[MyAppleMenu] Feb 24, 2012

[applesurf at myapplemenu.com]

MyAppleMenu
====================================
**** Ask The iTunes Guy: Work With iTunes Libraries ****
<http://www.macworld.com/article/165536/2012/02/ask_the_itunes_guy_work_with_itunes_libraries.html#lsrc.rss_main>
Kirk McElhearn, Macworld


> In this installment, the iTunes Guy answers questions about moving your iTunes library, opening multiple iTunes windows simultaneously, finding tracks in playlists, and more.



**** Apple Says iCloud And MobileMe Push Email Down In Germany, Due To Motorola Lawsuit ****
<http://www.engadget.com/2012/02/24/icloud-and-mobileme-email-down-in-germany/>
Sharif Sakr, Engadget


> Cupertino says it is has suspended push email via iCloud or MobileMe for users in Germany, due to "recent patent litigation by Motorola Mobility." 

> We've heard back from Apple and for its part, it is treating this as no big deal, focusing on the fact that it only applies to push email specifically and customers can still receive their emails other ways as mentioned above. As it is, it says this will affect only a "limited number of customers."



**** How To Auto-Embed Album Art In Your iTunes Tracks ****
<http://techland.time.com/2012/02/23/how-to-auto-embed-album-art-in-your-itunes-tracks/>
Matt Peckham, Time


> Covering some 2,000 albums is still a lengthy, arduous process, but the script’s made things much quicker and less click-crazy. If you’re thinking about an iTunes cover art makeover, give it a look, and while you’re there, check out the site’s other scripts — a bona fide library of tools to manage your track info, playlists and more.

The excellent <a href="http://dougscripts.com/">Doug's AppleScirpts</a> have tons of AppleScripts that you can download to use or modify. I've learnt a lot from this site to use AppleScripts to manage my podcasts.


**** Cash Question Lingers Over Apple ****
<http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203918304577241483831347356.html>
Jessica E. Vascellaro and Ian Sherr, Wall Street Journal


> Instead, Mr. Cook said Apple has been thinking about cash "very deeply" and is actively discussing strategies for managing it with its board. "It's a lot," he added. "It's more than we need to run the company."



**** How To Address A Constant Reboot Loop In OS X ****
<http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-13727_7-57383970-263/how-to-address-a-constant-reboot-loop-in-os-x/>
Topher Kessler, CNET


> In the OS X boot process, when the Apple logo is showing, the system has found a valid boot device and will then display a spinning wheel below the Apple logo when the system loads the kernel and its extensions. At this point, the system can load kernel extensions from several sources including boot caches and from the extensions' locations on disk. In doing so, odd problems with the files from any of these sources could result in problems that force the system to restart.



**** Cook, Apple's Success Take Center Stage At Annual Shareholder Meeting ****
<http://www.macworld.com/article/165542/2012/02/cook_apples_success_take_center_stage_at_annual_shareholder_meeting.html#lsrc.rss_main>
Dan Frakes, Macworld



**** 2011 Macs Get EFI Firmware Update ****
<http://www.tuaw.com/2012/02/23/2011-macs-get-efi-firmware-update/>
Steven Sande, TUAW


> Have a 2011 Mac mini, MacBook Pro, MacBook Air and iMac? If Software Update hasn't yet told you about it, there's an EFI Firmware Update available that you might want to install.



**** Flashback Mac Trojan Is Back With New And Improved Exploit Strategy ****
<http://arstechnica.com/apple/news/2012/02/flashback-mac-trojan-is-back-with-new-and-improved-exploit-strategy.ars?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss>
Jacqui Cheng, Ars Technica


> The "Flashback" Mac trojan is back, and it's smarter than ever. Mac security company Intego says the latest variant, Flashback.G, uses three new methods in order to make its way onto Macs, though it won't install itself at all if it detects a number of antivirus or anti-malware security programs already installed.



