From applesurf at myapplemenu.com Fri May 1 18:59:00 2009 From: applesurf at myapplemenu.com (applesurf at myapplemenu.com) Date: 1 May 2009 22:59:00 -0000 Subject: [MyAppleMenu] May 1, 2009 Message-ID: <20090501225900.34442.qmail@voot.pair.com> MyAppleMenu ==================================== **** VetFM 3.0 Vet Practice Management Software Adds 150 Features by Peter Cohen, Macworld **** Tiger Wodds PGA Tour Released For iPhone, iPod Touch by Peter Cohen, Macworld **** Teversham Quits Xbox For Apple by Tim Ingham, MCV Microsoft's Xbox strategy boss Richard Teversham has quit the firm to join arch rival Apple, MCV can reveal. **** iPhone App Developers Threaten To Sue Apple Over Late Payments by TechCrunch The Tomorrow Weblog ==================================== **** Sending Cell Phones Into The Cloud by Christopher Mims, MIT Technology Review New technology offloads processing from a mobile device to its cloud-based doppelganger. MyAppleMenu Reader ==================================== **** A Scanner Darkly by Paul La Farge, The Believer Short of participating in a genocide, how can you know what it's like to be thoughtless on the level of Adolt Eichmann? Jonathan Littell's The Kindly Ones makes the attempt by immersing its reader in a dense, intensely readable marsh of information. SingaporeSurf ==================================== **** SDP's May Day Message: Time To Help Our Workers by Singapore Democrats The Singapore Democrats repeat our call for a democratic and free labour union where workers are empowered and be free of economic enslavement. In doing so we will cultivate an economy that can compete on the world stage and not be at the constant mercy of an export-oriented economic model. **** Churches Should Stay Out by Zakir Hussain & Wong Kim Hoh, Straits Times The National Council of Churches of Singapore (NCCS) has said it does not condone churches getting involved in recent matters related to the Association of Women for Action and Research (Aware). It also does not condone pulpits being used for the purpose, it said in a statement on Thursday night. **** Museum Apologises For Any Unpleasantness Caused by Julie Tan, Asian Civilisations Museum, Straits Times Dear ACM: instead of saying 'aplogise... for any unpleasantness caused," why not try saying 'apologise for *the* unpleasantness caused." **** Jetstar Moves To Bolster Singapore Hub by Steve Creedy, The Australian Jetstar hopes to gain $20 million a year in synergies as it aggressively grows Singapore as a strategic hub and merges Jetstar Asia's operations with its own. **** MOE Investigates Complaints Over AWARE's Sex Ed Programme by Today The Ministry of Education (MOE) said Thursday that some parents have expressed concern over the content found in an ???AWARE Comprehensive Sexual Education: Basic Instructor Guide??? that has been posted online. **** Economic Growth Should Benefit All, Not Just The Rich by Avery Chong, Gerald Giam, Nathaniel Koh, Watson Chong and Yaw Shin Leong, The Online Citizen **** The Risk Of Disease On A Very Crowded Little Red Dot by Mr Wang Says So **** How Much Money Did AWARE New Exco Spend Since 28 March 2009? by The Wayang Party Club The new exco doesn???t inspire confidence from the way it manages AWARE???s finances. As a non-profit organization, we would expect them to pay closer attention to fiscal matters instead of splurging unnecessarily. **** ?????????????????????????????????????????????????????? by ?????????, ???????????? ????????????????????????????????????AWARE?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? **** Don???t Let Dr Thio Su Mien Off The Hook: MOE Should Not Allow Itself To Be Held Hostage By A Vocal Minority To Serve Their Own Selfish Agenda by Eugene Yeo, The Wayang Party **** Singapore Refuses Nitschke Meeting by AAP Police in Singapore have refused permission for a meeting on voluntary euthanasia law reform planned by Exit International, a group founded by Australian euthanasia advocate Philip Nitschke. **** Singapore Police Block Euthanaisa Talk by Ben Bland, Telegraph Nitschke said that the decision was "immensely disappointing" and that he was talking to lawyers about the possibility of an appeal. From applesurf at myapplemenu.com Sat May 2 18:59:00 2009 From: applesurf at myapplemenu.com (applesurf at myapplemenu.com) Date: 2 May 2009 22:59:00 -0000 Subject: [MyAppleMenu] May 2, 2009 Message-ID: <20090502225900.30571.qmail@voot.pair.com> MyAppleMenu ==================================== **** Fight To Legalize iPhone Jailbreaking Set For Friday by Rob McMillan, IDG News Service Apple???s iPhone marketing chief will square off against the Electronic Frontier Foundation and others Friday as the U.S. Copyright Office considers whether to allow an exemption to the U.S. Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) that would permit jailbreaking. **** Apple: The Low-Price Leader? by Jason Snell, Macworld In a bad economy, should Apple cut prices or keep its quality high? **** Clipstart Lets You Organize, Upload Your Videos by Dan Moren, Macworld **** iPhone Developers Focus On Quality After 'Anything Goes' Era by Connie Guglielmo, Independent iPhone developers, who flocked to Apple???s App Store in search of a quick profit, are finding it???s getting more difficult to come up with breakout hits. **** Byline 2.5 News Reader Intros Progressive Sync by iPodNN Version 2.5 offers a new user interface, and progressive syncing with Google Reader. **** Apple Accusing Psystar Of Withholding Information by MacNN Psystar is failing to follow proper legal procedure, Apple has claimed in a petition to a federal court judge. The Mac cloner is specifically accused of interfering with the discovery phase of a current lawsuit, by refusing to produce balance sheets, monthly statements and other financial documents, although it has provided some cost and revenue receipts. **** Apple's Cash Stash Helps Means More Control In Tough Times by Bryan Chaffin, The Mac Observer **** Fastest Growing Category In Apple's App Store: eBooks by Frederic Lardinois, ReadWriteWeb **** Apple Needs To Fine-Tune Its High-Def Downloads by Kevin Hunt, Hartford Courant **** 8 Reasons Why A Mac Is Better Than A PC by Harry McCracken, PC Advisor There are hundreds of reasons why Macs are better than PCs - they're more reliable and more creative for a start. We've put together a definitive list of eight reasons as to why your next computer should be a Mac not a PC. **** Apple's Interest In Gaming Isn't Casual by Brian Caulfield, Forbes Apple appears to be preparing an all-out assault on the handheld gaming market, moving to snap up gaming industry insiders from Microsoft to go with its growing team of graphics-chip specialists. **** Achieving Email Bliss With IMAP, Gmail, And Apple Mail by Joe Kissell, TidBITS The Tomorrow Weblog ==================================== **** When The Cellphone Teaches Sex Education by Jan Hoffman, New York Times MyAppleMenu Reader ==================================== **** Thoroughly Modern Marx by Leo Panitch, Foreign Policy Lights. Camera. Action. Das Kapital. Now. **** We're All Trekkies Now by Steve Daly, Newsweek 'Star Trek' is way cool. How'd that happen? Because the geeks have inherited the earth, and the White House. **** A Recipe For Escapism by Laura Miller, Wall Street Journal The economic downturn and a newfound appreciation for the thriftiness of home cooking no doubt account for some of this growth. Yet today's cookbook success stories are in no way confined to penny-pinching titles. Some recent hits include costly and highly impractical cookbooks by adulated chefs like Thomas Keller and Grant Achatz. **** Immaterialism by Rob Walker, New York Times As more of us live more of our lives in digital contexts, it seems plausible that immaterialism will become more common. Consuming things made of bits might sound weird, but actually it offers a lot of the same attractions that make people consume things made of atoms. SingaporeSurf ==================================== **** AWARE Membership At An All-Time High On Eve Of EGM by Alicia Wong, Channel NewsAsia While both camps prepare for what some might term "a showdown" at the Association of Women for Action and Research's (AWARE) extraordinary general meeting, they are advising supporters to stay calm and respect others. **** Pastor Apologises For Misusing Pulpit by Alicia Wong, Today Senior pastor of the Church Of Our Saviour Derek Hong has issued a public apology for using the pulpit to give backing to the Association of Women for Action and Research's (AWARE) executive committee in their dispute with the group's previous leadership. **** Tide Of Public Opinion Turns Against AWARE New Exco by Fang Zhi Yuan, The Wayang Party Club The new exco may win the battle on the day, but the war was lost a long time ago. They have managed to turn a vibrant, well regarded and inclusive NGO into an empty shell and a pale shadow of its once glorious past. **** Teachers Told Not To Get Involved In Aware by New Paper Do not say the words 'old guard' and 'new guard'. Do not go for the Aware Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM), vote or take sides. Do not be involved in the Aware saga at all. This was what some school principals told their teachers two days ago. **** SMRT: Dangerous To Pass Babies Over Fare Gates by Bernadette Low, SMRT Corporation, Straits Times We have reminded our staff to encourage passengers travelling with infants to exit the station properly to avoid any dangerous situations. SMRT did not even come near to answer the question posed. **** Transcript Of Prime Minister's May Day Rally Speech by Singapore Government **** Flu Scare Affecting Johor Tourism by The Star Tour groups in Singapore have cancelled plans for travel in June, which is a popular holiday period during the island republic???s school break. **** Singapore Court To Rule On Indonesian Man's Death by Jakarta Globe On Friday, National Police spokesman Abubakar Nataprawira said investigators from the Criminal Investigation Department had been working hard to determine how student David Hartanto Wijaya had died. **** Asia's Kung Fu Star Puts Foot In Mouth by Seah Chiang Nee, The Star The Jackie Chan saga comes at a time when Singapore is striving to find a balance between stable growth and loosening up on controls to satisfy the people. **** Live From Suntec: AWARE EGM, 2 May 2009 by The Wayang Party Club **** More Than A Thousand Turn Up For Aware EOGM by The Online Citizen **** Consider Giving Up by Straits Times The new executive committee of the Association of Women and Research (Aware) should consider stepping down if members cast a vote of no confidence against them, said Aware legal counsel at its extraordinary general meeting (EGM) on Saturday. Mr Gregory Vijayendran said although a no confidence vote does not mean the exco has to step them, they should consider giving up. **** New Exco Spent $90k by Straits Times The new executive committee of the Association of Women and Research (Aware), which took office on March 28, has spent about $90,000 so far, an exco member disclosed on Saturday at its extraordinary general meeting. **** New Exco Of AWARE Given Vote Of No Confidence by Channel NewsAsia The new executive committee (Exco) of the Association of Women for Action and Research (AWARE) has been given a vote of no confidence, so they are being asked to resign now. **** Josie's Team Quits by Straits Times The new executive committee of the beleagured Association of Women and Research (Aware) has decided to step down. **** AWARE EOGM: Twiter, Twitterfall And Twitpic The New Media World by My Note Book On The Web This is a whole new communication world out there and it threatens completely the old media and the old world. **** Newly-Elected AWARE Exco To Amend Constitution by Loh Chee Kong, Today Future candidates seeking office on the executive committee (Exco) of AWARE may have to be a volunteer with the women's group for at least year before they are eligible to do so. The newly-elected president of AWARE, Ms Dana Lam, said this is one of several more stringent criteria in the constitutional amendments her Exco will be looking into. From applesurf at myapplemenu.com Sun May 3 18:59:00 2009 From: applesurf at myapplemenu.com (applesurf at myapplemenu.com) Date: 3 May 2009 22:59:00 -0000 Subject: [MyAppleMenu] May 3, 2009 Message-ID: <20090503225900.26317.qmail@voot.pair.com> MyAppleMenu ==================================== **** iTunes Now Funnels iPhone Crash Reports To Developers by Chris Foresman, Ars Technica Users can now automatically send crash logs to developers via iTunes whenever an iPhone or iPod touch is synced. The increased access to these logs will aid developers in making better software. **** Apple Offers Fix For iMac's Radeon HD 4850 Freezing Issues by Aidan Malley, AppleInsider Released on Saturday, iMac EFI Firmware Update 1.4 (1.7MB) specifically addresses the hard lock-ups that occur at random and leave iMac users with the custom-order graphics with no choice but to reboot their systems to regain a usable computer, regardless of whether they're using Mac OS X or running Windows in Boot Camp. **** Apple, EFF Square Over iPhone Jailbreaking by Ronald O Carlson, Blorge The notion that companies need protection from customers wielding the power of the devices that the companies themselves create, sell and/or profit from should be an immediate red flag. **** Apple Launches A Revolution - And Then Gets Overtaken by Richard Wray and Bobbie Johnson, The Guardian It happened when the Mac bought a mouse to every desktop. Now, with the iPhone, it's happening again. MyAppleMenu Reader ==================================== **** Enough With The 100 Days Already by Frank Rich, New York Times President Obama???s high marks by the public and the press are all ludicrously provisional. It???s too early to judge the results of any policy. SingaporeSurf ==================================== **** An Open Letter To New AWARE President Dana Lam And Her Team by Ng E-Jay, Sgpolitics.net With the soft rays of the fresh morning sun falling upon the first pages of a new chapter in Singapore civil society, let us resolve never to wallow in the twilight of complacency again, and let us leave our comfort zones that we have become so used to and start to act on what we truly believe in. **** Flyers And Flying Laws by Au Waipang, Yawning Bread We first rape the concept of democracy by passing all sorts of laws that choke off free speech and assembly. Then when the laws themselves don't specifically cover certain situations that the government dislikes, we interpret the laws any way we please. Frankly, it is disgraceful. **** Josie Lau And Team Resigns From Executive Committee by The Online Citizen The verdict was out long before the voting came ??? Ms Josie Lau and team were unpopular with many on the floor, as there was plenty of jeering during the AWARE???s Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM). Most of it was directed at them. In the end, the executive committee resigned after a vote of no confidence dealt a blow to their credibility within the organisation. The Old Guard also wasted no time in nominating a new executive committee ??? Dana Lam became the new president, and Chew I Jin the new vice-president. **** 7 Mar 1986: The Day We All Became Aware by Benson Ang, New Paper **** Why Give Us So Little Time To Pack? by Crystal Chan, New Paper Long weekend stay ruined as flustered family, who spent hundreds on food, given an hour to clear Aloha chalet after it becomes quarantine centre. **** Leaders Back Archbishop by Aaron Low, Straits Times Key religious leaders in Singapore have thrown their backing behind the Anglican Archbishop's stand that churches - and religious bodies in general - should stay out of the affairs of secular organisations. **** Homily Heaven by Singapore Sojourn Secularism is one of the mainstays of this country and long may it remain so. **** Aware Members Demand: "Account For Our Money!" by Choo Zheng Xi and Khirulanwar, The Online Citizen It is unclear at this point of time how Aware will defray the costs for the expenditure, or whether Ms Lau???s team will bear any of the costs. **** Chaos by Terence Lee and Choo Zheng Xi, The Online Citizen ???Sit down and shut up!??? **** Singapore - Red Traffic Signal Is Optional by Ignorance Is Curable What started as a sense of unease when crossing streets as a pedestrian and driving as a motorist has now become a fact - drivers in Singapore are treating amber and red signal lights as optional indicators to stop. **** 'Draconian' Powers Seen To Contain Swine Flu by AFP **** AWARE's President Says Biggest Challenge Is To Harness Support Of New Members by Channel NewsAsia The newly-elected AWARE president Dana Lam says her team's biggest challenge now is to harness the support of new members. **** Thank God The Christians Were Defeated by Mr Wang Says So Truly, I felt sorry for Thio. Sorry that she is such a misguided human being. After all that scheming, plotting behaviour of hers in recent months, she still actually seems to think that she deserves respect. And just for being old. Thio, next time, try being transparent and honest. It's an easier way to get respect. **** Reflections Of The Aware EGM From A Member by Soh Lai Yee, The Wayang Party Club Particularly reassuring was a resounding demonstration that an established non-governmental organisation faced with its most dramatic power usurp saga had the reach, the depth, and more than enough leaders with a keen sense of governance to manage conflicts and differences of values. From applesurf at myapplemenu.com Mon May 4 18:59:01 2009 From: applesurf at myapplemenu.com (applesurf at myapplemenu.com) Date: 4 May 2009 22:59:01 -0000 Subject: [MyAppleMenu] May 4, 2009 Message-ID: <20090504225901.53021.qmail@voot.pair.com> MyAppleMenu ==================================== **** Cyan's Classic 'Myst' Arrives In App Store by Arnold Kim, MacRumors.com While rather simplistic by today's standards, the game was both a critical and commercial success becoming the best selling computer game up until that time. **** App Developers Seek Right Formula To Cash In On iPhone by Scott Kirsner, Boston Globe **** Song Bashing "Corporate Enablers" Used To Move iPhones by Nate Anderson, Ars Technica The song may resonate with a Jobsian "billionaire's detachment" from the material world that binds us to a cycle of suffering, but it stands in stark counterpoint to the product it's being used to sell. **** Trenr Reznor Responds To NIN App Denial by Jason D. O'Grady, ZDNet **** How To Share Full-Quality Photos Via iPhoto by Adam C. Engst, TidBITS The practical upshot of all this is that if you want to send someone a full-quality photo without any additional compression being applied to it, don't use the Share > Email command (or the Email button in the toolbar, if you have that showing). The Tomorrow Weblog ==================================== **** An Invention That Could Change The Internet For Ever by Andrew Johnson, The Independent The biggest internet revolution for a generation will be unveiled this month with the launch of software that will understand questions and give specific, tailored answers in a way that the web has never managed before. **** Predicting Flu With The Aid Of (George) Washington by Donald G. McNeil Jr., New York Times The best way to track the spread of swine flu across the United States in the coming weeks may be to imagine it riding a dollar bill. MyAppleMenu Reader ==================================== **** The Joy Of Exclamation Marks! by Stuart Jeffries, The Guardian Exclamation marks used to be frowned upon. Now look what's happened! We use them all the time! Hurrah!!! But what is it about the age of email that gets people so over-excited? **** Galveston, 1961 by Richard Wilbur, The New Yorker **** The Autobiography Of J.G.B. by J. G. Ballard, The New Yorker **** Hackers Can Sidejack Cookies by Heather McHugh, The New Yorker **** Mission Impossible: The Code Even The CIA Can't Crack by Steven Levy, Wired The most celebrated inscription at the Central Intelligence Agency's headquarters in Langley, Virginia, used to be the biblical phrase chiseled into marble in the main lobby: "And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." But in recent years, another text has been the subject of intense scrutiny inside the Company and out: 865 characters of seeming gibberish, punched out of half-inch-thick copper in a courtyard. **** How David Beats Goliath by Malcolm Gladwell, The New Yorker When underdogs break the rules. SingaporeSurf ==================================== **** AWARE: Lessons From A Fiasco by Cherian George, The Online Citizen The Aware battle was not between the profane and the sacred, but between those who understand Singaporean secularism and those who apparently do not. The concerted steps they took to subvert a secular organisation and rid its leadership of its traditional diversity showed that the insurgents did not want merely to be part of a conversation; they wanted to be the only voice. When intolerant ??? and considerably more violent ??? voices have surfaced in other religious communities, the moderate mainstream had to rise up to reclaim the microphone, to assure themselves and their fellow citizens that their faith was entirely compatible with peaceful co-existence in a multicultural and democratic society. Similarly, one of the most positive outcomes of the Aware saga is the strong assertion by Singaporeans of faith and their religious leaders: we are here, our faith makes us and our society stronger, but we will not impose our values on others. **** The Rosary Woman And Other Head-Shaking Tales by Au Yaipang, Yawning Bread **** Premium Services Info At Bus Stops by Yeo Ghim Lay, Straits Times Private bus companies, which had previously lamented that they were not allowed to publicise their services at bus stops, have applauded the news. The two public transport companies should never forget that they are what they are today because we as a society granted them a monopoly. **** Singaporeans Are Self-Reliant by Sue-Ann Chia, Straits Times A survey has found that eight in 10 locals prefer to rely on themselves than on the Government in these bad times. The other way of reading this is, surely, everyone expects the government not to help in any useful way. **** More Vigilant, Less Trusting by Wong Kim Hoh, Straits Times Expect Singapore's leading feminist group to be more vigilant and less trusting from here on. **** ?????????????????????????????????????????? by ?????????, ???????????? ??????90???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? **** ????????????????????????????????????????????? by ??????, ???????????? ????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? **** Aftermath Of Aware EGM: Time For Some House-Keeping by Eugene Yeo, The Wayang Party Club **** China Urges Citizens To Avoid Illegal Employment In Singapore by Xinhua **** ???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? by ???????????? ???????????????????????????????????????????????????A??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? **** This Atheist Sermonises On The AWARE Saga by Singapore Atheists The AWARE saga really goes to show how religion can cause a person to see things very narrowly. **** Alvinology Goes To The AWARE EGM by Alvinology II **** I'm A Hooligan And Proud Of It by Tricia So yes, call me and my like-minded friends a hooligan if you must. Better hooliganism couched in those terms than narrow-minded, uninformed and cowardly. **** Three Responses To The Sustainable Singapore Blueprint by AsiaIsGreen.com **** My Response To The ST Article: "Process, Pluralism, Protection" by Ng E-Jay, Sgpolitics.net **** "A Voice For The Arts And Artists" by Khairulanwar Zaini, The Online Citizen ???A voice for the arts and artists??? ??? and two names emerged as potential Nominated Members of Parliament (NMP) to represent the Arts community. Audrey Wong, the artistic co-director of Substation, and Loretta Chen, the artistic director of Zebra Crossing. **** Speak, Act, Change - We Will Influence The Decisions by Jewel Philemon, The Online Citizen Ten SIG who were concerned about issues ranging from intellectual disability to urban poverty, from youths at risk to environmentalism, and from animal welfare to dating violence, gathered at Hong Lim park on an extremely hot Sunday afternoon. **** Lessons For The PAP From The Aware EOGM by Au Waipang, Yawning Bread If the government genuinely wants Singaporeans to feel passionate about Singapore, they had better reexamine what they mean by democracy. They need to stop trying to breed sheep, lighten up and learn to value more rambunctious citizens. **** Changes In AWARE Office As Dana Lam And Team Take Over by Cheryl Lim, Channel NewsAsia It is the start of the first week in office for the new executive committee at the Association of Women for Action and Research (AWARE), but the members are already busy trying to settle several outstanding issues. **** SMRT's Train Frequency To Be Reduced If Flu Alert Hits Red by Channel NewsAsia SMRT said train frequency will be reduced by 30 per cent once Singapore's pandemic alert level hits red. This is because its service staff are divided into two teams to prevent the potential spread of the H1N1 virus. From applesurf at myapplemenu.com Tue May 5 18:59:00 2009 From: applesurf at myapplemenu.com (applesurf at myapplemenu.com) Date: 5 May 2009 22:59:00 -0000 Subject: [MyAppleMenu] May 5, 2009 Message-ID: <20090505225900.15560.qmail@voot.pair.com> MyAppleMenu ==================================== **** Chinese iPhone Apps Expand As Apple Seeks Deal by Owen Fletcher, IDG News Service A growing number of Chinese iPhone applications let users trawl through maps, look up English words and check stock quotes, even though the smartphone has not been approved for use in China by the country???s telecommunications regulatory authority. There are, of course, many iPhone-bearing people outside of China that read and speak and write Chinese. And some of them might also be interested in Chinese programming from CCTV. **** Debitinator 3 Debt Management App Adds Transaction Ledger by Peter Cohen, Macworld Debitnator generates payment plans to help you deal with your debt in optimal fashion. New in version 3, Debtinator adds a transaction ledger to help you track financial activity you???ve already made. **** Apple v. EFF: The iPhone Jailbreaking Showdown by David Kravets, Wired At stake for Apple is the very closed business model Apple has enjoyed since 2007, when the iPhone debuted. On the other hand, Apple has never had its business plan rely on the argument that jailbreaking is illegal. **** MacBooks Sweep Consumer Reports Laptop Ratings by Dan Moren, Macworld The MacBooks bested their competitors, despite the lower cost of many of the Windows machines rated. **** A Closer Look At EA's 'Tiger Woods PGA Tour' by Blake Patterson, TouchArcade **** Apple's Cash Reserves Offer No Hint Of Future Plans by Reuters Apple Inc has nearly $29 billion of cash on hand, a pile of money exceeded at only one other tech company, but if the past is any guide stockholders aren't likely to share in the wealth any time soon. Apple, spend some of it in searching and hiring good people. **** Apple Hints App Store Rules May Loosen With iPhone OS 3.0 by Aidan Malley, AppleInsider Following the rejection of an iPhone app for content the developer didn't produce itself, Apple has given signs it may allow more risque software on the App Store once iPhone OS 3.0 and its enhanced parental locks become a reality. Will there be a 'we-have-not-review-this use-at-your-own-risk' rating? **** Apple And Google Ties Investigated by Miguel Helft and Brad Stone, New York Times The Federal Trade Commission has begun an inquiry into whether the close ties among the boards of two of technology???s most prominent companies, Apple and Google, amounts to a violation of antitrust laws, according to several people briefed on the inquiry. Apple and Google share two directors, Eric E. Schmidt, the chief executive of Google, and Arthur Levinson, the former chief executive of Genentech. The Clayton Antitrust Act of 1914 prohibits a person???s presence on the board of two rival companies when it would reduce competition between them. **** Evidence Points To 3G Radios In MacBooks, Tablets? by Seth Weintraub, Computerworld What is clear is that Apple is testing 3G wireless hardware in new Apple CPU products in the Mac group. And if they are in hurry-up "time pressure and stress" software QA mode at this point, it means that we'll see some hardware relatively soon. **** Antitrust Investigation Of Apple And Google Connections Doesn't Add Up by Pete Mortensen, Cult Of Mac Out here, it???s only natural that you would simultaneously compete and collaborate. You share secrets and then try to use them against each other. It???s in the DNA here. But the law, as they, is blind. **** FileMaker Releases Bento For iPhone, Bento 2.0v4 by MacNN Ahead of what is expected to be the official release later today, FileMaker has updated its Bento 2.0v4 software with stability fixes, performance enhancements, and other changes along with a iPhone version of its Bento database application. **** Companies Shed Initial Resistance To iPhone by Rachael King, BusinessWeek Despite such worries as data security, IT staffs are beginning to support Apple's device???especially if the CEO starts carrying one. **** 11 Ways To Sync Your Data With An iPhone by Christopher Breen, Dan Frakes, Macworld Can your data appear in two places at once? With a little sleight of hand and the help of some smart apps, you can access your calendar, your files, and even your Mac???s desktop from just about anywhere. **** Why Firefox Is My Preferred Browser by Rob Griffiths, Macworld For the way I use the Web, Firefox???s URL handling (along with its add-ons) makes it my preferred browser. **** SousChef 1.2 Cooks Up Metric Conversions, Adds Recipes by Kate Marshall, Macworld **** Linking To A Remote Village, Via iPod by Jaume Tapies and Joan Raymond, New York Times Apparently, she had never seen an iPod, and once I explained what it was, she was absolutely fascinated and entranced by the technology. When I told her to place the buds in her ears, she broke out into a beautiful smile, just like a child on Christmas morning. Take that, you music-sharing Zunes. The Tomorrow Weblog ==================================== **** Moving Data Around The Clouds by Kate Greene, MIT Technology Review A startup hopes to make it easier to hop between cloud-computing services. MyAppleMenu Reader ==================================== **** Go Ahead. Spoil My Appetite. by Geoff Nicholson, New York Times >From ???Moby-Dick??? to ???Naked Lunch??? to ???Gravity???s Rainbow,??? bad eating makes for good reading. **** Mommy, What's A Vagina? by Katherine Ozment, Salon One minute I'm cleaning up Legos with my 3-year-old daughter. The next minute I'm conducting an impromptu anatomy lesson and desperately hoping not to flub it. SingaporeSurf ==================================== **** How To Win AN EOGM And Losta Friends by Groundnotes At the end of the day, when Josie and Kittycats look back, they would do well to realise that they???ve been arrogant, misguided and utterly intolerant. But unfortunately, as with all folks who believe they are doing God???s work on earth, they???ll think that the sinners of Singapore are hardened of heart and just aren???t ready to embrace the word of God. Amen. Agree to disagree, and the courage to protect those who disagree, is a hallmark of a democratic leadership. **** Reducing Train Frequency Because Of H1N1? That's Ridiculous! by Gerald Giam That would surely be a formula for an even more rapid spread of the flu, should anyone of the 8 persons per square metre of train space happen to sneeze or cough. Didn't we just provide cash to companies so that their hiring cost is not that great? Go hire more people lah, SMRT. **** Who Is Responsible? Who Is Paying The Price? by Feed Me To The Fish **** Sushi Prankster Says Sorry After 2 Years by Crystal Chan, New Paper The person who recently uploaded a YouTube video of himself tampering with sushi before returning it to the conveyor belt is believed to have apologised. **** Remark By Pastor Cause For Concern, Notwithstanding Apology by Lee Swee Mei, Straits Times If Pastor Hong is truly regretful, a simple phrase of 'I am sorry I made those remarks' would have been much more humble than 'I stand corrected', as remarks that cause religious disharmony can have far-reaching and dire consequences. We have created leaders that are even too coward to apologise. **** Debate Still Raging In Cyberspace by Esther Ng, Today The Reach portal has received about 50 postings about Aware???s Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) programme, most of them critical. **** Did Civil Society Really Win? by Cheong Hui Hui, Today The new exco were not able to give answers. The new exco had one full month at the least, including on national televison, to give answers. They haven't. **** ST Ploy Using The Aware Saga To Justify Shameless PAP Gerrymandering Via The GRC by Eugene Yeo, The Wayang Party Club **** Protect The Singaporean Worker! by The Online Citizen **** Political Parallels Of The AWARE Saga by Singapore Democrats What happened on Saturday is what democracy is about. It is also what is tragically lacking in Singapore. **** Embassy Upset Over Visa Rule by Kimberly Spkykerman, Straits Times The Mexican Embassy has raised concerns about Singapore's decision to impose a temporary visa requirement on all Mexican nationals in view of the flu outbreak. **** Speak Out And Stand Up! by As My Life Is **** AWARE?????? ?????????????????????????????? by ?????? ?????????, ???????????? ????