media Blog
Who looks better than Apple on a long-term basis in terms of differentiated products, diversified revenue sources, depth of product pipeline, quality/depth of management team, operating margins, profits, cashflow, cash reserves and absence of debt?

**** Apple Faces Credibility Crisis Over Jobs' Health <http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-10143604-37.html?part=rss&tag=feed&subj=News-Apple>
by Tom Krazit, CNET News.com
Apple may have wanted to protect Steve Jobs' privacy with the way it chose to address his health. But the end resulti s a credibility problem that will not go away easily.

**** Things I Like About Picasa For Mac <http://cultofmac.com/things-i-like-about-picasa-for-mac/7086>
by Giles Turnbull, Cult Of Mac
Beta status or not, Picasa offers a decent alternative for photo management for people who don't want to spend the kind of money required for Aperture or Lightroom.

**** Apple's Core Problem <http://www.newsweek.com/id/179591?from=rss>
by Daniel Lyons, Newsweek
My guess is that yesterday's announcement was, in effect, Jobs's letter of resignation, and that he'll never be back.

**** Apple Investors Are Wusses <http://digitaldaily.allthingsd.com/20090115/apple-shareholders-are-wusses/>
by John Paczkowski, All Things Digital
To sell on this news, or any of the Jobs-related health rumors or reports the company has suffered this past year, is silly.

**** Review: Wolfram Mathematica 7 <http://www.macworld.com/article/138219/2009/01/mathematica_7.html?lsrc=rss_main>
by Flip Philips, Macworld
Mathematica 7.0 continues the tradition of the pat 20 years&mdash;each version sets a new standard for scientific and technical computing innovation.

**** Apple Trademarking "OS X" Without The "Mac" <http://arstechnica.com/journals/apple.ars/2009/01/15/apple-trademarking-os-x-without-the-mac>
by Chris Foresman, Ars Technica

**** iPhone Apps: Fool's Gold For Developers? <http://www.macworld.com/article/138250/2009/01/iphone_developers.html?lsrc=rss_main>
by Bill Snyder, InfoWorld
What's important to understand is that the iPhone application environment is very difficult.

The Tomorrow Weblog
====================================

**** Basking In Big Data <http://www.technologyreview.com/computing/21976/?a=f>
by Kate Greene, MIT Technology Review
Visualization software makes viewing and interacting with enormous data sets practical without a supercomputer.

**** Twittering Tips For Beginers <http://pogue.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/01/15/twittering-tips-for-beginners/>
by David Pogue, New York Times
Twitter /is/ a massive time drain. It /is/ yet another wayt o procrastinate, to make the hours fly by without getting work done, to battle for online status and massage your own ego.
But it's also a briliant channel for breaking news, asking questions, and attaining one step of separation from the public figures you admire. No other communications channel can match its capacity for real-time, person-to-person broadcasting.

MyAppleMenu Reader
====================================

**** The American Character <http://chronicle.com/free/v55/i19/19b00601.htm>
by Louis P. Masur, Chronicle Of Higher Education
Obama's popular narrative, and the way he has told it, promises to revive interest in what scholars term American exceptionalism &mdash; the idea that the American story is somehow unique.

**** Mission Accomplished <http://www.slate.com/id/2208789/?from=rss>
by Chris Mooney, Slate
The "war on science" is over. Now what?

SingaporeSurf
====================================

**** Family Wins Suit <http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking%2BNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_326989.html>
by Selina Lum, Straits Times
The parents of a former full-time national serviceman, comatose for more than three years after an incident in camp, have won their lawsuit against the defence ministry.

**** Another ACJC Ragging Incident - This TIme, The Girl Gets Dumped Into A Waste Bin And Wheeled Around <http://alvinology.wordpress.com/2009/01/16/another-acjc-ragging-incident-this-time-the-girl-gets-dumped-into-a-waste-bin-and-wheeled-around/>
by Alvinology
The guy circled in red is said to the son of minister of community development, youth and sports, Dr. Vivian Balakrishnan.

**** 58 Percent Of Investors 'Missold' Lehman-Linked Products To Be Compensated <http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/402902/1/.html>
by Nicholas Fang and Valarie Tan, Channel NewsAsia
More than half of investors who complained they were mis-sold products linked to the collapsed Lehman Brothers are set to be compensated. 25 per cent of the over 5,300 complaints will receive full settlement, wile 33 per cent will get partial settlement.

**** Singapore To Revise 2009 GDP Growth Forecast <http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/402896/1/.html>
by Valarie Tan, Channel NewsAsia
Prime minister Lee Hsien Loong said the situation is gloomier now than at the start of the new year when the growth estimates were announced.

