[MyAppleMenu] Jan 27, 2012

applesurf at myapplemenu.com applesurf at myapplemenu.com
Fri Jan 27 18:59:00 EST 2012


MyAppleMenu
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**** Sandvox For Mac Updated With Slide Shows And More Lion Features ****
<http://www.tuaw.com/2012/01/26/sandvox-for-mac-updated-with-slide-shows-and-more-lion-features/>
Mel Martin, TUAW


> Prominently featured is a slideshow object that lets users drag a collection of photos to the app, with options for timing, transitions and caption control adjustable in the Object inspector. The traditional Photo Grid now supports displayed captions derived from page contents.



**** Let’s Stop Pretending Apple Is The Problem, Shall We? ****
<http://nissacam.com/post/16531404635/lets-stop-pretending-apple-is-the-problem-shall-we>
NissaCam


> So tech industry, it’s time to step up and take care of your people. Fanboys and girls, it’s time to step down even when you know an article has a slant that’s not completely fair. All of us need to accept that there is a human cost to our devices, and we need to accept that the human cost doesn’t have to be as high as it is. And then we need to demand better.



**** Company Uses iPads Instead Of Laptops In Loaner Program ****
<http://computerworld.co.nz/news.nsf/telecommunications/company-uses-ipads-instead-of-laptops-in-loaner-program>
John Cox, Computerworld New Zealand


> A fast-growing media company has hit upon an iPad loaner program, which replaces laptops for occasional travelers. The Apple tablet's simplicity compared to the laptop makes it much easier to administer and use.



**** Tackling Problems With Custom Shortcut Assignments In OS X ****
<http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-13727_7-57367048-263/tackling-problems-with-custom-shortcut-assignments-in-os-x/>
Topher Kessler, CNET






The Tomorrow Weblog
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**** Nation’s First Super Wi-Fi Network Arrives ****
<http://gigaom.com/broadband/nations-first-super-wi-fi-network-arrives/>
Stacey Higinbotham, GigaOM


> New Hanover County in North Carolina on Thursday became the first county in the United States to deploy a Super Wi-Fi network, but the real question is will it also be the last? The technology, which uses the unlicensed spectrum between the digital TV broadcasting airwaves to deliver a wireless broadband signal, is not as healthy as the pomp and circumstance surrounding the launch may indicate. And as of now it’s fate as a mainstream technology is in doubt.






MyAppleMenu Reader
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**** Unhappy Camper ****
<http://www.neh.gov/news/humanities/2012-01/UnhappyCamper.html>
David Kipen, Humanities Magazine


> Vonnegut deflected doubt and self-doubt alike with astringent jokes that stung like poison. Born into prosperity, raised in austerity, redeemed by posterity, the last laugh is finally his.






SingaporeSurf
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**** MHA Says No Delay In Release Of Info On CPIB Probe ****
<http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1179401/1/.html>
Channel NewsAsia


> Last Friday, CPIB informed MHA that although their criminal investigations have not been completed, there was sufficient basis for the Ministry to consider civil service disciplinary action against the duo for misconduct.

> MHA said it had planned to make these announcements on Wednesday, but as news of the investigations had already appeared in the media, it decided to release the information one day in advance, on Tuesday.

> MHA added that due process has to be followed to facilitate investigations, to be fair to officers accused, and to avoid prejudicing any legal or disciplinary proceedings.



**** The Missing Piece In A Smart Government ****
<http://sg.news.yahoo.com/blogs/singaporescene/missing-piece-smart-government-024702253.html>
P N Balji, Yahoo!


> It is understandable that you want to give those involved, especially when the investigations are still on-going, a good shot at fair play. That occasion passed when the two were arrested. That was the moment when officialdom should have bitten the bullet and said: The tipping point has been reached. And we have to go public with the story.

> But it remained silent until the unlikeliest of sources — the traditional media, fed by a regular diet of press releases and official speeches — put the story in the public domain.

> The end result: A government caught with its back against the wall and in a reactive mode.



**** Singapore Raises Sea Defenses Against Tide Of Climate ****
<http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/01/27/us-climate-singapore-idUSTRE80Q05P20120127>
David Fogarty, Reuters


> One of the world's wealthiest nations in per-capita terms, it is also among the most vulnerable to climate change that is heating up the planet, changing weather patterns and causing seas to rise as the oceans warm and glaciers and icecaps melt.