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? **** AWARE?????? ???????????????????????? ???????????????????????? by ?????? ?????????, ???????????? ????????????AWARE????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? **** Singapore Most Vulnerable by Straits Times A study of 90 countries by Nomura International rates Singapore as the most vulnerable to economic damage to a pandemic. **** Scheme To Avoid Bankruptcy by Diana Othman, Straits Times A debtor with debts of less than $100,000 may be referred by the High Court to be considered for the Debt Repayment Scheme to avoid bankruptcy. It is a non court-based approach that gives the debtor an opportunity to pay off his debts over a period of time, and helps him from losing his job as a result of bankruptcy, said a statement from the law ministry on Tuesday. **** A Coming Of Age For Civil Society by Loh Chee Kong, Today The Aware saga dispelled the notion that some topics are taboo in Singapore — that differences are best discussed behind closed doors, in hushed tones, or worse, swept under the carpet. The women of Aware have shown that Singaporeans are capable of not only passionately fighting for their views, but also knowing when to back down. This was, perhaps, because the Government, to its credit, stayed largely out of the picture. **** A Tale Of Two Communities by Simon Tay, Today The Aware saga shows that citizens now relate to each other directly and not only to the government. Singapore is no longer a vertical society, but one with horizontal links. **** Protesters To Stage Rally Outside Singapore Embassy by Antara A group of protesters calling themselves a team for the care of the David Hartanto Widjaja case, will stage a rally in front of the Singapore Embassy here on Tuesday. **** The Myth Of The Lazy Native by The Online Citizen The government???s views on the unemployment situation might be too sanguine. From applesurf at myapplemenu.com Wed May 6 18:59:00 2009 From: applesurf at myapplemenu.com (applesurf at myapplemenu.com) Date: 6 May 2009 22:59:00 -0000 Subject: [MyAppleMenu] May 6, 2009 Message-ID: <20090506225900.24129.qmail@voot.pair.com> MyAppleMenu ==================================== **** Solve An Obscure Back To My Mac Issue by Rob Griffiths, Macworld **** Accessing Network Media With Boxee, Plex, And XBMC by Christopher Breen, Macworld Because playing networked content can be a head-scratcher I thought I???d run through the steps for configuring each of these applications. **** The Future Of Internet TV (In America) by I, Cringely Follow the money. **** Apple Sued Over Reputed Fire Hazard Of MagSafe Power Adapter by Chris Foresman, Ars Technica A class action lawsuit filed last week claims Apple has been negligent in dealing with a known flaw in its MagSafe power adapters. A problem with fraying wires, says the suit, is a dangerous fire hazard. **** Apple To Replace Water-Damaged iPhones For $199 by Slash Lane, AppleInsider Careless iPhone owners who've submerged their handsets in some form of liquid can now take Apple up on an unadvertised policy that offers replacements for a flat fee of $199. **** Big Kindle, Little Phone: Which Will It Be? by Steve Outing For me, the iPhone changed my life, and for the first time in my life I have an organization system that I regularly use and is always with me. The reason is simple enough: My iPhone is always with me (even on a mountain bike ride miles away from cell service). **** Apple, Opera Slammed Over Browser Patch Regimes by Jeremy Kirk, IDG News Service Apple and Opera lag behind Google and Mozilla when it comes to distributing Web browser updates due to how they've structured their patch programs, according to new research. **** PopCap Launches Plants Vs. Zombies On Macs by Brad Cook, The Mac Observer PopCap on Tuesday released Plants vs. Zombies, a humorous action-strategy game in the "tower defense" vein for Mac and PC. Players stop an army of marauding zombies from overwhelming their pristine front yards by purchasing and planting a wide range of flowers, vines, trees, and other flora with various types of zombie-fighting abilities. **** Luxor 3 Adds 140 New Levels Of Gameplay by MacNN MumboJumbo has released an update to its Mac game, Luxor 3, which features 140 new levels of gameplay. The latest version also features a new reflector to bounce the game balls on. **** Apple Yanks Incriminating Advertisement by Matthew Shaer, The Christian Science Monitor **** 10 iPhone Apps For Foodies by Wendy Sheehan Donnell, PC Magazine Hungry? We've scoured the App Store to bring you the most satisfying food-centric apps. **** AT&T Finally Releases What Should Have Been The First iPhone App by MG Siegler, MobileCrunch It allows users to view and pay their wireless bills from the iPhone. You can also see your current usage and add or remove features from your plan. **** Commander: Napoleon At War by Chris Holt, Macworld Commander: Napoleon at War is for dedicated strategy fans that have a passion for history, engrossing (and long) engagements and don???t mind seeing the exposed seams in the game???s fabric. The exceedingly stupid enemy AI and strange tactical limitations handicap what otherwise is a strong combination of historical accuracy and easy-to-learn strategic fun. **** Take Control Of Your Dock(s) With DragThing by Chris Bowler, The Weekly Review Dock usage is so varied from user to user that it???s inevitable that the default OS X Dock does not meet everyone???s needs and is often criticized. Your Dock needs may be completely different than what I???ve described above in my own setup. But with DragThing, you have the ability and customization available to create the Dock(s) that fits just right with the way you use your Mac. The Tomorrow Weblog ==================================== **** Social Networking For Terrorists by e! Science News A new approach to analyzing social networks, reported in the current issue of the International Journal of Services Sciences, could help homeland security find the covert connections between the people behind terrorist attacks MyAppleMenu Reader ==================================== **** Bipolar Disorder by Tim Wu, Slate The magnetic appeal of the poles. **** Turkey Burgers Don't Count by Jodi Rudoren, New York Times Mr. Weiss, 33, operations manager for a software company, is the founder and de facto leader of the Burger of the Month Club, or BOTM (which he and his friends pronounce ???bottom???). One Monday a month for the last four years, they have sampled a burger ??? bacon-cheddar whenever available ??? at a different New York restaurant. SingaporeSurf ==================================== **** Absolutely Moronic To Reduce Train Frequency In Event Of Flu Outbreak by Ng E-Jay, Sgpolitics.net Rather than reducing train frequencies in response to manpower requirements, SMRT should instead hire more staff. After all, isn???t this supposed to be a recession with retrenchment at multi-year highs? Aren???t there supposed to be people out there looking for jobs? **** The Government's Strategic Intervention In The Aware Saga by PN Balji, The Online Citizen We saw what I would call strategic intervention by government leaders, from DPM Teo Chee Hean downwards, drawing some kind of out-of-bound markers. Don???t push your views too hard, don???t forget we are a secular society and go for a ???rainbow coalition??? approach to settle issues. **** Singapore Inching Up Press Freedom Chart With Gabon by Blowin' In The Wind **** What I Took Away From 2 May by Siew Kum Hong I saw the result as an affirmation of the values that we hold dear (openness, transparency, inclusiveness, diversity and secularism) and a rejection of those that, well, we should not (dishonesty, non-transparency, exclusiveness, intolerance, divisiveness and oppression/bullying). **** Cafes Within Libraries Offer Cosy Environment by Tay Ai Cheng, National Library Board, Straits Times The cafes within our public libraries provide a cosy environment for library visitors who want to read while enjoying a drink and a quick bite. This is also convenient for those who require easy and quick access to refreshments without having to leave the library. This is an example of how the National Library Board, in its desire to attract new customers, totally ignored the core and loyal customers. **** Applicant-Unfriendly Singapore by Ruchika Tulshyan, Straits Times We aim to make Singapore an international financial hub, yet are lacking in very simple procedures that even the smallest companies overseas adhere to - sourcing for and looking after talent. **** The "Upgrading Carrot": Abuse Of State Resources By The PAP To Perptuate Its Own Political Hegemony by Eugene Yeo, The Wayang Party Club All tax-paying citizens of Singapore who contribute yearly to the government???s coffers are entitled to upgrading of their flats. HDB is not owned by the PAP and neither do the upgrading funds come from the PAP???s treasury. In other countries, the citizens will have taken to the streets to protest against the injustice which may even culminate in a class action suit against the government for abusing its position of authority and misapproportion of state resources. **** Boy Arrested For Slamming Chair At MP Office by Diary Of A Singaporean Mind I wonder what we gain out of making needy people in our society seek aid this way : cutting it into small little pieces and making poor people go all over the place to make multiple requests from many different agencies. **** ERP??????????????????????????????????????? by ?????????, ???????????? ?????????????????????ERP??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????ERP??????????????????????????? **** Don't Skirt The Issue By Shielding Children by Joseph Wong, Today The fact remains that homosexuality exists, whether or not you prevent your children from learning about it through sanctioned talks and discussions. In fact, you should be thankful that your children are learning about it from experienced professionals and not from misinformed sources. **** Josie Might Not Advise New Exco by Benson Ang, New Paper The new exco of the Association of Women for Action and Research (Aware) has not decided whether to invite deposed president Ms Josie Lau, 48, back as an adviser. But, if Ms Lau is not invited back, it would be against Aware's constitution. **** AWARE And The Secular Conscience by Scholar At Large Ultimately, by adding to the diversity of moral opinions expressed, it would also strengthen the arguments for a secular State and society - one which is equidistant to all faith-based (or non-faith-based) worldviews. This benefits the religious and the areligious alike, and is something which the latter should have a particular interest in maintaining. **** Test-Bedding Of Electric Vehicles In Singapore From 2010 by 938 Live A multi-agency taskforce chaired by the Energy Market Authority and Land Transport Authority has been set up to spearhead the test-bedding of electric vehicles (EVs) in Singapore from 2010. **** LTA Awards S$368 Million Contract For 22 New Trains by 938 Live The trains are scheduled to be progressively delivered to Singapore from 2011 till 2012. **** The Future Of Singapore's Feminism by Glass Castle One of the many reasons why I considered the Thio-inspired interlopers to be ideologically alien from the founding mission of AWARE is that they never gave any real indication of understanding the idea of structural discrimination. **** Low-Tax Countries Angry At Obama's Reforms by Vanessa Houlder and Michael Steen, Financial Times The proposed US crackdown on corporate tax avoidance has provoked an angry response from low-tax countries used heavily by the multinationals that are the target of the Obama administration's reforms. The US administration, in publishing the plan on Monday, highlighted the Cayman Islands, Bermuda, the Netherlands and Ireland. The US proposals are also likely to be felt in Luxembourg, Switzerland and Singapore where profits reported by US subsidiaries often appear disproportionately high, given the size of those countries. **** ????????????????????? by ??????, tjmwxq????????? ???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? **** Singapore Central Bank Says Policy Shift To Mitigate Shocks by Nopporn Wong-Anan, Forbes Singapore's monetary policy easing last month was a 'measured' response to a sharp drop in demand and the ensuing deep recession that hit the trade dependent economy, the central bank said on Wednesday. **** MOE Statement On Sexuality Education Programme by Ministry Of Education, Singapore Government In recent weeks, the Ministry of Education (MOE) has received feedback on the Sexuality Education Programme conducted by AWARE, as well as other lesson material not involving AWARE. MOE has done a thorough investigation. This statement presents the Ministry???s findings and future steps. **** Aware Sex Guide Suspended by Straits Times The Ministry of Education (MOE) has suspended the sexuality education programme run by the Association of Women for Action and Research (Aware) in some schools, saying it does not conform to the MOE's guidelines. In particular, MOE found some suggested responses in the guide 'too explicit and inappropriate, and convey messages which could promote homosexuality or suggest approval of pre-marital sex. **** Singapore To Lower Flu Alert To Yellow Over Next Five Days by Channel NewsAsia Singapore said Wednesday it will lower its alert level for the A(H1NI) flu next Monday if the current situation remains, as the new strain of influenza A(H1N1) virus appears milder than originally feared. Authorities, however, will maintain temperature checks at the airport, sea ports and land border while passengers arriving from Mexico would still be placed under quarantine, the health ministry said in a statement. **** Labour Chief Says Firms Shouldn't Adopt "Retrench And Hire" Approach by Zaki Amrullah, Channel NewsAsia Labour chief Lim Swee Say called on companies to look at ways to manage costs and retain their existing manpower. He said: "At the company level, you're going to lose a lot of experience, a lot of skill, and most importantly, you're going to lose a lot of time because it takes time to hire new workers and to retrain new workers." From applesurf at myapplemenu.com Thu May 7 18:59:01 2009 From: applesurf at myapplemenu.com (applesurf at myapplemenu.com) Date: 7 May 2009 22:59:01 -0000 Subject: [MyAppleMenu] May 7, 2009 Message-ID: <20090507225901.61602.qmail@voot.pair.com> MyAppleMenu ==================================== **** Bank Of America Still Not Ready For iPhone by Matt Hamblen, Computerworld Bank of America runs a mobile banking application on the iPhone smartphone, but the bank does not allow its many employees to use it at work, a bank official said at the Go Mobile 2009 in San Francisco. Their biggest concern is that the bank can???t centrally manage the iPhone as easily as it can BlackBerry devices from Research in Motion, said Jamie Young, vice president of enterprise technology for Bank of America. **** L.A. Times News Reader For iPhone by Ben Boychuk, Macworld Newspaper???s mobile app looks amateurish. Totally agree, this app is not usable for someone who is standing in a bus reading on the iPhone on one hand while the other hand is holding on for his dear life. **** Capturing Video Over HDMI by Christopher Breen, Macworld **** Wild West Pinball For iPhone by Jeff Phillips, Macworld Pinball wizzards and novices will enjoy this fun, eye-catching game. **** Prediction: Apple Will Recommend Security Software by Jon Oitsik, CNET As an analyst, it is my job to follow the industry, internalize trends, and then use this information to make predictions. OK, here goes: Within the next 18 months, Apple will begin recommending that Macintosh users install Internet security software on all systems. Actually, if such a need arises, I expect Apple to build security into the operating system, and customers still do not need to install additional security software. **** Six Things I Learned From Losing My iPhone 3G by Steven Sande, The Unofficial Apple Weblog **** Quickoffice Brings Editing To iPhones, But Put It On Hold by Walter S. Mossberg, Wall Street Journal Quickoffice is an OK start, but it needs a lot of work. **** T-Mobile Provides iPhone Support Despite Not Offering iPhone by Alex Chasick, The Consumerist Supporting a phone they don't offer and awarding a service credit? Well done, T-Mobile. **** Are Mobile Web Browsers Even Necessary? by Brighthand I mean, for all that we are using mobile devices to do, browsing actually seems to be the least pleasurable task. So why do we harp about with different mobile browsers? Are we missing the mobile paradigm of use completely? **** Watching Hulu (And Much More) On Your Apple TV by Ted Landau, The Mac Observer **** iTunes: Prices Up, Revenue Down? by Andrew Orlowski, The Register **** Peggle Nights by Michael Scarpelli, Inside Mac Games A game this well-crafted with such a clear focus on provided an extended and extensible gameplay experience for the gamer is well worth purchasing. **** 7 Surprising Uses For The iPhone's Camera by Kelly Turner, Macworld These days, a 2-megapixel camera may not seem like much. But add Web access, a pocket-size Mac, and third-party apps to the mix, and presto! That humble camera is now a personal assistant and digital artist in one. Here are just a few of the ways you can extend your camera. The Tomorrow Weblog ==================================== **** Ning Opens Up More To Developers by Caroline McCarthy, CNET **** Unmasking Social-Network Users by Erica Naone, MIT Technology Review Researchers find a way to identify individuals in supposedly anonymous social-network data. MyAppleMenu Reader ==================================== **** Creative Minds: The Links Between Mental Illness And Creativity by Roger Dobson, The Independent All too often, creativity goes hand in hand with mental illness. Now we're starting to understand why. SingaporeSurf ==================================== **** AWARE's Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE): Re Homosexuality, Anal Sex, Pre-Marital Sex by Mathia Lee Frankly, the instructor???s manual was confidential for a reason ??? you had to go through the training, and understand the values. Security through obscurity? **** Thoughts From The New Media Seminar 2009 (For The Singapore Civil Service) by Ivan Chew, Rambling Librarian >From the speeches by the head civil service and the permanent secretary, and hearing first-hand the thinking behind the other agencies' new media efforts, I walked away convinced that the Singapore Civil Service is serious about using New Media for e-engagement. **** No Grant For A-Level Plays by Tara Tan, Straits Times Two plays which are A-level literature texts have been given an advisory of 'some coarse language' by the Media Development Authority. The Tote Board should go ahead and do the right thing by making an exception. **** Volunteer Tells Why Aware's EGM Turned Raucous by Pamela Oei, Straits Times Ms Lau's team's actions set the tone for the EGM, the crowd did not. This 'unbecoming behaviour', which Ms Tan described as 'disquieting and disgusting', was not 'bitchiness' as she claimed. This was passion. **** Singapore To Refine Islamic Finance Rules To Boost Industry by Shamim Adam, Bloomberg The Monetary Authority of Singapore said it plans to refine its Islamic finance regulations to boost the industry, betting demand will grow as investors seek alternative assets. **** I Guess It's Time That Malaysia Learns From Singapore by The Star I guess it's time that we throw our ego-centric that we are a bigger country, and start learning from them. Period. **** Different Talents Needed by Yang Hui Wen, Straits Times Singapore needs people with a sense of the aesthetics and not just people who get straight As in school, said minister mentor Lee Kuan Yew. **** Job Satisfaction - Inadequate Measures To Protect Workers by Tan Kin Lian, The Online Citizen There are inadequate measures to protect the living standards of the workers ??? i.e. no minimum wage and the freedom for employers to set the employment terms. The trade unions in Singapore are perceived to be cooperative and pro-employer and are not looking after the interests of the workers. **** Sportsmanship Applies To Administrators, Too by M Lukshumayeh, Today I noticed these same administrators bathe in this glorious sporting moment yet they deny all members of the truly deserving team their rightful accolade. **** Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew On Population Growth by Singapore Peak Oil So the question to ask, why does Singapore continue to pursue those very policies of economic and population expansion which will only lead to self-destruction due to the over-exploitation of the earth's resources? **** ?????????????????????????????? by ??????????????????SEO???????????? **** ????????????????????? by ?????????, ???????????? ???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? **** Stop Feeding The Fear Mongers by Defragment.Me I am not afraid to be judged if judgment day comes because I hold nothing but truth and love. On the contrary, am not so sure about the ones who incite fear and hatred. I therefore hope that one day love can open their eyes to God's unconditional and non-judgmental love. **** ??????????????????????????????20?????????????????????????????? by ???????????? ??????????????????,????????????????????????,??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????(??????SMU)??????????????????????????????,???????????????,??????????????????20?????????????????????????????? **** No Reconciliation In Sight, Says New AWARE President by Claire Huang, 938 Live The Old Guard and the recently ousted exco of the Association of Women for Action and Research (AWARE) are unlikely to reconcile, according to newly elected president Dana Lam. "It doesn't seem to me that that is something we can pursue because in spite of everything, what seems to be the case - if you listen to their press conference after the event - is that they really cannot see our point of view," she said. **** Explosion At IR Site by Teh Joo Lin & Jermyn Chow, Straits Times Several gas cylinders exploded after they fell off a lorry as it was delivering them to the Integrated Resorts (IR) construction site in Marina Bay, setting off a series of explosion and a huge fire. **** NTUC, Busienss And Arts Communities Put Up Names For NMP by S Ramesh, Channel NewsAsia **** Education Ministry Suspends AWARE's Sexuality Education Program by Au Waipang, Yawning Bread Can we stop for a moment, think intelligently and ask: What purpose does this serve? **** Can Singaore Be A New Catwalk For Global Fashion? by Miral Fahmy, Reuters The Asian nation is pitching itself as the newest destination for international and regional fashion designers to showcase their collections. **** Women's Group Coup Awakens Singapore Civil Society by Nopporn Wong-Anan, Reuters A power struggle in Singapore's top women's advocacy group has awakened the conservative city-state's civil society and created rare public debate about the taboo issues of sex and religion. From applesurf at myapplemenu.com Fri May 8 18:59:01 2009 From: applesurf at myapplemenu.com (applesurf at myapplemenu.com) Date: 8 May 2009 22:59:01 -0000 Subject: [MyAppleMenu] May 8, 2009 Message-ID: <20090508225901.20813.qmail@voot.pair.com> MyAppleMenu ==================================== **** Heavy Reading Made Light by Roy Furchgott, New York Times The iPhone app ???Classic??? puts 20 great books on your phone for 99 cents. **** Speed Up IPhoto '09 Operations On Some Macs by Rob Griffiths, Macworld A simple tip could speed up iPhoto operations for those with older hardware and/or large iPhoto libraries. **** Nine Inch Nails IPhone App Update Approved, Reports Reznor by Macworld Apple has approved the update to Nine Inch Nails' iPhone app. **** Safe Sleep And The 'White Screen Of Death' by Derik DeLong, Macworld When your MacBook wakes and all it shows is a white screen, it may not always be a failed hard drive. **** Mailplane 2.0.9 by Dan Frakes, Macworld Mailplane gives you the unique features of Gmail in a standalone e-mail client. **** App Store Submissions Now Being Reviewed For IPhone OS 3.0 Compatibility by MacRumors In an e-mail sent out to registered iPhone developers a short time ago, Apple announced that starting today, all applications submitted for App Store approval will be reviewed using iPhone OS 3.0 to ensure compatibility with the forthcoming operating system. **** Google Confirms FTC 'Discussion' Pending Over Schmidt-Apple Relationship by Tom Krazit, CNET Google confirmed that the Federal Trade Commission plans to hold discussions with the company over a possible conflict of interest due to CEO Eric Schmidt's participation on both Google and Apple's board of directors. **** Horror Game The Path Arrives For Mac by Brad Cook, The Mac Observer **** impossible2Possible: Inspirational Expeditions by Dustin Driver, Apple Nothing gets kids motivated like a grueling expedition across the frozen wastes of Antarctica. That???s what extreme-distance athletes Ray Zahab, Kevin Vallely, and Richard Weber discovered during their 2008 South Pole Quest, a perilous 680-mile, 34-day trek to the South Pole ??? on foot. Of course, the team didn???t actually bring any kids with them. They live-blogged the whole thing via MacBook Pro-equipped base camps, so kids throughout the world could join the expedition virtually. **** BBEdit 9.2 Adds Sleep State, LassoScript by MacNN New to v9.2 is a Sleep option, which remembers the exact state of the application from when it was last used. **** CopyWrite For Writers Has The Write Stuff by John Martellaro, The Mac Observer Lightweight, simple, focused, and devoid of anxiety inducing complexities that can stymie the creative writing process. **** Apple's Pricey Notebooks: Time For A Change by Stephen Wildstrom, BusinessWeek The problem for Apple is that the company???s position in notebooks seems unsustainable if it wants to maintain or grow its market share and stay a significant player in the mainstream market. **** 4 Ways To Stay In The Loop With Your iPhone by Dan Moren, Macworld Media-loving apps that connect you to news, radio, and your blog. MyAppleMenu Reader ==================================== **** Soap To Ploughshares by Ruth Rosen, Slate How to return Mother's Day to its original meaning. **** There's No Klingon Word For Hello by Arika Okrent, Slate A history of the gruff but surprisingly sophisticated invented language and the people who speak it. **** Why Darwin? by Richard C. Lewontin, New York Review Of Books It would be wrong to say that biography is the sole, or even principal, present pathway into an understanding of the history of science. Certainly since Robert Merton's founding of modern studies of the sociology of science in his 1938 work on seventeenth-century English science, the social milieu in which the problems of science arise and the institutional structure of scientific investigation have been central to our understanding of the history of scientific work. There are, however, occasions on which there are orgies of idolatrous celebrations of the lives of famous men, when the Suetonian ideal of history as biography overwhelms us. For Darwinians, 2009 is such a year. SingaporeSurf ==================================== **** Singapore's JI Leader Mas Selamat Arrested In Malaysia by Channel NewsAsia Mas Selamat Kastari, Singapore's Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) leader who escaped from Whitley Road Detention Centre on February 27 last year, has been arrested. **** I Care About Family Too by Sam's Thoughts I too value family like Madam Lim, but I believe a family is more about function than form; a family is not defined only by its make-up, but by the support, care and love. **** Taken Unawares by The Economist A bloodless coup instigated by a septuagenarian ???feminist mentor???; a death threat sent to the new president???s husband by a self-proclaimed ???jihadist sleeper???; a 3,000-person showdown. The tiny world of Singapore???s usually timid NGOs has never seen anything like it. **** Where Is The ???unique Singapore Advantage??? To Protect Our Workers? by Andrew Loh, The Online Citizen Labour chief should stand up for S'porean workers more. **** Accountability, Not Celebration, Needed In The Mas Selamat Saga by Ng E-Jay, Sgpolitics.net **** Singapore Resists Calls To Open Books by Wall Street Journal Singapore will resist pressure to open its books in the global transparency push. **** Christian Coup Foiled In Singapore Women's Club by Asia Sentinel Right-wing Christians rout a women's group's leadership, only to be re-ousted. **** MOE Not Making Changes To Core Sexuality Programme In Schools by Channel NewsAsia The Ministry of Education (MOE) said it will not be making changes to its core sexuality education programme, but warned that external providers offering programmes to supplement the core component should comply with the ministy's guidelines. **** Singapore To Rein In Its Dollar by Costas Paris and P.R. Venkat, Wall Street Journal Singapore is ready to intervene in the currency market to brake the local dollar's rise, a person familiar with the situation said Thursday, while the central bank reaffirmed there is no change in its policy for the currency. **** Some Singaporeans Express Doubts Over Mas Selamat's Capture by Zaki Amrullah, Channel NewsAsia Although many expressed relief at the capture, some urged the government to be