[MyAppleMenu] Mar 24, 2010

[applesurf at myapplemenu.com]

MyAppleMenu
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**** Review: Twitter Client YoruFukurou Has Everything You Need And A Great Name <http://www.cultofmac.com/review-twitter-client-yorufukurou-has-everything-you-need-and-a-great-name/34653?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+cultofmac%2FbFow+%28Cult+of+Mac%29>
Giles Turnbull, Cult of Mac

**** Harvard Lectures, Podcasts Come To iTunes U <http://www.macworld.com/article/150043/2010/03/harvard_itunesu.html?lsrc=rss_main>
Nicholas Bonsack, Macworld

Want an Ivy League education but don’t want to pay Ivy League prices? That’s not exactly what you’ll get from Harvard’s offerings at iTunes U, but you’re sure to find plenty of quality, Harvard-produced content at no cost to you.

iTunesU is a great feature in the iTunes universe. Do check it out.

**** 3G iPad Will Allow Data Upgrades For 250 MB Plan <http://db.tidbits.com/article/11106>
Glenn Fleishman, TidBITS

**** App Developers Are Gearing Up For Apple's iPad <http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2010-03-24-ipadapps24_CV_N.htm>
Jefferson Graham, USA Today

The iPad, a 9.7-inch touch-screen computer that Apple touts as a multimedia e-reader and mobile Web surfer, is set to launch April 3, starting at $499. It is an understatement to say that Lahman, and thousands of other developers who created programs for the iPhone, are excited about the possibilities. "If there ever was a space to do some land-grabbing in, this is it," says Lahman, Gogii's CEO.

**** Where Is My All-in-One Connected-HDTV, Apple? <http://digitaldaily.allthingsd.com/20100323/where-is-my-all-in-one-connected-hdtv-apple/?mod=ATD_rss&mod=atd>
John Paczkowski, Wall Street Journal

Given Munster’s confidence in an Apple gambit in the television market, how long will it be before we see one? Two to four years, says the analyst–about the time we see an a-la-carte iTunes TV Pass.

**** Businesses Want Apple's iPad, Too <http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/mar2010/tc20100323_888275.htm>
Olga Kharif, BusinessWeek

Business demand for the iPad may be greater than expected. Companies and workers are buying the tablet to use it for communications and mobile productivity.

**** E-Book Sellers Face A Battle To Win iPad Customers <http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/03/24/e-book-sellers-face-a-battle-to-win-ipad-customers/?partner=rss&emc=rss>
Nick Bilton, New York Times

Apple iPad owners will be able to buy electronic books from many places -- and Apple's iBookstore may not be the most appealing one.



The Tomorrow Weblog
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**** Suddenly The Native App Is Cool Again <http://news.cnet.com/8301-13505_3-10470175-16.html?part=rss&amp;subj=news&amp;tag=2547-1_3-0-20>
Matt Asay, CNET News

If the future is cloud-based applications, we still have a long way to go to realize that vision. Ironically, we may actually be getting ever further away from it even as the cloud assumes central importance in the computing landscape.

Running applications in the cloud is an ambitious dream, but one that keeps stumbling against the reality of dedicated, native applications, particularly those running on mobile devices.



MyAppleMenu Reader
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**** A Mushroom Cloud, Recollected <http://blogs.nybooks.com/post/467905029/a-mushroom-cloud-recollected>
Jeremy Bernstein, The New York Review of Books

With the renewed interest in nuclear weapons I have been struck by how few people there still are who have seen one explode. There are a few survivors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and there are a small number who witnessed some of the above ground test explosions. But the last American above-ground test was in 1962 and the last above-ground test by any country was conducted by the Chinese in 1980. This means that the Indians, Pakistanis, Israelis—to say nothing of the Iranians and North Koreans—have never seen a nuclear explosion. In the main, this is a very good thing: the fallout from such a test is a real health hazard. But there is a downside. We have lost the experience of watching a nuclear explosion—perhaps the most powerful lesson about nuclear bombs there is.

**** Book Critic Cliche Bingo <http://www.salon.com/books/laura_miller/2010/03/16/book_review_bingo/index.html>
Laura Miller, Salon

Turn critics' worst word choices into fun for friends and family.

**** Not A Tourist <http://www.worldhum.com/features/tom-swick/not-a-tourist-20100322/>
Tom Swick, Worldhum

On the evolving role of the travel writer in the age of mass tourism and YouTube.



SingaporeSurf
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**** Corporatization Of Wet Markets ....Part 2 <http://singaporemind.blogspot.com/2010/03/corporatization-of-wet-markets-part-2.html>
Diary of A Singaporean Mind

**** Killing The Dying <http://www.sgpolitics.net/?p=3922>
Wong Wee Nam, Sgpolitics.net

Materialism and selfishness have eroded our soul and made us a less caring society; let us not add on to it by allowing the killing of the dying.

Isn't there already a form of 'assisted suicide' already permitted in Singapore, where one can opt not to artificially prolong one's life through the use of machines? What is the different between assisted suicide and refusal of medication?

**** Why The Mandatory Death Penalty Project Will End Up Hurting The Anti-death Penalty Cause? <http://aussgworldpolitics.wordpress.com/2010/03/24/why-the-mandatory-death-penalty-project-will-end-up-hurting-the-anti-death-penalty-cause/>
Readings From A Political Duo-ble

Challenging the mandatory nature of the death penalty therefore becomes an act of shooting oneself in the foot, not just for those against the mandatory death penalty but also for those who are against the death penalty in all situations.

