[MyAppleMenu] Jan 22, 2009

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MyAppleMenu
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**** Mac At 25: What's Next For Apple's Mac? <http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-10146897-37.html?part=rss&tag=feed&subj=News-Apple>
by Tom Krazit, CNET News.com
One of the main questions around the Mac in 2008 was whether or not Apple would bow to a coming recession by either cutting the price of its MacBooks or introducing a so-called Netbook. It's hard to imagine Apple fighting with its PC counterparts on the bargain shelves with the basic MacBook lineup, but if the cost of computing power continues to decline as performance flatlines, cost-cutting might happen on its own without poisoning Apple's margins.

**** Recollections Of The Mac's Creators <http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-10147368-37.html?part=rss&tag=feed&subj=News-Apple>
by Daniel Terdiman, CNET News.com
As part of our commemoration of the Mac's silver anniversary, CNET News asked a number of the team's earliest members to share some of their recollections of helping to change the world.
See Also: Folklore.org <http://folklore.org/>.

**** Mac At 25: Readers Reminisce <http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-10147455-37.html?part=rss&tag=feed&subj=News-Apple>
by CNET News.com
As the Mac celebrates its 25th birthday, we asked CNET readers to send us stories of their most vivid memories of the groundbreaking computer.

**** Ustream's iPhone App A Big Hit Out Of The Box <http://cultofmac.com/ustreams-iphone-app-a-big-hit-out-of-the-box/7350>
by Lonnie Lazar, Cult Of Mac
Users downloaded Ustream's free video viewing app for the iPhone more than 113,000 times in the first 24 hours it was available, according to the live video broadcasting company.

**** Six Things Apple Needs To Do Right Now <http://www.macworld.com/article/138371/2009/01/macat25_ihnatkoadvice.html?lsrc=rss_main>
by Andy Ihnatko, Macworld
Apple has made a go of this Mac business for 25 years, but who's to say that the company doesn't need some helpful advice on how to keep the platform thriving for the next quarter-century?

**** The Mac At 25: Portability <http://www.macworld.com/article/138368/2009/01/macat25_portability.html?lsrc=rss_main>
by Rik Myslewski, Macworld
New batteries, power-saving technologies will prolong on-the-go life.

**** Review: Pages '09 <http://www.macworld.com/article/138282/2009/01/pages09.html?lsrc=rss_main>
by Jeffery Battersby, Macworld
I'm very happy to say that with Pages '09 Apple has hit a sweet spot: it added necessary features, enhanced existing tools, fixed minor annoyances, and gave users exactly what they asked for, although there are still some minor issues Apple needs to address in order to make the program perfect.

**** Reading Apple's Netbook Tea Leaves <http://www.macworld.com/article/138372/2009/01/apple_netbook_tea_leaves.html?lsrc=rss_main>
by Jason Snell, Macworld
"Nobody will do Netbooks right until we do it. Just wait."

**** Steve Jobs Lawsuits Face Tough Odds <http://apple20.blogs.fortune.cnn.com/2009/01/21/steve-jobs-lawsuits-face-tough-odds/>
by Philip Elmer-DeWitt, Fortune
Even if Job has been less than forthcoming about his health problems &mdash; as many doctors suspect &mdash; legal experts say that neither the SEC probe nor any investor lawsuit is likely to get very far.

**** What Makes Apple So Different? <http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/01/21/ED1P15EGOI.DTL>
by Tom Meyer, San Francisco Chronicle

**** iWork '09 <http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2009/jan/22/apple-mac-iwork09-review>
by Nick Fletcher, The Guardian
All things considered, iWork '09 is well-designed with some glaring omissions from previous years finally added. It costs less than even the cheapest version of Microsoft Office, and uses far more visual flair throughout the applications and their end results - so long as you keep the documents within iWork.

**** Apple Serves Notice: Don't Rip Off The iPhone <http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-10147583-37.html?part=rss&tag=feed&subj=News-Apple>
by Tom Krazit, CNET News.com
"We will not stand for having our IP ripped off," Cook declared, perhaps firing a shot across the bow of Palm and executive chairman Jon Rubinstein, a former Apple employee.

