[MyAppleMenu] Jun 16, 2011

applesurf at myapplemenu.com applesurf at myapplemenu.com
Thu Jun 16 18:59:00 EDT 2011


MyAppleMenu
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**** VidConvert 1.0.5 <http://www.macworld.com/article/160416/2011/06/vidconvert1.html#lsrc.rss_main>
Jonathan Seff, Macworld

Although there are free apps to convert video for iOS devices and more, VidConvert’s simple interface, rich codec support, advanced settings, and audio-only conversion option make it well worth the modest fee.

**** Off-Site Backups <http://shawnblanc.net/2011/06/off-site-backups/>
Shawn Blanc

Backblaze and CrashPlan both work well and are very affordable. If you have lots and lots of irreplaceable data (more than 100 GBs) then you may want to use these guys because the monthly costs will be lower and they’ll send you a drive with your stuff on it to recover.

However, if you care about having granular control, better data centers, higher encryption of your data, and/or you don’t have that much to back up, then Arq is a great solution.

**** AirPort Utility 5.5.3 <http://tidbits.com/article/12252?rss>
Adam C. Engst, TidBITS

**** iMac Graphic FW Update 2.0 <http://tidbits.com/article/12251?rss>
Adam C. Engst, TidBITS

**** What (Else) Prevents You From Upgrading To Lion? <http://www.macworld.com/article/160545/2011/06/lion_barriers.html#lsrc.rss_main>
Christopher Breen, Macworld

**** FontExplorer X Pro 3.0 <http://www.macworld.com/article/160498/2011/06/fex3.html#lsrc.rss_main>
Jay J. Nelson, Macworld

With FontExplorer X Pro 3.0, Linotype significantly improved an already stellar font management utility. Its set migration capability makes it much easier to switch from competing programs, and there are an abundance of new features to justify an upgrade. Its feature set is still far beyond its competitors, yet it remains approachable even for casual users. I recommend it to anyone with more than a casual interest in managing their fonts.

**** Google Sync On iPhone Adds Server Searching, Calendar Edits <http://www.electronista.com/articles/11/06/15/google.sync.ios.gets.much.deeper.control/>
Electronista

Google on Wednesday upgraded its Google Sync framework to give iOS users much more control over remote events. Apple's built-in mail app will now search the Gmail server for older messages much like it does for regular e-mail providers. Users can also now finally accept, turn down, or edit Google Calendar events from the app and have the changes honored on the web or other devices.

**** Size Doesn’t Matter: My Review Of The 11.6-inch MacBook Air <http://forkbombr.net/11-air-review/>
Forkbombr

It is crazy light. I have to double-check that it’s in my bag some days.

**** Thunderbolt iMac: The Perfect Compromise <http://www.infoworld.com/d/computer-hardware/thunderbolt-imac-the-perfect-compromise-926>
Tom Yager, InfoWorld

Apple's blazing-fast, elegant, and economical everything-in-one goes where ordinary desktops can't.

**** Testing For Rosetta Use In OS X <http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-13727_7-20071321-263/testing-for-rosetta-use-in-os-x/?part=rss&tag=feed&subj=MacFixIt>
Topher Kessler, CNET

**** Adobe Issues Another Critical Flash Security Update <http://www.electronista.com/articles/11/06/15/issue.affects.desktop.platforms.android/>
Electronista

Adobe has again issued a security update for a critical issue affecting Adobe Flash Player 10.3 and earlier versions for Macintosh, Windows, Linux, Solaris and Android, just over a week since the previous update. A new memory corruption vulnerability (marked by the company as CVE-2011-2110) can cause a crash and potentially allow an attacker to take control of the affected system, with reports that the problem has been spotted in the wild.

**** Apple Back To School Promotion Starts June 16 With A $100 Gift Card <http://www.tuaw.com/2011/06/15/apple-back-to-school-promotion-starts-tomorrow-with-a-100-gift/>
Michael Grothaus, TUAW

Apple's annual Back to School promotion begins June 16 and runs until September 20. There are a few things different with this year's promotion compared to years past. First, the promotion is starting about two weeks, on average, later than in earlier years. Secondly -- and most notably -- this year's promotion will not include a free iPod with any Mac purchased. Instead, buyers will receive a $100 gift card that is good in the Mac App Store, iTunes Store, App Store or the iBookstore.

**** Apple To Remove, Replace Iconic Glass Cube At Fifth Avenue <http://www.electronista.com/articles/11/06/16/effort.will.cost.over.66.million/>
Electronista

**** Five New Things Your Mac Can Do With Lion <http://www.macworld.com/article/160569/2011/06/five_new_lion_features_macs.html#lsrc.rss_main>
Serenity Caldwell, Macworld

As excited as you might be, you don’t have time to read up on every single one. Instead, let us do the work for you, and highlight some of the coolest new tricks your Mac will be able to turn in Lion.