**** Apple Directors Must Now Win A Majority Vote Before Appointment To Board ****
<http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/12/02/23/apple_directors_must_now_win_a_majority_vote_before_appointment_to_board.html>
AppleInsider


> At its annual shareholders meeting on Thursday, Apple announced that it has adopted a measure approved by shareholders last year that requires a majority vote for new board members to be approved.



**** Does Gatekeeper Point The Way To An App Store-only OS X? ****
<http://www.tuaw.com/2012/02/23/does-gatekeeper-point-the-way-to-an-app-store-only-os-x/>
Richard Gaywood, TUAW


> I think that's an unlikely end state (making my headline fully Betteridge compliant), and so do some prominent indie developers, but I also think the issue is worth examining.



**** First Look: OnLive Desktop Plus ****
<http://www.macworld.com/article/165527/2012/02/first_look_onlive_desktop_plus.html#lsrc.rss_main>
Loyd Case, Macworld



**** OS X 10.8 Gatekeeper In Depth ****
<http://www.myapplemenu.comhttps://securosis.com/blog/os-x-10.8-gatekeeper-in-depth>
Rich Mogull, Securosis






The Tomorrow Weblog
====================================
**** The Genius Of Pinterest's Copyright Dodge ****
<http://www.technologyreview.com/blog/mimssbits/27602/?ref=rss>
Christopher Mims, Technology Review


> By resolving the rights on an image after the fact, Pinterest creates a frictionless mechanism for sharing. Which is precisely why the site has taken off. 






MyAppleMenu Reader
====================================
**** Voluminous ****
<http://www.tnr.com/article/washington-diarist/magazine/100979/library-books-paper-texts-voluminous?passthru=ZTllZTY1YTkxZTE3NzY2YTNkZTBjZmI3ZDRjYTliNDE>
Leon Wieseltier, The New Republic


> If ever I might find a kind word for the coming post-bibliographical world it would be this week, when I have to pack up the thousands of volumes in my office and reassemble them a short distance away—they are so heavy, they take up so much room, and so on; but even now, with the crates piled high in the hall, what I see most plainly about the books is that they are beautiful. 



**** A New, Noisier Way Of Writing ****
<http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/25/us/25iht-currents25.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all>
Anand Giridharadas, New York Times


> What do these new equations of influence — the shift from “power over” to “power with” others, as some describe it — mean for the writer? For in this and other ways, modern life challenges the picture of the writer-as-island.



**** Beautiful Bookshops? No Thanks! ****
<http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2012/feb/24/beautiful-bookshops-no-thanks?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+theguardian%2Fbooks%2Frss+%28Books%29>
Rick Gekoski, The Guardian


> The reason for my unease is that what is so lovingly created in such settings is not a bookshop, but an idea of a bookshop. It is a sentimental idea, a kind of pastoral often untouched by serious commercial consideration. The kind of bookshop you might find in a Beatrix Potter book, with browsing rabbits. Why bother choosing a great stock when you can provide a great environment?



**** Atomic Bread Baking At Home ****
<http://www.believermag.com/issues/201202/?read=article_bobrow-strain>
Aaron Bobrow-Strain, The Believer


> I have just spent a day re-creating the iconic loaf of 1950s-era soft white industrial bread, using easily acquired ingredients and home kitchen equipment. With the help of a 1956 government report detailing a massive, multiyear attempt to formulate the perfect loaf of white bread, achieving that re-creation proved relatively easy. Until Hana's arrival, however, I did not fully understand why I was doing it. I had sensed that extracting this industrial miracle food of yesteryear from the dustbin of kitsch might have something to teach about present-day efforts to change the food system; that it might offer perspective on our own confident belief that artisanal eating can restore health, rebuild community, and generally save the world. But, really, it was reactions like Hana's that I wanted to understand. How can a food be so fake and yet so eagerly eaten, so abhorred and so loved?



