[MyAppleMenu] Mar 16, 2010

[applesurf at myapplemenu.com]

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

**** Surfing In Antarctica <http://www.red-sweater.com/blog/1128/surfing-in-antarctica>
Daniel Jalkut, Red Sweater Blog

While the rest of the world iterates on existing solutions to known problems, Apple discovers and solves problems we didn’t even know we had.

**** An Ode To DiskWarrior, SuperDuper, And Dropbox <http://daringfireball.net/2010/03/ode_to_diskwarrior_superduper_dropbox>
John Gruber, Daring Fireball

Three weeks ago the hard drive in my MacBook Pro went bad. So far as I can tell, I didn’t lose a single byte of data. Here’s how.

**** The MacBundles Offers 'Build Your Own Bundle' Option <http://www.macworld.com/article/147084/2010/03/bundle_build.html?lsrc=rss_main>
Ramu Nagappan, Macworld

The MacBundles has put a new spin on the now well established software bundling promotion. In addition to offering the usual “batch of a dozen software titles for $50,” the MacBundles has created a BYOB (Build Your Own Bundle) option that lets you customize the package.

**** Things 1.3 <http://db.tidbits.com/article/11084?rss&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+tidbits_main+%28TidBITS%3A+Mac+News+for+the+Rest+of+Us%29>
Doug McLean, TidBITS

Busy people take notice: the latest version of Cultured Code's popular task manager Things is now available and comes with a big functionality boost. Version 1.3 brings a new Mixed Projects feature, enabling users to work with projects that have active, inactive, and scheduled to-dos all at once, something that wasn't previously possible.

**** Opinion: 'Less Is More,' The iPad Paradox <http://www.macworld.com/article/147090/2010/03/ipad_paradox.html?lsrc=rss_main>
Mike Elgan, Computerworld

The truth is that people don’t buy consumer electronics for the quantity of features. They buy it for the quality of experience.

**** Aperture Update Fixes Video Issues <http://www.macworld.com/article/147099/2010/03/aperture_slideshow_update11.html?lsrc=rss_main>
Serenity Caldwell, Macworld

**** Apple Hires 'Senior Prototype Engineer' For Work On Wearable Computing <http://blogs.computerworld.com/15750/apple_hires_senior_prototype_engineer_for_work_on_wearable_computers>
Seth Weintraub, Computerworld

Richard DeVaul's Linkedin status changed last month from Founder & President at AWare Technologies to Senior Prototype Engineer at Apple, Inc.  This is a significant hire for Apple and one that shows the company is looking far ahead into the future of mobile computing.

**** Startup Developers Represent One In Five On Apple's App Store <http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/10/03/15/iphone_app_store_still_offers_level_playing_field_for_developers.html>
AppleInsider

An estimated one in five iPhone developers are companies founded specifically to create applications for the iPhone, according to the latest Flurry Smartphone Industry Pulse survey. That represents the second-largest category of developers behind only preexisting online companies, including giants like Google, Facebook and eBay. Those established brands take up 22 percent of the iPhone developer share.

**** How Long Can Little Developers Hang On At Apple's App Store? <http://mediamemo.allthingsd.com/20100315/how-long-can-little-developers-hang-on-at-apples-app-store/>
Peter Kafka, Wall Street Journal

One of the most interesting things about Apple’s App Store is that it is a level playing field, or at least it’s supposed to be. That said, it certainly helps to be one of the big guys.

**** Microsoft Getting Closer To Apple, More Clues <http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/technologybrierdudleysblog/2011351452_microsoft_getting_closer_to_ap.html>
Brier Dudley, Seattle Times

Brad Smith, Microsoft's general counsel and senior vice president, welcomed Apple's lawsuit as the opening salvo in a bigger effort to sort out who owns the technology used in smartphones and start collecting a standard set of royalties. License holders have been talking about this behind the scenes for some time, and Apple brought it out in the open, he said.