more transparent this time round. **** Discrepancies Between Reports Mas Selamat's Capture In Malaysia And SIngapore Media by The Wayang Party Club CNA seems only to eager to whitewash Singapore???s humiliation and to replace it with sycophantic adoration from a misinformed Singaporean. **** 'Right' To Be Concerned by Theresa Tan, Straits Times Senior minister of state for education S Iswaran said parents are 'quite right' to be concerned by some parts of the Association of Women for Action and Research (Aware) sexuality education programme. **** Why Public Not Told Earlier by Straits Times The Singapore government did not inform the public earlier of the capture of wanted terrorist Mas Selamat Kastari because of the need for secrecy, said deputy prime minister Wong Kan Seng on Friday. This is not right; it may be true that revealing the arrest may jeopardise further actions, but that's the police's problem. If we allow them to keep secret this time, they can keep secret every time they haul other people into prisons in the dark. **** Get Your Values Out Of My Face by John Lui, Straits Times If there is one lesson that the Aware saga has proven yet again, it is that parents have an inflated sense of their own worth in society. Your rights to keep your child ignorant about sex ends where my tax dollars start to fund public medical programmes for STDs, juvenile delinquency schemes and prisons for people screwed up by being born to poor teenage mothers. **** Pay Won't Keep Up by Michelle Tay, Straits Times Salaries in Singapore will tend to rise by less than the inflation rate this year - so real wages will actually shrink. **** The Suspension Of Reason by The Online Citizen MOE???s flip-flopping has set back efforts to improve sex-education in Singapore. Undoubtedly the ministry wanted to avoid confronting a vocal group of rejectionists, but it could have tried harder to make a case for the CSE with the wider public rather than allow that group???s simplistic and histrionic arguments to carry the day without reply. The likely outcome of this sad episode is that it will leave more youths vulnerable to the fallout from making uninformed choices about sex. **** We Need More Anger And Passion In Singapore, Not Less by Gandhi Ambalam, Singapore Democrats If there are lessons we can learn from the Aware episode it is that passion and anger in politics is not taboo. In fact in an authoritarian system such as the one we have here we need to stand up boldly ??? and loudly ??? in order that we may not be bullied and cowed into submission. **** Sex, Suicide And Poetry by Mr Wang Says So The fact that a topic is controversial is a bad reason to avoid discussing it. It might even be said that the more controversial a topic, the greater the need to openly discuss it. We should bring the topic out into the light; analyse the facts; study the theories; and share our views. We should work towards gaining more clarity and understanding, instead of doing the ostrich thing and sticking our heads into the sand. From applesurf at myapplemenu.com Sat May 9 18:59:00 2009 From: applesurf at myapplemenu.com (applesurf at myapplemenu.com) Date: 9 May 2009 22:59:00 -0000 Subject: [MyAppleMenu] May 9, 2009 Message-ID: <20090509225900.47033.qmail@voot.pair.com> MyAppleMenu ==================================== **** MacBook Users: Turn Off This Bluetooth Default Setting Now by Brian X. Chen, Wired Last night I discovered an incredibly dumb ??? and what I consider to be dangerous ??? setting enabled by default in my unibody MacBook Pro. In the Bluetooth preferences, it???s the box checkmarked ???Allow Bluetooth devices to wake this computer.??? Sounds innocent enough, but it could???ve killed my computer. **** Apple Changes To App Store Review Policy Worry Developers by Erica Sadun, Ars Technica Apple has always stood behind its public APIs, guaranteeing that bug-free programs that ran under earlier firmware would continue to run in later releases. Developers worry, though, that solid 2.x applications may not run properly under 3.0, causing them to lose their place in App Store. **** Crash And Relaunch Doesn't Work As Expected by Ted Landau, Macworld When a program crashes (what Apple euphemistically describes as an ???unexpected quit???), that???s enough trouble all by itself. The last thing you need is an Apple dialog that misinforms you about what will happen next. But this is apparently what occurs. **** In Praise Of Directory by John C. Welch, Macworld Oft-overlooked application holds a ton of useful functionality for Mac networks. **** Pro Tools 8 - A Solid Upgrade by Jim Dalrymple, Macworld The list of new features in Pro Tools 8 is very long, but the company did a great job putting it all together. **** Twitterific 2.0 Improves User Interface, Searches by iPodNN The v2.0 release has a redesigned user interface aimed at being more customizable, with new themes and timeline layouts. The timeline now also includes filtering, enabling users to more rapidly sort through updates. **** Apple's Popular Electronic Playground by Seth Schiesel, New York Times Apple hasn???t been this relevant in video games ??? and video games have not been so relevant to Apple ??? since the early 1980s, when the Apple II was a major platform for computer games. It is about time. **** Trio Of Programs Increase Usability Of Twitter by Glenn Fleishman, Seattle Times **** Latest Mobile Phone Technology Gives Birdwatchers A Flying Start by Roger Ratcliffe, Yorkshire Post All the information you could possibly need to positively identify a bird ??? plumage, song, flight, feeding habits ??? fits easily onto the new generation of mobile phones and MP3 players. The Tomorrow Weblog ==================================== **** Kachingle To 'Sprinkle' Dollars To Online Publishers by Mats Lewan, CNET **** A Powerful Way To Edit Images Online by Kate Greene, MIT Technology Review An advanced web-based editing tool is connecting to sites across the internet. MyAppleMenu Reader ==================================== **** Seriously, What Are The Odds? by Dick Covett, New York Times I love my own coincidences and love to hear other peoples??? stories. Or let???s say I love most of mine. **** I Love You More by Susan Dominus, New York Times Writing about motherhood is a little bit like writing about sex ??? in both cases, the author confronts the challenge of finding something new to say about a subject so powerful that all but the most inspired language sounds either trite or overblown. **** Mother, Brace Yourself by Lori Gottlieb, New York Times It???s not that I???d set out to write about my mother. It???s just that it???s virtually impossible to write about your childhood without writing about your mother, and people who grow up to be writers generally have some less than flattering observations to share. So I wasn???t surprised when my mother got back to Los Angeles and had some less than flattering things to say about my book. Ever since, she???s pretended it doesn???t exist. SingaporeSurf ==================================== **** Mas Selamat Captured - All Thanks To The ISD! by Gerald Giam, The Online Citizen Personally, I think this would be a most appropriate time for the Minister to apologise for all the worry, inconvenience and trouble caused to both Singaporeans and his counterparts in Malaysia and Indonesia for ISD???s slip up. It is not the time for praising the ISD for doing their job. **** Terror-rible Experts by Groundnotes If there is one thing worse than terrorists, its terrorist experts. **** Spin On Mas Selamat's Capture... by Diary Of A Singaproean Mind Many Singaporeans are genuinely happy with his capture - but to spin this whole episode into a success story that Singaporeans should be proud of is really hard to swallow. **** Mas Selamat's Re-Arrest: Has The PAP Learnt A Lesson In Transparency And Accountability? by Eugene Yeo, The Wayang Party Club Let???s wait and see if Wong and his team will have the moral fortitude and courage to accept their fair share of responsibility in this biggest screw-up in our nation???s history. Till now, we have yet to hear an apology from any of the top honchos except a near senile octagenarian shifing the blame to us for being ???complacent???. If you want us to pay you top salaries like in the corporate sector, then you must be prepared for your head to roll when you screw up. **** Enter Citizen Awareness by Seah Chiang Nee, The Star After all the acrimony, something worthwhile has emerged, summed by the observation that Singaporeans now have a better understanding that while diversity is acceptable, a divided Singapore is not. **** Question Time For MHA by Gerald Giam **** Mas Selamat's Re-Arrest Not The End Of Singapore's Problem by Cheryl Lim, Channel NewsAsia In a statement to the media on Saturday, the Prime Minister also said information about the capture of Mas Selamat on 1 April was not made public earlier, because of a prior agreement with the Malaysian authorities. Singapore should not have made this agreement with Malaysia. **** Singapore PM Grateful For Capture Of Terrorist by The Star Singaporean prime minister Lee Hsien Loong has expressed his gratitude to Malaysia for arresting terrorist Mas Selamat Kastari, prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said. **** Government Will Plug Any Weakness In Singapore's Border Security by Cheryl Lim, Channel NewsAsia From applesurf at myapplemenu.com Sun May 10 18:59:00 2009 From: applesurf at myapplemenu.com (applesurf at myapplemenu.com) Date: 10 May 2009 22:59:00 -0000 Subject: [MyAppleMenu] May 10, 2009 Message-ID: <20090510225900.71334.qmail@voot.pair.com> MyAppleMenu ==================================== **** A Million "Illegal" iPhones In China by ChinaStakes.com **** Apple Wired Keyboard (Compact) Review by TechRadar UK **** Should Apple Enable DVD Ripping In iTunes? by Rene Ritchie, The iPhone Blog Of course, savvy consumers are already doing this with free, third party programs, and perhaps Apple is happy enough with the status quo. It???s less expensive for them that way, and doesn???t offend the same media companies Apple has deals with for iTunes rentals and downloads. The Tomorrow Weblog ==================================== **** Digital Field Guides Eliminate The Guesswork by Anne Eisenberg, New York Times MyAppleMenu Reader ==================================== **** Exploring The Universe, One B-Movie At A Time by David Hajdu, New York Times The original series was never really about the 23rd century or outer space; and to think of it only in those terms is to misunderstand the show and ignore its real legacy. **** The American Press On Suicide Watch by Frank Rich, New York Times By all means let???s mock the old mainstream media as they preen and party on in a Washington ballroom. Let???s deplore the tabloid journalism that, like the cockroach, will always be with us. But if a comprehensive array of real news is to be part of the picture as well, the time will soon arrive for us to put up or shut up. Whatever shape journalism ultimately takes in America, make no mistake that in the end we will get what we pay for. **** Do You Feel This? by Tess Callahan, New York Times During the final week of my pregnancy, one watch and then another stopped dead on my wrist. One twin lay so low in the chute I thought he might fly out when I sneezed. When I walked down Main Street, I struck fear in the hearts of loitering teenagers whose averted eyes said, Don???t have it here. A truck driver yelled from his window, ???I hope it???s today.??? I waved back. The watches didn???t concern me. Everything about me said imminence. **** Big Cheese by Rob Walker, New York Times We think of ourselves as sophisticated creatures, and the many brilliant minds of the consumer-industrial complex often think of us that way, too. But sometimes what we want seems pretty simple. Sometimes, we just want something big. SingaporeSurf ==================================== **** A Great City? Making It, Failing It by Au Waipang, Yawning Bread It should also be a city that is alive around the clock; it mustn't sleep. And that's where Singapore failed. **** Time To Give Mas Selamat Kastari A Fair Trial by Ng E-Jay, Sgpolitics.net Lost in all this mutual congratulatory ebullience is the fact the Mas Selamat Kastari has never been charged in a court of law for his alleged terrorist activities. **** Malaysia Still Undecided On Repatriation Of Mas Selamat To Singapore Contrary To ST Reports by The Wayang Party Club The state media has also erroneously perpetuate the myth that the Malaysian authorities are going to extradict Mas Selamat to Singapore soon. **** Tax-Haven Proposal Is A Wrong Move by Atulya Sarin, San Francisco Chronicle **** Singapore - Haven For Money And Fugitives by Getting At The Truth Singapore is not just a haven for money launderers and tax cheats; it is an extradition-free country for crooks from nearby countries. **** Josie Lau Removed From Her Position As Vice President And Head Of Marketing, Cards And Unsecured Loans by The Wayang Party Club According to a Sunday Times report, Josie, has been ???redesignated??? to a new role. **** Wong Kan Seng Shows Off His Geography "Knowledge": Singapore Is A Small Country With A "Long Coastline" by The Wayang Party Club **** Horse-Head by Nusantara.com I'm not sure I've ever seen anything quite as disturbing as these "Fashionista Horseshoe" things placed around Raffles Place. **** State Media Spinning Tales To Cover Up For Home Team's Negligence In Allowing Mas Selamat To Swim Across To Johor by The Wayang Party Club **** If Everyone Else Is Doing It, So Why Can't We? by Felix Daas, Jakarta Post It is a wonder how much money the hundreds of Indonesian youngsters who go to Singapore just to see music concerts spend. From applesurf at myapplemenu.com Mon May 11 18:59:01 2009 From: applesurf at myapplemenu.com (applesurf at myapplemenu.com) Date: 11 May 2009 22:59:01 -0000 Subject: [MyAppleMenu] May 11, 2009 Message-ID: <20090511225901.8835.qmail@voot.pair.com> MyAppleMenu ==================================== **** Should Apple Be Arbiter Of Taste For iPhone Apps? by Rita Chang, Advertising Age Yeah, they have an app for that. But should they? **** Demands On Network Are An iPhone Hang-Up by Martin Peers, Wall Street Journal Web applications popular with iPhone customers are bandwidth hogs. **** Citrix Demos Of A New Kind Of Virtual Machine For Mac by Arnold Kim, Mac Rumors **** SHoveBox Mobile For iPhone by John Fuller, Macworld **** Apple 17-Inch MacBook Pro Is A Head-Turner by Cameron Sturdevant, eWeekEurope.co.uk Apple???s 17-inch MacBook Pro is appropriate for high-value content producers and executives who desire a highly capable desktop replacement that turns heads when it enters the room. **** Is The Apple TV A Stealth Games Console? by Nick Spence, Macworld UK The Tomorrow Weblog ==================================== **** A Latte With Journalism On The Side by Eric Pfanner, New York Times **** New Search Tool Aims At Answering Tough Queries, But Not At Taking On Google by Miguel Helft, New York Times **** Wall Street Journal Plans Micropayments Model by Steven Musil, CNET The Wall Street Journal is expected to begin charging nonsubscribers micropayments for access to individual articles, according to a report Sunday in The Financial Times. **** Stephen Wolfram Reveals Radical New Formula For Web Search by Steven Levy, Wired The product of four years of development, Alpha is an engine for answers. Its ambition is to delve into ???all the knowledge in the world,??? Wolfram says, to find and calculate information. Though Alpha???s interface evokes Google ??? whose co-founder Sergey Brin once spent a summer interning for Wolfram ??? it???s more like the anti-Google. MyAppleMenu Reader ==================================== **** Door-Slams By MSM Journos by Dave Winer, Scripting News Today's journalists are already an anachronism, and I think they know it, and that's why there's so much anger. **** Delphiniums In A Window Box by Dean Young, The New Yorker **** Lines On The Poet's Turning Forty by Ian Frazier, The New Yorker **** Don't! by Jonah Lehrer, The New Yorker The secret of self-control. SingaporeSurf ==================================== **** More Head Or Heart? by New Paper Should it be called a 'meet-the-problem' session instead? If so, it will help clarify how the sessions can evolve to better serve the target audience. To put it another way, it will help clarify what should lead the way - the head or the heart? How about reducing the need for 'meet-the-problem' session instead? Minimum salary, single agency to actively seek out and provide those with welfare, and a more transparent and flexible civil service will go a long way. **** We Want Our Child To Grow Up Non-Discriminative by Margaret Tan, Teo Thiam Seng, Straits Times Singapore is a multicultural and multireligious society and MOE must recognise that not all religious groups and non-believers necessarily think of homosexuality as immoral or criminal. At the end of the day, what we want for our child is that he grows up non-discriminative and non-prejudicial, and is able to make critical decisions, and love and be loved in return. **** Milder Than Originally Feared: MOH by Esther Ng, Today It's official - Singapore???s H1N1 health alert has stepped down from Orange to Yellow. According to the Ministry of Health (MOH), the new strain ???seems milder than originally feared???. **** Something That May Be Making The Rounds by Siew Kum Hong **** ST Apologizes To Dr William Tan For Lying And Publicizing His Non-Existent Illness by The Wayang Party Club A virtual monopoly in the market has caused the state media to become complacent and slack, leading to fast deteriorating journalistic standards. **** The Fallacy Of "Growth At All Costs" (Part One) by Rajiv Chaudhry, The Online Citizen The equation does not hold when a country is small, has limited resources and land size, and has achieved near developed country status. To continue to seek unlimited growth under these circumstances when a tipping point has been reached will result in a slow but sure decline. **** Much That Wong Kan Seng Needs To Account For by Singapore Democrats There needs to be a full independent inquiry into the entire episode surrounding the Mas Selamat saga, an inquiry that must not take the form of the Commission of Inquiry that was appointed last year, one that no one took seriously. And Mr Wong Kan Seng must be at the centre of the probe to answer questions that are bursting to be asked. **** Archiving J B Jeyaretnam's Papers For Posterity by Au Waipang, Yawning Bread It is a sad reflection of the corruption that has crept into out country's institutions that we instinctively ask such questions. We all know that lines have been blurred between state, government and ruling party. In fact, it is part of JBJ's legacy that we have been shown this. **** Visa Requirements For Mexican Nationals Lifted From Tuesday by Lynda Hong, Channel NewsAsia **** It's Time To Move Beyond The Nature/Nurture Divide by Helene Guldberg, Spiked In advising parents to ignore hectoring experts, Judith Rich Harris???s book still packs a punch 10 years on. But its use of evolutionary theory and social psychology to explain how people are ???shaped??? leaves much to be desired. **** Young, But Not Clueless by Kym Ng, Today I do agree that parents have the right to be concerned about the content of these sex education programmes. But teenagers have the right to be educated, to make informed and sound decisions about their sexuality and their individual bodies. To anything less, just because of an adult brouhaha, would be irresponsible. It essentially would deny children the right to education, and to safety. **** How I Took On The Burmese Junta And Won by Ben Bland, Telegraph The repressive Burmese junta may have to put plans for an extensive new airport in their secretive capital Naypyidaw on hold after one of Australia's largest engineering companies pulled out of the project in rather hasty fashion because I exposed their involvement in the questionable development. Rather bizarrely, the company in question, Downer EDI, claimed that it was unaware that its wholly-owned Singapore-based consultancy arm CPG had been contracted to design the airport until I informed them of the fact last week. From applesurf at myapplemenu.com Tue May 12 18:59:00 2009 From: applesurf at myapplemenu.com (applesurf at myapplemenu.com) Date: 12 May 2009 22:59:00 -0000 Subject: [MyAppleMenu] May 12, 2009 Message-ID: <20090512225900.10558.qmail@voot.pair.com> MyAppleMenu ==================================== **** Add Enhanced Audio Track To iMovie by Christopher Breen, Macworld **** iPhone 3G Can't Take The Heat by Aayush Arya, Macworld To prevent the iPhone from being used constantly in high temperature areas, which might lead to it not working at all, Apple has put in place measures that kick in when the phone starts becoming too hot for its own good. **** Apple Rejects Bittorrent Control App From App Store Because It Might Be Used To Infringe Copyrights by Nilay Patel, Engadget **** Open Fire Gold by Ted Bade, Inside Mac Games Open Fire Gold is a fast action game, with terrific graphics, great audio, and is quite fun to play. It would make a great addition to any game player's collection. **** Apple, Dell, HP Laptop Owners Sue Nvidia Over Faulty Graphics by Gregg Keizer, Computerworld Owners of Apple, Dell and Hewlett-Packard laptops have combined their lawsuits against Nvidia in an attempt to force the graphics chip maker to replace allegedly flawed processors, according to court documents. **** Apple Harpoons An iPhone App Due To Fail Whale Sighting by MG Siegler, TechCrunch Apple has a lot of silly reasons for rejecting iPhone apps, but Twitter seems to bring out some of the best of them. **** Understanding Apple, Part One by Tim Bajarin, PC Magazine Apple has been, historically, a hardware company, but the company's real smarts are invested in its software and services. **** Apple Freezes Snow Leopard API As Software Near Final Stretch by Katie Marsal, AppleInsider Apple this past weekend distributed a new beta of Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard that altered the programming methods used to optimize code for multi-core Macs, telling developers they were the last programming-oriented changes planned ahead of the software's release. **** Apple: No Jesus On The Jesus Phone by Bill Ray, The Register Continuing their policy of random offence, Apple has rejected an application that places the user's face onto religious figures, while changing their mind on the Nine Inch Nails and allowing a test for manic depression. **** Myst iPhone Review by Levi Buchanan, IGN Myst is still a marvel of design and narrative — it remains one of my favorite adventure games, even after all of these years. Digging into the iPhone edition of the game was a treat because everything was exactly where I remembered it, even if it took some poking around to jog those memories. The game may look dated to some, but these scenes have been nicely up-scaled for the iPhone. **** To App Or Not To App: A Report Offers Guidance by Mark Walsh, Online Media Daily Asking "Is An iPhone App Right For You?" the study from Forrester Research acknowledges the popularity of the iPhone and Apple's App Store-with more than 1 billion downloads so far — while highlighting factors brands should consider before racing off to launch the next Tap Tap Revenge. **** Congratulations Michelle, It's A Mac by Ed Oswald, Technologizer Maybe us Mac users need to step back, let Microsoft make a fool of itself in its ads and never mention the platform itself, and watch as PC users still decide that the package overall is more important than the price. Apple tax be damned. **** 'Peggle' First Impressions And Gameplay Video by TouchArcade **** Times Reader 2.0 Gets With The Times by Scott McNulty, Macworld **** Toddlers Turn To iPhones, Too by Julian Guthrie, San Francisco Chronicle Dan Frakes' 3-year-old daughter likes to play in the sand, finger paint and sing along to "The Wheels on the Bus." The preschooler can do these things the good old-fashioned way. She can also do them in a decidedly new way: by using dad's iPhone. The Tomorrow Weblog ==================================== **** Adobe Beams Up New Strobe Video Framework by Caroline McCarthy, CNET MyAppleMenu Reader ==================================== **** It's Cheap — But Can You Swallow It? by Sarah Hepola, Salon In this slumped economy, fast food restaurants are beckoning with their impossibly thrifty value menus. I tried them so you don't have to. **** Self-Made by Jeffrey Skinner, Slate SingaporeSurf ==================================== **** Ban Cabbies Smoking In Taxis by Roland Ang Kok Siang, Today Singapore banned smoking in all public transport vehicles a long time ago. But, I am perturbed that taxi drivers are still allowed to smoke in their vehicles when not carrying a fare. **** With 1,200 Jobs On Offer... by 938 Live As more than 1,200 jobs were made available to Singaporeans by the labour movement???s social enterprises yesterday, its chief said it did not believe the recession would end soon - despite some experts saying the economy may have gone through its worst patch. **** LTA Should Handle Complaints If Transport Operators Can't by David Kwok, Straits Times **** Give Us Better Statistics On Employment by Jewel Philemon, The Online Citizen **** Australia Downer EDI Pulled Singapore-Based CPG Subsidiary Otu Of Myanmar Airport Project by The Wayang Party Club Few Singaporeans are aware of the political imbroglio that Myanmar is in now and even less will bother to protest against their government???s dealings with the military junta. **** Tiger Wins, Changi Loses by Liang Dingzi, Today Tiger may have a technical case against Swissport, but the High Court ruling seemed to have ignored the realities of the aviation business and may cost Changi Airport some friends. **** Eight In 10 Singaporeans Reject Government Help by Anxiety Index Self-reliance is a predictable reaction to uncertainty. What is more intriguing is the idea that this may be the start of a shift back to individualistic values. **** Taking A Right Turn by The Online Citizen **** MDA Launches New International Film Fund by Zhang Tingjun, Channel NewsAsia **** Gaps In Singapore's Response by Diana Othman, Straits Times Shortcomings were found in Singapore's responses to the heightened pandemic alert carried out over the last two weeks, said Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan on Tuesday. In particular, he said 'there is scope to improve' in the primary health care response, and the authorities will do a post-mortem on the response exercise. From applesurf at myapplemenu.com Wed May 13 18:59:00 2009 From: applesurf at myapplemenu.com (applesurf at myapplemenu.com) Date: 13 May 2009 22:59:00 -0000 Subject: [MyAppleMenu] May 13, 2009 Message-ID: <20090513225900.95279.qmail@voot.pair.com> MyAppleMenu ==================================== **** David Hockney Brings iPhone Art To Gallery by Nicole Martinelli, Cult Of Mac **** ScriptPal 1.0.2 by Dan Frakes, Macworld A solution to this menu mess can be found in Doug???s own ScriptPal, a nifty iTunes add-on that takes your iTunes scripts and puts them in an attractive, resizable window that floats above iTunes, disappearing when iTunes isn???t the frontmost program. **** Hands On: SlingPlayer For iPhone by Jason Snell, Macworld **** Safari 3.2.3 Improves Security by Peter Cohen, Macworld Apple indicates that the update is recommended for all Safari users, and includes the latest security updates. Specific changes have been made to libxml, Safari and WebKit files, according to Apple. **** Apple Unleashes 10.5.7 Update Via Software Update by Chris Foresman, Ars Technica The 10.5.7 update addresses a number of issues, including some printing issues, iCal syncing with CalDAV and MobileMe, Mail syncing with Notes, and Parental Controls. It also addresses a number of general issues, including performance of NVIDIA-based graphics, Finder searching of network volumes that don't support Spotlight, syncing contacts with Yahoo, and logging into GMail. **** Entourage Is The Big Pothole On The Road To The Mac by Cameron Sturdevant, eWeek In my ongoing quest to ???go Mac,??? e-mail has been a real sticking point. I have found Entourage unusable for day-to-day work, and so have had to come up with some ways around it. **** Madison Avenue And The App Store by Philip Elmer-DeWitt, Fortune The two reports agree about one thing: Madison Avenue has latched onto what it believes is a hot new medium. **** AT&T Issues Official Statement On SlingPlayer's 3G Blackout For iPhone by Chris Ziegler, Engadget Look, AT&T, just tell it like it is: you're saying your 3G network would fold like a cheap suit if these apps took off. **** iPhone's Database Not Worth Price Tag by Mark A. Keliner, The Washington Times I'd rather see the one of the most-touted uses of Bento for iPhone - the ability to have, manage and expand your Address Book more easily - fully synchronized. **** Request Denied. Is Apple Setting A Dangerous Precedent? by Matthew Shaer, The Christian Science Monitor The biggest danger, of course, is that Apple could cut down too heavily on new applications, thus threatening the very openness that made the applications store such a success in the first place. **** Digging Into Apple's OS X 10.5.7 Update by Rob Griffiths, Macworld Most of the changes here are below the surface, and as you???d expect with a nearly half-gigabyte update, widespread. **** Unofficial Software Incurs Apple's Wrath by Jenna Wortham, New York Times The growing popularity of jailbreaking has set up a legal battle between Apple, which says it has the right to regulate what can go on an iPhone, and the users and developers who want to customize their phones as they see fit. **** Do CEOs Matter? by Harris Collingwood, The Atlantic Steve Jobs, Apple???s ailing CEO, is scheduled to return to work this month after a six-month leave, but investors are feeling skittish. Every time he sneezes, shares of Apple catch a cold. Can a CEO???even one as talented and visionary as Jobs???really make or break a corporation? Many business scholars have grown skeptical of the idea of chief executive as superhero. Cutting-edge research reveals that while some CEOs clearly do make a big difference, many are merely the most visible cogs in complex machines. **** Review: Bento For iPhone by Steven Sande, The Unofficial Apple Weblog As a US$4.99 standalone personal database app for the iPhone, Bento stands alone as a professional and fast solution. It's even more outstanding when paired with the US$49 Mac version. **** Apple's Latest Ad Takes Aim At Microsoft's 'Laptop Hunters' Campaign by Arnold Kim, MacRumors.com Apple's latest "Get a Mac" ads seem to be taking direct aim at Microsoft's recent "Laptop Hunters" ads in which a customer is given money to pick out a laptop that suits their needs. What I like best in the latest ads by Apple is the single line: "And I'm a Megan." This, in my opinion, is the best response to Microsoft's "I'm a PC." **** How The iPod Changed Everything by Matt Hartley, The Globe And Mail Digital media, and Apple's ability to provide it to consumers, has resulted in the company becoming one of the most famous turnaround stories in the history of business. Apple has consistently pushed the envelope with products and services that allowed customers access to digital media in new ways. One can almost imagine Mr. Jobs having a sense of deja vu as he surveyed the smart phone landscape, baring striking similarities to the MP3 market in 2001. Sure