**** For The Love Of Pinball ****
<http://www.chicagoreader.com/gyrobase/pinball-manufacturing-gets-a-boost-from-music-licensing/Content?oid=5667949&showFullText=true>
Miles Raymer, Chicago Reader


> Since at least as far back as the 1930s, Chicago has been the global capital of pinball manufacturing—home not only to Stern and Williams, but also the late giants Bally and Gottlieb. There doesn't seem to be any one specific reason why the pinball industry made Chicago its home, although the local manufacturing infrastructure and the regional popularity of bagatelle (pinball's flipperless, French-born evolutionary forebear) were certainly factors. Chicago remained the epicenter of pinball culture as it spread across the globe, even during a period when it was actually illegal to play pinball here.

> "I'll tell you what," pinball designer Steve Ritchie says of the industry's peak, "it was extremely fun for me. It was fun for all of us. And, yes, there was ridiculous competition. Just ridiculous. [But] we all knew each other."

> Things are different now. There's hardly any "each other." Ritchie's one of the last designers standing; Jersey Jack is the only other place that employs them.



**** You’d Better Run ****
<http://www.tnr.com/article/poetry/magazine/100991/youd-better-run>
Natalie Shapero, The New Republic






SingaporeSurf
====================================
**** Another DBS ATM Affected By Card Skimming Fraud ****
<http://www.todayonline.com/Hotnews/EDC120224-0000171/Another-DBS-ATM-affected-by-card-skimming-fraud>
Today


> "On Sunday, the bank was alerted to unauthorised ATM withdrawals by 17 customers after they received real-time SMS alerts. After we were informed of this, we were able, through our customer analytics, to establish common patterns amongst the affected customers. From there, we now believe that a different ATM has been compromised at around the same time of the Bugis skimming. We are unable to disclose further details, as this may jeopardise the ongoing investigation."



**** Fake Certificates From Private Schools Sold Online ****
<http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1185064/1/.html>
Hu Jielan and Joanne Chan, Channel NewsAsia


> Fake certificates from well known private schools in Singapore are being sold online with some going for as much as S$10,000.



**** Singapore's Lee Family And Nepotism ****
<http://www.asiasentinel.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4269&Itemid=189>
John Berthelsen, Asia Sentinel



**** Second Incident Of Falling Rail Clip ****
<http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1185055/1/.html>
Channel NewsAsia


> Train operator SMRT will install temporary safety nets at two stretches of MRT tracks between Dover and Jurong East stations on Friday night.

> "We are also working with the authorities to install wire mesh along stretches of the viaduct where there is human activity. This will be done progressively in the next few weeks. We will also do a thorough check through the entire system and replace any clips that show signs of wear and tear," [SMRT Train's executive vice-president Mr Khoo Hean Siang] added.



**** Scholarships Should Be Based On Merit, Not Nationality: Baey ****
<http://sg.news.yahoo.com/blogs/singaporescene/scholarships-based-merit-not-nationality-baey-152120978.html>
Jeanette Tan, Yahoo!


> [Baey Yam Keng, MP for Tampines GRC] also clarified that government scholarships, such as those awarded by the Public Service Commission, that are intended for Singaporeans only, should remain that way.



**** TREmeritus' Change Of Tack And What It Means For The Blogosphere ****
<http://journalism.sg/2012/02/24/tremeritus-change-of-tack-and-what-it-means-for-the-blogosphere/>
Cherian George, Journalism.sg


> The defamation threats, issued within days of TRE’s much publicised change of direction, has basically strengthened the argument of the proponents of guerrilla blogging. Even if TRE stays the course and completes its makeover as a “responsible, pro-Singapore” website, there is little doubt that others will fill the space vacated by Temasek Review – and with more determination and drive, now that the defamation threats have galvanised them.



**** Frustrating Numbers: Household Income ****
<http://yawningbread.wordpress.com/2012/02/24/frustrating-numbers-household-income/>
Alex Au, Yawning Bread


> It’s only when you get to the lower half of the story that you sense the reporter trying to tell us it isn’t all sweetness and light.