**** Griffin's Cable-free Beacon Turns Your iPhone Into A Universal Remote <http://www.macworld.com/article/160579/2011/06/griffin_beacon_iphone_universal_remote.html#lsrc.rss_main>
Lex Friedman, Macworld

**** Mac Troubleshooting FAQ: Slow-downs And Passwords <http://www.macworld.com/article/159699/2011/05/troubleshooting_speed_passwords.html>
Christopher Breen, Macworld

If your Mac is slow, if the spinning rainbow cursor appears more often than you'd like, or if you're forever being locked out of your accounts, here's what you need to do.

**** Wraparound 1.3.2 <http://www.macworld.com/article/160415/2011/06/wraparound1.html#lsrc.rss_main>
Derik DeLong, Macworld

Wraparound is a small software utility that allows your Mac’s cursor to wraparound the edges of your display. For example, if your cursor reaches the right edge of your display and you keep going, it will reappear on the left side. This isn’t limited to horizontal movement, as Wraparound can be configured to do the same in the vertical. You can even drag windows across these borders, and Wraparound works with multiple display setups as well.

**** Apple Releases MainStage 2.1.3 <http://www.macrumors.com/2011/06/16/apple-releases-mainstage-2-1-3/>
Eric Slivka, MacRumors

Apple today released MainStage 2.1.3, an update to the company's Logic Studio component for bringing virtual instruments and effects to live performances.



The Tomorrow Weblog
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**** A Laptop, Its Head In The Cloud <http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/16/technology/personaltech/16pogue.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss>
David Pogue, New York Times

You can say all kinds of nice things about Google’s Chromebook laptop concept. You can say it’s ahead of its time. Or that it’s thinking way, way outside the box. Or that, as failures go, at least this one swung for the fences.



MyAppleMenu Reader
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**** Your English Is Showing <http://www.nybooks.com/blogs/nyrblog/2011/jun/15/english-showing/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+nybooks+%28The+New+York+Review+of+Books%29>
Tim Parks, New York Review Of Books

If one suggests that the international literary market is also a power game where different nations set their cultural and political might against each other in bestseller lists and international prizes, one inevitably arouses a certain amount of hostility from those who like to think of literature as operating in a more idealized world of noble aspiration and expression. The hostility intensifies if one seeks to exemplify one’s ideas with reference to individual writers, to the point that I fear that my recent piece on Jonathan Franzen and the Swiss writer Peter Stamm may have generated more heat than light. At the risk, then, of turning down the heat without exactly achieving a blaze of illumination, let me offer a more general word about present developments in the international spaces where contemporary novels from different countries vie for attention.

**** Book Review: 'The Reading Promise' By Alice Ozma <http://www.latimes.com/features/books/la-book-alice-ozma-20110616,0,4518595.story?track=rss&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+features%2Fbooks+%28Los+Angeles+Times+-+Books%29>
Jessica Gelt, Los Angeles Times

Alice Ozma's father read to her every night before bed for 3,218 days straight. "The Streak," as Ozma and her father, Jim Brozina, called it, began when Ozma was in fourth grade and didn't stop until the day she moved into her college dormitory when she was 18 years old. This significant, deeply odd, sometimes-embarrassing, often-inspiring accomplishment is chronicled by 23-year-old Ozma in a new memoir, "The Reading Promise: My Father and the Books We Shared."

**** Cognitive Surplus By Clay Shirky – Review <http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/jun/16/cognitive-surplus-clay-shirky-review?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+theguardian%2Fbooks%2Frss+%28Books%29>
Nicholas Lezard, The Guardian

There's much to take note of in Shirky's thoughtful portrait of a world in which everybody shares information.



SingaporeSurf
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**** MND Mulling "Green Corridor" Along KTM Railway Land <http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1135381/1/.html>
Channel NewsAsia

Minister of state for national development, BG Tan Chuan-Jin, posted on his Facebook page that the Urban Redevelopment Authority and National Parks Board are actively discussing the matter with the Nature Society Singapore (NSS).

**** No Outright Ban On Junkets, Says CRA <http://www.todayonline.com/Singapore/EDC110616-0000030/No-outright-ban-on-junkets,-says-CRA>
Satish Cheney, Today

Junket operators usually have strong connections and bring in high rollers. They act as middlemen and provide credit as well, usually earning a commission based on the amount gambled by the high rollers.

However, the CRA has never had an outright ban. Keeping information on such operators close to its chest, CRA refused to say if any licences would be given out by the end of this year.

**** Singapore – Heaven For Indonesian Crooks <http://www.jakartaupdates.com/1489-06/singapore-–-heaven-for-indonesian-crooks>
Jakarta Updates

“We had already initiated many discussions to make an (extradition) agreement with Singapore. But, we would not sign (the agreement) because in return Singapore wanted part of our archipelago to be use as a place for military training. At that time the House did not agree so now it could no longer be pursued, “said minister of justice and human rights Patrialis Akbar in Human Rights Building in Jakarta, Thursday. According to him, Singapore’s request was not a normal one. A number of extradition agreements made by the Government of Indonesia with other countries in the world never impose such condition.

“Actually, extradition treaty has nothing to do with military training. Every where, all over the world, nothing is that like that,” said Patrialis.