**** Apple Proves Recession-Resistant, For Now <http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-10147621-37.html?part=rss&tag=feed&subj=News-Apple>
by Tom Krazit, CNET News.com
Could Apple have already turned the corner on the recession? Given Apple's notorious record of underpromising and overdelivering when it comes to financial guidance, the company could have far more aggressive internal targets for its business in 2009.

**** Boot Camp And Time Machine, For Consumers Only <http://weblog.infoworld.com/enterprisemac/archives/2009/01/boot_camp_and_t.html?source=rss>
by Tom Yager, InfoWorld
Time Machine's promise &mdash; foolproof, hands-off backup and versioning &mdash; is a worthwhile one, but poorly executed by Time Machine.

**** Apple Rules Out "iPhone Nano," Not Keen On Mac Netbook <http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/09/01/21/apple_rules_out_iphone_nano_not_keen_on_mac_netbook.html>
by Prince McLean, AppleInsider
Apple exposed its complete lack of interest in building a stripped down, voice-only iPhone or a Mac-based netbook during its fiscal first quarter conference call Wednesday afternoon.
/And then every blogger recalled Steve claiming Apple had no interest in an video iPod./

**** Can Apple Survive Without Steve Jobs? <http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2009/jan/21/steve-jobs-apple-illness>
by Jacqui Cheng, The Guardian
Truth be told, attempting to predict the far future is always a difficult endeavour, but one thing is for sure: Steve Jobs as an iconic leader will surely be missed if he decides to make his temporary levae more permanent. Should this happen, it would signal the end of an era, but not an end to Apple.

**** Application Developers See iPhone As Way To Get Noticed <http://www.usatoday.com/tech/products/services/2009-01-20-phanfare-Inernet-photos-iphone_N.htm?sr=hotnews>
by Jefferson Graham, USA Today
Savvy software developers are trying to stake a claim for early prominence int he mobile economy, where it's still a bit easier to get noticed than on the web.

**** NetNewsWire And iPhone-Sized Data <http://daringfireball.net/2009/01/netnewswire_iphone_sized_data>
by John Gruber, Daring Fireball
It' snot enough for an iPhone app to sport an iPhone-optimized user interface. It needs iPhone-sized data, too.

**** Cook: Business As Usual At Apple <http://www.macworld.com/article/138364/2009/01/cookcomments.html?lsrc=rss_main>
by Peter Cohen, Macworld
Apple COO Tim Cook says it's business as usual at Apple despite CEO Steve Jobs' recent decision to take a leave of absence until June.

**** Apple Reports Record Profit For First Quarter <http://www.macworld.com/article/138362/2009/01/earnings.html?lsrc=rss_main>
by Jim Dalrymple, Jonathan Seff,and Philip Michaels, Macworld
For the first time in its history, Apple tallied more than $10 billion revenue, reporting sales of $10.17 billion for the three months ended December 31. That's up 6 percent from the revenue of $9.6 billion Apple recorded during the year-ago quarter.

**** The Mac At 25: Processors <http://www.macworld.com/article/138336/2009/01/macat25_processors.html?lsrc=rss_main>
by Rik Myslewski, Macworld
Faster CPUs and GPUs are on the horizon.

**** QuickTime Update Increases H.264 Encoding Quality <http://www.macworld.com/article/138354/2009/01/quicktime.html?lsrc=rss_main>
by Jim Dalrymple, Macworld
According to notes accompanying the update, QuickTime 7.6 contains updates to both audio and video components.

**** Review: Sally's Salon For iPhone <http://www.macworld.com/article/138352/2009/01/sallyssalon.html?lsrc=rss_main>
by Bonnie Ruberg, Macworld
Sally's Salon isn't a bad game, just a mediocre one. With little by way of new gameplay mechanics to make it stand out from other Diner Dash clones, it reains fun, if sluggish.

**** Three Things OS X Could Learn From The Classic Mac OS <http://www.macworld.com/article/138335/2009/01/macat25_classicmacos.html?lsrc=rss_main>
by John Gruber, Macworld
WindowShade, predictable Finder window behavior, and file names as just names.