**** Parliament To Tackle Questions On Jobs, Minibonds And Singapore Flyer <http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/402895/1/.html>
by Imelda Saad, Channel NewsAsia

**** Singapore Dec Exports Plunge <http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking%2BNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_326929.html>
by Straits Times
Singapore's exports fell the most since early 2002 in December as a deepening slump in global economies pared demand for electronics and pharmaceuticals.

**** Why Is Everyone Talking About Elections? <http://ephraim.blogspot.com/2009/01/why-is-everyone-talking-about-elections.html>
by Ephraim Loy, A Writer's Blog
For one, the electoral register to allow citizens to participate in elections has not been opened for scrutiny. Secondly, the final map of electoral boundaries has not been released... I think we should wait for more concrete evidence before jumping to a speculation that elections are round the corner.

**** Singapore Airlines Cuts More Than 200 Flights <http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5i0lHrq9S_QG26PD6ruo28D5CMkiA>
by AFP
Singapore Airlines (SIA) is cutting more than 200 flights to Australia, China, Europe and India in response to falling passenger numbers, according to the company and travel agents.

**** Singapore Wages Council Predicts Unemployment To Soar <http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssTechMediaTelecomNews/idUSSIN37377020090116>
by Kevin Lim, Reuters
Singapore's National Wage Council (NWC) said on Friday unemployment and layoffs will be "substantially higher" this year, and recommended that firms affected by economic downturn institute a wage freeze or wage cuts to stay competitive and save jobs.
See Also:
National Wages Council's Revised Guidelines From 16 January To 30 June 2009 <http://www.mom.gov.sg/publish/momportal/en/press_room/press_releases/2009/20090116-national.html>, by Ministry of Manpower, Singapore Government.
Government Accepts National Wages Council's Revised Guidelines (16 January 2009 - 30 June 2009) <http://www.mom.gov.sg/publish/momportal/en/press_room/press_releases/2009/20090116-government.html>, by Ministry of Manpower, Singapore Government.

**** Uncommon Strong Winds In Singapore <http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/402794/1/.html>
by Sufian Suderman, Today
"The mpact of the high pressure system is windy conditions across the island as we have been having the past couple of days," said the NEA.

**** Likely Mas Selamat Has Fled <http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking%2BNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_326889.html>
by Li Xueying, Straits Times
Almost a year after he escaped from custody, where is terror fugitive Mas Selamat Kastari? Home affair minister Wong Kan Seng narrowed it to either of two scenarios: one, he is in Singapore and hidden by sympathisers unknown to the authorities, or, two, he has fled the country.

**** When Idiots Rule The Blogs Of Singapore <http://hardhitting-nobs.blogspot.com/2009/01/when-idiots-rule-blogs-of-singapore.html>
by Hard Hitting In The Lion City

**** Temasek Invests In Talent And People <http://business.asiaone.com/Business/News/Office/Story/A1Story20090115-114857.html>
by Wong Kim Hoh, Straits Times
At a media conference to launch the Temasek Foundation two years ago, a foreign journalist asked its chairman Goh Geok Khim a pointed question. Is the outfit - which was set up with a $500 million endownment by Temasek Holdings - an independent philanthropic organisation or a spin machine for the government-linked corporate behemoth?
Two years on, the question still surfaces.

**** OFW Jobs In Singapore Not In Peril <http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2009/jan/16/yehey/top_stories/20090116top6.html>
by Bernice Camille V. Bauzon, The Manila Times
Although Singaporeans are "tightening their belts" because of the global economic crisis, there are plenty of opportunities for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) on the island-state, its ambassador said Thursday.

**** Time For Singapore To Think Small <http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123201428285385289.html?mod=googlenews_wsj>
by Patricia Kowsmann, Wall Street Journal
Singapore has a small-business problem, which could feature big when the country unveils its 2009 budget next week.
Built on the back of cheap credit and government incentives in recent years, the island's small businesses now face a credit drought. Banks, fearful of a rise in non-performing loans as Singapore's recession worsens, are growing cautious.

**** More Misses Than Hits <http://www.todayonline.com/articles/297098.asp>
by Neo Chai Chin, Today
Good turnouts at job fairs but poor job-match mrat disappoints employers.

**** Directed Organ Donation Is Legal <http://tnp.sg/news/story/0,4136,189871,00.html?>
by Ng Wan Ching, New Paper
It is a little-known fact that there is a way for a kidney patient to legally leap ahead of others in the queue. This can happen if Tan, also known as 'One-Eyed Dragon', had decided to direct who his organs would go to after his death.
Under this scheme, the donor's wishes will be granted, never mind the other rules on donations. This was confirmed by a Ministry of Health spokesman.