**** Profits Should Not Be Charities' Aim <http://www.straitstimes.com/STForum/OnlineStory/STIStory_505624.html>
Yap Kim Hao, Straits Times

Whatever surplus funds the religious institution gets each year is not meant to be accumulated for the purpose of engaging in business and commercial activities. Exceptional risks are taken in profit-making activities and they deviate from the nature of charitable institutions.

The relevant authorities should provide regulations and enact legislation to address this situation.

**** Lines Are Blurred <http://www.straitstimes.com/STForum/Story/STIStory_505747.html>
Harvey Neo, Straits Times

**** Sheng Siong Rises Rent At 5 Wet Markets By 30% <http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1045371/1/.html>
Sharon See, Channel NewsAsia

Stallholders at five wet markets will have to pay 30 per cent more in rent from next month. They have been informed of the increase by supermarket chain Sheng Siong, which bought the markets over from a private property developer late last year.

Didn't the government said market force will determine whether wet markets will stay or not? Well, if government regulations prevented me from converting my wet markets to supermarkets, it's time to use market force.

**** Casinos Exempted From Smoking Ban In Public Spaces <http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1045395/1/.html>
Sharon See, Channel NewsAsia

Smoking is banned in most enclosed places in Singapore, but it is a different story for the two casinos at Resorts World Singapore (RWS) and the soon to be opened Marina Bay Sands.

The decision to exclude casinos from the smoking ban came in 2008 after a year-long discussion between the National Environment Agency (NEA) and the two Integrated Resorts (IRs). 

Why does all the arguments against banning in nightspots don't apply here? Simple. Follow all the monies.

**** I Believe In Singapore: Chee Responds To LHZB Reporter <http://yoursdp.org/index.php/news/singapore/3525-i-believe-in-singapore-chee-responds-to-lhzb-reporter>
Chee Soon Juan, SIngapore Democrat Party

I hesitated when Ms Yew asked me those questions not because I had something to hide but because they were intrusive (in her own words "rude"). But she chose to put the worst possible spin on my response, that is, that I was evasive. For obvious reasons, the Straits Times ran a report on this part of that interview, highlighting Ms Yew's point.

**** Journalist Defends Interview With Chee: He Really Was Evasive <http://journalism.sg/2010/03/24/journalist-defends-interview-with-chee-he-really-was-evasive/>
journalism.sg

A Lianhe Zaobao journalist has shared on Facebook the transcript of her interview with opposition leader Chee Soon Juan, in response to his accusation that she was acting as instrument of "autocratic regime and its controlled media".

**** Apology <http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/24/opinion/global/24iht-opednote.html>
New York Times

In 1994, Philip Bowring, a contributor to the International Herald Tribune’s op-ed page, agreed as part of an undertaking with the leaders of the government of Singapore that he would not say or imply that Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong had attained his position through nepotism practiced by his father Lee Kuan Yew. In a February 15, 2010, article, Mr. Bowring nonetheless included these two men in a list of Asian political dynasties, which may have been understood by readers to infer that the younger Mr. Lee did not achieve his position through merit. We wish to state clearly that this inference was not intended.

**** On Singapore Citizenship And Permanent Residency <http://singaporeaspirations.blogspot.com/2010/03/on-singapore-citizenship-and-permanent.html>
Singapore Aspirations

Why not abolish the permanent residency regime in Singapore?

**** Universities Increase Fees: $677m Net Investment Loss? <http://theonlinecitizen.com/2010/03/universities-increase-fees-677m-net-investment-loss/>
Leong Sze Hian, The Online Citizen

**** Singapore's Lees Cow The International Herald Tribune Again <http://www.asiasentinel.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2359&Itemid=181>
John Berthelsen, Asia Sentinel

Although the article contains an analysis of dynastic politics in Asia, nowhere does the story say or imply that nepotism played a role in the Lee family's – or any other family's political prominence in the region. In that way, the case is reminiscent of another in which the Financial Times apologized for a September 2007 article in which there appeared to be no libel. The article merely listed the names of Lee family members in high positions in the island nation.

**** Singapore Is Best City For Asian Expats! <http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life/fashion/trends/Singapore-is-best-city-for-Asian-expats/articleshow/5719004.cms>
AFP

Singapore retained its number one spot as the best place to live for Asian expats followed by Sydney, a survey by human resources consultancy ECA International showed Wednesday.

The survey showed Singapore's top ranking was due largely to its infrastructure, health services, low crime rates and better air quality.

**** New York Times Pays Damages To Singapore's Leaders <http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE62N26D20100324>
Neil Chatterjee and Tiffany Wu, Reuters

The New York Times Co apologized to Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and former prime minister Lee Kuan Yew on Wednesday and paid S$160,000 ($114,000) in damages for an article about Asian political dynasties.

Davinder Singh, the lawyer acting for the leaders, told Reuters that the IHT's publisher, editor of global editions, and the article's author, Philip Bowring, also agreed to pay damages of S$60,000 to Lee Hsien Loong, and S$50,000 each to Goh Chok Tong and Lee Kuan Yew, as well as pay their legal costs.

**** IMAX Plans Digital Theater System In Singapore <http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSSGE62N0C720100324?type=marketsNews>
Abhiram Nandakumar, Reuters

Canada's IMAX Corp said it signed an agreement with Shaw Theatres Pte Ltd to install a digital IMAX theatre system at Shaw's Lido Cineplex on Orchard Road in Singapore.