[MyAppleMenu] Aug 6, 2004

Fri Aug 6 13:15:00 EDT 2004

MyAppleMenu Newsletter
Friday, August 6, 2004

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

[Top Stories]

*** Apple 10-Q Reveals Operational, Financial Details
<http://maccentral.macworld.com/news/2004/08/05/10q/?lsrc=mcrss-0804>
by Peter Cohen, MacCentral
Apple's French business unit is being sued by Virgin Mega and the French Competitition Council, which allege that Apple has wrongfully refused to license its FairPlay Digital Rights Management (DRM) technology to competitors.

[News]

*** New Features Added To iMix
<http://www.macworld.co.uk/news/index.cfm?NewsID=9353>
by Macworld UK
New additions include Most Recent, Featured, staff picks and a running counter -- the number of iMixes created so far is 81242.

*** Image Flaw Pierces PC Security
<http://news.com.com/Image+flaw+pierces+PC+security/2100-1002_3-5298999.html>
by Robert Lemos, CNET News.com
Six vulnerabilities in the open-source PNG image format could allow intruders to compromise computers running Linux and may allow attacks against Windows PCs as well as Macs running OS X.

*** Apple Releases Xcode 1.5
<http://www.macminute.com/2004/08/05/xcode>
by MacMinute
The update includes "an enhanced version of the Xcode IDE with enhanced features and improvements to the user experience, speed, and the build system."

*** iPod Could Help Profits At Proffitt's
<http://www.knoxnews.com/kns/business_columnists/article/0,1406,KNS_319_3090368,00.html>
by Cynthia Yeldell, Knox News
Retailers are looking for unique ways to capitalize on iPod's popularity.

*** "Mini" Apple Store To Open In Syracuse
<http://today.14850.com/0805syracuseapplestore.html>
by Mark H. Anbinder, WVBR
The store will be only the second example of Apple's new "mini" store format, with the first store slated to open in California's Bay Area.

*** 'Music Moguls Will Cringe At iPod Hack'
<http://www.macworld.co.uk/news/index.cfm?NewsID=9344&Page=1&pagePos=11>
by Macworld UK
Apple's threat of legal action over a RealNetworks iPod "hack" is entirely justified, market analysts say.

*** Apple Posts iPhoto 4.0.3 Update
<http://maccentral.macworld.com/news/2004/08/05/iphoto/?lsrc=mcrss-0804>
by Peter Cohen, MacCentral
The text of the update information is identical to the 4.0.2 release published earlier this week. "iPhoto 4.0.3 addresses minor issues with Smart Albums and European books, and provides notifications when new versions of iPhoto are available."

*** Hays High Students Excited About Hitting The Ibooks This Year
<http://www.dodgeglobe.com/stories/080504/sta_0805040028.shtml>
by Associated Press
"This is going to make learning a lot more fun."

*** HF-Lima Rethinks Use Of Middle-School Laptops
<http://www.democratandchronicle.com/news/08056E551JI_news.shtml>
by Dolores Orman, Democrat And Chronicle
The Honeoye Falls-Lima school board is trying to figure out what to do about the middle school laptop computer project that was launched in February with a focus on use at school and at home.

*** The 'Big Mac' Supercomputer Biz
<http://www.macnewsworld.com/story/35566.html>
by Otis Port, MacNewsWorld
"What's really nice about the G5 pizza-box-size servers is how well they dissipate heat... Apple was definitely the best value proposition."

[Opinion]

*** I Want An Apple Credit Card
<http://www.applematters.com/comments.php?id=156_0_1_0_C>
by Gregory Ng, Apple Matters
The possibilities are endless for an Apple Credit Card and I can't wait to have one in my wallet. How about you?

*** Aural Exam
<http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/editorials/articles/2004/08/06/aural_exam/>
by Boston Globe
A more pressing issue for Duke and its higher education peers is whether iPods in particular and technology in general improve a student's journey to the heart of education.

*** Apple And The Legacy Of Napster
<http://news.com.com/Apple+and+the+legacy+of+Napster/2010-1027_3-5299243.html>
by Charles Cooper, CNET News.com
Where does the user figure in this story? Good question -- one that Apple can't answer with a straight face.

*** iPod Tech Support -- The $399 Pyramid
<http://www.macworld.com/weblogs/editors/archives/000283.php>
by Jonathan Seff, Macworld
Eh? So Apple doesn't suppor third-party headphones, I pondered.

[Review]

*** AirPort Express: A First Impression
<http://www.2guysamacandawebsite.com/article.php?id=523>
by 2 Guys, A Mac And A Website

*** Using AirPort Express On A Hotel Room Ethernet
<http://www.powerpage.org/cgi-bin/WebObjects/powerpage.woa/wa/story?newsID=12302>
by Ole J. Jacobsen, O'Grady's PowerPage

*** New Apple iPods Vs. Creative's Zen Touch
<http://www.pcworld.com/reviews/article/0,aid,117220,00.asp>
by Eric Dahl, PC World
Apple's player keeps getting better. I'm not sure I can say the same for Creative's offering.

*** Mating iPod And BMW Is A Brilliant Concept, But First Try Is Crude
<http://ptech.wsj.com/ptech.html>
by Walter S. Mossberg, Wall Street Journal
The BMW adapter is still a disappointment because of the limitations it imposes on tne normal use of hte iPod.

[Sidetrack]

*** Rumor Today: AppleWorks X 
<http://www.myapplemenu.com/2004/08/06/#20040806bg000001>
by Heng-Cheong Leong
The source of the rumor? A listing for an upcoming book entitled "AppleWorks X for Mac OS X: A Visual Quickstart Guide<http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=82890>."

I hope what this means is that Apple, in addition to Keynote, has now a word processing and a spreadsheet application. And AppleWorks X is a suite consisting of all these applications, plus, perhaps with a version of FileMaker Pro.