The Tomorrow Weblog
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**** Staff Finds White House In The Technological Dark Ages <http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/21/AR2009012104249.html>
by Anne E. Komblut, Washington Post
If the Obama campaign represented a sleek, new iPhone kind of future, the first day of Obama administration looked more like the rotary-dial past.

**** Internet Giants Return To Basics <http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/22/technology/22views.html?ref=todayspaper>
by Jeff Segal and Martin Hutchinson, New York Times

MyAppleMenu Reader
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**** Someone To Disturb <http://www.lrb.co.uk/v31/n01/mant01_.html>
by Hilary Mantel, London Review Of Books
It was then June 1983. I had been in Saudi Arabia for six months.

**** America's Fear Of Competition <http://www.slate.com/id/2209396/?from=rss>
by Eliot Spitzer, Slate
How cronyism and rent-seeking replaced "creative destruction."

SingaporeSurf
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**** Singapore Shows The Benefits Of Real Prudence <http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/asia_file/blog/2009/01/22/singapore_shows_the_benefits_of_real_prudence>
by Ben Bland, Telegraph
Having diligently and prudently accumulated two vast sovereign wealth funds, the government has a handsome war-chest with which to help cushion the blows from the global downturn. The government is in a strong position to ease the pain, not just with this budget, but with further measures in future.

**** Singapore Budget Targets Recovery <http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7844769.stm>
by Mariko Oi, BBC News
When times were good, few questions were asked about how the wealth was distributed, or the lack of social safety net.
The next few years could be the biggest test ever faced by the Singapore government.

**** Discordant Note - Pax Singaporeana <http://cavalierio.blogspot.com/2009/01/discordant-note-pax-singaporeana.html>
by Cavalierio
The likes of Tan Yong Soon will always be simultaneously envied and resented. Not because Tan and the elites have succeeded, but because the system that produces them is unjustifiably unfair. And because the system of rewards is based on misguided values.

**** Number Of Foreign Worker Salary Disputes Doubled In 2008 <http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/404225/1/.html>
by Hetty Musfirah Abdul Khamid, Channel NewsAsia

**** Singapore's Aim To Attract One Million Foreign Patients By 2012 May Take Longer <http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/404216/1/.html>
by Hetty Musfirah Abdul Khamid, Channel NewsAsia

**** Budget Speech 2009 <http://www.singaporebudget.gov.sg/speech_toc/index.html>
by Singapore Government

**** Larger Tax Deductions For Donations, Extra Funding To Charities, ComCare Fund <http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/404212/1/.html>
by Valarie Tan, Channel NewsAsia
Community initiatives will get a boost in the arm &mdash; for every dollar you give to charity this year, you will get back S$2.50 in tax deductions.

**** S$4.4b To Be Spent On Country's Infrastructure, Government Projects <http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/404221/1/.html>
by Valarie Tan, Channel NewsAsia
The government is pushing ahead with plans to develop Singapore into a global city, as well as making it the best home for Singaporeans, and S$4.4 billion has been set aside for this.
The projects include HDB lift upgrading, building of park connectors and upgrading of military facilities. Others are projects previously deferred to lessen pressure ont he overheating construction sector.

**** Government To Give S$2.6b To Households And Community Welfare Groups <http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/404211/1/.html>
by Channel NewsAsia
The government will give S$2.6 billion worth of support for households and community welfare organisations. Speaking in Parliament on Thursday, finance minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam believes this will do more for Singaporeans than a GST rate cut.

**** Government To GIve Cash Grants To Help Employers Keep Workers <http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/404187/1/.html>
by Channel NewsAsia
The government will introduce a Jobs Credit which will encourage businesses to preserve jobs as much as possible in the downturn, said finance minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam in his budget speech to Parliament on Thursday.
"The Jobs Credit that an employer receives will comprise 12 per cent of the first S$2,500 of the wages of each employer who is on the CPF payroll. It will be given in four quarterly payments, with each payment being based on the workers who are with the employer at the time."