> Here lies another dilemma. The country is already one of the most energy intensive in Asia to power its industries and fiercely airconditioned malls and glass office towers -- a paradox in a country at such risk from climate change.



**** On Hidden Agendas ****
<http://singaporedesk.blogspot.com/2012/01/on-hidden-agendas.html>
Singapore Notes



**** Human Rights Watch Report Made False Assertions: Ministry Of Law ****
<http://sg.news.yahoo.com/human-rights-watch-report-made-false-assertions--ministry-of-law.html>
Chong Wan Yieng, Press Secretary to Minister for Law, Yahoo!


> Statements in HRW’s Report relating to detentions, freedom of speech and association, and the civil rights, as reported in your article, are likewise inaccurate. Singapore’s Constitution guarantees the freedom of speech and freedom of peaceful assembly. The Shadrake trial, which your article mentions, was fully reported by local, international and alternative media. Mr Shadrake was charged because he had alleged, among other things, that the Singapore courts conspired with State agencies to suppress material evidence. Such a statement would be considered to be in contempt of court in several countries.



**** How Not To Be A Politician ****
<http://politicalwritings.wordpress.com/2012/01/26/how-not-to-be-a-politician/>
Political Writings


> The lesson to be learnt is– being anti-PAP is not enough, wanting to speak up for Singaporeans is not enough. If you really want to be elected, you must be sincere, you must care about residents, you must spend time with them, you must do groundwork years in advance.



**** HDB Resale Flat Prices Up 1.7% ****
<http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1179345/1/.html>
Channel NewsAsia


> The Housing and Development Board's (HDB) Resale Price Index (RPI) rose from 187.2 in the third quarter of last year to 190.4 in the fourth quarter. This was an increase of 1.7 per cent over the previous quarter.



**** 'Silent Majority' Still Needs To Step Up: Nicole Seah ****
<http://sg.news.yahoo.com/-silent-majority--still-needs-to-step-up--nicole-seah-.html>
Melissa Aw, Yahoo!


> Political participation amongst youths in Singapore has improved but the “silent majority” still needs to step forward and be more politically active, said National Solidarity Party’s Nicole Seah, on Thursday evening.



**** Ethnic Based Self-help System – Broken? ****
<http://theonlinecitizen.com/2012/01/ethnic-based-self-help-system-broken/>
Muhammad Fadli, The Online Citizen


> What this ethnic based self-help system does is to group citizens so that the group that has the heaviest burden, namely the Malays, is supported by the group that has the least resources. This systemic imbalance is the root of the mismatch in social welfare requirements.

> Although mosques as community institutions do play a part in providing social welfare, they cannot be the primary institution of holistic national welfare system.



**** 新加坡用重典 治安全球最佳 港應恢復鞭刑? ****
<http://www.singpao.com/NewsArticle.aspx?NewsID=216248&Lang=tc>
成報


> 所謂亂世用重典,有花園城市之稱的新加坡,在這方面是一個典型的例子,動輒就是罰款、用刑。例如亂扔廢棄物、在公共場所吸煙、不沖公共廁所都會被罰款幾千塊,酷刑「鞭刑」(Caning)更沿用至今。「鞭刑」是一種可怕的體罰,聽來令人咋舌,甚至有毛骨悚然之感,彷彿一瞬間回到了中世紀。不過也許正因如此,酷刑在生理及心理兩方面對其國人有了雙重震懾力,新加坡的治安之好是有目共睹的,暴力犯罪率為世界最低。



**** Singapore Bolstered By Manufacturing ****
<http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204661604577184133794881236.html>
Gaurav Raguvanshi, Wall Street Journal


> Singapore's manufacturing in December was up 12.6% from a year earlier, topping expectations and suggesting resilience in the trade-dependent economy in the face of Europe's sovereign-debt crisis.

> The data support the central bank's decision in October to loosen monetary policy only marginally despite the crisis in Europe, Singapore's biggest trading partner. The need to find a balance between tempering inflation and keeping export-dependent industries humming promises to complicate the MAS's job when it reviews its monetary policy in April.



**** Singapore PM Lee Does Not See Children Joining Politics ****
<http://au.news.yahoo.com/world/a/-/world/12735919/singapore-pm-lee-does-not-see-children-joining-politics/>
AFP


> "They will have to decide but if you ask me now I think the odds are not on it," he told the Davos meeting of business and political elite.



