[MyAppleMenu] Jan 20, 2011

[applesurf at myapplemenu.com]

MyAppleMenu
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**** Mac Plus Reused As A Time Machine Server <http://www.tuaw.com/2011/01/19/mac-plus-reused-as-a-time-machine-server/>
David Quilty, TUAW

Showing us that there is, in fact a much more useful application for an old Mac Plus than a DJ using it as a helmet, Macenstein reader Dean Gray has turned his 1986 Mac Plus 1 MB into a Time Machine Server.

**** Vox Is A Minimalist Music Player And Converter For Mac OS X <http://lifehacker.com/5737417/vox-is-a-minimalist-music-player-and-converter-for-mac-os-x>
Adam Dachis, Lifehacker

**** Apple Faces Pollution Storm In China <http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/5817abce-23d4-11e0-8bb1-00144feab49a.html?referrer_id=yahoofinance&ft_ref=yahoo1&segid=03058>
Kathrin Hille And Jamil Anderlini, Financial Times

A group of 36 Chinese environmental groups has accused Apple of failing to address concerns over pollution and worker health issues in factories supplying components for its gadgets.  In a report to be published on Thursday, the groups rank Apple last in a list of 29 multinational technology companies based on how each company dealt with inquiries about pollution and occupational health hazard incidents at factories in their supply chain.

**** Four Lessons From Evernote’s First Week On The Mac App Store <http://techcrunch.com/2011/01/19/evernote-mac-app-store/#comments>
Phil Libin, TechCrunch

We just finished our first week on the Mac App Store and it might have been the most important week in Evernote’s history. Here’s how it went and what we learned.

**** Music For Shuffle Features Music Designed For The iPod Shuffle <http://www.tuaw.com/2011/01/19/music-for-shuffle-features-music-designed-for-the-ipod-shuffle/>
Mike Schramm, TUAW

Musician Matthew Irvine Brown has compiled a set of 18 musical tracks, about an hour of music total, designed to be played in random order on the iPod shuffle

**** Reading OS X System Messages Without The Console Utility <http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-13727_7-20028949-263.html>
Topher Kessler, CNET

**** Fake GSM Base Station Trick Targets iPhones At Security Conference Demo <http://www.macworld.com/article/157271/2011/01/iphone_fakegsm.html?lsrc=rss_main>
Ellen Messmer, Network World

While his Black Hat DC Conference demonstration was not flawless, a University of Luxembourg student on Wednesday did show that it’s possible to trick iPhone users into joining a fake GSM network.

**** My Backup Plan: Dan Frakes <http://www.macworld.com/article/156643/2011/01/how_i_back_up_frakes.html?lsrc=rss_main>
Dan Frakes, Macworld

**** Immaculate Reception, Or, A MobileMe Mystery <http://db.tidbits.com/article/11907?rss>
Jim Matthews, TidBITS

My deduction was that all Apple Store Wi-Fi networks broadcast the same network name, and since I’ve used this iPhone on an Apple Store network in the United States, it happily (and silently) joined this one, and took the opportunity to sync my calendar with MobileMe.



MyAppleMenu Reader
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**** Science Proves You're Stupid <http://hplusmagazine.com/editors-blog/science-proves-youre-stupid>
Joe Quirk, h+ Magazine

You can't understand your brain unless you break it.  Without brain damage, you are incapable of acquiring any insight into how your mind works, because your brain is sublimely designed to trick you into thinking you have a clue.

**** Old Man In Winter <http://www.thesmartset.com/article/article01181103.aspx>
Morgan Meis, The Smart Set

But the phrase "now is the winter of our discontent" is so powerful that it often gets picked out of context and made to stand alone. When you do that, it seems as if "now" is the winter of our discontent. The winter of our discontent isn't going anywhere. It is simply the way it is right now.

**** Four Poems <http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/jan/20/poems-richard-meier?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+theguardian%2Fbooks%2Frss+%28Books%29>
Richard Meier, The Guardian



SingaporeSurf
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**** The Birth Rate Blame Game <http://geraldgiam.sg/2011/01/the-birth-rate-blame-game/>
Gerald Giam

Could there be a link between the increase in population and the drop in birth rates? It is not inconceivable. Young Singaporeans cite a variety of reasons for not having more children: Too busy at work, cost of living too high, education system too stressful for children (and their parents), cannot find a place of their own to stay.

Many of these reasons are linked to overcrowding and steeper competition, which are, to a large extent, the result of the mismanaged immigration policies of this government.

**** Tax Deals Urged In Singapore Tussle <http://www.thestandard.com.hk/news_detail.asp?pp_cat=1&art_id=107233&sid=30977550&con_type=1>
Tony Liaw, The Standard

"Hong Kong and Singapore are the two leading locations for fund houses to set up main operating centers for the Asian market," said Florence Chan Yuen-fan, Far East tax leader at Ernst & Young. "But Singapore has a bigger edge in its taxation system."

**** Is This Price-fixing? <http://www.todayonline.com/Voices/EDC110120-0000163/Is-this-price-fixing?>
Beatrice Tang, Sim Sock Hoon, Today

To say that "17 employment agencies, who are major players in the market, will be increasing the monthly salaries of Indonesian helpers from $380 to $450" sounds like price-fixing to me. 