**** Singapore Government To Spend S$2.6b To Enhance Business Cash-Flow <http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/404199/1/.html>
by Dominique Loh, Channel NewsAsia

**** Singapore Government To Spend S$5.8b TO Stimulate Bank Lending <http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/404197/1/.html>
by Channel NewsAsia
The government has introduced a new initiative to help companies obtain funding amid the current credit crunch. The government will be taking on a major share of the risks of bank lending, although it stops short at taking over the lending business itself.

**** Singapore Taps Into Reserves For First Time To Handle Crisis And Future Uncertainty <http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/404213/1/.html>
by Channel NewsAsia
Singapore has taken the unprecedented step of tapping into its past reserves to give it the flexibility of dealing with future uncertainties even as it responds to the current economic downturn.
The two main measures to be funded from past reserves are the Jobs Credit scheme and the Special Risk-Sharing Initiative for bank lending. And these would require $4.9 billion in total.

**** 20% Personal Income Tax Rebate, 40% Property Tax Rebate <http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/404208/1/.html>
by Channel NewsAsia
Households will get a 20 per cent personal income tax rebate for Year of Assessment 2009, capped at S$2,000. There will also be 40 per cent property tax rebate for owner-occupied homes in 2009.
The Additional CPF Housing Grant for first time home-buyers will be increased from S$30,000 to S$40,000.

**** Government To Lower Tax Burden For Businesses <http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/404196/1/.html>
by Channel NewsAsia
In a move to sharpen Singapore's competitiveness, finance minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam said the corporate income tax rate will be cut by one percentage point to 17 per cent from the Year of Assessment 2010. Businesses also stand to gain from a 40 per cent property tax rebate for industrial and commercial properties in 2009.

**** Singapore To Spend S$20.5 Billion To Help Business, Workers <http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a05qJlSDaoOI&refer=home>
by Shamim Adam and Andrea Tan, Bloomberg
Singapore, suffering its deepest recession since independence, will spend S$20.5 billion to help businesses and workers, finance minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam said today.
The government will cut taxes and increase expenditure on infrastructure, education and healthcare, Shanmugaratnam told Parliament in the nation's budget speech. The spending will result in a deficit equivalent to 6 percent of gross domestic product, he said.

**** Recognition Of Bloggers By The Government May Become A 'Kiss Of Death' <http://wayangparty.com/2009/01/22/recognition-of-bloggers-by-the-government-may-become-a-kiss-of-death/>
by Eugene Yeo, The Wayang Party Club Of Singapore
Bloggers need not go on bended knees to seek attention from the government. Once your blog's viewership has attained a certain critical number, they will be compelled to sit up and pay attention to you. They may not wish to engage you officially, yet they cannot afford to take their eyes off what you are writing especialy when there are a few thousand people reading your blog daily.

**** Square Room <http://cobaltpaladin.blogspot.com/2009/01/square-room.html>
by A Long And Arduous Road Of An Entrepreneur
I thought this was ironical that it came from the president of an association supposedly created to 'promote professionalism among the association's members'. How is this professional blogging? In a short 3 days, instead of uniting the local bloggers, I observed more strife.

**** A Tale Of Two Singapores <http://kwayteowman.blogspot.com/2009/01/tale-of-two-singapores.html>
by The Kway Teow Man

**** Obama To Influence Hongkong As Tax Havens <http://hk.ibtimes.com/articles/20090119/obama-influence-hongkong-tax-havens-singapore-sthaa.htm>
by International Business Times
Hong Kong and Singapore may soon come under increased scrutiny from the US, if incoming president Barack Obama follows through with his pledge to crack down on abusive "tax havens" which "peddle secrecy" and "cloak tax invasino and other miscondut," according to Withers law firm.

**** A Blogger's Assocation For Singapore <http://boresightlock.wordpress.com/2009/01/22/a-bloggers-association-for-singapore/>
by Anthony Chua, Fence In
Singaporeans, and Singaporean bloggers have to understand that such "engagement" through an association can only be a cheap and ineffective replacement to the parliamentary process.
See Also: Japan's Most Exclusive Clubs <http://www.onthemedia.org/transcripts/2008/12/12/06>, by Mark Philips, On The Media. To be a reporter in Japan is to navigate the unique and often troubling system of Press Clubs - known there as /Kisha Clubs/. With thousands of them attached to everything from government agencies to corporations, many argue that Kisha Clubs foster a dangerously close bond between reporters and those they cover.