**** Neighbourhood Police Posts May Have 'Safe Rooms' In Future ****
<http://www.todayonline.com/Singapore/EDC120224-0000146/Neighbourhood-police-posts-may-have-safe-rooms-in-future>
Dylan Loh, Today


> Authorities are looking at putting "safe rooms" in future Neighbourhood Police Posts (NPPs), which would allow victims to take refuge from crime perpetrators. For example, someone being chased by an aggressor can hide in the room for protection.



**** Don't Be Anxious About Securing P1 Spots, Education Minister Tells Parents ****
<http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1184974/1/.html>
Hoe Yeen Nie, Channel NewsAsia


> Mr Heng declined to go into details, saying more will be announced at a later time. But he stressed that parents must realise there are more than just one or two good schools in the system. 



**** Good Policy Marred By Bad Politics From MP Gan Thiam Poh ****
<http://www.visakanv.com/blog/4482/good-policy-marred-by-bad-politics-from-mp-gan-thiam-poh/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=good-policy-marred-by-bad-politics-from-mp-gan-thiam-poh>
Visakan Veerasamy


> Personally I find it very condescending! If I were the MP, I’d try to be a bit more empathetic.



**** Baey And The PAP - Stop This Meritocracy Bull Shit Already ****
<http://asingaporeanson.blogspot.com/2012/02/baey-and-pap-stop-this-meritocracy-bull.html>
A Singaporean In Australia



**** Who's On Our Side? ****
<http://www.newagedentists.com/uncategorized/whos-on-our-side/>
Yours Toothfully By Dr Chan Joon Yee


> Which government in the world can afford not to favour its own citizens over foreigners?



**** Heng: Don't Let Incidents Spoil Image Of Teachers ****
<http://news.asiaone.com/News/Latest%2BNews/Singapore/Story/A1Story20120224-329825.html>
My Paper


> It is important not to let "one or two incidents" tarnish the image of the teaching profession, because there are many good teachers around, said Education Minister Heng Swee Keat yesterday.



**** Food Fridays: Cocotte Lures Diners Into Earthier Side Of Singapore ****
<http://blogs.wsj.com/searealtime/2012/02/24/cocotte-lures-diners-into-earthier-side-of-singapore/>
Kaylene Hong, Wall Street Journal


> With a name like Cocotte — which can also mean “prostitute” in French — and its location in a rough-and-tumble part of Singapore’s Little India, one might assume this restaurant is straining for attention in the crowded Singapore dining scene.

> But 30-year-old head chef Anthony Yeoh has a different explanation for the restaurant’s name – and a distinctive vision for its food.



**** MCYS To Strengthen Gambling Social Safeguards ****
<http://app1.mcys.gov.sg/PressRoom/MCYStostrengthengamblingsocialsafeguards.aspx>
Minitry Of Community Development, Youth And Sports, Singapore Government


> MCYS will look into measures to address these concerns. We will consider expanding third-party casino exclusions to cover more groups of Singaporeans who are receiving financial assistance, beyond Public Assistance recipients and bankrupts. We are also studying circuit breakers to address locals with poor self control and at risk of financial and other harms due to gambling. Casinos in Holland, Austria and Australia have measures which we intend to study.



**** Threats Of Defamation Lawsuits : Not A Way To Win Over Netizens.... ****
<http://singaporemind.blogspot.com/2012/02/threats-of-defamation-lawsuits-not-way.html>
Diary Of A Singaporean Mind


> The best way to deal with the way people and information is for govt to be transparent, accountable and give citizens access to as much information as possible so long as it does not compromise national security.



**** More Contradictions From LKY Over Immigration Policy	 ****
<http://www.yoursdp.org/index.php/news/singapore/5129-more-contradictions-from-lky-over-immigration-policy>
Singaore Democratic Party


> Within a period of 12 months, Mr Lee swung from pointing out the problems of an overcrowded city and pledging to reduce the number of foreigners in Singapore to adamantly insisting that we need yet more foreign workers.