there were entrenched leaders — RIM, Nokia and Microsoft with its Windows Mobile software — but Mr. Jobs believed, once again, that no one had the right ???recipe.??? **** Vectorworks 2009 by Greg Miller, Macworld CAD program gets major under-the-hood upgrade. **** Qu-s 1.2 by John Brandon, Macworld Powerful notes application keeps you organized right from the desktop. **** Apple And AT&T Playing Favorites With The App Store? by Erica Ogg, CNET There's a slight disconnect in what AT&T is saying and what it is doing: Other 3G smartphones that operate on AT&T's network can use the SlingPlayer. **** Apple Execs To Keynote WWDC, Issue Final Snow Leopard Preview by Sam Oliver, AppleInsider Apple said Wednesday that a team of its top executives lead by worldwide marketing chief Phil Schiller will kick off its annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) next month with a keynote address on Monday, June 8 at 10:00 a.m. that will showcase a final developer preview of Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard. **** Apple iMac 3.06GHz Review by PC Advisor Pay the premium for this Apple iMac 3.06GHz if you need quiet operation, unparalleled build quality and elegant styling ??? in both hardware and the robust operating system it???s designed to run. **** Steve Jobs Wins Approval To Raze His Old Mansion by Philip Elmer-DeWitt, Fortune Unless preservationists make a last-ditch effort to save it, a 14-bedroom house built by a copper millionaire during the Coolidge administration will be torn down by a computer billionaire in the age of Obama. The Tomorrow Weblog ==================================== **** Pixel Qi Promises Cheap, Readable, Low-Power Displays by Priya Ganapati, Wired Mary Lou Jepsen is a tech necromancer who battled the odds to conjure up a product that most experts said couldn???t be built: a $100 laptop (give or take a few twenties). Now she???s back, with plans for low-cost, low-power, super-readable, LCD-based screens that will go into everything from e-book readers to netbooks and computers. MyAppleMenu Reader ==================================== **** Recession Culture by Jennifer Senior, New York Magazine No money changes everything, from murder rates to museum attendance, from career choices to what you eat for dinner. And not all of it for the worse. **** What Makes Us Happy? by Joshua Wolf Shenk, The Atlantic Is there a formula???some mix of love, work, and psychological adaptation???for a good life? For 72 years, researchers at Harvard have been examining this question, following 268 men who entered college in the late 1930s through war, career, marriage and divorce, parenthood and grandparenthood, and old age. **** Where Have All The Loose Women Gone? by Stephen Marche, Esquire The days of Sex and the City's influence are long gone. From Tina Fey's fake prude to Sarah Palin's real power play, here's why strong women just aren't that into having sex with you anymore. **** Follow The Sound Of The Slurps by Frank Bruni, New York Times In the end it???s not the Malaysian flavors or Manhattan tropes ??? both present here in the extreme ??? that will dictate your response to the new Fatty Crab, an upsize Upper West Side spinoff of the scruffy, scrappy downtown favorite. It???s your sense of play, your appetite for a certain kind of giddy, sloppy abandon. It???s your eagerness to eat with your fingers and to make slurping noises as you mouth-wrestle with slippery noodles and to feel a flush in your cheeks as chilies light up your tongue. **** Forensic Astronomer Solves Fine Arts Puzzles by Jennifer Drapkin and Sarah Zielinski, Smithsonian In painter Edvard Munch's Girls on the Pier, three women lean against a railing facing a body of water in which houses are reflected. A peach-colored orb appears in the sky, but, curiously, casts no reflection in the water. Is it the Moon? The Sun? Is it imaginary? Does it matter? To Donald Olson, an astrophysicist at Texas State University, the answer to the last question is an emphatic yes. Olson solves puzzles in literature, history and art using the tools of astronomy: charts, almanacs, painstaking calculations and computer programs that map ancient skies. He is perhaps the leading practitioner of what he calls "forensic astronomy." SingaporeSurf ==================================== **** Apple, SingTel Should Alert iPhone Users To Moisture Problem by Todd Beltz, Straits Times I feel that both Apple Singapore and SingTel should alert customers who buy iPhones to how the warranty can be rendered useless by something as simple as moisture. **** Tanah Merah: A Total Surprise! by Wild Shores Of Singapore As soon as I stepped foot on the shore, I realised every inch beneath the low water mark was covered with life. **** Singapore Workers: What's In It For Us? by Diary Of A Singaporean Mind Our leaders have pegged their own salaries to those in the highest income bracket. Think about it - it is in their interest to keep this system going.....as you struggle harder every year. Any metrics that attempt to measure performance so as to set reward levels — whether it is number of flyers distributed, or number of programming bugs solved, or the GDP — will be abused and misused. I propose Lee Hsien Loong to remove the pegging to minister and perm sect's salaries to the GDP. In replacement, the prime minister should go to Parliament every year to propose and justify for the salaries of his direct subordinates. The prime minister should be responsible and accountable to the salaries directly, and delegate this to some formula that doesn't work. **** Singapore Workers Showing Up At Work Despite Being Sick by Today Some 52 per cent of the local respondents fear that too many sick days could go against them, while 50 per cent did not want to be perceived by superiors and peers as not working, the highest rates among those surveyed. **** Mas Selamat Used Buoy Lights As Guide As He Swam Across Strait by Mohd Haikal Isa, Bernama A source refuted reports that the capture of Mas Selamat in Johor was the result of a joint operation between the Malaysian police and the neighbouring country's police. "Although we did exchange intelligence, the operation to trace and capture Mas Selamat was carried out fully by the Malaysian police." **** Cash Lifeline At Risk As Burmese Lose Foreign Jobs by Amy Kazmin, Financial Times Chafing under military rule, Burma may appear cut off from the global economic turmoil. Yet millions of Burmese families are dependent on remittances from relatives working overseas. **** ???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? by ?????? ???????????????????????? ??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? ??????????????????????????????????????????????????? **** ????????????????????? by ?????????, ??????????????? ??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? **** Ships Tread Water, Waiting For Cargo by Keith Bradsher, New York Times To go out in a small boat along Singapore???s coast now is to feel like a mouse tiptoeing through an endless herd of slumbering elephants. One of the largest fleets of ships ever gathered idles here just outside one of the world???s busiest ports, marooned by the receding tide of global trade. There may be tentative signs of economic recovery in spots around the globe, but few here. **** ST's Selective Censorship Of Bernama's Report Debunking Wong Kan Seng's Claims That ISD Provided The Crucial "Lead" by The Wayang Party Club **** Singapore Among Top 3 Most Attractive Places For "Mobile Wealthy" People by May Wong, Channel NewsAsia Singapore ranks among the top three places in the world in terms of being an attractive financial centre for "mobile wealthy" individuals, including doctors, lawyers and entrepreneurs. **** MP Had No Empathy by Lawrence Koh Kiah Muan, Today In February 2001, my older son died in a naval accident whilst serving National Service. In that year, my younger son was due for enlistment. A friend, a very active grassroots member, suggested that I approach my MP, for help in exploring the possibility of getting an exemption for my younger son. When I entered the room, his first remark was ???Yes, what can I do for you????. There was no attempt at offering a word of sympathy or condolence. I then related my situation and said that both my wife and I were very traumatised. His next remark ???What traumatic, after two months, you won???t be traumatic????. The PAP has created so-called leaders that can count money and create formula to justify the money, but cannot talk, cannot relate, and cannot lead. From applesurf at myapplemenu.com Thu May 14 18:59:00 2009 From: applesurf at myapplemenu.com (applesurf at myapplemenu.com) Date: 14 May 2009 22:59:00 -0000 Subject: [MyAppleMenu] May 14, 2009 Message-ID: <20090514225900.67598.qmail@voot.pair.com> MyAppleMenu ==================================== **** Is The iPhone A Phone, A Computer? Or Both? by Ed Sutherland, Salon In explaining why SlingPlayer for the iPhone won???t include 3G support, AT&T broke new ground, equating the Apple device with PCs. Personally, I use the iPhone much much much more as an internet communicator and iPod than a phone. **** Memory Stick For iPhone by Lex Friedman, Macworld Because of Apple-imposed limitations, the iPhone can???t currently function as a true thumb drive. Memory Stick approximates something pretty similar, assuming you have wireless networks available to your device at each computer you want to move files between. The Web interface is saddled with issues, but with WebDAV allowing you to mount the iPhone right on your desktop, you don???t really need the Web at all. Once Memory Stick is more liberal in recognizing text files (and allows editing of them) and curbs that weird invisible file issue, it will become a more worthwhile tool. **** Drivetrain Rejection Highlights App Store Approval Flaws by Dan Moren, Macworld While previous experiences suggest that the application has a good chance of making it through the second time around, in some ways that???s just as worrying, since it displays the very lack of consistent rule application that makes the approval process such a nightmare for developers to navigate. **** Apple Now Selling iPhones Online In Bid To Clear Inventory by AppleInsider In the latest sign that iPhone season is rapidly approaching and inventories of existing models need a push out the door, Apple is now offering to sell customers an iPhone 3G through its website and ship it out for free. **** Wiki Tap For iPhone by Zach Okkema, Macworld The App Store is loaded with Wikipedia apps that let you search for and read articles from the online user-produced encyclopedia. One such client, the free Wiki Tap, not only lets you access Wikipedia articles but offers a host of other cool features as well. **** Smart Scroll 3.0 Broadens Software Support by MacNN **** Researcher: Microsoft Puts Mac Users At Risk With Patch Policy by Gregg Keizer, Computerworld A security researcher has called foul on Microsoft for doing exactly what it has thrashed hackers over for years: revealing information that can be used to hijack computers before a patch is available. **** 10.5.7 Breaks Hackintoshes by Jason D. O'Grady, ZDNet **** Apple Hires Former OLPC Security Architect by Erica Ogg, CNET **** Report: Apple Made Just $20-45 Million From App Store by Andrew Nusca, ZDNet **** 33 iPhone Games For Real Gamers by Charlie Barratt, GamesRadar No-name apps with good user ratings are tempting, but usually disappoint once you realize the developers are amateurs and the scores were given by a casual audience. Marquee titles aren???t much better, selling you a recognizable name without any recognizable gameplay. Some high-profile publishers, however, treat iPhone customers with respect. Some recreate your console and PC favorites with care. The trick is knowing which games to trust, and which to click away from as quickly as possible. **** Maximizing Your Mac Mini by Dan Frakes, Macworld Upgrading your mini is easy enough, but does it produce performance dividends? The Tomorrow Weblog ==================================== **** Experimental Touchscreen Has Physical Buttons That Can Pop Up, Disappear by Priya Ganapati, Wired MyAppleMenu Reader ==================================== **** The Luxury City Vs. The Middle Class by Joel Kotkin, The American The rise of neighborhoods like Ditmas Park suggests that cities can still nurture and accommodate a middle class. Yet sadly this trend continues to fight an uphill battle against a host of forces from high taxes and regulation to poor schools, highly bifurcated labor markets, and the scourge of crime. **** 'Cosby' Shows How Times Have Changed by Brian Lowry, Variety "You're kidding, right?" **** Call Me Ishmael. The End. by Barry Yourgrau, Salon Cellphone novels, the rage in Japan, now have competition in America: Twitter fiction. SingaporeSurf ==================================== **** Parliament Now Faces "Gay Test" by Au Yaipang, Yawning Bread It will be interesting to watch whether our legislature will flunk the two tests they now face: whether to reappoint Siew Kum Hong, and whether to appoint neither, one or both the new gay applicants. **** It Ain't Easy Being Singaporean by Groundnotes Pragmatism is a wonderful device. It allows you to do anything you want, however you want, and then blame it on reality. It???s an excuse for abandoning higher morals and ethics without looking like a dick. **** Online Petition Calls For STTA President's Removal Over Coach Saga by Patwant Singh, Channel NewsAsia An online petition has surfaced, calling for the removal of Lee Bee Wah as president of the Singapore Table Tennis Association (STTA). This comes amid public debate over the association's latest decision not to nominate former table tennis coach Liu Guodong for the Coach of the Year award. **** Abortions In Singapore Must Be Reduced by Gerald Giam I think there are a whole lot of interventions that can be undertaken. I'm pro-choice; not that I believe abortions are good things, but that banning abortions or making it extremely difficult is an even horrible thing. But, I do believe what Gerald Giam proposed — better support for single mothers, poor families and adoption process — are really the healthy, positive ways in reducing abortions. **** Wong Gets Worse by Singapore Democrats Letting our guard down? You mean like how we neglected to lock the window which the prisoner conveniently crawled through? You mean like how we strategically placed rolls of toilet paper inside the toilet with no toilet bowl so that escapee could use for a soft landing after he jumped from the window? You mean like how the security cameras were not working all at the same time? How dare he? **** D-Day Approaching But No Sign Of Past-Year Exam Papers by Goh Kian Huat, Straits Times As exams remain an important tool to assess students' academic performance, MOE should ensure that past exam questions are available early so students can practise. Are second-hand earlier ten-year series selling like hotcakes on eBay, I wonder. **** Time To Tweak NMP Nomination Process by Loh Chee Kong, Today Is the process by which the candidates are selected - namely the calling of nominations from six ???functional groups??? - outdated? **** Three NMP Hopefuls Come Under Fire by Leong Wee Keat, Today NMP hopefuls Loretta Chen and Beatrice Chia-Richmond ??? along with incumbent Siew Kum Hong, who is seeking a second term ??? have been accused of being "homosexuality activists" by some netizens. **** Advocacy Groups Vs Party Politics In Singapore by Alicia Wong, Today The line between religion and civil society has been clearly drawn, if the saga of the Association of Women for Action and Research (AWARE) is anything to go by. Should the same be done between advocacy groups and political parties? **** STTA Hon Sec Should Be Removed As Well For His Lame Defence Of Lee Bee Wah by Eugene Yeo, The Wayang Party Club **** A Response To MOE's Statement On Sexuality Education by Sam's Thoughts Might I suggest MOE adopt a more polycentric approach to sexuality education and let parents and their children choose which sexuality education programme they would like to attend? **** HOME Team And SAF, Go Reflect On Yourselves by Everyday's Life In A Snapshot - For Lesser Mortals Only Not only were the ISD inept, the rest of the HOME team and the SAF were equally inept in letting him run around this huge island for 4 days before letting him swim across. **** Maids In Trouble Find Sanctuary In Singapore Shelters by Kai Portmann, DPA 'The Singapore government has demonstrated concern about abuse of migrant domestic workers and responded with reform,' a report by Human Rights Watch said. However, 'Singapore excludes domestic workers from the Employment Act, which protects labour rights,' it added. **** Former National Table Tennis Coach Back In Singapore To Seek Clarification by 938 Live **** Supporters Of Siew Kum Hong Fight Back Against Astroturfers At REACH Portal by The Wayang Party Club **** Government Stand On Homosexuality Clear by Straits Times The government's position on homosexuality is clear and it will not be pressured into changing it, said deputy prime minister Wong Kan Seng on Thursday. **** SIA Q4 Profit Plunges 92% by Karamjit Kaur, Straits Times **** Government Will Step In If... by Straits Times As Singapore opens up more space for the people to express alternative views, more tussles over differing viewpoints will become common. But the government will not condone unbridled activism. **** Don't Mix Religion, Politics by Straits Times While acknowledging that tussles are inevitable, deputy prime minister Wong Kan Seng also warned that the government would intervene if activism threatens Singapore's social fabric. From applesurf at myapplemenu.com Fri May 15 18:59:01 2009 From: applesurf at myapplemenu.com (applesurf at myapplemenu.com) Date: 15 May 2009 22:59:01 -0000 Subject: [MyAppleMenu] May 15, 2009 Message-ID: <20090515225901.67582.qmail@voot.pair.com> MyAppleMenu ==================================== **** How Apple Profits From The App Store by Philip Elmer-DeWitt, Fortune Steve Jobs said when he opened the App Store that it was designed to merely break even ??? and he probably meant it. The apps, which can increase the utility of a mobile device exponentially, are there to bring in users. The profit for Apple ??? as usual ??? is in the high-margin hardware. **** MacSpeech Dictate Gets 20% More Accurate With Paid Upgrade by Nate Anderson, Ars Technica MacSpeech Dictate has received a new vocabulary editor, new voice profiles, better accuracy???and a $54.95 upgrade price. Still, with Dictate being the only game in town, it could be worth the price tag. **** Imeem: Store Music In The Cloud, Access It On The iPhone by Eliot Van Buskirk, Wired The iPhone can???t compare to the iPod when it comes to storing all your music, but imeem???s new streaming music app could change that by turning the smartphone into a quasi-iPod. How? By letting paid users store 80 GB of music on its servers. **** Is Apple Barking Up The Wrong Tree With Grand Central? by Neil McAllister, InfoWorld Despite years of research into grid processing and HPC (high-performance computing), efficient parallelization remains a tough nut to crack. The systems that do it well are mainly purpose-built environments that are poorly suited to the needs of your average PC user. So why not just have those systems do what they do best and leave our PCs to handle user experience and interactivity? In other words, why are we trying to re-create Google-style parallelism on our desktops when we could just have Google handle the heavy lifting for us? **** Restoring Mac OS 9 Desktop Click Behavior by Adam C. Engst, TidBITS Although I understand and usually appreciate the way Mac OS X interleaves windows from different applications, the one application where that behavior bugs me is the Finder. Specifically, I want to be able to click on any visible part of the Desktop and have all Finder windows appear. **** Apple, AT&T Named In Music Recognition Lawsuit by Electronista Apple and AT&T are two of several companies being targeted in a new patent infringement lawsuit, court documents show. The case was initiated by Tune Hunter, a company which owns a patent titled Music identification system, granted in September of 2005. Are we at the point where the only software that won't get sued are some form-filling Visual-Basic application? **** Mariner Releases Paperless File-Management App by MacNN **** Mophie Juice Pack Air Packs More Power For Your iPhone by Jim Rossman, The Dallas Morning News If you're looking for an external battery that works as advertised and doesn't look awful, especially during use, go to the Apple store and look at the Juice Pack Air. **** 10.5.7 Increases Hackintosh Battery Life by Jason D. O'Grady, ZDnet **** Twin 1.0 Backup App Debuts by Peter Cohen, Macworld Twin helps you back up and archive files to a variety of Internet based servers - FTP, FTP and SFTP, WebDAV, Amazon S3 and MobileMe. It also lets you backup files to external drives. **** Cleopatra Adventure Game Released For Mac by Peter Cohen, Macworld The Tomorrow Weblog ==================================== **** A Blueprint To Stop Browser Attacks by Erica Naone, MIT Technology Review MyAppleMenu Reader ==================================== **** Incarnations Of Burned Children by David Foster Wallace, Esquire **** Screw U. by Amanda Hess, Washington City Paper How can a university that can barely even acknowledge sex enforce a sex policy? By policing everything but. **** True Grits by Bryant Terry, The Root Why soul food is actually good for you. SingaporeSurf ==================================== **** Table Tennis Saga Continues With Coach Liu Getting More Support by Patwant Singh, Channel NewsAsia Singapore's chef-de-mission for the 2008 Olympic is the latest to join the table tennis coach saga. **** 'It Bothers Me To Be Singled Out For Organised Campaign' by Liew Hanqing, New Paper In his own words, nominated member of parliament (NMP) Siew Kum Hong describes himself as an 'advocate of active citizenry'. Ironically, the corporate lawyer now finds himself at the receiving end of online attacks by 'active citizens' who are vociferously opposing his re-nomination as an NMP. **** Media Coverage 'Not Suffient Balanced' At Times by Zul Othman, Today Mr Wong Kan Seng said the Ministry of Information, Communication and the Arts had analysed the objectivity of the coverage of the Aware episode and ???found it wanting in some respects???. Mica has given its feedback to the relevant editors. The solution to a more balanced coverage is to have more publishers, more reporters. All reporters and all publishers are going to be biased in one way or other, and there is no way one can demand 'balance' out of a single source. **** Sand Export Ban Will Not Adversely Affect Singapore by Today Singapore does not expect Cambodia???s fresh ban on the export of sand to have a major impact on existing projects in the Republic. But it is undeniable that all of our construction businesses — en-bloc, IRs — is having far reaching environmental impact. **** Questions Over His Role As Aware 'Adviser' by Loh Chee Kong, Today After being accused on the Internet of pushing the gay agenda, Nominated Member of Parliament (NMP) Siew Kum Hong now finds himself defending his professional conduct following his active role in the recent Association of Women for Action and Research (Aware) saga. **** Beatrice Chia: Dangerous? I'm Flattered by Neo Chai Chin, Today She says she is flattered to be considered ???more dangerous than Siew Kum Hong???, after submitting her application for the post of a Nominated Member of Parliament (NMP). And theatre practitioner Beatrice Chia-Richmond has ???absolutely no issue with netizens voicing their opinions, approvals or disapprovals???, even after reading the scorching comments on the Government???s Reach website last night. **** No Apology Owed? STTA And President Answerable To Public by Patrick Fairley Scully, Straits Times If the Singapore Table Tennis Association (STTA) is accountable to no one, it should reject the grants ($2.7 million in 2007 and $3.4 million last year) it receives annually from the Singapore Sports Council, other government agencies and government-linked companies. **** SingTel: Apple Sets Terms For Replacing iPhones by Cheam Tze Hui, SingTel, Straits Times Apple's one-year 'limited warranty' does not cover repair for phones damaged by liquid. We also inform our customers about this by giving them a copy of the advisory available at support.apple.com/kb/HT3302 when they pick up their iPhone from our stores. **** DPM's Comments Welcomed by Zakir Hussain, Straits Times Religious leaders have welcomed comments by deputy prime minister Wong Kan Seng on the role of religious groups in the public sphere, and on the issue of homosexuality. **** Comments By DPM And Minister For Minister For Home Affairs Wong Kan Seng In Response To Media Queries Related To AWARE by Ministry Of Home Affairs, Singapore Government The government was not going to be pressured into changing its position on homosexuality before the takeover of AWARE. Nor does the government intend to change its position now that the old guard has recaptured AWARE. **** Wong Kan Seng Sends A Stark Warning To Religious Fundamentalists: Don't Mix Religion With Politics by Eugene Yeo, The Wayang Party Club However, it does not appear that the perpetuators have learnt a lesson from their failure to steeplejack Aware. **** Singapore's Uncoordinated Initiatives For Entrepreneurs by James Chan, Master Of The Obvious As confusing as some of these schemes and roles of these entities may be, one thing is clear - there are too many cooks that are spoiling the broth! It takes more than a PhD degree to wade through the swaths of government incentives and schemes, each with its unique objectives that were probably designed to fulfil the nation???s overall KPIs (for growing our R&D). Along the way, KPIs get innocently or intentionally misinterpreted, new schemes get designed and created by a whole host of civil sector officers of varying seniority, passion and zest who come and go. as often as Cassanova and his women. The end result is a Singapore that has spent S$7.3 billion on R&D in 2006, and another S$9.14 billion in 2007, owns the bragging rights to a gross domestic expenditure on R&D (GERD) of 2.61% (vs USA???s GERD of 2.68%), but yet has absolutely nothing to show for its past 10 years of work, except for a confusing potpourri of government incentives and schemes. **** Temasek May Sell More Bonds As It Eyes Asia, Russia by Netty Ismail, Bloomberg Temasek Holdings Pte, Singapore???s state-owned investment firm, may sell more bonds with different maturities as it seeks to increase its investments in Asia and other emerging markets, chief executive officer Ho Ching said. **** Singapore's Temasek Sells Stake In Bank Of America by Chen Shiyin, Bloomberg A Form 13F filing to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission indicates that Temasek no longer held shares in Bank of America or Merrill Lynch as of March 31. Bank of America rose 2.7 percent to $11.31 in New York trading yesterday. The shares have tumbled 69 percent in the past year, outpacing the 36 percent decline in the Standard & Poor???s 500 Index. **** The Meainglessness Of Asian Values by Mr Wang Says So Most of the time, when someone is using that term, he's actually pushing his own secret agenda. **** Recession-Hit Singapore Pours Billions Into Banking District by Bernice Han, AFP Singapore is pouring billions of dollars into a new financial district in a bid to create an Asian version of Wall Street with a dash of Las Vegas thrown in — despite its worst ever recession. **** Myanmar Democracy Activist Held In Prison by Associated Press The Singapore government said it "is dismayed" by the charges against Suu Kyi, one of the few criticisms to come from Myanmar's neighbors in Southeast Asia, who abide by a much-criticized policy of not interfering in each others affairs. **** Singapore Retail Sales Fall A Sixth Month As Job Losses Climb by Shamim Adam, Bloomberg Singapore???s retail sales fell for a sixth month in March, extending the longest period of declines since 2002, as the nation???s worst recession and the loss of thousands of jobs depressed spending. **** US Tax Rule Changes And Implications For Singapore: The Prisoner's Dilemma by Kenneth Jeyaretnam, The Online Citizen These new moves by the US only serve to reinforce the points I have made previously. Namely, that Singapore needs to develop alternative sources of growth. It may no longer be able to rely to the same extent on foreign investment by MNCs if one of the primary motivators, a low corporate tax rate, is negated. **** Giving Up On NextBus by Sounds From The Dungeon **** Exposure To Virus 'a Bad Idea' by Straits Times Health ministry's director of medical services K Satku dismissed theories that people should catch influenza A (H1N1) now while it is a relatively mild disease to build immunity if it returns in a more virulent form. **** Temasek May Lost $4.26 Billion Dollars From Sale Of Stake In Bank Of America by The Wayang Party **** Temasek Is Not Buying The 'Green Shoots' Story by Gwen Robinson, Financial Times Singapore???s acquisitive Temasek is up to its old tricks again, buying high and selling low, as it emerged on Friday that the state-backed investment agency sold its 3 per cent stake in Bank of America in the first quarter of this year, suffering an estimated $3bn loss in the process. **** Opposition And Civil Society Must Come Together For Sake Of Democracy by Chee Siok Chin, Singapore Democrats From applesurf at myapplemenu.com Sat May 16 18:59:01 2009 From: applesurf at myapplemenu.com (applesurf at myapplemenu.com) Date: 16 May 2009 22:59:01 -0000 Subject: [MyAppleMenu] May 16, 2009 Message-ID: <20090516225901.73451.qmail@voot.pair.com> MyAppleMenu ==================================== **** Apple Execs Disclose Options For Boosting iPhone Market Share by Katie Marsal, AppleInsider Apple executives said this week they believe the iPhone remains in its infancy and went on to -- somewhat uncharacteristically -- reveal a series of strategic measures they may employ in the near term to help grow the handset's share of the booming smartphone market. **** iPhone 3.0 Betaphiles Upset The Apple Cart by Tom Yager, InfoWorld Carefree users who must be first to run the latest, beta-est, not-so-firmware spell trouble for mobile app marketplaces. MyAppleMenu Reader ==================================== **** Stop This Train! by Tom Vanderbilt, Slate Are trains slower now than they were in the 1920s? **** The Internet Saved My Tongue by Ezra Levant, Reason How I beat Canada's 'human rights' censors. **** Some Thoughts On The Lost Art Of Reading Aloud by Verlyn Klinkenborg, New York Times Our idea of reading is incomplete, impoverished, unless we are also taking the time to read aloud. **** Digging For Darwin by Peter Dizikes, New York Times How many other first editions of ???On the Origin of Species??? are still tucked away in bookcases, boxes or attics? Could anyone else stumble across Darwin???s master piece by accident? SingaporeSurf ==================================== **** New Taxi-Operator? by Christopher Tan, Straits Times Despite clear signs that the taxi industry is overcrowded - operators posting thinner profits, outright losses, and hundreds of taxis laid up idle - there is a new applicant for a taxi-operating licence. **** No Whale Sharks At IR by Grace Chua, Straits Times Resorts World at Sentosa (RWS) is scrapping its plan to exhibit whale