**** New Google Hire Takes On Apple <http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703909804575124031293545158.html?mod=googlenews_wsj>
John Letzing, Wall Street Journal

Tim Bray, a software developer employed until recently at Sun Microsystems Inc., said Monday he has joined Google as a "developer advocate" with a focus on the company's Android operating system. And he wasted no time decrying Apple's vision of the cellphone market and strategy for the iPhone.

**** Apple's Mac Mini Server 'Ideal' For The Small Office <http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9168678/Apple_s_Mac_Mini_server_ideal_for_the_small_office?source=rss_opsys>
Ryan Faas, Computerworld

The Mac Mini server is a well-priced solution for small businesses.



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

**** Twitter CEO Unveils '@Anywhere' Platform <http://news.cnet.com/8301-13577_3-20000474-36.html?part=rss&amp;subj=news&amp;tag=2547-1_3-0-20>
Caroline McCarthy, CNET News

A brief demo of @Anywhere showed off "hovercards" that bring up Twitter information with a mouse-over, let readers or users connect with their Twitter accounts much like Facebook Connect, or explore more specific possibilities, like instantly following a newspaper columnist's Twitter account by clicking on his or her byline.



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

**** Astral Weeks: Fiction That's Strange And Fantastic <http://www.latimes.com/features/books/la-caw-astral-weeks14-2010mar14,0,2443327.story?track=rss&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+features%2Fbooks+%28Los+Angeles+Times+-+Books%29>
Ed Parks, Los Angeles Times

Stories soar to imaginative heights and into unexpected dimensions in 'Real Unreal: Best American Fantasy, Volume 3.'

**** The Homer Of The Ants <http://www.nybooks.com/articles/23763?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+nybooks+%28The+New+York+Review+of+Books%29>
Margaret Atwood, The New York Review of Books

People have long been fascinated by the similarities between ants and human societies. Though there are no ant symphony orchestras, secret police, or schools of philosophy, both ants and men conduct wars, divide into specialized castes of workers, build cities, maintain infant nurseries and cemeteries, take slaves, practice agriculture, and indulge in occasional cannibalism, though ant societies are more energetic, altruistic, and efficient than human ones.

The mirroring makes us nervous: Are we not enough like ants or are we too much like them? Our ambivalence shows: being compared to an ant can be either a compliment or an insult.



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

**** What's The Update On Digital Learning? <http://www.straitstimes.com/STForum/Story/STIStory_502528.html>
Patrick Sio, Straits Times

**** Singapore Death Sentences Challenged <http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/mar/15/singapore-drug-execution-challenge-kong>
Afua Hirsch, The Guardian

Automatic execution for drug smugglers is inhumane and disproportionate, a court in Singapore has heard, as a 21-year-old challenged his death sentence for bringing heroin into the country.

**** Sands Resort Complex To Open In Singapore <http://intransit.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/03/15/sands-resort-complex-to-open-in-singapore/>
Dan Saltzstein, New York Times

Singapore isn’t exactly lacking for high-end lodging, but the Las Vegas Sands hopes to top them all with its new Marina Bay Sands Resort, which features a dizzying array of luxury offerings.

I don't care about the casinos or the restaurants -- but I am eagerly awaiting the arrival of the Lion King.

**** Coffee Shop And The Bank <http://tankinlian.blogspot.com/2010/03/coffee-shop-and-bank.html>
Tan Kin Lian

The banks, which makes billions of dollars of profit a year, forget that many people in Singapore have to work 8 hours a day to earn $50, which is the amount that they charge for a small banking service. Perhaps our government, which gives the licence to the bank to operate the essential banking service, also forgets this point.

We also sold our POSB to DBS.

**** Judges Reserve Judgement In Yong’s Mandatory Death Penalty Appeal <http://theonlinecitizen.com/2010/03/judges-reserve-judgement-in-yongs-mandatory-death-penalty-appeal/>
Wong Chun Han, The Online Citizen

The Court of Appeal reserved judgement today in the case of convicted Malaysian drug mule Yong Vui Kong, who has challenged the constitutionality of the mandatory death sentence he received. Chief Justice Chan Sek Keong told a packed courthouse, after a two-and-a-half-hour-long hearing, that the Court would retire to consider the case and announce its decision at a later date.