> Given the Government's lack of clarity, should we not slowdown the process and thoroughly investigate the economic, social and political ramifications before rushing to bring in so many people onto this island?



**** PUB Installs 4 CCTV Cameras At Bedok Reservoir ****
<http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_770190.html>
Straits Times



**** TR Emeritus Website Flooded By Defamatory Comments ****
<http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_770198.html>
Straits Times


> Netizens have inundated TR Emeritus (TRE) with defamatory comments since it apologised on Wednesday to Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong for an article that allegedly defamed him and his wife Ho Ching.

> In an article on the website, they said that by 4am on Thursday, moderators had had to delete at least 300 comments that were 'outright defamatory and seditious' - six times more than what they would usually have had to remove.



**** 检讨公共交通模式的契机 ****
<http://www.zaobao.com.sg/yl/sl120224_001.shtml>
联合早报


> å…¬å…±äº¤é€šæœåŠ¡ä¾›ä¸åº”æ±‚ï¼Œä¸»è¦è¿˜æ˜¯å› ä¸ºéœ€æ±‚çš„å¢žé•¿è¿œè¶…è¿‡ä¾›åº”çš„èƒ½åŠ›ï¼Œå…¶èƒŒåŽçš„â€œç½ªé­ç¥¸é¦–â€ï¼Œæ— ç–‘æ˜¯å‰äº›å¹´å®½æ¾çš„ç§»æ°‘å’Œå¤–åŠ³æ”¿ç­–ï¼Œå¯¼è‡´å¤§é‡å¤–æ¥äººå£åœ¨çŸ­æœŸå†…æ¶Œå…¥æœ¬åœ°ï¼Œå¯¹åŒ…æ‹¬å…¬å…±äº¤é€šåœ¨å†…çš„æ‰€æœ‰å…¬å…±æœåŠ¡é€ æˆä¾›åº”åŽ‹åŠ›ï¼›å…¬å…±äº¤é€šä¸šè€…å›ºç„¶åŽçŸ¥åŽè§‰ï¼Œå´ä¼¼ä¹Žä¸åº”è¯¥æ‰¿æ‹…ä¸»è¦è´£ä»»ã€‚

> æ”¿åºœæ— å¥ˆå‡ºèµ„ï¼Œæ›¿å·´å£«å…¬å¸æ·»è´­å·´å£«ï¼Œç¬¦åˆâ€œé“å¾·é£Žé™©â€çš„åŸºæœ¬å®šä¹‰ï¼Œå› ä¸ºå·´å£«å…¬å¸çš„é£Žé™©ï¼Œå·²ç»å€Ÿæ­¤è€Œè½¬ç§»ç»™çº³ç¨Žäººã€‚å¦‚æžœèƒ½åŒ–å±æœºä¸ºå¥‘æœºï¼Œå¯¹æ—¢æœ‰çš„å…¬å…±äº¤é€šçš„æ¨¡å¼æ·±å…¥æ£€è®¨ï¼Œæœ€ç»ˆæ”¹å¼¦æ˜“è¾™ï¼Œè¿™11亿元或许还算花得物有所值。

Fundamentally, to have a formula to calculate bus fares that ensures profitability doesn't mix well with the decision to fund the purchase of buses using public monies. However, as this <i>Lianhe Zaobao</i> article correctly points out, desperate times call for desperate measures.
We need to rethink our public transport model, and I hope the Singapore government doesn't disappoint us.