sharks at its upcoming Marine Life Park. It is not clear whether earlier plans to have 700,000 marine creatures, including tiger sharks, piranhas and dolphins, are still in place. **** Aware Has Never Had A 'Gay Agenda' by Dana Lam, Aware, Straits Times We would like to point out that homosexuality has never been 'a major issue' for the Association of Women for Action and Research (Aware). Our stand, throughout the 24 years of our existence, has been identical to that of the government. We agree that the heterosexual family is the norm for our society. But homosexuals are also part of our society and they should be able to live freely and happily, free of any discrimination. It must be made clear: Aware has never promoted homosexuality. **** Online Postings Immature And Inflammatory by Lester Lam, Straits Times The comments are emotionally charged and will inflame the public. They consist of words that seek to polarise society and mobilise the masses to support them. This reminded me of the racial riots in the 1960s, when the masses were mobilised based on emotional rumours. Why does the Reach portal allow such inflammatory postings to remain? I dread to think of the consequences should people be led to believe the charges by these so-called 'pro-Singapore, pro-family' posters. **** Give Credit Where Credit Is Due, STTA by Khoo Lih-Han, Straits Times I do not wish to hear comments from other countries that Singapore discards its coaches once its target is attained. This is wrong and does not reflect the overall sentiments of Singaporeans. **** SingTel Explains Why Opting Out Isn't Automatic by Cheam Tze Hui, SingTel, Straits Times We have contacted Mr Ang to explain the opt-out system for SingNet's promotional services and apologised for the inconvenience caused. We have resolved the matter with him. But no where in this reply was there even an ounce of explanation. **** The Chairwoman by Singapore Life And Times Singaporeans should be shameful for the way it treats its 'foreign talent' in sports. **** Temasek And Bank Of America - Are We Missing Something? by Gabriel Sim, Singapore Enquirer **** Lee Bee Wah 'Pang Sai Boh Cher Jamban' And Poor STTA Has To 'Qik Kar Chng' For Her by Jeremy Koh, The Wayang Party Club Why should STTA be taking the rap for Lee Bee Wah? She is not a child anymore and she was the one who uttered those offensive words to the press in the first place. **** "No Regrets" For $6.8bn Loss? by Gerald Giam The Minister of Finance must answer to Parliament and to the people for this staggering loss of Singapore???s reserves. The government needs to be reminded that the reserves belong not to them, but to the people of Singapore, and more importantly, our children and future generations. **** Hush Hush Here, Hush Hush There by Yaw Shin Leong **** Johor-Singapore Ferry Service Offers New Routes by Bernama **** Temasek's Long CHina Play Gets Short U.S. by Chris Kaufman, Reuters After all, as the axiom goes, no risk, no gain. **** Dump Wonderland by Leong Siok Hui, The Star A fun tide pool walk in Singapore reveals a dynamic and rich marine ecosystem, and would you believe it???s in a landfill! **** Yes, Malaysia Boleh by Seah Chiang Nee, The Star As the two countries get older, their populations are gradually leaving behind the bitterness of their separation in 1965. Connected by regionalism and the Internet, their younger, better-educated generations now share more common values than those that divide them. **** Singapore Keeps Faith In Self-Regulating Oil Market by Ramthan Hussain, Reuters As regulators in the world's top oil trading hubs move to tighten rules and boost transparency in opaque markets, Singapore may gain importance and liquidity as it stands by its pledge to let industry regulate itself. **** Hong Lim Park Turns Pink by Nur Dianah Suhaimi, Straits Times The greens at Hong Lim Park were awashed in pink on Saturday when about a thousand people turned up to participate in Singapore's first ever outdoor gay protest. **** Calls For Unbiased Probe Into Student's 'Suicide' by Jakarta Globe **** Pinkdot - 16 May by okinedbeniko **** Transparenc And Temasek: Diversification, Investments And A Vote For Jim Rogers by Peijing Teh, Inquivision I do question Temasek's investment strategy and tactics, and wonder if there might be some mechanism to allow for greater checks and balances. **** Lee Bee Wah Sweeps Again... by Edwin's Blog As a MP, civil servant, public figure, government official, she should at least think twice before making any comments or remarks. From applesurf at myapplemenu.com Sun May 17 18:59:00 2009 From: applesurf at myapplemenu.com (applesurf at myapplemenu.com) Date: 17 May 2009 22:59:00 -0000 Subject: [MyAppleMenu] May 17, 2009 Message-ID: <20090517225900.37461.qmail@voot.pair.com> MyAppleMenu ==================================== **** iPhone Music Goes Viral At Volt Festival Sweden June 6 by Lonnie Lazar, Cult Of Mac **** Caution Urged After iPod Nano Sparks by Kyodo News The government has reported another case of an iPod Nano overheating and urged people who use the portable music players to be cautious. **** The Music Store Apple Forgot About by Jason Kincaid, TechCrunch Aside from releasing more artist lessons, Apple would do well to release a tool that let independent artists and teachers build lessons on the GarageBand platform. **** Apple To Great Recession: 'What, Me Worry?' by Dan Turner, Computerworld That's good design. And good design sells, even in a recession. **** iPhone's Success: First As A Browser, Then Apps by Joel West, Seeking Alpha MyAppleMenu Reader ==================================== **** Touched By Evil by Joseph O'Neill, The Atlantic The real spiritual drama in Flannery O???Connor???s fiction was even darker than the one she acknowledged. **** Can I Has Money? by Gene Weingarten, Washington Post I am the author of 56 books. Unfortunately, I've only been paid for three of them. **** Steal This Book (For $9.99) by Motoko Rich, New York Times It was a chilling sentiment for authors and publishers, who have grown used to an average cover price of $26 for a new hardcover. Now, in the evolving Kindle world, $9.99 is becoming the familiar price. But is that justified just because paper has been removed from the equation? **** Roman France by Elanie Sciolino, New York Times Over the years, I have discovered traces of Roman civilization throughout the country, from Arras in the north to Dijon in the center and Fr??jus in the south. My hunt for Roman Gaul has turned up treasures in the oddest places, including the middle of wheat fields, the foundations of churches and the basements of dusty provincial museums. SingaporeSurf ==================================== **** Wong's Last Word by Groundnotes Isn???t the Nominated Member of Parliament (NMP) scheme an institutionalized process of procedural lobbying? Furthermore, Thio Su Mien and her lot have shown that lobbying has worked. Wong may be strong in his anti-lobbying rhetoric but the reality shows that not only does it take place but, more encouragingly, it also produces results! **** Gay Community Assembles At Hong Lim Park by Singapore Democrats **** More Than A Thousand Turn Up To Support Pink Dot by The Online Citizen **** MPs Must Always Care by Straits Times Members of Parliament, like doctors, must not only try to cure - but must always care, prime minister Lee Hsien Loong exhorted them on Saturday night. **** Bill Shock by Tham Yuen-C, Straits Times Today's smartphones can make you feel dumb if you are not that tech-savvy. Your next bill from the telco can spring a surprise. **** In A Culture Of Secrecy, No Courage Is Required by Ravi Philemon, The Online Citizen You need no courage to cut the losses when the funds invested were not yours in the first place. **** Government Takes Long-Term View by Mavis TOh, Straits Times The government takes an overall and long-term view when it comes to investments such as those made by state-owned investment vehicle Temasek Holdings, said Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam on Saturday night. 'We track, engage and evaluate the performance. But we don't just look at six months or one year,' he said. And over the last five years, Temasek has not underperformed but has instead 'come out significantly ahead' of other major investors. If the performance of Temasek in the next 5 years is horrible, will we then be able to claim back all the bonuses paid out these past few years? **** Tripartite Partners Issue Updated Guidelines On Managing Excess Manpower by Pearl Forss, Channel NewsAsia **** Singaporeans Enticed To Get Married Via Facebook Race by Reuters Singapore rewarded 10 young dating couples on Saturday for being the most popular "Beautifully Imperfect" pairs online, the latest bid by the city-state to get its citizens married at a younger age. But the government-sponsored campaign made a last-minute change to the prizes, awarding a S$400 ($270) cash voucher for each winning unmarried couple instead of a stay at a beach resort suite -- a gesture to avoid accusations it was promoting pre-marital sex. **** ????????????????????? by ?????????, ????????? ??????????????????????????????????????????,????????????????????????,??????????????????????????????,??????????????????????????????????????????????????? **** Singaporeans Don Pink To Support Gay Rights by AFP At least 500 Singaporeans wearing pink clothing gathered Saturday to show their support for gay rights on the eve of the International Day Against Homophobia. **** The Best Guide For Gitmo? Look To Singapore. by William J. Dobson, Washington Post Singapore's strict law-and-order government, which famously enforced a ban on chewing gum, may seem an unlikely candidate for believing terrorists could be reformed. But Singapore -- often referred to as "the little red dot" in Southeast Asia's Islamic sea -- is in a precarious position, and its government felt compelled to take action that would not only disrupt the terrorist group's operations, but also counter its ideological appeal. "We are what we are out of necessity," says Singapore's Foreign Minister George Yeo. "[Islamic extremism] is a long-term problem, and it's not going to go away in our lifetime. The only way you can combat it is to have an immune system." **** PRC Netizens Lambast Singapore For Being Anti-Chinese Over Lee Bee Wah's Latest Faux Paus by The Wayang Party Club **** Keep Kum Hong by Choo Zheng Xi, The Online Citizen If the government were to deny Mr Siew a second term, it would be Parliament and the country???s loss. There are few people in Parliament who need their position less than the position needs them. Mr Siew is such a person. **** Operation Spectrum - 22 Years Later by The Online Citizen **** Table Tennis Coach Liu Expresses Anger With STTA by Low Lin Fhoong, Today Both parties met for a second discussion on Saturday night, but this time, Liu emerged from it flustered and angry. **** The Public Deserves A Better Explanation For The Merrill Lynch Fiasco by The Kway Teow Man Let's appeal to common sense here: any company and/or institution that chalks up a multi-billion-dollar loss over one deal within the short span of one year jolly well explain what happened. **** Licensing Officer Finally Admits Permits Won't Be Given For Political Events by Singapore Democrats It is spurious to charge citizens for not having a permit to conduct a protest when no such permit will be granted. This is basic common sense. More than common sense, however, the law is very clear on such a matter. A policy to ban all outdoor political events is ultra vires (in excess of) the Constitution and should be void. From applesurf at myapplemenu.com Mon May 18 18:59:00 2009 From: applesurf at myapplemenu.com (applesurf at myapplemenu.com) Date: 18 May 2009 22:59:00 -0000 Subject: [MyAppleMenu] May 18, 2009 Message-ID: <20090518225900.83306.qmail@voot.pair.com> MyAppleMenu ==================================== **** Thanks To Hundreds Of Sometimes Free Programs, Your Mobile Phones Just Got A Whole Lot Handier by Stacy Downs, The Kansas City Star Thanks to mobile phone applications, you can lighten the load around your tool-belt toting hips. That???s because now there???s an application ??? or app as it???s commonly called ??? for a multitude of household devices. So far there isn???t one that turns a phone into a hammer, but we predict that???s next. **** App Review: Twittelator Pro Twitter Client For iPhone by Leanna Lofte, The iPhone Blog It is beautifully designed and feature packed to make your mobile twitter experience quick and enjoyable. **** Understanding Apple, Part 2 by Tim Bajarin, PC Magazine The iPhone is cool, and MacBooks are neat, but Apple's real genius lies in its software architecture, where the Mac magic lives. And that tells us a lot about future products. **** Why Apple Succeeds, And Always Will by Joe Wilcox Simply put: Apple doesn't play by the rules. It reinvents them. MyAppleMenu Reader ==================================== **** The Global Food Crisis by Joel K. Bourne Jr, National Geographic It is the simplest, most natural of acts, akin to breathing and walking upright. We sit down at the dinner table, pick up a fork, and take a juicy bite, obliv ious to the double helping of global ramifications on our plate. Our beef comes from Iowa, fed by Nebraska corn. Our grapes come from Chile, our bananas from Honduras, our olive oil from Sicily, our apple juice???not from Washington State but all the way from China. Modern society has relieved us of the burden of growing, harvesting, even preparing our daily bread, in exchange for the burden of simply paying for it. Only when prices rise do we take notice. And the consequences of our inattention are profound. **** The Evolutionary Argument For Dr. Seuss by Laura Miller, Salon Why do we often care more about imaginary characters than real people? A new book suggests that fiction is crucial to our survival as a species. **** AVA's Apartment by Jonathan Lethem, The New Yorker **** 1934 by Philip Levine, The New Yorker **** Hummingbird by Robert Gibb, The New Yorker SingaporeSurf ==================================== **** There Are No Winners In Coach Of The Year Spat by Tan Mae Lynn, New Paper Where's the professionalism in STTA as an employer and as a national sports association? **** Singapore Gays In First Public Rally by Sharanjit Leyl, BBC News The city-state still has a ban on homosexual sex that has been in force since its colonial days under the British even though many countries in the region, and the UK itself, have repealed the law. Mr Ivan Heng, Singaporean actor and producer, acknowledges that it is a "strange anomaly" that gay Singaporeans are being allowed by the government to live their lives but still be "criminal under the law". **** The Coming Out Of Singapore: Thank You PinkDot by Salt Wet Fish This is what we have been talking about in coming out. Visibility. Only when you know that you have the same right to exists and be, will others see you as who you are, instead of unknown strange monsters in their mind. **** ???????????????????????? by ??????, ???????????? ??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? **** Singapore Third In Empowering Women by Channel NewsAsia The Global Summit of Women held in Santiago, Chile voted Singapore third in terms of policies on empowering women in society. Singapore was lauded for helping women achieve work-life balance based on impact, innovation and policy sustainability. **** Passion For Activism Extiguished... But Not For Long by Gerald Giam, The Online Citizen Mr Tan Tee Seng was 28 years old when he was detained, along with 21 others. **** High Integrity Electoral System by Jeremy Au Yong, Straits Times The ability to inspect every step of voting and vote-counting was the reason Singapore still did everything manually, and was not switching to electronic voting systems, Teo Chee Hean said. **** Burma Silence Shows ASEAN Is 'Impotent' by Danny Kemp, Daily Telegraph Burma's Southeast Asian neighbours have stayed largely silent over the trial of opposition icon Aung San Suu Kyi, in a fresh display of the bloc's impotence as a diplomatic force, observers say. **** MDA Misses The Mark At UnConference 2009 by Young Upstarts UnConference 2009 presented a perfect opportunity for MDA IDM R&D Programme Office to stand up and be a thought leader in the local startup community. It didn???t. All the more???s the pity. **** ????????????????????????????????? ??????????????????????????????????????? by ?????????, ???????????? ??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????OK?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? **** ??????????????????????????? ??????????????????????????? by ?????????, ???????????? ??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? **** More Flexibility For Bosses But What Is There For Employees? by Gilbert Goh, Transitioning - Unemployment Support Services, The Online Citizen As the global economy turns uncertain and every economic recovery cycle gets shorter, our government may be wise to look at how the retrenched and unemployed workers can be effectively assisted during down time. **** Singapore's Times Are Finally Changing by Roderick Clyne, Tribune Singapore???s government is only just waking up to the idea that this lack of engagement might be a problem. Politicians are now saying in public that, with so few people wanting to have anything to do with politics, they are concerned about where the next generation of leaders will come from. There is even no obvious candidate for prime minister in waiting. In such a vacuum, without mass participation in public life, the power of small groups of fanatics could well increase. Following the Aware furore, it is clear that one potential source of such fanaticism is the membership of born-again Christian cliques. It looks like Singaporeans are going to need to learn to take an interest in politics for a change. **** ????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? by ???????????? ???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? ??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? **** NMP Siew Kum Hong Makes Police Report Against Netizens by 938 Live Nominated MP Siew Kum Hong has made a police report against netizens posting defamatory comments about him. He revealed this in his blog. He has also requested forums which hosted such remarks to take them down. **** Arts Bridge East And West In Singapore Festival by Candida Ng, Reuters East is East and West is West? Not at Singapore's annual arts festival, where cross-cultural collaboration is taking centre stage. **** Singapore Exports Down 19.2% In April: Government by AFP Singapore's main exports fell 19.2 percent year on year in April, government data released Monday showed, as the city-state struggles to find a way out of its worst recession in decades. **** Why Is Homosexuality The Central Issue Of The "Conservative Majority" In Singapore by Innersanctum There is no better way to show that we are living well than Pink Dot. From applesurf at myapplemenu.com Tue May 19 18:59:01 2009 From: applesurf at myapplemenu.com (applesurf at myapplemenu.com) Date: 19 May 2009 22:59:01 -0000 Subject: [MyAppleMenu] May 19, 2009 Message-ID: <20090519225901.74217.qmail@voot.pair.com> MyAppleMenu ==================================== **** Bento For iPhone by Jeffery Battersby, Macworld Bento for the iPhone and iPod touch is an amazing, versatile, and powerful application, making it possible for you to create databases and manage a variety of information, all from your mobile device. Combined with Bento on your desktop, the Bento app is the best, easiest to use database application you???ll find on the iPhone or any other similar device. **** Mac Software: Stepchild To Windows Versions No More? by Tom Kaneshige, CIO It???s high time Windows enterprise developers get serious about the Mac, Mac engineers say. Like it or not, the Mac???s ranks are growing quickly inside corporations. **** Apple Begins Stress Testing iPhone 3.0 Push Notifications by Prince McLean, AppleInsider Apple this week enlisted the services of the Associated Press and called upon many of its iPhone developers to help stress test its new Push Notification service slated for delivery in iPhone 3.0. Let's hope there's no MobileMe-like problems when iPhone 3.0 launches Real Soon Now. **** Stanford's Free iPhone Course Hits 1 Million Downloads by Jim Dalrymple, CNET Stanford University on Monday said its free iPhone Application Programming course has been downloaded more than 1 million times since being uploaded to Apple's iTunes U—a learning-focused area of iTunes—seven weeks ago. **** Why China Won't Fall For The iPhone by BusinessWeek Perhaps the biggest hurdle for the iPhone is that the mobile market has transformed since it launched. Two years ago, the iPhone was the only truly elegant palm-sized internet platform. The competition is now catching up, with several touch-screen 3G phones set for launch this summer. Most will be cheaper than the iPhone and many will have better Chinese language support, SMS handling and support for widespread Windows Mobile, Java and Symbian applications. **** Want To Fool Apple's App Store? Plant AN Easter Egg by Brian X. Chen, Wired Despite Apple???s reputation for being a notorious gatekeeper with its iPhone App Store, there???s a way to sneak in content such as porn, profanity or potentially malicious code, with no hacking required: Easter eggs. **** All My Mail: A Smarter Inbox For Your iPhone by Jason Kincaid, TechCrunch **** Why Is Apple Rejecting PhoneGap-Built iPhone Apps? by Marshall Kirkpatrick, Read Write Web **** Earbud Static: It's The Heat, Not The Humidity by David Morgenstern, ZDNet An Apple technical note appears to suggest that iPod users this summer might consider wearing cotton and avoiding hyper-air-conditioned rooms when exercising. If not, be prepared for a shock. The Tomorrow Weblog ==================================== **** Will Your Next Netbook Be Running Android? by Priya Ganapati, Wired Google???s mobile operating system, Android, has been confined to cellphones so far. But consumer electronics makers are looking to make the new OS part of other gadgets too, such as netbooks, digital photo frames and e-book readers. **** Glympse: A Hassle And Worry-Free Way To Share Your Location, Minus The Social Network by Jason Kincaid, TechCrunch **** Site Lets Writers Sell Digital Copies by Brad Stone, New York Times Turning itself into a kind of electronic vanity publisher, Scribd, an Internet start-up here, will introduce on Monday a way for anyone to upload a document to the Web and charge for it. MyAppleMenu Reader ==================================== **** Dan Brown's America by Ross Douthat, New York Times The movie treatment of his novel, ???Angels and Demons,??? is cleaning up at the box office this week. The sequel to ???The DaVinci Code,??? due out in November, might bouy the publishing industry through the recession. And if you want to understand the state of American religion, you need to understand why so many people love Dan Brown. **** This Zombie Moment: Hunting For What Lies Beneath The Undead Zeitgeist by Gendy Alimurung, LA Weekly We are in a time of the walking undead. A time of global economic recession, global pandemic and hand-sanitizer frenzy. A time when hordes of the foreclosed, the fired and the flu-ridden wander among us. A time when forlorn survivors of the downsized are reduced to hungry shells of their former selves as they soldier on in half-empty offices. Zombies, in other words. Zombie banks. Zombie corporations. Zombie housing tracts. Zombies are the ???It??? monster of our global mass panic. **** Last Days by Elise Partridge, Slate SingaporeSurf ==================================== **** May 1987 - A Conspiracy Un-Proved by Andrew Loh, The Online Citizen There has been no independent inquiry or investigation into the arrests till this day. **** Singapore AIDS Candlelight Memorial 2009 by Darren Boon, The Online Citizen Light sticks may have replaced the flame of candlelight, but it did not dim nor diminish the poignance and sombre mood of The Singapore AIDS Candlelight Memorial 2009. **** Parents, Students Panic As Publication Of Past-Year Exam Papers Held Up by Teo Xuanwei, Today Students have sworn by them to ace their exams for the past four decades, but copyright problems mean that the wildly popular Ten-Year Series (TYS) have, so far, not been available this year ??? leaving some parents flustered. **** Steps Afoot To Speed Up Train Frequency by Bernadette Low, SMRT Corporation, Straits Times Our train services are planned based on travel demand, carrying capacity of trains, time required for passengers to alight and board at each station, and other considerations such as the need to maintain a safe distance between trains running in the same direction on a track. **** New Institute For Poly Grads by Jeremy Au Yong, Straits Times Singapore is to set up an institute that will offer a more direct route to degrees for polytechnic graduates. It will team up with foreign universities that offer degree courses, president S R Nathan said when he announced the plan yesterday. **** Group Claiming To Represent "Conservative Majority" Of Singaporeans Launched Another Petition To MOE To Remove Aware As Sex Education Provider by The Wayang Party Club **** Pathetic ASEAN Silence And Pathetic Singapore's Dismay by Everyday's Life In A Snapshot - For Lesser Mortals Only George Yeo advocates the continued engagement of Burma. Ever since Burma joined ASEAN in 1997, what good has engaging Burma accomplished? **** Singapore To Develop 3 New Tertiary Institutes Of Excellence by Channel NewsAsia Singapore is looking into developing three new institutes of excellence in the tertiary education sector ??? the Singapore Institute of Applied Technology, a new university in partnership with the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a new medical school. **** Did STTA Try To Smoke Liu Guodong Into Signing A Document To Absolve Lee Bee Wah From Future Legal Repercussions? by The Wayang Party Club The sneaky behavior of STTA is putting Singaporeans to shame. As a national sports association funded entirely by taxpayers??? monies, it should be more mindful of its words and actions. However it appears that STTA is fast becoming the personal fiefdom of a certain PAP MP instead of Singapore???s table tennis association. **** Singapore's GIC Still Bets On UBS, Citi by Saeed Azhar and Kevin Lim, Reuters Singapore state investor Temasek's brief love affair with Wall Street banks has ended in tears, but the country's biggest sovereign wealth fund GIC is still sticking with its bets. "GIC is a long-term investor and will continue with its investments in Citigroup and UBS," a GIC spokeswoman said on Tuesday. GIC is one of the world's largest sovereign wealth funds. **** Kopi, Teh Still At Same Price by Leow Si Wan, Straits Times **** Former Table Tennis Coach Liu Demands Apology From STTA by Low Lin Fhoong, Today While Liu could not confirm if he intends to take legal action against the STTA, he added that he will return to Singapore to meet with Lee face-to-face to seek an explanation and apology. **** Straits Times Of May '87 - Four Days Of Government Statements On "Marxist Conspiracy" by Andrew Loh, The Online Citizen 22 years later, with back copies of the Straits Times from the archives, we take a look at how the main broadsheet in Singapore covered the events of 27 May to 30 May, 1987 - the first four days. **** Teo Soh Lung - In Her Own Words (Part One) by Teo Soh Lung, The Online Citizen From applesurf at myapplemenu.com Wed May 20 18:59:01 2009 From: applesurf at myapplemenu.com (applesurf at myapplemenu.com) Date: 20 May 2009 22:59:01 -0000 Subject: [MyAppleMenu] May 20, 2009 Message-ID: <20090520225901.83814.qmail@voot.pair.com> MyAppleMenu ==================================== **** Applicaton Wizard Makes Program Switching Easy by Rob Griffiths, Macworld If you find yourself wishing the Finder had a little more power for working with applications, Application Wizard may be just what you need. **** Organize Pages' Customized Templates by Rob Griffiths, Macworld **** Eight iPhone Apps And Services For System Admins by John C. Welch, Macworld Since its release, I've been on an iPhone, and since the introduction of the App Store, my iPhone has gone from merely handy to a really useful tool. So, in no particular order, here are the things I use to make my sysadmin life easier. **** Are Those Anti-Apple Microsoft Ads Actually Working? by Peter Kafka, Wall Street Journal The real test, of course will be actual sales data, and we won???t see anything resembling official numbers for this period until several months from now. **** Apple The Storekeeper by CounterNotions Combined with the Push Notification service, Apple???s In App Purchase gives the company a level of visibility into customer behavior, purchase patterns, social networks and dynamics of mobile marketplace that???s unprecedented in the technology business. Should Amazon worry? **** Apple's iPhone Takes Slow Boat To China by Eddie Chan, Reuters Apple may be underestimating the Chinese government???s tendency to want to control content ??? especially mass consumer content ??? and its distribution. **** Amazon Updates The Kindle App To Be MOre iPhone-ified by MG Siegler, TechCrunch **** Trivial Pursuit For iPhone by Omaha Sternberg, Macworld The Tomorrow Weblog ==================================== **** Yahoo Wants To Objectify Search by Tom Krazit, CNET Yahoo's future vision of search revolves around structured data. MyAppleMenu Reader ==================================== **** In Defense Of Distraction by Sam Anderson, New York Magazine Twitter, Adderall, lifehacking, mindful jogging, power browsing, Obama???s BlackBerry, and the benefits of overstimulation. **** The Hard Sell: How Mad Men Spin The Recession by Ted Genoways, Mother Jones The real challenge???the art, even???of recession marketing is perfecting a pitch that doesn't emphasize your hunger for your cash-conscious buyers' cash. SingaporeSurf ==================================== **** No Lay-Ups In Singapore Port by Elizabeth Wilmot, Straits Times The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) has asserted that there are no lay-ups in local port waters, in response to The New York Times (NYT) claiming that there are 735 ships idling just outside our port. **** Influenza A: Tourist Resorts In Johor Feel Bite Over Scare by Satiman Jamin, New Straits Times The legendary Gunung Ledang, which is a favourite attraction among Singapore students every school holidays, is likely to receive no student from the republic for the two-week break next month. **** It's Time For Change by Isabel Vadivu Govind, Today Concerns about transporting workers in the backs of lorries have been raised. I understand that the Land Transport Authorities said in March last year that it was setting up a work group with the Ministry of Manpower to review this. More than a year and about 200 injuries and six deaths later, things do not seem to have changed. **** Wheelchair-Bound Patients At Food Courts by Michael Loh Toon Seng, Today Why are patients in wheelchairs allowed to leave their wards to mingle with the public in hospital food courts? WTF? Broke one leg, and you must be isolated? **** ???????????????????????????????????? ?????????????????????????????? by ??????, ????????? ??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? **** Singapore Style Inspires by The Standard This blend of past and present has its greatest impact on seeing how the two buildings connect. **** ??