**** Singapore Will Block Las Vegas Sands' S'pore Mall Sale - Report <http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/06/15/lasvegassands-singapore-idUSL3E7HF3L420110615>
Reuters

"Marina Bay Sands Pte Ltd, the successful bidder of the Marina integrated resort, is not allowed to sell, transfer or dispose of its estate interest in Marina Bay Sands within the exclusivity period of 10 years," the paper quoted Singapore Tourism Board director Carrie Kwik as saying.

Her statement comes about a week after Las Vegas Sands said it hoped to sell the 800,000 square foot mall at the Marina Bay Sands for about $4 billion in the next 2-3 years to recoup part of its investment in the Singapore property.

**** How To Unsilence The President: The People’s Way <http://atans1.wordpress.com/2011/06/16/how-to-unsilence-the-president/>
Thoughts Of A Cynical Investor

**** We The People Can Make Our President Speak <http://article14.blogspot.com/2011/06/we-people-can-make-our-president-speak.html>
Arrticle 14

I firmly believe that if there is sufficient public support for a vocal presidency, the winning candidate may carry with him a powerful electoral backing with which he can re-shape the office.

In a country where we are accustomed to the rules of the game being changed by the PAP, it is about time that the people play a part in changing the rules.

**** Besides Labor And Talents, Singaporeans Face Competition Of Foreign Money Too. <http://pijitailai.blogspot.com/2011/06/besides-labor-and-talents-singaporeans.html>
否极泰来 Piji Tailai

**** PAP Takes Hard Look At Election Results: Get To Root Of Problem! <http://rogerpoh.wordpress.com/2011/06/16/pap-takes-hard-look-at-election-results-get-to-root-of-problem/>
Spotlight On Singapore

I searched for responses like “be more democratic”, “a level playing field”, “greater political freedoms” and the like. I was not in the least surprised to find nothing of that sort. These are taboo words so none had the moral courage to utter them.

Clearly such words are not in the PAP vocabulary.

**** Singapore Behind Hong Kong And USA, Both Which Have Minimum Wage – Tan Jee Say <http://theonlinecitizen.com/2011/06/singapore-behind-hong-kong-and-usa-both-which-have-minimum-wage-tan-jee-say/>
Irene Shen, The Online Citizen

Mr. Tan said that setting a minimum wage would not affect Singapore’s competitive position as Singapore has in fact fallen behind in world competitiveness ranking behind Hong Kong and the United States, which implement minimum wage. To transform this, he suggests that the CPF Equalisation Levy should be implemented on foreign workers to balance the cost of hiring foreign workers and Singaporeans. This would allow Singaporeans to compete with foreigners on an equal platform.

**** S’pore Girls Are Materialistic: SMU Study <http://sg.news.yahoo.com/blogs/singaporescene/pore-girls-materialistic-smu-study-092109660.html>
Kai Fong, Yahoo!

While the study did not ask respondents for the reasons behind their answers, Professor Li said he is not surprised by the findings. "Maybe Singaporean women are just being realistic. Here, you need a lot of money to survive and afford an affluent lifestyle. Maybe they are just being practical," said the 45-year-old American-born Chinese.

**** 东北线兀里站下周启用 10年《慢动作》 盼到“出头日” <http://www.zaobao.com.sg/sp/sp110616_002.shtml>
李静仪, 联合早报

这个题为《慢动作》的版画创作是陆路交通管理局在东北线推出的“艺术之旅”计划(Art in Transit)首批艺术作品之一。

其他作品早在2003年东北线通车时就已公开展出,但由于当时兀里站周围尚未有发展项目,因此迟迟未开放使用,公众一直没有机会观赏站内的版画创作。

**** LTA Unveils Sites For Thomson Line Terminal Station <http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1135483/1/.html>
Wayne Chan, Channel NewsAsia

Residents living in Woodlands could see greater interest in their properties. This is because the Land Transport Authority (LTA) will build a station there that will integrate the upcoming Thomson Line (TSL) with the proposed Rapid Transit System (RTS) link between Singapore and Johor Bahru.

An area near Republic Polytechnic is where the northernmost terminal station of the Thomson Line would be located.

**** Khaw Boon Wan May Revise BTO Income Ceiling <http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1135455/1/.html>
Mustafa Shafawi, Channel NewsAsia

**** Unmanned Checkpoint Booth Confuses S'poreans <http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_680487.html>
Straits Times

'We also understood from the conversation that our encounter was not unique. The incident had caused us much confusion and inconvenience. The Malaysian government must be responsible for such irresponsible conduct of its civil servants and not push the blame on innocent tourists.'

**** GE 'Spillover' Effect To Boost Pink Dot Movement? <http://sg.news.yahoo.com/blogs/singaporescene/pink-dot-grow-bigger-013929491.html>
Jeanette Tan, Yahoo!

**** S'pore Welcomes M'sia's Investigation Into Squat Incident At Detention Centre <http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1135529/1/.html>
S Ramesh, Channel NewsAsia

Singapore's foreign ministry has welcomed the "quick announcement" by Malaysia of an immediate investigation into the ill-treatment of two Singaporean women at the Pekan Nenas Detention Centre recently.






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