[MyAppleMenu] Dec 22, 2005

[applesurf at myapplemenu.com]

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

[News]

*** 2005: Year Of iPod In Japan
<http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/features/arts/20051222TDY14001.htm>
Steve McClure, Daily Yomiuri

iPods had a roughly 60 percent share of Japan's portable digital music-player market, leaving arch-rival Sony well behind at just under 10 percent of the market.

*** The Next Big Intel Thing
<http://www.theage.com.au/news/macman/the-next-big-intel-thing/2005/12/20/1135032021995.html>
Garry Barker, The Age

The annual Macintosh love-in, where cult meets commerce, looms again in the foggy city of San Francisco.

*** Apple Launches Blog And Podcast Server
<http://www.micropersuasion.com/2005/12/apple_launches_.html>
Steve Rubel, Micro Persuasion

*** Rumors Fly On Upcoming Apple gadgets
<http://money.cnn.com/2005/12/20/technology/mac_preview/>
Amanda Cantrell, CNN/Money

Trying to predict what must-have gadget Apple is going to release next? Might as well break out the tea leaves.

*** 500 Days At The Helm: The Rise And Fall Of Gil Amelio
<http://lowendmac.com/orchard/05/1221.html>
Tom Hormby, Low End Mac

*** Automakers Embrace The iPod
<http://www.informationweek.com/industries/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=175007543>
Antone Gonsalves, Techweb

Automakers are expected to ride the popularity of the iPod and add support for Apple's portable music player in millions of cars over the next six years.

*** Beware Of Strange iTunes/QuickTime Movies
<http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,1904362,00.asp?kc=EWRSS03119TX1K0000594>
Ryan Naraine, eWeek

A heap overflow vulnerability in Apple's iTunes and QuickTime media player could put millions of PC and Mac users at risk of malicious hacker attacks, security experts warned Wednesday.

*** Apple Newton Museum Shutting Down, Selling Everything
<http://www.boingboing.net/2005/12/21/apple_newton_museum_.html>
Xeni Jardin, Boing Boing

*** Aperture Update Improves Metadata Handling, More
<http://www.macworld.com/news/2005/12/21/aperture/index.php?lsrc=mwrss>
Peter Cohen, Macworld

[Opinion]

*** Norton Anti-Virus Makes Mac OS X Less Secure?
<http://www.zdnet.com.au/news/security/soa/Norton_Anti_Virus_makes_Mac_OS_X_less_secure_/0,2000061744,39229157,00.htm>
Munir Kotadia, ZDNet Australia

Apple Macintosh users could be making themselves less secure by installing Symantec's flagship anti-virus application.

*** The Broken Leg Of The Stool
<http://avc.blogs.com/a_vc/2005/12/the_broken_leg_.html>
A VC

It's broken because it's nearly impossible for the consumer to take control of their consumer electronics experience and it's broken because it's almost impossible for an entrepreneur to innovate in this sector.

*** The Sad State Of Services
<http://www.macworld.com/news/2005/12/21/services/index.php?lsrc=mwrss>
Rob Griffiths, Macworld

>From my seat, the Services menu is one of the most bloated, least-usd, and most overrated features in OS X. So what went wrong, between the promise and the delivery? And what can be done to save the Services menu?

*** Can Apple-Intel Live Up To Pre-Macworld Hype?
<http://www.informationweek.com/blog/main/archives/2005/12/post.html>
Darrell Dunn, InformationWeek

Apple is known to drive a hard bargain with its partners, and Intel has a reputation for being one of the nastier suppliers to work with at times in its history. One has to wonder if this is the start of a beautiful friendship, or the beginning of many years of head butting.

*** The Year Of The Switch
<http://www.engadget.com/2005/12/21/switched-on-the-year-of-the-switch/>
Ryan Block, Engadget

2005 stood out as a time when far more than just the iPod got shuffled. Scared cows were tipped as companies embraced major technological and sometimes philosophical switches in order to court new markets or move in new directions.

[Review]

*** Trimming The Services Menu
<http://www.macworld.com/weblogs/mac911/2005/12/trimservice/index.php?lsrc=mwrss>
Christopher Breen, Macworld

[Sidetrack]

*** This Is The Part I Like About The Year In Review
Heng-Cheong Leong

The Guardian <http://technology.guardian.co.uk/weekly/story/0,16376,1671946,00.html>: April: Adobe buys rival Macromedia for $3.4bn. The sale completes in December; it would have been faster if the lawyers had skipped the Flash Intro.

*** Cheney And His iPod
Heng-Cheong Leong

As reported by Dan Froomkin <http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/linkset/2005/04/11/LI2005041100879.html>: "When [Dick] Cheney said his iPod needed to be recharged, it took precedence above all else and dominated one precious outlet for several hours."

Looks like nobody remember to bring along one of those multi-outlet power strip...

*** Fa La La La La, Fa La La La
Heng-Cheong Leong

For those who hate going to the mall to do shopping and having to listen to all those Christmas music, have a pity on poor me. After one month of Christmas music, we have another month of Chinese New Year music.

Gongxi, Gongxi, Gongxi, Ni.

[Wintel]

*** Microsoft May Face Daily EU Fine
<http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/4552214.stm>
BBC News

The European Commission has threatened to fine Microsoft up to 2m euros a day until it gives rivals more access to its operating system.

