[MyAppleMenu] Aug 19, 2005

[applesurf at myapplemenu.com]

MyAppleMenu
==================================================
<http://www.myapplemenu.com/>
Mac news for Mac people

[News]

*** Apple Reshuffles China Chiefs
<http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/08/19/apple_china_reshuffle/>
Tony Smith, The Register

*** Giving Apples A New Shine
<http://www.timesdispatch.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=RTD/MGArticle/RTD_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1031784526964>
Olympia Meola, Richmond Times-Dispatch

Local repair shops have found conditions of $50 laptops vary, as new owners seek upgrades.

*** Apple Addresses iMac G5 Issues With Repair Extension
<http://www.thinksecret.com/news/0508imacg5repair.html>
Ryan Katz, Think Secret

Apple late Thursday quietly launched a new Repair Extension Program addressing video and power issue related to the iMac G5.

*** MP3 Users Hearing Damage Warning
<http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/4162028.stm>
BBC News

*** iPod In Japan: Apple Plays Winning Tune In Sony's Back Yard
<http://www.guardian.co.uk/online/news/0,12597,1552352,00.html>
Justin McCurry, The Guardian

Apple's foray into Japan -- which is the world's second biggest market for music in terms of album sales -- has sparked talk of a rapid growth in the market in digital music downloads and of a bitter battle with Sony.

*** NPR's Podcast Strategy Leaked To iloveradio.org
<http://radio.blogware.com/blog/_archives/2005/8/18/1150320.html>
Tod Maffin, I Love Radio.org

National Public Radio will opt to podcast only "pieces" of its network programming, not full programs, according to a source.

*** I'm The iPod Girl (... But I'm Too Poor To Buy An iPod)
<http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/tm_objectid=15873322&method=full&siteid=94762&headline=i-m-the-ipod-girl--name_page.html>
Justine Smith, Mirror

"I can't justify spending that much money when I have day-to-day stuff to pay for."

*** Ariz. High School Trades Books For Laptops
<http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory?id=1049007>
Arthur H. Rotstein, Associated Press

School officials believe the electronic materials will get students more engaged in learning.

[Opinion]

*** Apple Patch Fiasco Invites Trouble
<http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/08/19/apple_patches/>
Jason Miller, SecurityFocus, The Register

The time that it takes Apple to release patches for some publicly disclosed vulnerabilities in open source components of their operating systems is nothing less than abysmal, and it's only a matter of time before continued evolution of their security practices can be preemptive, and not reactionary.

*** IB All Alike
<http://inessential.com/?comments=1&postid=3155>
Brent Simmons, inessential.com

Interface Builder often doesn't display enough of an item's name to be useful.

*** Interview With John Gruber
<http://www.guidebookgallery.org/articles/interviewwithjohngruber>
GUIdebook

Let's say you're appointed as a Chief UI Designer at Apple. What would be your first five orders?

*** Let's Just Make Up Some Dollar Values And Print Them As Fact
<http://blogs.msdn.com/oldnewthing/archive/2005/08/18/453055.aspx>
The Old New Thing

Are people just making up stuff and publishing it as fact? Or is there some root source for this $10 amount that I'm missing and which nobody is bothering to cite?

*** Rent Vs. Own
<http://www.smartmoney.com/mossberg/index.cfm?story=september2005>
Walter S. Mossberg, Smart Money

Right now iTunes and the iPod are the better choice in digital music.

[Sidetrack]

*** Setting The Expectation -- What Not To Do
Heng-Cheong Leong

I remember one story in one of Guy Kawasaki's book about two candy sellers. The first one, when asked for 1 kg of candy, will scoop out way more candy than required, put them on a scale, and proceed to remove candy until the scale reads 1 kg. The second candy seller will scoop out way less candy than required, put them on a scale, and proceed to add candy until the scale reads 1 kg. Both may be selling at exactly the same price, but guess who is more popular?

Both Microsoft and Creative made the same mistake recently: removing candy. Microsoft painted an ambitious picture of Longhorn initially, and was forced to drop features once they realised Apple is kicking their asses with more frequent feature updates to Mac OS X. Today, Microsoft seemed to have learnt their lesson: all they are saying about Vista now is just "better security" -- which, in my opinion, is not a feature, but a basic requirement. Anything new? Well, we'll have to wait until Beta 2. All the marketing momentum that Microsoft had built up over the years in selling Longhorn? Flushed down the drain.

Creative, on the other hand, haven't realised they commited a marketing mistake when the CEO publicly announced they are going spent tons of money and achieve a 40% market share in the MP3-player market. Well, Creative still have a respectable share of the MP3 market -- they have more market share in the MP3-player market than Apple has in the computer market -- but everyone is looking at Creative as a failture today. (Sure, the latest quarter's loss didn't help either.) If Creative had just kept their mouth shut and just do it, maybe analysts will be kinder to them.