**** 湿巴刹里“拾”旧情 ****
<http://www.zaobao.com.sg/sp/sp120224_023.shtml>
林妙娜, 联合早报


> ç¾ŽåŽå°å­¦å…¬æ°‘æ•™è‚²è´Ÿè´£è€å¸ˆé»„ç¾Žä»ªå¸Œæœ›ï¼Œé€šè¿‡å¸¦é¢†å­¦ç”Ÿäº†è§£å­¦æ ¡é™„è¿‘æ¹¿å·´åˆ¹çš„åŽ†å²å’Œèµ°è®¿æ¹¿å·´åˆ¹ï¼Œæœ‰åŠ©äºŽåŒå­¦ä»¬äº†è§£å’ŒåŸ¹å…»ç¤¾åŒºç²¾ç¥žã€‚

> 哥本峇鲁巴刹与熟食中心建于1976年。2000年，这座位于宏茂桥1é“çš„å·´åˆ¹å‘ç”Ÿç«æ‚£ï¼Œè¿‡åŽè¿…é€Ÿé‡å»ºï¼Œç¾ŽåŽå°å­¦åœ¨åŒå¹´åˆè¿è‡³çŽ°æœ‰æ ¡èˆä¹‹å‰ï¼Œä¸Žå“¥æœ¬å³‡é²å·´åˆ¹åšäº†å¤šå¹´çš„é‚»å±…ã€‚



**** No Automatic By-election In Our Model Of Parliamentary Democracy ****
<http://www.todayonline.com/Voices/EDC120224-0000035/No-automatic-by-election-in-our-model-of-parliamentary-democracy>
Hri Kumar Nair, Today


> Our parliamentary democracy is based on the principle that elections are fundamentally about voters choosing between different political parties to lead the country, rather than between individual candidates standing in a constituency.

> The WP could force Mr Yaw to vacate his Hougang seat by expelling him from the party, only because it is operating under the Singapore model.

> To call for an automatic by-election now that the Hougang seat is vacant, as Asst Prof Tan did, is to confuse the Singapore and UK models.

Translation: we are never going to remove that party whip, so it doesn't really matter who sits in Hougang, does it?
See also: <a href="http://mysingaporenews.blogspot.com/2012/02/no-automatic-by-election.html">No Automatic By Election</a> (Chua Chin Leng, My SIngapore News): So if 5 seats were vacant, or to stretch the argument further, 20 seats were vacant, legally as provided by the law and the reason behind the law, if the govt is in place and running, there is no need for by election at all and the vacant seats can remain, and the people can suffer for having no MPs to serve them.
Well, to be fair to Hri Kumar Nair, he did write that there need not be by-election "unless the vacancy affects the Government's mandate," which I do not interpret as a simple majority of seats.


**** Revocation Of PR Status Considered On Case-by-case Basis ****
<http://www.todayonline.com/Voices/EDC120224-0000021/Revocation-of-PR-status-considered-on-case-by-case-basis>
Koh Wee Sing, Immigration & Checkpoints Authority, Today


> ICA considers each case based on factors such as the seriousness of the offence, the extent of the person's involvement in the crime and the length of the jail sentence before a decision is made on any revocation of PR status.



**** Bus Shelter Leaves Commuters Wondering ****
<http://www.todayonline.com/Singapore/EDC120224-0000078/Bus-shelter-leaves-commuters-wondering>
Today


> The spokesperson said: 'Unlike other bus stops, there is insufficient space to site the shelter parallel to the bus bay, as the bus shelter requires a width of at least 3.6m. As an alternative, the shelter was constructed a slight distance away from the bus bay. Without this arrangement, commuters will be waiting for the bus without a shelter.'



**** TRE, Lee Hsien Yang Reach Amicable Settlement ****
<http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1184875/1/.html>
Channel NewsAsia


> In a posting late Thursday evening, TRE said it is pleased with the outcome of the settlement and wishes to put this episode behind and move on. TRE said no monies were involved in the settlement.

See also:
<ul>
<li><a href="http://tremeritus.com/2012/02/23/tr-emeritus-removes-defamatory-comment-on-mr-lee-hsien-yang/">TR Emeritus Removes Defamatory Comment On Mr Lee Hsien Yang</a> (TR Emeritus).</li>
<li><a href="http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/asia/281287/singapore-website-apologises-to-pm-brother">Singapore Website Apologises To PM's Brother</a> (AFP).</li>
</ul>