**** Facebook - The New Consumer Boycott Tool In Singapore <http://csr-asia.com/weekly_detail.php?id=11589>
by Erin Lyon, CSR Asia
The emergence of Facebook as a tool used by civil society, and often a new kind of civil society that is not 'registered' as a legal entity with a constitution that sets out 'goals and missions' and produces regular research reports but who are simply a group of people with aligned perspectives on often single issues and with respect to single companies, is something which business must come to quickly understand.

**** Anger Over Delays In JB-Singapore Service <http://thestar.com.my/metro/story.asp?file=/2009/1/22/southneast/3055587&sec=southneast>
by Mohd Farhaan Shah, The Star
Frequent delays in the train service from Danga City Mall to Singapore have left many commuters irate.

**** Think Like Private Firms <http://www.todayonline.com/articles/298136.asp>
by Felix Ng Hong Peow, Today
Town Councils (TCs) are public organisations, and therefore should operate like organisations with greater openess comparable to that of charities, ministries and statutory boards.

**** Employers More Reluctant To Wield Axe? <http://www.todayonline.com/articles/298150.asp>
by Lin Yanqin, Today

**** Services Sector Shrinks <http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking%2BNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_329315.html>
by Fiona Chan, Straits Times
The Singapore economy has lost two of its three engines of growth for now, after its key services sector sputtered to a halt in the fourth quarter last year.
The services sector make sup 70 per cent of the economy, and covers a vast array of businesses including tourism, financial services and education.

**** Bad Timing, But Let's Not Go Overboard <http://www.straitstimes.com/ST%2BForum/Story/STIStory_329172.html>
by Tavence Kang, Straits Times
This episode was just the tip of the iceberg. Are top civil servants out of touch with the common man? Perhaps or perhaps not, but who are we to judge. That is the role of the Civil Service.
/Isn't the civil servant serving the government - which, by extension, the public "we"?/

**** Mindef Should Be More Tree-Friendly <http://www.straitstimes.com/ST%2BForum/Story/STIStory_329174.html>
by Tan Lay Pheng, Straits Times
I would like to appeal to Mindef to minimise the destruction of the valuable but fast-disappearing secondary rainforest left in Singapore.

**** Pity The Dolphins Caught From The Wild <http://www.straitstimes.com/ST%2BForum/Story/STIStory_329184.html>
by Deirdre Moss, Society For The Prevention Of Cruelty To Animals, Straits Times
The act of taking these animals from the wild (endangered or not) is at odds with the letter and spirit of Singapore's Wild Animals &amp; Birds Act, which prohibits the taking of an animal from the wild. The list of injustices throughout the dolphins' ordeal is extensive and heart-rending to those in animal welfare.
See Also: Who Killed Flipper? <http://www.salon.com/ent/movies/btm/feature/2009/01/22/dolphins_sundance/index.html>, by Ric O'Barry and Louie Psihoyos, Salon. If you end the demand for dolphin meat and captive dolphin shows, you end the trade in living and dead dolphins.

**** Singapore: Things Are Good^H^H^H^HWeak^H^H^H^HAwful <http://paul.kedrosky.com/archives/2009/01/21/singapore_thing.html>
by Paul Kedrosky, Infectious Greed
Nothing like playing catchup with downbound economic weakness.

**** There Is None So Blind As He Who Refuses To See <http://feedmetothefish.blogspot.com/2009/01/there-is-none-so-blind-as-he-who.html>
by Feed Me To The Fish
It's time for the PAP government to grow up and not hinder Singaporeans their rights to live the Singapore pledge of "building a democratic society based on justice and equality".

**** Religious Harmony In Singapore - A Facade? <http://theonlinecitizen.com/archives/5279>
by Terence Lee, The Online Citizen
Religious discussion should be allowed to flourish with less restraint, as this well benefit Singapore society and its people.
/Religion is part of the upbringing of many Singaporean, and cannot be simply disregarded or ignored when many of our social issues are being discussed./




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