**** Politicians Agree Democracy Is 'Least Bad' System Of Government ****
<http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_759946.html>
Rachel Chang, Straits Times


> Democracy has its downsides - from partisan gridlock to slanderous comments made online - but it is still the 'least bad' system of government.

> Young politicians from four different political parties agreed on this on Thursday at a National University of Singapore (NUS) forum, when asked if Singaporeans should worry about the 'darker side of democracy' with the advent of more competitive local politics.

As Winston Churchill said: "No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise. Indeed, it has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all those other forms that have been tried from time to time."


**** Time For A Proper, Permanent Station For Express Buses ****
<http://www.straitstimes.com/STForum/Story/STIStory_759814.html>
Elgar Lee, Straits Times


> It is embarrassing that as a developed country, our express bus boarding and alighting areas are worse than those of Malaysia.

The two land checkpoints (Woodlands and Tuas) are also significantly less user-friendly than Changi Airport. The reason, I think, is very simple: there is less money to be earned from passengers traveling by land than by air.


**** Govt Could Have Told Us Earlier ****
<http://www.straitstimes.com/STForum/Story/STIStory_759816.html>
Rajasegaran Ramasamy, Straits Times


> While there is no disagreement that a person is innocent unless proven guilty beyond reasonable doubt in a court of law, I cannot fully comprehend the decision to keep the announcement of the investigations secret.

> This is wrong. Unless there is a reason to withhold information from the public, we should have been told.

We need a government that is transparent and honest, so I feel that the government should have told us about the arrest.
However, as a society, we also need to be more mature and not to treat people that are arrested as being guilty until their guilt are proven in the courts.


**** The Barren Political Landscape ****
<http://www.sgpolitics.net/?p=7298>
Wong Wee Nam, Sgpolitics.net


> If we want to increase the pool of capable people willing to come into politics and contend for public office, then we should make the job of politics more fulfilling and less terrifying than it is at the moment. That means more democracy and less fear.



**** Does Money Really Buy Clean Government? ****
<http://www.todayonline.com/Voices/EDC120127-0000028/Does-money-really-buy-clean-government?>
Leow Zi Xiang, Today


> It may be true that Singapore has a reasonably corruption-free, efficient government and civil service, but the article has failed to demonstrate that money is what buys you clean government.



**** More Competition In Taxi Industry Not Evident ****
<http://www.todayonline.com/Voices/EDC120127-0000073/More-competition-in-taxi-industry-not-evident>
Sandra Alison Jayandran, Today


> But how can greater competition exist when one majority player, ComfortDelGro, sets the fares for the rest to follow?

> It does not help when the National Taxi Association encourages the 40 per cent of the market to follow suit. When all the taxi companies decide to have the same fare structure, this leave us with no choice.

The government, I feel, made a mistake when allowing Comfort to buy Delgro (SBS Transit).


**** Another Red Flag For Procurement Process? ****
<http://www.todayonline.com/Singapore/EDC120127-0000070/Another-red-flag-for-procurement-process?>
Tan Weizhen, Today


> Speaking to <i>TODAY</i>, corporate governance expert Mak Yuen Teen argued that MHA's procurement system is "weaker than some charities, which do not have any senior management member sitting on such tender boards". Associate Professor Mak said: "Having senior management poses a risk, as they are in a better position to bypass guidelines and controls."

> Still, Assoc Prof Mak noted that no matter how robust systems can be, "they are operated by people and whether the policies and procedures are followed in letter and spirit depends on their competence, care and integrity". For instance, Government agencies' employees can get around certain controls by splitting invoices, he said.



**** The Sin Of CPF ****
<http://feedmetothefish.blogspot.com/2012/01/sin-of-cpf.html>
Feed Me To The Fish


> They tax you through your income, GST, ERP, levies on maids and what-have-you! They belly ache and make a song and dance of their ministerial salary "sacrifice" Isn't that enough? Why the need to tax on the sick?



**** Clean Is Not The New Transparent ****
<http://sonofadud.com/2012/01/26/clean-is-not-the-new-transparent/>
Kenneth Jeyaretnam, Reinventing The Rice Bowl


> Belief that politics should only be for the wealthy is deeply ingrained in the PAP’s thinking and is the only true rationale for any pay decisions.









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