[MyAppleMenu] Apr 29, 2004

Thu Apr 29 13:15:01 EDT 2004

MyAppleMenu Newsletter
Thursday, April 29, 2004

MyAppleMenu
==================================================
<http://www.myapplemenu.com/index.html>
Mac News for Mac Users

[Top Stories]

*** Analysts: Apple Safeguards Online Music Lead
<http://maccentral.macworld.com/news/2004/04/28/analysts/index.php?redirect=1083164504000>
by Jim Dalrymple, MacCentral
Industry analysts feel the new iTunes Music Store release will not only increase the pressure on Microsoft, but also safeguard Apple's lead.

[News]

*** Panic Releases Newest Li'l App
<http://www.macnn.com/news/24483>
by MacNN
Stattoo is the newest piece of software from Panic, designed to unobtrusively display a variety of information on  your desktop.

*** Beeb Under Apple's Sway
<http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=15597>
by Nick Farrell, The Inqurier
The independence of the state-run BBC has come into question after stories that gush so much about Apple, that they could have been penned by Job's Mob spinners have been appearing.

*** Adobe's Microsoft Strategy
<http://microsoft.weblogsinc.com/entry/2623065652806164/>
by Pariah S. Burke, Unofficial Microsoft Weblog
In recent years Adobe has refocused its brand from the warm and fuzzy creative pro's best friend, to a repositioned network publishing and document systems giant.

*** Jobs On Video Players
<http://blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com/microsoft/archives/002644.html>
by Todd Bishop, Seattle Post-Intelligencer
"Music is a wonderful thing because A, it's music, and B, because it can be listened to as a background activity. And a lot of these other things that people are talking about building in, such as video and things like that, are foreground activities."

*** Ad Guru Opens iPod To The World
<http://www.pcworld.idg.com.au/index.php/id;1568186169;fp;2;fpid;1>
by Steven Deare, PC World
The Dot-Pod software lets user share tracks from their iPod with others via the Internet.

*** A Year On, iTunes Stays A U.S.-Only Service
<http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/04/29/1083103584960.html>
by The Age
A year after its launch, despite sales of 70 million songs, Apple is yet to offer music sales through its iTunes service outside the US.

*** Jobs: iTMS To Have 1 Million Songs By End Of Year
<http://www.macminute.com/2004/04/28/1millionsongs>
by MacMinute
One million songs for sale by end of 2004.

*** Apple's iTunes Records Small Profit
<http://www.beaufortgazette.com/24hour/technology/story/1326209p-8492083c.html>
by Associated Press
iTunes recorded a small profit in the current quarter, according to Steve Jobs.

*** Pepsi's iTunes Promotion Goes Flat
<http://news.com.com/2100-1025_3-5201676.html?part=rss&tag=feed&subj=news>
by Ina Fried, CNET News.com
Apple said Wednesday that about 5 million free songs have been given away through a Pepsi promotion, far fewer than the 100 million tracks that could have been redeemed.

*** Apple Disables iTunes Song-Swapping Tool
<http://news.com.com/2100-1027_3-5201781.html>
by Ina Fried, CNET News.com
Among other additions Apple made to its iTunes software, the Mac maker has plugged a hole that allowed some people to download music being played off another computer.

*** BBEdit Update Enhances Features, Fixes Bugs
<http://maccentral.macworld.com/news/2004/04/28/bbedit/index.php?redirect=1083164531000>
by Peter Cohen, MacCentral

*** GraphicConverter 5.1: Photoshop Plug-Ins Work Better
<http://maccentral.macworld.com/news/2004/04/28/graphicconverter/index.php?redirect=1083164512000>
by Brad Cook, MacCentral

*** RemoteRemote 2 Debuts; iPod RF Remote Control
<http://maccentral.macworld.com/news/2004/04/28/remote/index.php?redirect=1083164518000>
by Peter Cohen, MacCentral

[Opinion]

*** Publishing To The iTunes Music Store
<http://www.macdevcenter.com/pub/wlg/4773>
by Brian D Foy, O'Reilly Network

*** Uh Oh -- Insiders Are Selling At Apple
<http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/apr2004/tc20040429_3997_tc024.htm>
by Peter Burrows, BusinessWeek
Does the cashing in mean Apple's execs believe the company's stock has peaked? A look at past insider selling gives cause for concern.

*** Word Myths And Feedback
<http://blogs.msdn.com/Chris_Pratley/archive/2004/04/28/122004.aspx>
by Chris Pratley
I have no problem at all if people want to disagree with me.

[Review]

*** Focus On The iPod: Apple Makes The Difficult Seem Easy
<http://www.macworld.com/2004/04/features/focusontheipod/>
by Christopher Breen, Macworld
Making the difficult seem easy is one of Apple's strengths. Take iTunes, the iTunes Music Store, and the iPod. Their intuitive interfaces let us organize, buy, and play music effortlessly. Yet each of these products has hidden powers.