I'm not advocating companies be secretive about what they are doing, but the old saying still is true in today's world: under-promise, over-deliver.

*** Let's Do The Bartman
Heng-Cheong Leong

You know what? One particular line in the lyrics of Do The Bartman <http://www.snpp.com/guides/do_the_bartman.html> has a whole different meaning after all these years...

If you can do the Bart, you're bad like Michael Jackson.

By the way, guess who penned <http://www.simpsonschannel.com/news/news-archive-4-2004.html> the lyrics?

*** Bakkwa
Heng-Cheong Leong

Bakkwa <http://www.flickr.com/photos/sangsara/35202180/>, or barbecued pork, is one of my favorite food. (And my wife's too.) When you are in Singapore, do remember to try some.

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

[News]

*** Many Neighborhoods Find A Voice Online
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/17/AR2005081700816.html?nav=rss_technology>
Paul Schwartzman, Washington Post

Blogs, listservs part of community fabric.

*** Wireless Broadband Unlikely To Push 3G Aside
<http://www.infoworld.com/article/05/08/18/HN3gbroadband_1.html>
Stephen Lawson, IDG News Service

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

[Life]

*** The New Movement Against Wal-Mart
<http://www.villagevoice.com/news/0533,flee,66882,5.html>
Chisun Lee, Village Voice

Fresh blood joins the battle to keep the mega-retailer out of NYC.

*** Busted
<http://film.guardian.co.uk/features/featurepages/0,4120,1551827,00.html>
Tom Shone, The Guardian

Thirty years after Jaw changed the face of cinema, blockbusters are dying at the box office. Is our taste for reality outstripping our love of big-budget epics?

*** 9/11: Light A Candle Or Party On?
<http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/18/fashion/thursdaystyles/18date.html?adxnnl=1&8hpib=&adxnnlx=1124427671-IWwcdGg3vNmdxLXFd7AXXg>
Jodi Kantor, New York Times

Now the black circle around the calendar date is fading, leaving ambivalence and awkward disagreement as to what is and isn't appropriate to plan.

*** Lions And Cheetahs And Elephants, Oh My!
<http://slate.msn.com/id/2124714/fr/rss/>
C. Josh Donlan, Slate

Let them run wild. In North America.

[EOF]

*** Strange Fossil Defies Grouping
<http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4156544.stm>
Julianna Kettlewell, BBC News

A strange 525 million-year-old fossil creature is baffling scientists because it does not fit neatly into any existing animal groups.

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

[News]

*** New NKF Board Announces Cut In Dialysis Cost In Preliminary Review
<http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/163980/1/.html>
Channel NewsAsia

In its first progress report, the new board assessed that there was scope to reduce the current cost.

*** SingTel On Prowl For Regional Acquisitions
<http://today.reuters.com/business/newsarticle.aspx?type=tnBusinessNews&storyID=nSIN195827&imageid=top-news-view-2005-08-03-231729-eRPPISA%5B13%5D.jpg&cap=A%20Singtel%20sign%20is%20seen%20outside%20the%20company%20headquarters%20in%20Singapore%20May%206,%202005.%20REUTERS/Luis%20Enrique%20Ascui>
Doreen Siow, Reuters

*** More Schemes For Lower Income Group May Be Announced In ND Rally: MPs
<http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/163865/1/.html>
S Ramesh, Channel NewsAsia

Those in the 20th percentile, who earn less than S$1,200, are expected to benefit the most from the Prime Minister's speech.

*** The Dealings Before The Demolition
<http://www.todayonline.com/articles/67607.asp>
Loh Chee Kong, Today

12 accept LTA offer, moves to help eligible owners buy flats early.

*** New NKF Board Whistles For Cops
<http://www.todayonline.com/articles/67558.asp>
Lee U-Wen and Tan Hui Leng, Today

[Opinion]

*** You Can't Make This Stuff Up
<http://lzydata.djourne.net/?p=2336>
l.z.y./Data

*** Licence Not Revoked Automatically If Cabbie Has Criminal Record
<http://www.todayonline.com/articles/67589.asp>
Han Liang Yuan, Land Transport Authority, Today

The decision to revoke a vocational licence is on a case-by-case basis.

[Entertainment]

*** Fann Wong Leads A Charmed Life
<http://thestar.com.my/lifestyle/story.asp?file=/2005/8/19/lifefocus/11801047&sec=lifefocus>
Tham Ai Mei, The Star

Fann Wong is in love and, boy, she simply looks radiant.

The Shuffle by MyAppleMenu
==================================================
<http://www.myapplemenu.com/podcast/>
Life is random. More tunes, less talk.

[Tunes]

*** The Loving Sounds Of Static
<http://www.mobiusband.com/index2.htm>
Mobius Band
<http://www.mobiusband.com/music/mp3/lovingsoundsofstatic/TheLovingSoundsofStatic.mp3>