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? by ???????????? **** ???????????????????????????????????? ???????????????????????????????????? by ?????????, ???????????? ?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? **** Singapore Airlines Face-Off With Travel Agents Set To Continue by P.R. Sanjai, Wall Street Journal The managing committee of the Travel Agents Association of India (Taai) on Tuesday rejected a productivity-linked bonus offer by Singapore Airlines, continuing a stand-off between the airline and travel agents that is approaching its fifth month. **** Singapore's Lesson: Buy High, Sell Low by Asia Sentinel Quite how badly Temasek has done is hard to figure out because the data presented is scanty and unconsolidated. For example, in 2007-08 the value of its portfolio increased by 13 percent to S$185 billion but it is unsure how much of that was simply a capital injection from the government. There are also black holes like its subsidiary Astrea, which borrowed US$810 million in earlier in the decade to invest in a portfolio of private equity and buyout funds. Another fall for Wall Street fashion which will likely be reflected in pensions for Singaporeans. If nothing else, the record of Temasek gives the lie to notion spread by Singapore's ruling clique that they are the best guardians of the people's savings. Paternalism morphed into an arrogance whose full cost to Singaporeans is for now hidden by the opaque nature of the government's accounts, and the very partial revelations provided by Temasek. Singaporeans, gather your purse-strings and, together, pull. **** 29 July 1987: Chiam's Finest Hour (Part 1) by The Online Citizen **** The Marxist Conspiracy - Not Forgetting The Evil Things That Have Already Been Done! by Ravi Philemon, The Online Citizen Whatever the real reason, the arrests and detention without trial of the ???Marxist Conspirators??? repressed an entire generation of young Singaporeans from involvement in any activity that could be termed ???political???. **** Lest We Forget... by Diary Of A Singaproean Mind There is no reason for the PAP govt to keep the ISA as it is except to be able to use it again to preserve its own power. **** Cornoer's Inquiry Into Indonesian Student's Death Kicks Off by Hasnita A Majid, Channel NewsAsia **** President Nathan's Amazing Silence On Temasek's Disastrous Loss by Eugene Yeo, The Wayang Party Club Something must be really wrong in a country when the supposedly head of state gave a speech in Parliament completely oblivious to its financial health. From applesurf at myapplemenu.com Thu May 21 18:59:01 2009 From: applesurf at myapplemenu.com (applesurf at myapplemenu.com) Date: 21 May 2009 22:59:01 -0000 Subject: [MyAppleMenu] May 21, 2009 Message-ID: <20090521225901.35765.qmail@voot.pair.com> MyAppleMenu ==================================== **** Apple Lags On Java Security Fix In OS X by Dan Moren, Macworld A Java vulnerability first patched by Sun over six months ago that???s still open in Mac OS X. Despite the recent security fixes in 10.5.7, this issue has still not yet been fixed in OS X. **** Close The Java Security Hole In Many Browsers by Rob Griffiths, Macworld Until Apple sees fit to solve this problem, how can you protect yourself? The only real solution for now is to disable Java in your browser. Here???s how to do that in a handful of the most-popular OS X browsers. **** The Art Of iPhone Photography by Doug McLean, TidBITS The iPhone camera's technical limitations haven't prevented some artists from making great art with it, much the way artists have long produced amazing images using old or unusual photographic equipment. **** What Apple Could Learn From Nokia And Google by Josh Lowensolhn, CNET On the iPhone, you have one profile, and one profile only. Even if you turn the ringer sound off by flipping the volume silencer switch, you will still receive alerts and vibrations for incoming calls, e-mails, text messages, etc. Worse, with iPhone OS 3.0, Apple has embedded some of the options to turn these things on and off a little deeper than they were in version 2.0. **** Braid Jumps To The Mac by Dan Moren, Macworld At first glance, Braid might seem like your typical side-scroller, but it also incorporates a set of unique mechanics dealing with time. **** Formatting A Flash Drive by Christopher Breen, Macworld **** iPhone Not Sweet On 'Neat' by Peter Glaskowsky, CNET I don't really understand all of the decisions built into the code. **** Why I Bought (Another) Mac by Mary Landesman, Mary's Antivirus Software Blog Why the switch? It's not because Mac is immune to malware, despite what Apple might have us believe. In fact, the advertising claims that Macs are immune to malware actually annoyed me so much I almost didn't buy the iMac. Then I saw the ridiculous Microsoft ad claiming that a $699 Windows-based laptop was somehow comparable to the $999 entry level MacBook. That claim was so ludicrous, I decided the misleading marketing field was even. **** In The Apple Doghouse by Elizabeth Woyke, Forbes Last winter, Mike Browne had a great idea: create an iPhone app based on President Obama's new dog that would land in Apple's App Store well ahead of the pooch's arrival in the spring. Instead, the cartoonist got caught up in several months of drama with Apple that delayed the launch of his app to early May—several weeks after Bo arrived at the White House. **** Russian Clone-Maker The Latest To Take On Apple by Jim Dalrymple, CNET RussianMac is the latest company to release a Mac clone and test Apple's resolve to stop companies from selling its operating system. **** Stanford's iPhone U: The Rise Of The Armchair Coder by Philip Elmer-DeWitt, Fortune So the idea that anyone with a Mac, half a brain, and some spare time could download these lectures, learn the elements of Objective-C, snap together the pieces of an iPhone application like so many Lego blocks, and make real money on the App Store had a certain appeal to me. And, apparently, to a couple hundred thousand others as well. **** How Apple Killed Java by Alex Blewitt, AlBlue's Weblog So, Apple has managed to kill off Java on the Mac, mostly through incompetance, slightly through focussing on the 64-bit as an upcoming marketing strategy, and largely through promoting Objective-C via the iPhone. **** Apple iPod Shuffle by Nik Fletcher, The Guardian Wearable, and designed to be used without a screen, it seems to scream for use when you're exercising, except for the fact it is at the mercy of its own headphones ??? ones that refuse to stay in my ears when walking, let alone working out. **** Search New York City In 3D With UpNext For iPhone by Jennifer Van Grove, Mashable **** 10 AppleScripts To Make You Love Your Mac (Even More) by Sharon Machlis, Computerworld Why, when people were trying to get me to switch from Windows to a Mac, did no one tell me about AppleScript? Sure, a stable OS with Unix shell access and a sophisticated UI are nice. But a scripting language that lets me automate tedious tasks and hike my creativity-to-boredom ratio? How come I never heard about that? **** Papers For iPhone by Flip Phillips, Macworld If you need access to scholarly research on-the-go, then Papers is certainly the go-to application on the iPhone and iPod touch. Unfortunately, this early release is reminiscent of the initial release desktop cousin???a great start that falls flat in a few areas. If the trajectory of updates are similar, I???d expect to see a more solid, usable application very soon. **** Apple Job Listing Reveals More Powerful ARM Processors And Video Processing For iPhone by Arnold Kim, Mac Rumors **** Add An OS 9-Like App Menu To OS X With ASM Or MultiXFinder by Rob Griffiths, Macworld For those who miss the OS 8/9 approach, two programs aim to fill the void. The Tomorrow Weblog ==================================== **** Sun Seeks To Build World's Biggest App Store Around Java by Dan Nystedt, IDG News Service **** No Reboot Required by Erica Naone, MIT Technology Review Ksplice uses new technology to build security updates for Linux that can be installed without restarting. MyAppleMenu Reader ==================================== **** Why Journalists Deserve Low Pay by Robert G. Picard, Christian Science Monitor Wages are compensation for value creation. And journalists simply aren't creating much value these days. **** Children Of The Vietnam War by David Lamb, Smithsonian Born overseas to Vietnamese mothers and U.S. servicemen, Amerasians brought hard-won resilience to their lives in America. **** Poor? Pay Up. by DeNeen L. Brown, Washington Post You have to be rich to be poor. That's what some people who have never lived below the poverty line don't understand. Put it another way: The poorer you are, the more things cost. More in money, time, hassle, exhaustion, menace. This is a fact of life that reality television and magazines don't often explain. **** Like Boiling A Frog by David Runciman, London Review Of Books That Wikipedia represents a finely calibrated balance between licence and surveillance, and between anonymity and responsibility, is something often missed by those who want to translate its achievements elsewhere. **** Horoscopes Without Telescopes by Mark Bibbins, The Paris Review SingaporeSurf ==================================== **** Ride Of Silence Singapore, 20 May 2009 by Otterman Speaks... **** Plunge In Global Trade Is A Boon For Singapore Ship Suppliers by Neel Chowdhury, Time Lee's complaint of overwork sounds dissonant during a global recession, but it is precisely because of the plunge in global trade that Lee, who works for a ship-supply company, is clocking up so much overtime. **** Live From Ride Of Silence 2009 by mrbrown **** ?????????????????????????????????????????? by ?????????, ???????????? ??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? **** ????????????????????????????????????????????? by ????????? **** ??????????????????????????? by ??????, ???????????? ???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? ??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? **** Time To Start Afresh by Mergawati Zulkafar, The Star Abdullah managed to keep bilateral relations with Singapore in the last five years cool. Though no progress was made on the outstanding issues, things were a lot calmer. Perhaps it is a good time for Najib to start afresh with Singapore and get things moving, finally. **** Singapore's Economy Contracted Less Than Estimated by Shamim Adam, Bloomberg Singapore???s economy shrank less than initially estimated last quarter, signaling the nation may be past the worst of its deepest recession since 1965. Singapore???s gross domestic product declined an annualized 14.6 percent last quarter from the previous three months, after shrinking 16.4 percent between October and December, the trade ministry said in a statement today. The first-quarter contraction was better than an April 14 estimate of a 19.7 percent drop. **** Leaders Should Lead By Example by Alan Ho, Today What kind of message is Ms Lee Bee Wah sending to Singaporeans and people elsewhere who are following the saga? **** Major Security Risk At Nusajaya by Nelson Benjamin and Meera Vijayan, The Star Kota Iskandar, the sprawling new state administrative capital in Nusajaya, faces a major security risk as it is located near a Singapore firing range. The range, inside the Sarimbun Camp, is operated by the Singapore Armed Forces and involves the use of live ammunition from tanks and aircraft including helicopter gunships. **** Was It A Red Or White Conspiracy? by Yaw Shin Leong, The Online Citizen No amount of apology or compensation can ever erase the sufferings of the victims. Yet, if the government had indeed been wrong, it should not shy away from admitting its honest mistakes; it should be open about it and directly seek forgiveness from the victims. **** Najib's Visit To Hearld Better Ties With Singapore by Koh Lay Chin, New Straits Times There is an air of optimism in diplomatic circles over the brief, but important, two-day visit. Malaysian high commissioner to Singapore Datuk Md Hussin Nayan said more opportunities for co-operation could be explored. **** Singapore Warns Against Indiscriminate Anchoring by Lloyd's List The Maritime & Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) stated that while the port???s anchorages were busy, they were not overcrowded, but took aim at owners anchoring vessels outside port limits. Singapore???s eastern and western outside port limit anchorages are thin strips between the edge of the port waters and the traffic separation scheme, which are popular with owners as they do not have to pay port dues. **** Temasek Pays 600 Million Dollars For Stake In China's CCB by AFP Singapore's state-linked investment firm Temasek Holdings has paid 600 million US dollars to raise its stake in China Construction Bank (CCB), a report said Thursday. The move will take Temasek's investment in the Chinese bank to 6.5 percent, or 14.3 billion shares, from 6.0 percent, the Straits Times said, quoting unnamed sources. **** Chiam's Finest Hour (Part Two): The Government Responds by The Online Citizen **** The Fallacy Of "Growth At All Costs" (Part Three) by Rajiv Chaudhry, The Online Citizen **** Ride Of Silence Singapore - Impressions From A Car Window by Cycling In Singapore **** Crooked Bridge Issue: Najib To Restart Talks On New Bridge To Singapore by Anis Ibrahim & Syed Umar Ariff, New Straits Times Prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak will re-start talks today with his Singapore counterpart Lee Hsein Loong on a suitable bridge to replace the 85 year-old Causeway. Najib, who arrived in Singapore this afternoon for a two-day official visit, said ???whether it is a crooked bridge, a straight bridge, an underground (tunnel) or overhead (bridge), we will talk about it. **** Transport Projects On Track by Christopher Tan, Straits Times Transport minister Raymond Lim, in his addendum to the president's address, on Thursday said the government remains committed to maintaining Singapore's position as a leading maritime port and enhancing its appeal as an air hub. **** Review Of Censorship by Clarissa Oon, Straits Times Singapore will reconvene a committee this year to review its censorship of media and the arts. The move is aimed at giving citizens more choices without compromising social fundamentals. **** Orchard Library Back By 2013 by Serene Luo, Straits Times Before it closed two years ago, the popular Orchard library's chief promised users who bemoaned its loss that it would be back. The library will now be re-opened by 2013 in a new spot in Specialists' Shopping Centre along Orchard Road, near the Somerset MRT station. **** MOE Tightens Vetting by Theresa Tan, Straits Times Schools will no longer have the autonomy to hire external groups to teach sexuality education to their students. Instead, the education ministry (MOE) will now vet these providers, subject them to a "more stringent" criteria and schools can only use agencies approved by the MOE. **** Consumer Confidence In Singapore Hits New Low by Wong Siew Ying, Channel NewsAsia Consumer confidence in Singapore has hit a new low in the past six months falling 12 index points to 80. That's according to the latest Nielsen Global Consumer Confidence survey conducted between 19 March and 2 April this year. **** Citigroup To Defend Against Singapore Tycoon by AFP **** Ride Of Silence by Azam's Life, C'est La Vie **** Ride Of Silence by Wang Writes **** Now They Are Worried About Singapore Firing Into Nusajaya by MindaCergas So a likely win win solution is to offer singapore, malaysian land further north of nusajaya for the to do thier practice??? **** ????????????????????????????????? ?????????????????????????????? by ?????????, ???????????? ???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? From applesurf at myapplemenu.com Fri May 22 18:59:00 2009 From: applesurf at myapplemenu.com (applesurf at myapplemenu.com) Date: 22 May 2009 22:59:00 -0000 Subject: [MyAppleMenu] May 22, 2009 Message-ID: <20090522225900.25409.qmail@voot.pair.com> MyAppleMenu ==================================== **** Apple Stores Hosting SUmmer Training Camps For Kids by Jeff Gamet, The Mac Observer **** MacBook Pro Goes Up In Green Flames by Charlie Sorrel, Wired **** Globs 1.1.2 For iPhone by Chris Barylick, Macworld There are a few certainties in this world; the sun will rise in the east, your neighbor???s yippy dog will keep yipping at two in the morning and there will always be someone working to put out a good platform-shooter video game. Enter Globs, a platform-based, arcade style shooter for the iPhone and iPod touch by Chad Towns in which you take control of Nerdman, a geeky biologist who must explore alien worlds, shooting creatures known as ???boogers??? with his blaster while collecting eyeballs for scientific research. **** Clipstart For Mac Organizes Video Sans Flashy Features by Jeff Smykil, Ars Technica If you have been searching for a solution for organizing those three-minute videos you've been shooting, then look no further: for $29, you can't really go wrong. I can't yet attest to its speed with thousands of movies, but it is quite snappy with the amount I have in my library. Although the software may not have all the features you want in an application like this, I have a good feeling that this won't be sitting at 1.0 for long. **** Typing-Expansion Software by David Pogue, New York Times Typing-expansion programs are so fast and effortless that I can???t understand why everybody???s not using them. **** AT&T CEO Confirms Cheaper iPhone Rate Plans Considered by Arnold Kim, MacRumors.com The cheaper rates, however, would come with limits on the amount of data that can be transfered. **** More App Store Stupidity - iPhone eBook App Rejected For Including Karma Sutra by Craig Grannell, Cult Of Mac It seems Apple, not content with plumbing the depths by rejecting Tweetie for a rude word being in the day???s Twitter trends, has now rejected an e-book reader, because you can potentially read ???objectionable??? content on it. **** Apple's 11 Most Intriguing Computer Designs by Ashley Laurel Wilson, CIO >From the first Apple to the MacBook Air, Macs have been regarded as technologically innovative, beautiful in product design and, over time, become just plain cool. **** DIY Apps: Now Showing On An iPhone Near You by Cherise Fong, CNN Just as everyone can publish their own blog on the Web, now developers are making it possible for everyone to make their own applications for iPhones. **** They're Fast, They're Cheap, And I'm Out Of Control by Farhad Manjoo, Slate I've never been much of a gamer, so I've never had a DS or any other handheld. How did Apple turn me into a gaming obsessive? MyAppleMenu Reader ==================================== **** Heeeere's ... Conan!!! by Lynn Hirschberg, New York Times "Afterward, Johnny Carson came over to me and said, 'Good luck to you.' He said, 'Just be yourself — that's the only way it can work.' There's an opportunity to put my stamp on this show. I've got an ego, and I want to do my 'Tonight Show.'" **** Flights by Julian Barnes, The New York Review Of Books Hearing of John Updike's death in January of this year, I had two immediate, ordinary reactions. The first was a protest???"But I thought we had him for another ten years"; the second, a feeling of disappointment that Stockholm had never given him the nod. The latter was a wish for him, and for American literature, the former a wish for me, for us, for Updikeans around the world. **** Disturbances Of Peace by Adam Kirsch, The New Republic Inventing Chinese poetry meant not just translating it, but also teaching people how to read it. SingaporeSurf ==================================== **** MOE's Decision To Drop AWARE As External Vendor Regrettable: AWARE President by Tan Yew Guan, Channel NewsAsia While it understands the ministry's decision as it has been under considerable pressure from some parents on the matter, AWARE said it still believes that its comprehensive sexuality education programme is a much needed resource for youth. **** Remembering The 22 by Andrew Loh, The Online Citizen In a simple but solemn gathering at Speakers??? Corner on Thursday, about 100 people observed the 22nd anniversary of the arrest and detention of 22 social activists by the Internal Security Department in May, 1987. **** Activists Hold Rally At Hong Lim Park To Call For Justice For 1987 ISA Detainees by Sgpolitics.net **** Exploring Fares For Disabled by Christopher Tan, Straits Times Bus operator SBS Transit is looking into offering concession fares to commuters with physical disabilities. It is considering doing this on its buses first, and the same for trains later. **** Could It Have Saved Lives? by Pearly Tan, New Paper Could lives have been saved if the report on workers' safety when carried in lorries had been completed on time? MP Halimah Yacob thinks so. **** No Proposal From Potong Pasir Town Council To Upgrade Lifts To Stop At Every Floor by Chee Kheng Chye, Housing & Development Board, Straits Times We would like to clarify that HDB has not received any proposal from Potong Pasir Town Council for upgrading works to enable lifts to stop at every floor. **** Why Temasek Sold Its Stake In BoA by Myrna Thomas, Temasek Holdings, Straits Times Our investment thesis had changed from Merrill's specific businesses to the more diversified BoA linkage to the broader US economy. The risk-return environment had also changed substantially. We decided to divest our BoA stake after considering all relevant factors. **** Aware Rivals Slammed by Theresa Tan & Amelia Tan, Straits Times Education minister Ng Eng Hen had strong words on Thursday for the parties in the recent Association of Women for Action and Research (Aware) leadership tussle. He said that as both sides went at each other, 'schools were dragged into this melee, and could have become the proxy arena for competing ideologies'. 'Issues became muddled, emotions ran high. This is an unhealthy, unproductive way to try to resolve issues that are inherently divisive.' **** Sex Education In Singapore: It's Getting From Bad To Worse by Kennethism The sad state of affairs really boils down to this: that our education ministry insists on teaching values, not facts, in sexuality education class. **** Distance-Based ERP Charges On The Way? by Neo Chai Chin, Today Chairman of the government parliamentary committee for transport Lim Wee Kiak said such a system was fairer, as it would not penalise drivers who mistakenly pass under multiple gantries. **** Steps To Be Disabled-Friendly by Foo Hee Jug, Singapore General Hospital, Eugene Soh, Tan Tock Seng Hospital, Today Our food courts are public amenities and are easily accessible to wheelchair patrons who may be outpatients, visitors and staff. This is part of our efforts to be disabled-friendly. **** Malaysian PM Bids To End Rows On Visit To Singapore by AFP Malaysia's new premier Najib Razak began his first official visit to Singapore Thursday, with plans to rise above the long-running quarrels that have undermined relations between the neighbours. **** Dr Ng Eng Hen's Revised Approach To Sex Education In Schools Fair And Balanced by Fang Zhi Yuan, The Wayang Party Club MOE???s sex education programme retains the same framework as Aware???s CSE: contraception will be taught in additional to promoting abstinence. Homosexuals will not be discriminated against and are assured of their own private space. The substance remains the same, only the form differs. **** Lee Bee Wah Should Take A Leaf Out Of Singapore Badminton Association's Book by Lee CHong Meng, The Wayang Party Club **** ????????????????????????????????? by ?????????, ???????????? ?????????????????????????????????Tangs Plaza????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????Citylink Mall??????????????? **** Malaysia-Singapore Joint Committee To Discuss Bridge Linking Eastern Johor & Singapore by S Ramesh, Channel NewsAsia Malaysia and Singapore have formed a joint committee to look into the proposal of building a bridge to link eastern Johor and Singapore. This was announced at the joint news conference by Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak and Singapore prime minister Lee Hsien Loong at the Istana. **** FEER Makes Appeal Against High Court Decision by Ong Dai Lin, Today **** Malaysia Keeping Singapore Abreast Of Mas Selamat's Interrogation by S Ramesh, Channel NewsAsia Malaysia is keeping Singapore's authorities abreast of what it has learnt from the capture of the Republic's most wanted terrorist, Mas Selamat Kastari, said Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak on Friday. **** Overcoming Fear And Misinformation - Give Us Our Dignity! by Ravi Philemon, The Online Citizen **** Malaysia, Singapore See New Cooperation by AFP Singapore and Malaysia agreed to step up bilateral cooperation while trying to resolve territorial and other issues dating back to their bitter separation in 1965, their prime ministers said. **** Magazine Appeals Singapore Defamation Ruling by AFP Peter Low, a lawyer for the Far Eastern Economic Review (FEER), argued there was nothing in the article, published in 2006, that defamed the Lees. **** Singapore, Malaysia Seek To Build New Bridges by Nopporn Wong-Anan, Reuters Singapore prime minister Lee Hsien Loong said options to improve the relationship included better rail links, broadening a congested causeway between the two, or possibly building a new bridge to link eastern Singapore to Malaysian border state Johor. **** Let The People Judge by Andrew Loh, The Online Citizen "When they can't beat you, they call you a criminal." **** Student Witnesses Say David Widjaja Did Not Slip And Fall Off by Lynda Hong, Channel NewsAsia From applesurf at myapplemenu.com Sat May 23 18:59:01 2009 From: applesurf at myapplemenu.com (applesurf at myapplemenu.com) Date: 23 May 2009 22:59:01 -0000 Subject: [MyAppleMenu] May 23, 2009 Message-ID: <20090523225901.70768.qmail@voot.pair.com> MyAppleMenu ==================================== **** When iSync Goes Bad by David Morgenstern, ZDNet **** Expanding Password-Protected Archives by Adam C. Engst, TidBITS **** Cartier Sues Apple For Trademark Infringement by Jonathan Seff, Macworld French jeweler and watchmaker Cartier sued Apple on Friday for infringing on its trademark, according to The Associated Press, Dow Jones, and others. **** Boggle by Richard Hallas, Inside Mac Games **** Cartier Drops Lawsuit Against Apple Over iPhone App by Computerworld **** Prosopagnosia Connects Contacts To iPhoto's Faces by Stuart Gripman, Macworld If you suffer from prosopagnosia , you literally can???t remember faces. Swedish companies desibelle and GraphicLife have adopted the term as the name for a program that simplifies integrating iPhoto ???09???s Faces feature with contact information you already have. **** App Store Approval Process Is Like Stock Photography by Thomas Fitzgerald Something struck me recently while reading about the latest seemingly unreasonable app store rejection. The whole process is remarkably similar to stock photography, particularly micro-stock sites. Many of the arguments made about the unfairness of the App Store could equally be applied to Stock Photography. MyAppleMenu Reader ==================================== **** Fair Usage by Roy Blount Jr., New York Times If language were set in concrete, there would be no call for new books on how to use it. These days, most such books are at pains not to seem prescriptive. SingaporeSurf ==================================== **** Lee Bee Wah Has No Time To Meet Liu Guodong, But Very Free To Grace Feng Shui by The Wayang Party Club Do not take Singaporeans as idiots. There is a limit to our patience. **** Temsek's Reply On Sale Of BOA Does Not Address Key Concerns At All by Eugene Yeo, The Wayang Party Club As a layman who is completely clueless about economics and finance, I felt terribly humiliated by Myra Thomas who didn???t even bother to put up a convincing argument. **** SWF ISO Bailout by Daniel Gross, Slate What explains the rapid decline of sovereign-wealth funds? **** SingTel Must Inform Consumer Before End Of Free Trial, Says Case by Seah Seng Choon, Consumers Association Of Singapore, Straits Times If SingTel had not informed the consumer that the promotion was expiring and charged the consumer after the period, we are of the view that the consumer should be given his full refund. **** 2 'Weak Links' In Sex Ed by Amelia Tan, Theresa Tan and Yeo Sam Jo, Straits Times Psychologists, counsellors and other experts on Friday welcomed tighter checks by the Education Ministry on sexuality education programmes in schools, but said more attention should be paid to two weak links in the system: parents and teachers. **** Time To Move On For Our Common Good by Koh Lay Chin, New Straits Times **** Wayangparty's Tele-Conversation With Liu Guodong In Beijing (23 May 2009) by The Wayang Party Club **** Irked By Ping-Pong Controversy by Seah Chiang Nee, The Star As recession spreads hardship, more MPs are on the receiving end of public wrath. **** The Malaysia-Singapore 'Cold War' by Raja Petra Kamarudin, Malaysia Today Does Dr Mahathir know what Najib is doing? Surely Dr Mahathir can???t agree to Najib giving in to Singapore???s demands like what is currently happening. Are we going to see Dr Mahathir going berserk like back in 2006 with all these concessions Najib is granting Singapore? From applesurf at myapplemenu.com Sun May 24 18:59:01 2009 From: applesurf at myapplemenu.com (applesurf at myapplemenu.com) Date: 24 May 2009 22:59:01 -0000 Subject: [MyAppleMenu] May 24, 2009 Message-ID: <20090524225901.70614.qmail@voot.pair.com> MyAppleMenu ==================================== **** Re: Apple's iPhone Channels The Prudes -- "Pick A Little, Talk A Little!" by Pamela Jones, IP I think what Apple is doing makes good legal sense. If you saw the recent litigation by Cartier against Apple, you see that people won't sue the 3rd party apps authors; they'll sue deep pocket Apple. **** Apple Could Invest In N.C. by Jonathan B. Cox, The News & Observer State lawmakers, who in recent years have been dazzled by Dell and gone ga-ga for Google, have discovered an affection for Apple. They're on the verge of changing tax law to entice the California computer company to invest $1 billion in the western part of the state. **** Apple Changes It Mind, Accepts Eucalyptus App by Jonathan Seff, Macworld The Tomorrow Weblog ==================================== **** The Coming Superbrain by John Markoff, New York Times Today, artificial intelligence, once the preserve of science fiction writers and eccentric computer prodigies, is back in fashion and getting serious attention from NASA and from Silicon Valley companies like Google as well as a new round of start-ups that are designing everything from next-generation search engines to machines that listen or that are capable of walking around in the world. A.I.???s new respectability is turning the spotlight back on the question of where the technology might be heading and, more ominously, perhaps, whether computer intelligence will surpass our own, and how quickly. MyAppleMenu Reader ==================================== **** How Not To Hire A Chef by Tim Carman, Washington City Paper Busboys & Poets owner Andy Shallal spent thousands on a contest to find the right chef. So why's the runner-up doing the cooking? SingaporeSurf ==================================== **** Singapore Fling by Lucas Hollweg, The Times Food in the vibrant, bustling city of Singapore is more than mere sustenance ??? it???s a way of life. Welcome to foodie paradise. **** Students Of Singapore Varsity Impress Rosmah by Bernama The prime minister's wife, Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, who visited the National University of Singapore (NUS) High School of Mathematics and Science on Friday, was impressed by the students' knowledge and ability in science and mathematics. **** Najib's Bridging Initative With Singapore by Ahmad A. Talib, New Straits Times Is this then the win-win formula that the two leaders were talking about? Each getting his way and yet not denying the other his say or desire. I'm not too sure if the idea of a third bridge had ever been broached before, but it has certainly raised eyebrows and set off renewed discussions on bridges, generally. **** Malaysia-Singapore Ties Look Set To Bloom Again by Mergawati Zulfakar, The Star **** 1989 - Lee Kuan Yew's Defamation Suit Against FEER by Nathaniel Koh, The Online Citizen **** 10 Years - And Still No Public Transport Subsidy For Disabled by Jonathan Koh, The Online Citizen **** ????????????????????? ??????????????????????????? by ?????????, ???????????? ????