**** PRs : Singaporeans’ Worries? <http://theonlinecitizen.com/2011/01/prs-singaporeans’-worries/>
Leong Sze Hian, The Online Citizen

Are there any developed countries in the world that allows foreigners to stay for a year to compete with citizens for jobs?

**** Baffling Refusal For Permanent Residence <http://www.straitstimes.com/STForum/Story/STIStory_626033.html>
Ian Porteous, Straits Times


>From this, I can only assume that should my son and his wife choose to live, work and build a family in Britain, then Singapore is much happier to say goodbye to one of its own rather than welcome one, two or possibly three new citizens from this young and ambitious family.


**** Five Islands In One Trip! <http://wildshores.blogspot.com/2011/01/five-islands-in-one-trip.html>
Wild Shores Of Singapore

Today I went on a trip to five of our Southern islands! Including two lighthouses and some of my favourite islands.

**** Singapore's Fertility Hits A New Low <http://chantc.blogspot.com/2011/01/singapore-fertility-hits-new-low.html>
My Little Corner

All this adds up to less or sometimes even no personal time for yourself and your family. For your information, personal time is not equal to housework. 

**** Baby Incentive? What Baby Incentive? <http://singaporedesk.blogspot.com/2011/01/baby-incentive-what-baby-incentive.html>
Singapore Notes

**** One Token For Singapore Users To Log In Online <http://www.techgoondu.com/2011/01/20/one-token-for-singapore-users-to-log-in-online/>
Alfred Siew, Techgoondu

Internet users in Singapore can expect to transfer savings funds, access health records and carry out other online transactions more easily with a single token from the second half of this year, as a government-backed authentication service goes live.

**** Indonesian Maids' Salary Overtakes Cleaning Aunties' Wages <http://kaffein-nated.blogspot.com/2011/01/indonesian-maids-overtakes-cleaning.html>
Kaffin-nated

Indonesian maids now have a minimal wage policy in Singapore but my local aunties and elderly folks cleaning toilets and clearing tables at hawker centres do not get them. Wow... just wow.

**** 刘锡明“认老”或不再战后港 <http://www.zaobao.com.sg/sp/sp110120_010.shtml>
周殊钦, 联合早报

在任议员的动向往往要到接近大选时才会明朗，不过两度在后港区上阵都不敌反对党议员刘程强的基层组织顾问刘锡明，却已透露去意。

自1999年受人民协会委任为后港区基层组织第二顾问，两年后又代表行动党角逐这一区议席以来，他已耕耘了12年，仍没等到他口中的“仁心果成熟的那一天”，而以他62岁“高龄”的非议员身份继续代表行动党上阵，似乎也跟它所强调的团队持续更新沾不上边。

**** Big Drop In Foreigners Living In S’pore: World Bank <http://sg.yfittopostblog.com/2011/01/20/big-drop-in-foreigners-living-in-spore-world-bank/>
Alicia Wong, Yahoo!

According to the World Bank’s Migration and Remittances Factbook 2011, the number of immigrants — foreigners who have been living in Singapore for more than a year — fell from 42.6 per cent of the population in 2005, to 40.7 per cent in 2010.

**** Chee's Appeals Dismissed, Another Nail In Democracy's Coffin <http://yoursdp.org/index.php/news/singapore/4523-chees-appeals-dismissed-another-nail-in-democracys-coffin>
Singapore Democratic Party

**** Mahathir Provokes Singapore Malays <http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v5/newsindex.php?id=558135>
Zakaria Abdul Wahab, Bernama

Many readers of the Singapore Berita Harian resented the former Malaysian Prime Minister saying that the Malays on the island were marginalised and lagged behind the other communities.

The paper has been publishing the response of readers to the comments that it published, and some of the letters expressed real anger.

**** Residents, Properties To Be Affected By New Expressway <http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1105938/1/.html>
Lynda Hong, Channel NewsAsia

Residents who have been affected by the development said they want more lead time to move out.

**** Ridhuan Tee: Singapore’s Might Will ‘Eat’ Us Up <http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/ridhuan-tee-singapores-might-will-eat-us-up/>
Shannon Teoh, The Malaysian Insider

Singapore will “eat” Malaysia if the government does not prepare its military defence to face the “Jewish protégés”, Utusan Malaysia columnist Dr Ridhuan Tee Abdullah claimed today.

“The time of good faith and playing with them is over. Now is the time to work to face up to them. If they can prepare RM35.5 billion for defence in that small country, surely we must spend more than that. If not, we will be ‘eaten’ one day, believe me,” the senior lecturer at the National Defence University of Malaysia wrote.

He called on the government to take the best steps to face “the little Jews before the rice becomes porridge,” using the Malay proverb that means something regrettable that cannot be undone.

**** Singapore, Malaysia And The WikiLeaks <http://www.asiasentinel.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2931&Itemid=178>
Asia Sentinel

On Dec. 12, Asia Sentinel printed a story relating WikiLeaks revelations from Singapore diplomats about Malaysian political affairs, particularly concerning Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak and Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim. Because the cables have seemingly never been accessible through the various WikiLeaks websites and mirror sites, some readers have questioned whether they exist.

They do. Here they are, in their entirety.