And, hopefully, like the current AppleWorks/ClarisWorks, the entire suite is also available for Windows.

One can dream, can't I?

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

[News]

*** Brain Drain In Tech's Future?
<http://news.com.com/Brain+drain+in+tech%27s+future%3F/2100-1008_3-5299249.html?part=rss&tag=5299249&subj=news.1008.20>
by Ed Frauenheim, CNET News.com
Fewer science and engineering doctorates could add up to trouble for innovation.

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

[World]

*** Dixie Chicks
<http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/prem/200409/starr>
by Alexandra Starr, The Atlantic
A new kind of Democrat is emerging in the South -- and she's no shrinking violet.

[Tech & Science]

*** Tech '54, Where Are You?
<http://www.popsci.com/popsci/computers/article/0,12543,642505-1,00.html>
by Larry Smith, Popular Science
How much has technology really changes our daily lives? We asked a highly wired writer to spend 10 days in the big city living with the technology of 50 years ago. No Web, no cell, no laptop, no ATM card.

[Life]

*** To: Co-Workers Subject: Postcard From The Edge
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A44235-2004Aug5.html>
by Philip Kennicott, Washington Post
So you've tweaked your automatic e-mail response to let me know that you are not just out of the office, but out of the office on vacation. Until Sept.  7. Thanks for the extra information. We're all just so dee-lighted to know that you're on vacation.

[Expressions]

*** Florence Of Arabia
<http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/prem/200409/buckley>
by Christopher Buckley, The Atlantic

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

[Top Stories]

*** Singapore Eyes A New Kind Of Traveler
<http://edition.cnn.com/2004/TRAVEL/08/04/bt.singapore.travel.reut/>
by Reuters
Facing inroads from cheap manufacturers such as China and India as well as growing competition from its Southeast Asian neighbours for the tourist dollar, Singapore's planners are doing what economists have long advocated by placing more emphasis on higher-end services.

*** Tamasek Goes Shopping To Build A New Singapore
<http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000039&refer=columnist_mukherjee&sid=a81KMf2uj9Ls>
by Andy Mukherjee, Bloomberg
Look closely at the shopping list of Temasek Holdings Pte, and you'll find the Singapore government's investment arm is busying scripting a future for the city-state dramatically different from its past.

[Ramblings]

*** Scrap? Not So Simple 
<http://www.myapplemenu.com/2004/08/06/#20040806bg000005>
by Heng-Cheong Leong
Mah Bow Tan, National Development Minister, said that Singaporeans still want to pay for upgrading<http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/99570/1/.html>, despite recent rejects.

"In the final analysis if the programme is really not popular, we will scrap it, it's as simple as that."

No, it's not as simple as that, in my opinion. After all, PAP promised that this will be offered to all Singaporeans -- whether they had voted for PAP or not. It's just that those who voted for PAP will be given priority over those that did not, all things being equal.

So, to scrap this programme is to break the election promise. And we know that PAP doesn't simply break promise, now, do we?

*** A New Title For SM Lee 
<http://www.myapplemenu.com/2004/08/06/#20040806bg000004>
by Heng-Cheong Leong
As discovered by Mr Brown<http://www.mrbrown.com/blog/2004/08/a_new_title_for.html>, some, er, interesting suggestions: Head of the Jedi Council, The One, Number 0.

*** Rediscovering Radio 
<http://www.myapplemenu.com/2004/08/06/#20040806bg000003>
by Heng-Cheong Leong
Now that you know what television programme<http://www.myapplemenu.com/singapore/2004/08/05/#20040805bg000002> I enjoy, let's move on to radio.

My radio diet is mainly from NPR<http://www.npr.org/> (Talk of the Nation, All Things Considered, Wait Wait) and BBC World Service<http://www.bbcwordservice.com/> (The World Today, World Briefing). Then, throw in some Your Mac Life<http://www.yourmaclife.com/>, IT Conversations<http://www.itconversations.com/index.html>, and NewsRadio<http://www.newsradio.com.sg/>, for the Singapore news.

But if you are also a regular NPR and/or BBC listener, you will discover why I consider the interviewing skills from the local NewsRadio to be amatuerish.

The presense of always-on broadband in my apartment really allowed me to rediscover the magic of radio.

*** Time For Another Revamp 
<http://www.myapplemenu.com/2004/08/06/#20040806bg000002>
by Heng-Cheong Leong
When the Sunday Times (which is the Sunday edition of the local newspaper, Straits Times<straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/>) was revamped last year, we, the readers, were promised a more magazine-like newspaper with better and improved layout and presentation. I was so excited: wow, magazine articles, eh? Long, insightful, detailed, and in-depth?

Turns out the publisher, SPH, was thinking of magazines like TV Guide and i-Weekly, while I was thinking of magazines like New Yorker and Wired.

So, now SPH is hyping the revamp of another of its newspaper, the Lianhe Zaobao<http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/singapore/story/0,4386,265346,00.html?> -- more vibrant, contemporary, while no compromises on coverage, professionalism, credibility, integrity, or quality. Or so SPH claims. Readers will be able to judge for themselves at the end of the month.

But at least for me, I'm not getting my hopes up this time round.

[Opinion]

*** Give School Rules On Homework
<http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/forum/story/0,4386,265436,00.html?>
by Jacqueline Chong Yean Yin, Straits Times
Whether the authorities would be more open to considering regulating and reducing the amount of homework given to young children.

[Entertainment]

*** Lunch Mate
<http://business-times.asia1.com.sg/sub/life/story/0,4574,124690,00.html?>
by Cheah Ui-Hoon, Business Times
If you're a high net worth individual looking for a date and a mate, a new personalised dating service, It's Just Lunch, may just be the answer.