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? **** ?????????????????????????????????????????? by ???????????? ??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? **** Third Bridge Likely To Boost Industry In East Johor by The Star The third proposed link between Malaysia and Singapore in east Johor has received good feedback from the tourism industry in Desaru. **** Singapore - The Third Bridge by The Star A third bridge to Singapore should only considered if the government is completely satisfied if its citizens are all above the poverty level and if all the infrastructures and needs of its people have been met. Looking at the numerous complaints and grouses around, they are not. **** The Third Link - From A Defence View Point by Mind No Evil **** Building Bridges... by rights2write I do not see the logic for us to build a third link with Singapore. It will benefit them. It will benefit their air travel, goods and services industry. Instead of strengthening our own services, we are giving them the advantage to them. We are pound foolish and penny wise. From applesurf at myapplemenu.com Mon May 25 18:59:00 2009 From: applesurf at myapplemenu.com (applesurf at myapplemenu.com) Date: 25 May 2009 22:59:00 -0000 Subject: [MyAppleMenu] May 25, 2009 Message-ID: <20090525225900.69215.qmail@voot.pair.com> MyAppleMenu ==================================== **** Watch Free TV On The iPhone by Etan Horowitz, The Orlando Sentinel Apple's iPhone is great for watching TV shows that you downloaded on your computer and loaded onto the device. But since the iPhone can't play Flash-based Web videos, there aren't that many ways to stream full episodes of popular TV shows for free. Here are some ways to do it. **** Worst. Mistake. Ever. by Kate MacKenzie, PixoBebo I was home again, naturally. Within a few days I was cruising on my Mac like never before, comfortable, safe, secure. Instead of feeling victimized by Windows PC???s hardware and software shenanigans, I felt comfortable, relieved. **** Is App Store Rejection The New Acceptance? by iPhone Savior While hundreds of apps get launched into the App Store each week, virtually unnoticed, the ones getting rejected seem to be gaining significant press that would otherwise cost developers a fortune or never materialize at all. **** Sonic The Hedgehog Races Onto The iPhone. But Do Its Fake Buttons Slow Him Down? by Jason Kincaid, TechCrunch **** MathTime: Hinsdale Kids Design Math App For iPhone by Mick Swasko, Chicago Tribune You might think of flash cards and work sheets when you think of grade-school math. But now, thanks to two young brothers from Hinsdale, there's an app for that. MyAppleMenu Reader ==================================== **** Love Affair With Secondaries by Craig Raine, The New Yorker SingaporeSurf ==================================== **** "Operation Spectrum Was Political Rape" by The Online Citizen **** Other Countries Are Light Years Aheda Of Us In Providing Public Transport Subsidies For Disabled by Ng E-Jay, Sgpolitics.net In terms of caring for the disabled and helping them cope with the cost of living by providing them public transport subsides, our government is light years behind other nations like Taiwan. **** Public Order Concerns: Look Who's Talking by Singapore Democrats All these protests activists were not possible a few years ago because Mr Lee Kuan Yew insisted that pandemonium would break out if Singaporeans were allowed to come together for such events. Such scare-mongering is the hallmark of anti-democrats. The appeal to fear is a potent weapon in getting the masses to fear itself and its own voice. **** 3 Guides To Changes by Zakir Hussain, Straits Times Changes to Singapore's political system are in the works and on Sunday, Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong spelt out three principles that will guide these amendments. One, they must be fair to all political parties; two, they should result in a strong, effective government after an election; and three, they must ensure diverse views are represented in Parliament. **** Materials To Be Online Soon by Liaw Wy-Cin, Straits Times The education ministry is making its material on sexuality education more accessible by publishing it online. **** No 'Claims' System For MPs Here by Ho Lian-Yi, New Paper Overpaid, overclaimed and over there. British MPs suffered a public backlash when their ridiculous expense claims recently came to light. Could this happen in Singapore? **** Singapoe System Might Have Prevented The Expenses Scandal by Marcus Brooke, The Hearld A recent survey showed that the 10 best-paid Parliamentarians in the world were in Singapore: on average, Singapore parliamentarians are paid seven times as much as their British counterparts. **** SM Upbeat On Ties With Malaysia by Zakir Hussain, Straits Times Both leaders, Goh Chok Tong said, understood that this was a 'last chance' for them to get bilateral ties on a better footing. **** Singapore Cinema Patrons Showing Symptoms Of A Hyper-Stimulated Society? by Zern Liew, Eicolab Is this inability to sit quietly, to appreciate a reflective deep moment, or to give oneself completely to a production a sad symptom of a hyper-stimulated society? Are people simply bored as soon as the flashing lights and noise on the screen stop, even for a second? **** Singapore And Israel - A Study Of Contrasts by Subba's Serendipitous Moments The difference between Singapore and Israel was neatly summed up by Guy Kawasaki in one of his recent visits to Singapore. He called Singapore an one-opinion town. His precise words were: Israel has 5 million people, six million entrepreneurs, and fifteen million opinions. Singapore has 5 million people, six entrepreneurs and one opinion. **** JB Residents Not Swayed by Elizabeth Looi, Straits Times A proposed bridge linking Singapore to eastern Johor has divided opinion in the Malaysian state, with Desaru tourism industry players all for it, and Johor Baru residents decidedly less enthusiastic. **** Micro Loans From Singaporeans Changing Lives by Dawn Tay, My Paper In Azerbaijan, south of Russia, Ms Qatiba Jafarova has bought two cows to expand her home-grown dairy business - aided by cash loans from Singaporeans she has never met. **** Change With The Times by Wendy Lee, Today Opening 200 new centres will not help if hours are not extended beyond 7pm. **** As Graciousness Drive Starts, Some Want Penalties Imposed by Zul Othman, Channel NewsAsia **** Temasek: Lose So Much, Tell So Little? by Leong Sze Hian, The Online Citizen How can Temasek say that employee and shareholder (Singaporeans) interests be aligned, when Singaporeans are still being kept in the dark when even our finance minister said in response to the BoA loss, that they do not question the day-to-day investments of Temasek? **** Changes In SG Political Engagement? by Harish Pillay **** Video Shows Student Jump by Sujin Thomas, Straits Times A fellow student filmed a bloodied Nanyang Technological University (NTU) David Hartanto Widjaja jumping off the roof of a link-bridge with his mobile phone, a coroner's court heard on Monday. **** Singaporeans Dine Out Less by Straits Times More Singaporeans are eating in instead of dining out, as part of belt-tightening in this economic downturn. But they are not taking this to extremes and cutting out the little luxuries in life. **** Singapore Sees Biggest Price Fall Ever In April by Nopporn Wong-Anan, Reuters Singapore's consumer price index saw its biggest ever monthly fall in April, but analysts said there was no significant deflation risk. **** MPs Suggest Changes To Political System To Make It More Robust by Hasnita Majid, Channel NewsAsia While Singapore seeks to experiment with its political system, MPs said it must do so cautiously. **** Changes To CPF Act Afoot by Straits Times Changes to the Central Provident Fund Act were tabled in Parliament on Monday to provide for the proposed establishment of the CPF Life scheme and the Housing and Development Board's new Lease Buyback Scheme. **** 'Hybrid System' For Parliament? by Zakir Hussain, Straits Times Nominated MP Siew Kum Hong on Monday called for a hybrid Parliament in which 'a limited number of seats' could be 'allocated by way of proportional representation', while the majority would still be filled the way they are now. This would allow for more diverse views in Parliament, he said, adding that it would also be 'more consistent with democratic principles than a scheme like the Nominated MP scheme'. From applesurf at myapplemenu.com Tue May 26 18:59:01 2009 From: applesurf at myapplemenu.com (applesurf at myapplemenu.com) Date: 26 May 2009 22:59:01 -0000 Subject: [MyAppleMenu] May 26, 2009 Message-ID: <20090526225901.16040.qmail@voot.pair.com> MyAppleMenu ==================================== **** Automating Twitter by Benjamin Waldie, Macworld Jason Snell recently explained how to use Applescript to automate the popular Twitter client Twitterific. But, with the help of some simple shell scripting, you can also send quick status updates directly to Twitter from within an Automator workflow. **** Iphone Apps Are Google's Biggest Threat In Mobile Search by Jason Hiner, TechRepublic In my tests with the iPhone, I discovered that Google is usually my last resort for finding information. In fact, I typically only use Google search 2-3 times per day from the iPhone. **** Make The Most Of The Genius Bar by Ted Landau, Macworld Five ways to prepare yourself, and your broken Mac, for a trip to the Apple Store. **** The Incredible App Store Hype by Stromcode The app store isn???t a sane marketplace at all, any more than the lottery is. **** New Yorker Cover Drawn Entirely On An iPhone by Cyrus Farivar, Macworld **** Apple iWork '09 by James Sugrue, PCWorld iWork may not have some of the features of the 900-pound-gorilla that is Microsoft Office ??? but if you???re a wordsmith, a presenter, or want to do a bit of budgeting, then iWork ???09 has everything you will ever need, and nothing you won???t. Steve likes it that way. **** Control iTunes In The Background by Kirk McElhearn, Macworld The Tomorrow Weblog ==================================== **** Microsoft Vine Could Save Your Hide by Rafe Needleman, CNET At its core, Vine is based on a new Microsoft platform for routing communications between different systems. The platform is built to know the various ways there are to reach anyone using it, and it tries multiple methods until it gets its message through. MyAppleMenu Reader ==================================== **** Memory Arpeggios In Updike's Sunset by Michiko Kakutani, New York Times That, in pouring his life ???into words,??? he not only preserved ???the thing consumed,??? but also offered a lasting ???toast to the visible world,??? which he commemorated with such ardor and precision. **** The Urban President by Mike Madden, Salon Unlike all his predecessors since Kennedy, Obama is an engaged city dweller — just like the majority of Americans. **** I Hate To Sound Like Andy Rooney, Especially On Memorial Day, But... by James Warren, The Atlantic Gone was the seemingly tried-and-true system of hitting an up or down button next to an elevator, then awaiting one whose "up" sign (usually white light) or "down" sign (usually red light) above the door strongly suggested your next move. SingaporeSurf ==================================== **** Lee Bee Wah: Where Is Your Professionalism And Integrity? by Eugene Yeo, The Wayang Party Club As the president of STTA, she represents the organization and her words and actions so far has reflected very badly on the sporting fraternity as well as the image of Singaporeans in the international community. **** 2 In Procession Fined by Elena Chong, Straits Times A lawyer and a housewife were fined on Monday for taking part in an assembly and procession without a permit with more than a dozen people last year. **** SIA In Another Row by Karamjit Kaur, Straits Times Singapore Airlines, already embroiled in a five-month dispute with travel agents in India over sales commissions, now faces a similar problem Down Under. **** Call For More Transparency by Goh Chin Lian, Straits Times The conduct and investment practices of Temasek Holdings and Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC) came under scrutiny on Monday - and they were found wanting. The need to be more transparent in their investments for greater public scrutiny and for a review of the way they manage Singapore's reserves were issues raised by three MPs. **** Swedish International Liberal Centre Says: We Are Not Funding NMP by Liew Hanqing, New Paper Mr Johan Skarendal, 29, a member of the Swedish International Liberal Centre (SILC), has rubbished online allegations that Mr Siew Kum Hong had asked for and is receiving foreign funding from his organisation. **** Low Backs Economic Model by Sue-Ann Chia, Straits Times The government's export-oriented economic growth model, which has come under attack recently, received support from an unexpected source on Monday - opposition leader Low Thia Khiang. The Workers' Party chief and Hougang MP defended the long-held growth model, saying in Mandarin: 'I believe it is correct to attract foreign investments to encourage competition in a free market, to open up our market and to go global and...integrate with the global economy.' **** Singapore Culture by Michael Phillips, Pro Commerce What we call art-culture is the by-product of diversity and meritocracy. Singapore is nearly all Chinese, not diverse like most entrepots. Without the specialization that goes with industry, and the necessary meritocracy neither get much weight in Singapore. **** Suicide In Singapore by Loh And Behold **** Continuing STTA Saga by Singapore Recalcitrant What seems to be mind-boggling is the non-chalant attitude of the government in this saga. **** SM Goh On 3 Principles Guiding "Changes" To Political System To Perpetuate PAP Rule In The Face Of A Restless Citizenry by Eugene Yeo, The Wayang Party Club Without constant external pressure from the citizenry exerted on the PAP to reform the broken system they have perpetuated over the years, any ???changes??? implemented by the PAP will be cosmetic at best. Singaporeans must not be hoodwinked by the PAP anymore to believe that they will heed our calls to liberalize the political system and space to allow more room for dissenting views to be heard. **** Singapore Warms To Economic Zone Proposal by John Burton, Financial Times Malaysia appears to have won support from Singapore for its plan to build a huge economic zone near the city-state that could foster closer economic co-operation between the two countries after years of bitter rivalry. **** ???????????? ??????????????????????????? by ???????????? ?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? **** Pleading Guilty To Assembly And Procession Without Permit - Why Pay More? by Chia Ti Lik To me, someone who has had the audacity to stand for public office, it was a simple matter of principle, of truthfulness and accountability, of being having the guts to break the law and face the consequences. Furthermore, the $400 is money from my own pocket which i will gladly pay as the price. **** Panel To Work With Filmmakers by Aaron Low, Straits Times A new advisory committee on films said they will work with filmmakers so that party political films they make are objectively assessed. **** Mediacorp Tries To Be Funny Again by My Very Own Glob "I was saddened and angered to learn that this is how Mediacorp treats working actors today." **** China, Australia To Build Final Leg Of Asian Railway by Luke Hunt, Voice Of America Chinese and Australian engineers are gearing up to build the final stretch of track in the Trans-Asian Railway, which will link Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand with Vietnam and China through Cambodia. **** But Butterflies Are Free by The Online Citizen The questions now being raised in the raging debate in the US are applicable to Singapore as well, such as how to prevent misuse or who should be accountable for abuses. Most of all ??? are such tactics or legislation actually effective or even necessary? Such questions are pertinent given that the use of the ISA has been stepped up in recent years, and particularly since the vast majority of detainees (both past and present) being Singaporeans rather than foreigners. It seems that, at present, a state which is supposed to be the guardian of a citizen???s liberty can all too easily turn into his gaoler. **** 6 Staff Left STTA After Lee Bee Wah Became President Who Needs 3 Deputy Presidents And 4 Vice Presidents To 'Assist' Her by The Wayang Party Club >From the blunders made by STTA so far in the handling of the Liu Guodong saga, it is clear that Lee Bee Wah and her committee are not performing up to the standard expected of them. **** 'Pick And Choose' MNCs by Derrick Ho, Straits Times Singapore should adopt a 'pick and choose' strategy when trying to attract multinational companies (MNCs) here, a backbencher advocated in Parliament on Tuesday. Instead of a 'all are welcome' approach, Singapore should offer maximum concessions particularly to international firms that are prepared to invest here for the long-haul, said Mr Liang Eng Hwa, MP for Holland-Bukit Timah GRC, in his speech during the debate on the President's address **** 2 More 'No's On Reserves by Derrick Ho, Straits Times **** Make NMP Scheme Permanent by Derrick Ho, Straits Times After being tried and tested for 19 years, it is time to make the Nominated Members of Parliament (NMP) scheme a permanent feature of Parliament, Nominated MP Loo Choon Yong said on Tuesday. **** Teach Character Values by Straits Times The apparent lack of civility and gracious behaviour during the recent Association of Women for Action and Research (Aware) saga is a clear indication that Singapore is still lagging behind in graciousness, said MP Lim Biow Chuan (Maine Parade GRC) on Tuesday. He urged schools to teach basic character values to students all the way till university level. **** MPs Call For Some Changes In Education Sector by Channel NewsAsia MPs have urged the Ministry of Education to revamp parts of the curriculum in schools. **** ST Letter In Response To China Worker Jailed For 10 Weeks by The Online Citizen A worker driven to attempt suicide is most likely an individual who is desperate rather than criminal-minded. While risky acts that endanger public safety must be deterred, it seems misguided to punish Mr. Zhao without giving due recognition to the underlying factors that drive one to such acts. **** PAP MPs Rebut Low THia Khiang's Views On Role of Opposition Party by S Ramesh, Channel NewsAsia From applesurf at myapplemenu.com Wed May 27 18:59:00 2009 From: applesurf at myapplemenu.com (applesurf at myapplemenu.com) Date: 27 May 2009 22:59:00 -0000 Subject: [MyAppleMenu] May 27, 2009 Message-ID: <20090527225900.68402.qmail@voot.pair.com> MyAppleMenu ==================================== **** Apple Amenable To Idea Of Pan-European iTunes Store by Dan Moren, Macworld **** Mac Clone Maker Psystar Files For Bankruptcy Protection by Erica Ogg, CNET The papers were filed in a Florida federal court Thursday. Psystar is more than $250,000 in debt, according to the bankruptcy petition, owed mostly to shipping companies, the IRS, and the law firm Carr & Farrell. **** iTunes Still Not Available In Some EU Countries. Here's Why by Nate Anderson, Ars Technica **** It's Time For The FTC To Investigate Mac Security by Ira Winkler, Computerworld How can Apple get away with this blatant disregard for security? **** My New Mac: Why I'm Downgrading From A Mac Pro To A Mac Mini by Kirk McElhearn, Kirville The more I thought about the Mac mini, the more it made sense. It???s basically a MacBook in a brick, as Rob Griffiths pointed out. Fast enough for most everything I need, and with 4 GB RAM, the only time I???ll not have an ideal amount of RAM is when running Windows. But it???s smaller, quieter and cooler than my Mac Pro, and uses less electricity. **** Ex-Hacker To Cut iPod's Wires by Mark Prigg, London Evening Standard Apple's iPod will soon be able to wirelessly sync music with your desktop computer - thanks to a Norwegian ex-hacker. **** Psystar's Bankruptcy Protection Filing Could Minimize Apple Suit by Erica Ogg, CNET Psystar, the controversial Florida company trying to sell so-called clones of Apple computers, says it doesn't have the money to fend off Apple's legal dogs. But with the company's Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection petition filed last week, it looks like Psystar could have minimized the damages it may have to pay Apple. **** iPhone Luring More Customers To AT&T Than Ever - Report by Aidan Malley, AppleInsider Long considered a lure for carriers, Apple's iPhone is now believed to be attracting a full third of those switching providers towards AT&T — the highest ever percentage of converts since the iPhone was released. **** Eucalyptus For iPhone by Ben Boychuk, Macworld Stanza remains the most versatile and arguably the best of the e-readers for the iPhone, but Eucalyptus represents a glimpse of the next great leap forward for iPhone e-reader apps. **** Perfect Diet Tracker 3.0 Review by Karl Hodge, Macworld UK **** Apple's Banner Ad Innovation by Jeff Sexton, Futurenow It appears as if Apple has figured out how to make animated banner ads un-ignorable AND enjoyable (rather than annoying). **** Apple's Back-To-School Promo Offers Free 8GB iPod Touch by AppleInsider Apple on Wednesday officially kicked off its 2009 back-to-school promotion, which offers a free 8GB iPod touch to students and educational staffers who purchase a qualifying Mac. **** FileBrowse Helps Organize Media Files by Nathan Alderman, Macworld FileBrowse is a beautiful, well-made media browser program, though how useful you find it will likely depend on what files you???re perusing. It can???t beat the Finder for everyday use, but it???s ideal for users with extensive photo or video collections. **** Destination: Treasure Island by Ted Bade, Inside Mac Games Destination: Treasure Island is an excellent graphical adventure game that offers a variety of challenging (but not impossible) puzzles to solve as you journey in this game set in the age of pirates and island adventures. The game offers great graphics, fun music, and a story line that had me hooked from the start. **** Apple Bumps White MacBook To 2.13GHz by Electronista Apple this morning quietly updated the plastic white MacBook to give it specifications that are at times better than the current aluminum model. The Tomorrow Weblog ==================================== **** How IBM Plans To Win Jeopardy! by David Talbot, MIT Technology Review IBM's Watson will showcase the latest tricks in natural-language processing. MyAppleMenu Reader ==================================== **** Why Are Humans Different From All Other Apes? It's The Cooking, Stupid by Dwight Garner, New York Times Apes began to morph into humans, and the species Homo erectus emerged some two million years ago, Mr. Wrangham argues, for one fundamental reason: We learned to tame fire and heat our food. **** Twilight Of The Tummlers by Mark Harris, New York Magazine Woody Allen and Larry David have just made a new movie together. Take a good look???you won???t see the likes of them again. **** Adaptation: On Literary Darwinism by William Deresiewicz, The Nation Enter the literary Darwinists, a still-small but militant insurgency dedicated to overthrowing the existing order in favor of a diametrically opposite approach. Their goal is not only to reseat literary studies on a basis of evolutionary thinking but to found a "new humanities," as the title of one book puts it, on scientific principles: empirical, quantitative, systematic, positivist, progressive. Instead of theory giving way to equally fanciful theory and interpretation succeeding equally subjective interpretation, literary studies would henceforth involve the gradual accumulation of objectively verifiable knowledge and thus a "shrinking [of] the space of possible explanation" such as has occurred in the sciences, where all research must either situate itself within the framework of existing theory or challenge it directly. And just as chemistry rests on physics and biology on chemistry, the foundation on which the humanities would rest, following the logic of consilience, would be the new biological theory of the human mind (the thing that produces the humanities in the first place): evolutionary psychology. **** Get Mine by Farhad Manjoo, Slate Could a personalized magazine help save print media? **** Play With Your Food, Just Don't Text! by Sara Rimer, New York Times Husbands, wives, children and dinner guests who would never be so rude as to talk on a phone at the family table seem to think it???s perfectly fine to text (or e-mail, or Twitter) while eating. **** They Had To Hand It To Me by Jane Black, Washington Post How the charms of true soft-shells subdued my inner crab. **** The Great Forgetting: 20 Years After Tiananmen Square by Mara Hvistendahl, The Chronicle Of Higher Education For a few years following 1989, videos about June Fourth ??? known in Mandarin simply as liu si, or "6/4" ??? circulated on the black market. Then the government began a campaign of forgetting, first spinning the event and then erasing it. SingaporeSurf ==================================== **** The Happy Fish Argument by Yaw Shin Leong The PAP???s rebuttal is itself simplistic and narrow in its perspective. This could well be a defensive knee jerk response and a reflection of the unease within its ranks. **** Smaller Group Representation Constituencies (GRCs) Are Possible by Ephraim Loy, A Writer's Blog: My Life, My Thoughts If GRCs are going to grow smaller, and if each continue to be helmed by an anchor minister, what is missing in this picture? No prizes for guessing! More ministers! **** Making The Opposition Case; Or Shoot. Foot. Yours. by Groundnotes In the end, while the MPs debated back and forth over the last two days, the best argument for a strong opposition came, ironically, from the shoddy reasoning of the PAP MPs. **** Don't Turn My Country Into An Administrative State by Gerald Giam, The Online Citizen We need more inspirational leaders, not corporate managers. The cabinet should not be an extension of the Civil Service or the corporate boardroom. **** Medieval Attitudes Towards Sex And Sexuality, Rather Than Tolerance Of Alternative Lifestyles, Undermine The Social Fabric by Ng E-Jay, Sgpolitics.net Besides delivering good sexuality education in schools, we should also promote a greater sense of compassion and regard for our fellow human beings, including the ability to tolerate differences amongst our fellow men and treat them as our equals whilst holding on to our private values. **** Review Temasek's Role by Straits Times Temasek Holdings can make a greater difference to Singapore by helping homegrown enterprises expand regionally and globally, said two MPs in Parliament on Tuesday. **** Improving Causeway Link More Practical Than Third Eastern Connection by Yeo Choon Seng, Straits Times Constructing a third link on the eastern part of Johor Baru makes planning sense. But as matters stand now, the second link is still underdeveloped - more than 10 years after it was built - and a third link may take an unacceptably longer time to realise. Nothing technical prevents us from doing both things at the same time: expand the Causeway, and build a third link. **** Sol's Short Memory Of Singapore Slur by Michael West, The Sydney Morning Herald **** Wendy's Signs Singapore Development Deal by Lisa Baertlein, Reuters Kopitiam Group is scheduled to open the first of the restaurants in late 2009, and build more than 35 Wendy's outlets throughout the country over the next 10 years. **** An Ill-Judged And Irresponsible Scoop by Au Yaipang, Yawning Bread This looks to me like part of a general pattern where the government ignores the substantive issues but goes after the act of protest. It appears to be hoping that severe penalties for protesting will stop people from complaining without their having to do anything about the underlying grievances. **** Goodyear's Tenure At Temasek Starts With Full In-Tray by John Burton, Financial Times The challenges that face Mr Goodyear were underscored this week when several members of Singapore???s parliament from the ruling party took the unusual step of criticising Temasek in a floor debate over the investment agency???s recent decision to sell its 3 per cent stake in Bank of America at an estimated loss of between $2.3bn and $4.6bn. ???Having a bunch of white guys at the top carries the risk of a political backlash among Singapore???s business leaders,??? said one local economist. ???Goodyear has never operated before in Singapore, which puts him at a disadvantage.??? **** Do We Really Have A "Visionary" Civl Service Or Just Highly Paid Bureaucrats? by The Wayang Party Club Looking at all the recent fiascos, from investment losses to oversights at ministry/stat board levels to outrageious statements by senior public servants and elected MPs, it appears that we have all the hardware but substandard soft/human-ware. **** Whatever The Issue, Let's Learn To Argue Well by Lisa Li Shi-En, Straits Times Given that Singapore will always have a diversity of views which cannot ever be fully censored, I suspect we will not stop arguing. Our best course of action is to learn to argue well. **** Trujillo's 'Racist, Backward' Claims Dismissed As Sour Grapes by Mitchell Bingemann and Teresa Ooi, The Australian Foreign-born executives lined up to say that Australia, like many nations, was coming to terms with the integration of different nationalities but they had never experienced racism in corporate life. **** Political Changes - What About The Media? by Andrew Loh, The Online Citizen The government needs to divest itself from the media. While such a move may not result in substantial or meaningful change immediately, it is, however, a necessary step towards a more active and participatory society. **** Consensus At The STTA by Jeanette Wang, Straits Times The Singapore Table Tennis Association's (STTA) executive committee have reached an agreement on how to handle the ongoing dispute with former national coach Liu Guodong, sources told The Straits Times on Tuesday. And while they declined to reveal what those steps may be, they are reportedly prepared to go to court - should the China national decide to take legal action against the association. **** Singapore Politician Says ASEAN Should Consider Expelling Myanmar by Sahit Nagpal, DPA South-East Asia's main political grouping has failed in its efforts to make Myanmar more democratic and should consider expelling it, as well as imposing limited sanctions, a Singaporean politician said Tuesday. **** Singapore Confirms First Case Of H1N1 by Channel NewsAsia Singapore has confirmed its first case of Influenza A (H1N1). The patient is currently being treated at the Communicable Disease Centre at Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH) and is in stable condition. **** ????