**** M Ravi: Death Penalty Should Not Be Dispensed ‘In An Automated, Robotic, Spasmodic Approach’ <http://theonlinecitizen.com/2010/03/m-ravi-death-penalt/>
Yini Chua, The Online Citizen

Representing Yong was Mr M Ravi of LF Violet Netto. His core argument was centered on the principle of one’s right to life, as echoed by Article 9(1) of the Singapore Constitution, which states that no person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty save in accordance of the law.

Mr. Ravi challenged the constitutionality of the mandatory death penalty, stressing that it failed to deal with Article 9(1) adequately and adapt to changing standards of international law. He also argued that Article 9(1) prohibits the arbitrary imposition of the death penalty, an act which is also against customary international law. According to Mr. Ravi, there is growing universal consensus that the mandatory death penalty is a cruel and unusual punishment and involves deprivation to life.

**** 付费电视的隐忧 <http://www.zaobao.com/yl/yl100316_009.shtml>
高极登, 联合早报

**** Foyce Makes Police Report <http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_502675.html>
Straits Times

**** World Cup Deal For S'pore By Month's End? <http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1043882/1/.html>
Ian De Cotta, Today

After months of uncertainty for fans, MediaCorp understands an announcement by joint bidders SingTel and StarHub on broadcast details is just around the corner.

**** A Bleak Take Of The Court Of Appeal And Yong Vui Kong <http://inhisblood.blogspot.com/2010/03/bleak-take-of-court-of-appeal-and-yong.html>
Covered In His Blood

While it is a noble cause to argue for the abolishment of the mandatory death penalty, and Yong's case would be a best example to demonstrate how cruel and indiscriminate the mandatory death penalty can be, the courts doesn't seem to be the place to effect some change. At the end of the day, what is needed is politicians to bring up the debate in parliament as civil society can only create the 'noise' and awareness but not change the legislation which judges are bounded by. Until then, it saddens me as I realise that Yong would likely be just another example.

**** Cooling-Off Day May Lead To Heated Confusion <http://theonlinecitizen.com/2010/03/toc-editorial-cooling-off-day-may-lead-to-heated-confusion/>
Ng E-Jay, The Online Citizen

The permission given to the mainstream media to continue reporting on the election whilst alternative voices and opposition parties have to grapple with vaguely worded legislation in a bid to stay within the law creates an unfair playing field that can only sow greater mistrust for the electoral system.

**** Falling Prey In The Lion City <http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/fmt-english/news/general/3282-falling-prey-in-the-lion-city>
Free Malaysia Today

**** Singapore's Huge Bet On Sex And Gambling Is About To Pay Off Big Time <http://www.businessinsider.com/singapores-huge-bet-on-sex-and-gambling-is-ab-2010-3>
Vincent Fernando, Business Insider

Something clicked many years back when Singapore suddenly realized that the key to being a world city isn't just about business... it is about having fun too.

Since then the city has been transforming itself with a focus on both ease of doing business plus quality of life for those who do business. Thus both prostitution and gambling are legal in by-the-book Singapore. And brand new integrated resorts (casinos) are coming online.

**** Government Appeals Acquittals <http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_502748.html>
Kor Kian Beng, Straits Times

A High Court judge reserved judgment on Tuesday on a rare appeal by the Government against the acquittal of five opposition leaders and supporters for taking part in an illegal procession in 2007.

It's innocent until proven guilty; furthermore, the five person have already been acquitted. Why is Straits Times still calling this an illegal procession?

**** S'pore Will Co-operate With Romanian Authorities On Silviu Ionescu: MFA <http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1043992/1/.html>
Channel NewsAsia

Singapore said it has informed Romanian authorities that it will co-operate with them in their investigation on former diplomat Dr Silviu Ionescu.