*** Monster iCharger
<http://www.ipodlounge.com/reviews_more.php?id=3746_0_6_0_M>
by Jeremy Horwitz, iPodlounge
We like the iCarCharger's style, and if the price was just a little lower, there wouldn't be any question as to which adapter we'd recommend.

*** iTunes 4.5: Updates Good And Bad
<http://www.macworld.com/weblogs/editors/archives/000168.php>
by Jason Snell, Macworld
iTunes 4.5 does indeed introduce lossless compression to iTunes and the iPod. In typical Apple fashion, the company has apparently decided to invent their own format, Apple Lossless Encoder.

*** AOL's Open Mail Access Isn't
<http://www.macworld.com/weblogs/mac911/archives/2004/04/000167.php>
by Christopher Breen, Macworld
You can access and open AOL messages with any IMAP client, but outbound mail support is officially available only to Eudora and the mail apps from Microsoft.

[Sidetrack]

*** It's My Party And I'll Cry If I Want To 
<http://www.myapplemenu.com/2004/04/29/#20040429bg000001>
by Heng-Cheong Leong
I'm trying out the Party Shuffle feature in the new iTunes, and I'd have to say it's a major improvement over the regular shuffle play. Even when I am not throwing a party. (Okay, I'd admit it. I seldom throw parties.) The user-interface is great.

What I like, especially, is the ability to add tunes to my party shuffle from the library.

Of course, I suspect there may be ever a slight decrease in my productivity when I am party-ing with iTunes while working... :-)

Disclaimer: I'm trying out iTunes on my Windows XP machine, but I suspect there will not be any difference on iTunes for Mac.

[Wintel]

*** RealNetworks Seeks Microsoft's Help In Portable Music Foray
<http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/171114_realmsft29.html>
by Seattle Post-Intelligencer
RealNetworks, which is suing rival Microsoft for $1 billion, said it wants to use Microsoft's software to help it sell music over the Internet for play on portable devices.

*** Microsoft Pushes Back XP Update
<http://news.com.com/2100-1016_3-5201656.html>
by Ina Fried, CNET News.com
The release is now likely to come later in the summer.

The Tomorrow Weblog
==================================================
<http://www.myapplemenu.com/tomorrow/index.html>
Emerging Technology. Innovative Applications. New Economy.

[News]

*** Open-Source Backers Ready Longhorn Defense
<http://www.microsoft-watch.com/article2/0,1995,1574201,00.asp?kc=MWRSS02129TX1K0000535>
by Mary Jo Foley, Microsoft Watch
Even though Longhorn is still two-plus years away, the open-source community can't afford to wait to build comparable technologies, advocates say.

*** In Class, The Audience Weighs In
<http://www.nytimes.com/2004/04/29/technology/circuits/29hand.html>
by Katie Hafner, New York Times
The newest aid in the classroom is a small wireless keypad, linked to a computer. Students answer questions not by raising their hands, but by punching buttons. And educators who use them say their classrooms come alive as never before.

MyAppleMenu Reader
==================================================
<http://www.myapplemenu.com/reader/index.html>
The other things in life

[Tech & Science]

*** Synthetic Life
<http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?chanID=sa006&colID=1&articleID=0009FCA4-1A8F-1085-94F483414B7F0000>
by W. Wayt Gibbs, Scientific American
Biologists are crafting libraries of interchangeable DNA parts and assembling them inside microbes to create programmable, living machines.

SingaporeSurf
==================================================
<http://www.myapplemenu.com/singapore/index.html>
Life in the city

[Top Stories]

*** Stricter Guidelines For PAP MPs
<http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/singapore/story/0,4386,248306,00.html?>
by Lydia Lim, Straits Times

[News]

*** 1 Worker Confirmed Dead, 4 Trapped In Ayer Rajah Worksite Accident
<http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/82381/1/.html>
by Bhagman Singh, Channel NewsAsia
SCDF said the workers were working on a six-storey steel girdle when it collapsed into the basement of the building. The building is next to the INSEAD Institute along Ayer Rajah Avenue One.

*** 5 Missing, 15 Injured In Ayer Rajah Building Cave-In
<http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/latest/story/0,4390,248391,00.html?>
by Straits Times
A reinforcement bar at the Fusionpolis building -- located in Ayer Rajah -- worksite caved in on Thursday afternoon.

*** Nearing 80... But JBJ's Still Not Out?
<http://www.todayonline.com/articles/18286.asp>
by Jose Raymond, Today
His advancing years have not stopped the former lawyer from attempting to make it back into Parliament again, despite having his application for a discharge from his bankruptcy dismissed by the High Court on Monday.

*** SMRT Reviewing Fares After No Hikes For Two Years
<http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/print/82288/1/.html>
by Channel NewsAsia
Any move to raise fares might prove controversial as unemployment in Singapore is still high.

[Entertainment]

*** TV Rivalry Benefits Artists
<http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/life/story/0,4386,248256,00.html?>
by Ho Ai Li, Straits Times
The recent spate of artist signings by the two rival TV stations underscores the increasing competition for talent. This bodes well for talent development here.