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

[News]

*** The Broken Leg Of The Stool
<http://avc.blogs.com/a_vc/2005/12/the_broken_leg_.html>
A VC

It's broken because it's nearly impossible for the consumer to take control of their consumer electronics experience and it's broken because it's almost impossible for an entrepreneur to innovate in this sector.

*** Poll Finds Americans Dependent On High-Tech Gadgets
<http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/business/technology/13458285.htm>
Associated Press

Personal computers, cell phones and high-speed internet are ocnsidered essential to getting by for millions of Americans whoa re showing early signs of addicition to the next wave of high-tech toys, an AP-lpsos poll found.

*** Predictions For 2006
<http://weblog.infoworld.com/udell/2005/12/19.html#a1356>
Jon Udell, InfoWorld

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

[Life]

*** Transit Strike Throws Off The Meter Of N.Y.
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/20/AR2005122001762.html>
David Segal, Washington Post

The first transit strike in 25 years was timed for maximum impact, just days before Christmas, when the city is full of touriss. Great news for the 12,778 taxicabs circulating throughout New York, right? Well, it isn't.

*** It Will Lunge Towards You If You Stray Too Close, Or Try To Snatch Anything You Put In Its Mouth. Now It Has Become The Most Terifying Beast Of All - This Year's Must-Have Christmas Toy.
<http://www.guardian.co.uk/christmas2005/story/0,16848,1672400,00.html>
Oliver Burkeman and Jonathan Watts, The Guardian

How did a plastic dinosaur with a brain the size of a pocket calculator take over the planet?

*** A Land Of Northen Lights, Cybercafes And The Flat Tax
<http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/21/international/europe/21letter.html>
Mark Landler, New York Times

Estonia, one realizes after a few days in the abiding twilight of a Baltic winter, is not like other European countries.

*** With Pastries, They Pass Along Italian Tradition
<http://www.boston.com/ae/food/articles/2005/12/21/with_pastries_they_pass_along_italian_tradition/>
Emily Schwab, Boston Globe

Three generations of the large Italian-American Scavotto family gather at Diane and Jeff Kehoe's house every year to make cannoli.

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

[Ramblings]

*** T T Durai, Defamation Lawsuits, And The PAP Government
Heng-Cheong Leong

T T Durai, the former CEO of the NKF, has previously successfully taken legal action against Archie Ong and Piragasum Singavelu. T T Durai had accused Archie and Piragasum of defamation by saying that T T Durai has travelled on NKF business in first class.

As we all know now, T T Durai did travelled on first class.

It seems then, that T T Durai had successfully -- almost -- made use of the Singapore's legal system to silence valid critisim. If not for Durai's "mistake" of suing SPH, a company with deep pockets, the truth will not be revealed.

On the other hand, we hear from Lee Kuan Yew <http://www.time.com/time/asia/covers/501051212/lky_intvu5.html>: "If you defame us, we're prepared to sue you, go into witness box and be cross-examined... If you don't sue, repetition of the lie [makes it credible]. It will be believed..."

And we all know that the PAP government had successfully sued and won in defamation lawsuits against some of its critics.

Now, with this whole NKF saga, it is probably timely to ask: is the PAP government right in that those critics did indeed slander the PAP government, or is it just that the PAP government has yet to meet its SPH?

In other words, how much can we still trust our legal system? Is T T Durai's suits an anomaly, or do we need some serious rethinking?

This issue of NKF's use of defamation lawsuits to intidimate and silence critics has not really been acknowledged and addressed by the Singapore government, and the local media has not touched on this issue. (There is an opinion piece <http://www.todayonline.com/articles/63174.asp> by Siew Kum Hong in Today newspaper on July 25, 2005, but this piece did not address Singapore government's use of defamation lawsuits directly.)

Lee Hsien Loong should clarify his government's stand on the use of defamation lawsuits, and should tell the public what changes will be made to the legal system so as to prevent rich folks, companies, organisations, and governments from using defamation lawsuits to intimidate, silence, and/or bankrupt valid critisims.

Otherwise, the next time Lee Hsien Loong and his colleagues press defamation charges against others, we will have to ask: is the government pulling a Durai?

[News]

*** Kill Domestic Worker: Fine S$250, 3 Months Jail Or Both
<http://www.thinkcentre.org/article.cfm?ArticleID=2687>
AFP

*** Singapore Hopes Skies Can Open Early
<http://www.flightinternational.com/Articles/2005/12/20/Navigation/177/203727/Singapore+hopes+skies+can+open+early.html>
Flight International.com

Singapore is seeking to jump-start air services liberalisation initiatives in Southeast Asia by uring its fellow members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to accept multilateral "open skies" earlier than originally planned.

[Opinion]

*** Let Govt-Held Info Be An Open Book
<http://www.todayonline.com/articles/91543.asp>
Charles Tan, Today

The introduction of Freedom of Information legislation is important as it allows checks and balances on government activity.

*** No Need For Reminders If Auto-Return Ticket System In Place
<http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/forum/story/0,5562,360456,00.html?>
Lim Boon Hee, Straits Times

While competitor cities are going out of their way to welcome visitors with tourist-friendly measures, TransitLink is doing the reverse.

*** Freedom Is Not Free
<http://singaporealternatives.blogspot.com/2005/12/freedom-is-not-free.html>
Meng Seng Goh, Singapore Alternatives

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

[Tunes]

*** Christ Child's Lullaby
<http://feelslikechristmas.com/traditional_vocal.html>
LaVada Torzewski
<http://72.21.46.162/flc/LaVada_ChristChildsLullaby.mp3>