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? by ?????????, ???????????? ??????????????????????????????56%????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????14????????????????????????????????? **** Government Appoints 7 Gatekeepers To Vet Political Films by Only "Objective" And "Factual" Political Films Please, We're Singaporeans **** 'Nominated' Ministers Idea by Clarissa Oon, Straits Times Appointing unelected 'nominated ministers', entrenching the Nominated MP scheme and scaling down group representation constituencies (GRCs) were among the suggestions made in Parliament on Tuesday on how the political system should evolve. **** Indranee Rajah's Flawed Rebuttal To Low Thia Kiang A Testimony Of The Calibre Of PAP's "Backdoor" MPs by Eugene Yeo, The Wayang Party Club **** Father Of "Get Out Of My Elite Uncaring Face!" Out Of Touch With Reality by Taikiew Many Singaporeans are already downgrading their needs, with those lower income family suffering more. A well paid Singaporean elite may downgrade from a 4-ply purple ultra soft & durable toilet paper to a 3-ply white one, but the lower income family would downgrade from a 2-ply house brand sure-to-get-abrasion toilet paper to a 1-ply nobrand sure-to-tear-while-wiping-your-butt toilet paper. These Singaporeans cannot downgrade their needs anymore. They would all end up with smelly ass. **** 5 Circle Line Stations Open by Yeo Ghim Lay, Straits Times The first five stations of the new Circle Line were opened by Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Teo Chee Hean on Wednesday morning. Trains will start rolling from Thursday morning at Bartley, Serangoon, Lorong Chuan, Bishan and Marymount stations. **** Stubborn Minded People Are Dangerous by Recruit Ong Prefacing speeches by stating one's faith is perfectly ok to me. But to base their political decisions on faith or values grounded in faith is another thing. **** Corruption Revisited by Today In Singapore The fact that corruption is inherently contradictory and irreconcilable with democracy, unfortunately, does not mean corruption cannot be found in democratic systems. That is why it is all the more important to put in place control mechanisms and establish systemic checks and balances to prevent people from abusing their power. Naturally, those entrenched in power will be fighting, through means fair or foul, to preserve the status quo. **** Fallacies Of The Boon Of PAP Dominance by Khairulanwar Zaini, The Online Citizen **** Embrace Diversity, Tolerance by Straits Times If Singapore falls prey to religious and racial bigotry, the economic crisis would become a growing cancer in society, instead of just a passing thunderstorm, minister of state for defence Koo Tsai Kee warned on Wednesday. **** Open Up Jobs In SWF Stakes by Derrick Ho, Straits Times The government should allow Singaporeans to work in the companies its sovereign wealth funds like Temasek and Government Investment Corporation have a substantial stake in, a Member of Parliament advocated on Wednesday. MP for Tampines GRC, Sin Boon Ann said Singapore should 'make better use of these investments to work harder for us' and not merely remain as a 'passive investor' as in most cases. **** STTA Exco Standing By Lee Bee Wah: Who Is Going To Foot Their Legal Fees If Liu Guodong Decides To Sue? by Eugene Yeo, The Wayang Party Club **** Singapore Casinos Target High-Rollers, May Hurt Macau by Candida Ng and Kevin Lim, Reuters Singapore's two upcoming casinos may draw some business from neighbouring Malaysia's Genting Highlands but the city-state's focus on high-rollers will likely have a greater impact on Macau and Australia. **** Abolish GRC System: Chiam by Straits Times Opposition MP Chiam See Tong on Wednesday called for the current Group Representation Constituency (GRC) system to be abolished. If this cannot be done away with, then it should be modified from the present five to six members to two, comprising an ethnic and a Chinese members, he said. **** Explain How He Fled Singapore by Derrick Ho, Straits Times A Member of Parliament has requested home affairs minister Wong Kan Seng to explain how terrorist kingpin Mas Selamat Kastari escaped to Malaysia and if he was helped by sympathisers. **** Malaysia Detains JI Leader Mas Selamat For Two Years by Channel NewsAsia An Islamic militant described as Singapore's most wanted man has been detained under Malaysian security laws for a two-year term, state media reported Wednesday. **** Changes To Electoral System To Encourage Wider Range Of Views In Parliament by Valarie Tan, Channel NewsAsia The Singapore government has announced proposed changes to the country's electoral system to encourage a wider range of views in Parliament, including opposition and non-government views. Prime minister Lee Hsien Loong said each Parliament will have at least nine opposition members and nine Nominated Members of Parliament (NMPs), so that there will be at least 18 Members of Parliament (MPs) who are not from the ruling party. **** On Proposed Changes To Electoral System by Yaw Shin Leong It is apparent that the objective of the PAP is to ensure that whilst a wider range of views in Parliament can be assured, but the change is designed in the hope that PAP's parliamentary dominance remains as it is. **** Smaller GRCs, More Singles by Straits Times **** Singapore PM Kills "Temasek II" Idea To Help Local Firms by Reuters The Singapore government will help nurture local companies compete in international markets, but will not force its sovereign wealth fund Temasek to finance them as suggested by some legislators, prime minister Lee Hsien Loong told parliament on Wednesday. "Government wants to help companies grow, is trying many ways and is willing to do more," Lee said. "But we don't believe that this can be done by the government by simply pouring money, or creating a 'Temasek II,' he said. **** ??????????????????A?????????????????????????????????????????? by ?????????, ???????????? ?????????????????????A???H1N1????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? **** Inmates Cook Up A Feast In Singapore Rehab Project by Candida Ng, Reuters Salmon tartare, chicken roulade and creme brulee are by no means standard prison fare, but these were dishes whipped up by some inmates in Singapore as part of a project aimed at easing them back into society. From applesurf at myapplemenu.com Thu May 28 18:59:00 2009 From: applesurf at myapplemenu.com (applesurf at myapplemenu.com) Date: 28 May 2009 22:59:00 -0000 Subject: [MyAppleMenu] May 28, 2009 Message-ID: <20090528225900.3821.qmail@voot.pair.com> MyAppleMenu ==================================== **** Beyond The Genius Bar by Ted Landau, Macworld The Genius Bar is not the only place you can turn. Whether you don???t have an Apple Store in your town or you???re just not ready to jump in the car and go, you have option. **** Tweetie 1.2 Adds Video Support by Jeff Gamet, The Mac Observer **** International Distribution Of iPhone Apps Broken? by iPodnn The international distribution of iPhone applications is not being handled properly at the App Store, one developer tells MacNN. **** Apple Updates Shuffle 3G Software, VoiceOver Kit by iPodnn The software addresses a rare issue that occasionally caused playback to stop. A number of other bug fixes have been added, along with support for the new VoiceOver Kit. **** No Space: Mac Menu Bar Madness by Kate MacKenzie, PixoBebo It???s getting crowded and it???s getting ugly. **** Ramming The iPhone Into The Enterprise by Randy George, InformationWeek The iPhone is actually more enterprise ready than you may realize. **** Economy Isn't Slowing Apple's Buidling Plans by Jefferson Graham, USA Today Apple said Wednesday that it plans to remodel 100 of its stores this year, to make more room for customer training and displayed products. Additionally, it will open 25 new stores, including a fourth location in New York City, and new ones in Paris, Italy and Germany. The Tomorrow Weblog ==================================== **** Plastic Logic's Touch-Scrteen E-Reader by Kate Greene, MIT Technology Review The company hopes to carve out a niche with its touch-based interface. **** How Technology Lifts Pixar's 'Up' by Daniel Terdiman, CNET If you want to consider a difficult computational problem, try thinking of the algorithms required to animate more than 10,000 helium balloons, each with its own string, but each also interdependent on the rest, which are collectively hoisting aloft a small house. MyAppleMenu Reader ==================================== **** Have Camera, Will Shoot, And Shoot by Michelle Slatalla, New York Times At this point, there aren???t enough photo albums in the world to contain all my photographs. And even if there were, is there enough time remaining, between now and the end of the world, to sort and organize and cull the collection? **** Viewing A TV Death In Four Acts by Robert Fulford, National Post Most episodic shows tell two stories simultaneously. One deals with fictional characters. The other is the narrative's slow evolution under the pressure of desperate producers and harried writers. SingaporeSurf ==================================== **** Minimum Nine Opposition MPs From Now On by Au Yaipang, Yawning Bread Lee's hand is forced. He has to allow more opposing voices into Parliament before the street becomes more attractive than elections and the stuffy chamber. **** TOC Apologises To Ms Stephanie Chok by The Online Citizen **** PM's Gambit Is Manufatured Dissent Par Excellence by Choo Zheng Xi, The Online Citizen Right thinking members of the public should see this exercise as the farce that it really is. If anything has changed, it has changed for the worse. **** Changes To Parliamentary System: Don't Be Lulled Into The Political "Mind Trap" Set By The PAP by Ng E-Jay, Sgpolitics.net All these token changes announced in Parliament do little to alter the status quo. They merely provide a safe outlet for the opposition to air their views without disrupting the PAP???s power base. **** Girl's Fall Due To Human Error by Cheryl Ong, Straits Times Inadequate checks led to an eight-year-old girl's fall through a gap in a metal railing at the lift landing outside her fourth-floor Telok Blangah flat, the committee that investigated the mishap concluded. **** To Build Up An Enterprise Ecosystem by Pearl Forss, Today Singapore will set up an Economic Strategies Committee to study the long-term economic transformation of the country. **** Move? I Can't Afford To... by Ng Bock Kim, Today I understand the environmental issues involved in the building of the Marina Barrage and I am not against the relocation exercise. What irks me is that I now face an uncertain future because of the move, but the authorities are not helping to defray the cost of this move. **** ????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? by ???????????????????????????????????? ??????T3????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? **** e-learning by ???????????? ??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? **** The Crucial Role Of The Singapore Journalist by Bernard Aw's Blog **** Is The Workers' Party An Effective Elected "Opposition"? by Fang Zhi YUan, The Wayang Party Club While it is critical to have an elected opposition in Parliament to add diversity to the views being espoused and to ensure the ruling party is held accountable to the people, an opposition which does not dare to push the boundaries and provide a stiff challenge to the incumbent will be more of a hindrance than an asset to the progress of democracy in Singapore. **** Support Chiam's Call To Abolish The GRC System And Reform The Media by Fang Zhi Yuan, The Wayang Party Club **** Changes To Electoral System Counter Productive by My Singapore News As for the possibility of more opposition MPs or NCMPs, that may not be a good thing given that opposition MPs are mostly very simplistic in their views, of no substance and only opposed for opposition's sake. This is a very simplistic view in assessing the achievements of opposition parties in Singapore. **** Will Singapore Usher In Government 2.0? by Subba's Serendipitous Moments One look at the Government CIO mandate here shows it is inwardly focused, tactically driven and continues to continues to operate from a traditional mindset. **** 'Intolerance' Is A Threat by Jeremy Au Yong, Straits Times Intolerance, not the economic crisis, poses the biggest threat to Singapore, Associate Professor Koo Tsai Kee (Tanjong Pagar GRC) warned in Parliament on Wednesday. **** Sexual Slavery Tolerated In Decent Singapore by David Armstrong, Bangkok Post Singapore has thousands of foreign prostitutes but are they sellers or victims? The Singapore government is making sure it does not have to answer that question. **** I Am Singaporean XVII - Rhetorics by Die Neue Welle Of course, you can only use such tactics if you are in a position of power ??? reliance of power is always a good sign that some people are using authority too much and not their own brains, or their senses in judging the real situation on the ground. **** Foreign Worker Enclaves Mushroom In Singapore by Philip Lim, AFP While more affluent expatriate families live in upmarket areas, workers like Baskaran are often housed in far-flung, cramped dormitories, and congregate in their thousands at favourite locations to relax on their days off. **** Couple Guilty Of Sedition by Elena Chong, Straits Times A Christian couple have been found guilty in Singapore's first sedition trial for distributing seditious and undesirable publications as well as possession. **** Temasek Made Net Gain Of $39 Bln Since 2003 - Finance Minister by Kevin Lim and Nopporn Wong-Anan, Reuters Singapore sovereign wealth fund Temasek will remain a long-term investor despite its early exit from Bank of America and the fund made S$56 billion ($38.5 billion) in the six years since March 2003, finance minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam said on Thursday. **** Unrealistic For Temasek To Always Outperform Or Avoid Losses, Says Finance Minister by Channel NewsAsia Finance minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam has said it is not realistic to expect Temasek Holdings to outperform in every cycle or to avoid losses on every individual investment, or its overall portfolio when the markets go through sharp corrections. **** MP Apologises For Slip by Straits Times MP FOR Tampines GRC on Thursday apologised in Parliament for citing an e-mail from a writer whom he said he did not know, and for not verifying the substance of the contents. **** Singapore Defends Temasek's Performance As Portfolio Shrinks by Netty Ismail, Bloomberg **** Singapore To Amend Tax Laws In LIne With International Standards by Wong Siew Ying, Channel NewsAsia Singapore will be amending its laws to better align with international tax standards. **** Engage Myanmar, Not Isolate by Goh Chin Lian, Straits Times Senior minister of state for foreign affairs Zainul Abidin Rasheed defended Asean's preference to engage Myanmar rather than isolate it. **** Changes To Electoral System Not Aimed At Keeping PAP In Power by S Ramesh, Channel NewsAsia Dr Balakrishnan stressed that Singapore's political system is one that is slanted in favour of ensuring that only political parties which can form strong governments will be serious contenders in the general elections. **** 3 More H1N1 Cases by Straits Times Singapore on Thursday confirmed three more cases of Influenza A (H1N1). The patients are being treated at the Communicable Disease Centre at Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH). From applesurf at myapplemenu.com Fri May 29 18:59:00 2009 From: applesurf at myapplemenu.com (applesurf at myapplemenu.com) Date: 29 May 2009 22:59:00 -0000 Subject: [MyAppleMenu] May 29, 2009 Message-ID: <20090529225900.9315.qmail@voot.pair.com> MyAppleMenu ==================================== **** Apple Releases iWork '09 9.0.2 Update by Jonathan Seff, Macworld The release notes say that iWork 9.0.2 improves reliability when saving some iWork documents, and also when playing some presentations more than once during a single Keynote session. **** How To Reformat A New External Hard Disk by Matt Neuburg, TidBITS Reformat a new external hard disk? You wouldn't think this would constitute any challenge, would you? You start up Disk Utility, you select the external disk, you switch to the Erase panel, and you take a deep breath and click Erase, right? Wrong. **** What's In Store For iPhone App Developers? by Paul Brown, The Guardian Whether you've got the skill to build a killer app, or just the idea for one, firms are fighting for the chance to get it into the App Store. **** New Yorker iPhone Cover Lifts Sales For Brushes App by Jenna Wortham, New York Times Artist Jorge Colombo may have drawn the dreamy, nocturnal cityscape of Manhattan on the June 1 cover, using his iPhone, but a software engineer named Steve Sprang built Brushes, the iPhone application that transformed Mr. Columbo???s swipes into digital strokes. **** Leaf Trombone: World Stage For iPhone by Jon Brandon, Macworld Leaf Trombone is insanely addictive once you feel the lure of the World Stage and really want to compete note for note with other players. Sure, Leaf Trombone is hard and not perfectly stable, but it???s one of those games that uses an iPhone in a creative, compelling way. **** Exercise Diligence by Straits Times Members of Parliament were reminded on Friday to exercise due diligence when using unverified reports and to refrain from repeating unsubstantiated allegations in their speeches. While they are entitled to be forthright and forceful, they should not abuse the parliamentary privilege and immunity they are being accorded and must remain accountable, said Mr Mah Bow Tan, leader of the house and government whip. **** Behind The iPhone-Created New Yorker Cover by Lance Whitney, CNET **** Relaunch Creates Launchable Application Sets by Deborah Shadovitz, Macworld If you juggle work all day and find yourself switching from one set of apps to another, you can appreciate Relaunch. **** Zero Panic Migration To A New Mac, Part 1 by John Martellaro, The Mac Observer The Tomorrow Weblog ==================================== **** Virtual Apps Drift Into The Cloud by Erica Naone, MIT Technology Review Software developed by rPath makes it easier to port applications to the cloud. **** Gmail In Real-Time: Google Does The Wave by Tom Krazit, CNET Google is ready to start talking about its answer to demand for real-time--yet organized--Internet communication. MyAppleMenu Reader ==================================== **** Loves Me, Love Me Not (Do The Math) by Steven Strogatz, New York Times Although these examples are whimsical, the equations that arise in them are of the far-reaching kind known as differential equations. They represent the most powerful tool humanity has ever created for making sense of the material world. **** Late Night With Jimmy Fallon Is Out Of Beta by Brian Raftery, Wired On a Friday afternoon in mid-March Jimmy Fallon stands on the stage of NBC's Studio 6B fine-tuning tonight's monologue. Twenty or so Rockefeller Center tourists are quietly ushered in to watch the host of Late Night With Jimmy Fallon tell one joke after another, each scrawled on a scrap of paper. If the gag works and the audience laughs, it stays in the pile and makes it on-air; if it stiffs, Fallon drops the paper to the floor, where it's presumably swept up and FedExed to Carson Daly. **** Free Market Faith by Caspar Melville, New Humanist Globalisation is leading to more belief, not less. SingaporeSurf ==================================== **** Singapore Supports Initatives Against Indiscriminate Use Of Anti-Personnel Mines by May Wong, Channel NewsAsia Singapore supports initiatives against the indiscriminate use of anti-personnel mines, especially when they are used against innocent civilians. Deputy prime minister and defence minister Teo Chee Hean told Parliament that Singapore maintains the right to use anti-personnel mines for self-defence. **** A Mockery Of Parliament - Appointed MPs, Loser MPs, Walkover MPs... by Andrew Loh, The Online Citizen Parliament being filled with a majority of un-elected members is a joke. Pure and simple, no matter what rhetoric the prime minister uses in trying to convince one and all to accept these changes. **** Beware Of Greeks Bearing Gifts by Yaw Shin Leong **** Just Make Elections Free And Fair, No Need For Wayang by Singapore Democrats Parliament, if the PAP needs to be reminded, is not a feedback session to canvas for a ???wider range??? of views. It is an institution where laws are made and where the Executive is called to account for its actions and policies. There is no need to conduct this wayang exercise with the NCMP and NMP systems. Do the right thing by ensuring that the electoral process is transparent, free and fair. **** Tweaking The NCMP Scheme by Groundnotes **** More Tweaks To The Political System... by Diary Of A Singaproean Mind Our forefathers fought for Singapore to be freed from the shackles of colonialism and for us to be able to run this country for our own interests instead of those of our colonial masters. Two generations later we find ourselves struggling again to restore democracy and bring about a government that works for our interests instead of its own. **** Why It Is More Important To Have 29 Elected Opposition MPs Than 20 NCMPs by Fang Zhi Yuan, The Wayang Party Club Singaporeans must know and understand the crucial differences between an elected opposition MP and a NCMP and the implications behind them. **** The Fallacy Of "Growth At All Costs" (Part our) by Rajiv Chaudhry, The Online Citizen **** Licence For Temp Operators by Melissa Sim, Straits Times >From June 1, all operators of temporary markets or food centres will be licensed and held liable for hygiene lapses at the places, a move prompted by the Indian rojak poisoning cases last month. **** Yaacob Admits "Lapse" By NEA Without Apology: An Example Of Zero Accountability In A "Strong" Government by Eugene Yeo, The Wayang Party Club NEA???s CEO Andrew Tan should be sacked or asked to resign and the entire temporary market committee be charged in court for neligience. Dr Yaacob must apologize to Singaporeans for the mistake. This is the minimum we expect from a first world government. **** Victims Of Reverse Tactical Ploy Or Party Political Opportunists? by Khairulanwar Zaini, The Online Citizen Not just WP but all opposition parties should see that the latest move by the PAP is a reverse tactical ploy which will help the PAP retain the upper hand in the next elections. **** Unfair To COmpare Disparity In Fines by Andre Yeo, New Paper **** Change To Social Services by Sue-Ann Chia, Straits Times Dr Vivian Balakrishnan wants to change the structure of social services to be more ground up, so that the people in charge 'are truly the voluntary welfare organisations (VWOs) on the ground'. **** Singapore Rebel And One Nation Under Lee Resubmitted by Only "Objective" And "Factual" Political Films Please, We're Singaporeans **** Call To Suspend Myanmar by Goh Chin Lian, Straits Times Mr Charles Chong (Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC) and Mr Inderjit Singh (Ang Mo Kio GRC) argued that having Myanmar as a member would dent the credibility of Asean in the eyes of the world. Replying, senior minister of state for foreign affairs Zainul Abidin Rasheed defended Asean's preference to engage Myanmar rather than isolate it. **** Speeches 'Should Be Free' by Clarissa Oon, Straits Times Baey Yam Keng says this will allow Singaporeans to be plugged in fully to the debates. **** Settle Fairly, Move On by Straits Times The parties embroiled in the Singapore Table Tennis Association (STTA) dispute over the nomination process for the Coach of the Year Award should settle the matter 'in a dignified and fair manner', minister for community development, youth and sports urged on Friday **** Amnesty International's 2008 Report On Singapore by Seelan Palay's Blog **** ????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? by ???????????? ???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? **** MOH To Study H1N1 Bug And Fine-Tune Flu Control Measures by Julia Ng, Channel NewsAsia **** Temasek Considers Offer For Chartered Stake by Costas Paris and Se Young Lee, Wall Street Journal Singapore state investment company Temasek Holdings Pte. Ltd. is considering an offer for its entire stake in Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing Ltd. for about 2.35 billion Singapore dollars (US$1.62 billion), two people familiar with the situation said. From applesurf at myapplemenu.com Sat May 30 18:59:00 2009 From: applesurf at myapplemenu.com (applesurf at myapplemenu.com) Date: 30 May 2009 22:59:00 -0000 Subject: [MyAppleMenu] May 30, 2009 Message-ID: <20090530225900.44925.qmail@voot.pair.com> MyAppleMenu ==================================== **** ACU Students Pushing iPhone And iPod Technology To The Limits by Brian Bethel, Abilene Reporter-News **** iPhone Applications Can Help The Autistic by Greg Toppo, USA Today MyAppleMenu Reader ==================================== **** Food Bloggers Of 1940 by Jonathan Miles, New York Times America may have been a younger land back then, as Kurlansky???s title suggests, but with its boundless appetite, it???s far from finished growing. **** Food Tube by Dawn Drzal, New York Times Despite its pile of data and array of provocative theories, ???Watching What We Eat??? stops short of resolving the ???persistent paradox??? it raises: Why are we transfixed by the sight of someone cooking on television when we might not love to do it ourselves ??? or might not do it at all? SingaporeSurf ==================================== **** Irresponsible For Dr Vivian Blakrishnan To Distance Himself From The STTA Saga by Eugene Yeo, The Wayang Party Club Singaporeans are calling Dr Vivian to step in not to ???micromanage the awards???, but to resolve the matter by asking Lee Bee Wah to either substantiate her allegations about Liu Guodong or retract her statements and apologize without any reservation. **** Is This A Sign Of Future Rivalry? by Ng Tze Yong, New Paper **** Don't Over Rely On Foreigners by Straits Times **** How ST Covered The Story by Han Fook Kwang, Straits Times I stand by the professionalism of our reporters. The personal attacks against the integrity of our journalists sadden me because they show the vindictiveness of our critics and the length to which they are prepared to go to attack our professionalism. In fact, there appears to be an organised campaign to discredit the media, with mass e-mail being sent, including to Reach, the government feedback portal. The Straits Times has no hidden agenda to push this line or that, or to favour one group against another. On this story, as with others, we were driven by our desire to provide as much information to our readers as possible, in as timely a manner. That remains our primary objective. **** Is The HDB Profiteering From Flat Ownes' Woes? by Leong Sze Hian, The Online Citizen From applesurf at myapplemenu.com Sun May 31 18:59:00 2009 From: applesurf at myapplemenu.com (applesurf at myapplemenu.com) Date: 31 May 2009 22:59:00 -0000 Subject: [MyAppleMenu] May 31, 2009 Message-ID: <20090531225900.91442.qmail@voot.pair.com> MyAppleMenu ==================================== **** Apple Extends Old MacBook Pro Graphics Warranty To Three Years by Aidan Malley, AppleInsider Illustrating the scope of a flaw in older NVIDIA graphics chipsets, Apple has extended its special warranty on the GeForce 8600M GT in certain MacBook Pros from two to three years. **** Shooting To Software Stardom On The iPhone by Randall Stross, New York Times ???Apple doesn???t want the money. It???s a level playing field,??? said Matt Murphy, a venture capitalist at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. If Apple likes the app, he added, ???it doesn???t matter if you???re a one-person or a 10,000-person company; they???ll put it in ???New??? or ???What???s Hot.??? ??? **** Mophie Juice Pack Air by Jon Fingas, Electronista **** Apple Now Charging To Re-Download Aps On The iPhone? by Rene Ritchie, The iPhone Blog Looks like Apple???s begun charging full price if you try to download an app you???ve already bought over the iPhone. This did not used to be the case ??? previously you???d be given a dialog stating you???d already bought it and you could go ahead and re-download it for free. Now the dialog says you can still re-download it for free on your computer (via iTunes), but if you want to download it again directly to your iPhone, you???ve got to buy it again. MyAppleMenu Reader ==================================== **** Science Fiction's Vital Contribution To The Life Of English by Sam Jordison, The Guardian If you measure the health of literature by its impact on language, than there's no genre in better condition than SF. **** The Commander In Chef by Amanda Hesser, New York Times Because terrific local ingredients aren???t much use if people are cooking less and less; cooking is to gardening what parenting is to childbirth. **** The Demise Of 'Form Follows Function' by Alice Rawsthorn, New York Times If there was a (booby) prize for the most misused design clich??, a firm favorite would be ???form follows function,??? with ???less is more??? coming a close second. **** Secrets In The Checkout Line by Rachel Manteuffel, Washington Post I thought we were friends, until his revelation raised uncomfortable questions. SingaporeSurf ==================================== **** Gay Nuptials: Suing, Voting And Feasting by Au Waipang, Yawning Bread A future in which most developed countries legally recognise gay marriages is now within sight. How Singapore can remain attractive to talent when we are so out of sync with our major trading partners does not seem to have exercised the brains of the ostriches in the sand that are our government. Nor how we can persuade emigr?? Singaporeans to return if they have married their same-sex partners under the law in Western countries ??? it's already happening, in case you don't know. **** Contraception: Singapore Style by Ng Wan Ching, New Paper Amid all the buzz about sexual education programmes in schools and what is appropriate to be taught, a study has found 'worrying' gaps in the knowledge of even post-secondary students. **** Made-To-Order Playmaids by Seah Chiang Nee, The Star No contract, no marriage, no legal complications. The woman just moves in as part-time mistress and home minder. **** Where Is STTA's "Fairness And Dignity" WHen Its President Made Damaging Remarks About Liu Without Substantiating It? by Eugene Yeo, The Wayang Party Club **** No Hurry To Return by Valerie Chia, Straits Times Former head coach Guodong aims to focus on job and the birth of his first child. **** Health Ministry Confirms Fifth Case Of H1N1 In Singapore by Cheryl Lim, Channel NewsAsia **** SAF Can Continue To Train At Shoalwater Bay Till 2019 by S Ramesh, Channel NewsAsia The agreement was renewed and signed by the defence ministers of Singapore and Australia on Sunday.