[MyAppleMenu] Jan 4, 2005

[applesurf at myapplemenu.com]

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

[News]

*** Apple Reduces Prices On Line Of Cinema Display
<http://www.macnn.com/news/27448>
MacNN

Apple today quietly reduced its prices on its line of Apple Cinema flat panel displays by as much as $300.

*** Apple Ships Xsan, Upgrades Xserve G5
<http://www.macworld.com/news/2005/01/04/xsanxserve/index.php?lsrc=mcrss-0105>
Peter Cohen, MacCentral

Apple announced that it is shipping its Xsan Storage Area Network file system. Apple also announced an upgrade to its rack-mountable Xserve G5 file server, upping the top-end and "Cluster Node" configuration's processor speed to 2.3GHz and its system bus speed to 1.15GHz.

*** For iPod, The Gear Helps The Gadget Turn Heads
<http://www.latimes.com/business/custom/cotown/la-fi-ipod4jan04,1,2960955.story?coll=la-headlines-business-enter>
Alex Pham, Los Angeles Times

The country's hottest gadget won't be on display at the nation's biggest gadget show, but there will be plenty at the International Consumer Electronics Show this week to keep Apple's digital music player charged, connected -- and stylishly clothed.

*** Apple Wins Two InfoWorld Awards
<http://www.macminute.com/2005/01/03/infoworld/>
MacMinute

Apple was honored for the best operating system and best server hardware.

*** Shiny Apple?
<http://money.cnn.com/2005/01/03/markets/spotlight/spotlight_aapl/index.htm>
Katie Benner, CNN/Money

Expectations for hot new products coming out of Macworld and strong earnings are so high that the slightest disappointment could trigger a violent sell off.

*** 'Macworld After Dark' To Feature Jackie Greene Band
<http://www.macminute.com/2005/01/03/macworld-after-dark/>
MacMinute

*** FileMaker Helps 'Manage All You Can Create' At Expo
<http://www.macworld.com/news/2005/01/03/filemaker/index.php?lsrc=mcrss-0105>
Peter Cohen, MacCentral

Apple subsidiary FileMaker Inc. will spotlight how its popular database software FileMaker Pro can help creative professions with a theme called 'Manage All You Can' during next week's Macworld Conference & Expo.

[Opinion]

*** New Year, New Longing For Macworld Expo
<http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/tech/weekly/2976376>
Bob LeVitus, Houston Chronicle

I've said it before, and I'll say it again, Macworld Expo is the greatest show on Earth for fans of the Mac.

*** Apple Nearly Stole My $10 And Other Canadian iTunes Music Store Gripes
<http://www.apple-x.net/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=1271>
Apple-X.net

*** Paul Thurrottt Misses The Mark On The Mac, Again
<http://homepage.mac.com/jpapola/iblog/C352826364/E468598057/index.html>
John Papola

[Review]

*** Beach Ball, Begone!
<http://www.macworld.com/weblogs/editors/2005/01/autofilltip/index.php>
Philip Michaels, Macworld

If you're seeing a little too much of the spinning beach ball when you use Safari, I suggest you follow the advice at Mac OS X Hints and do a little autofill maintenance.

*** MarsEdit 1.0
<http://www.atpm.com/11.01/marsedit.shtml>
Wes Meltzer, ATPM

If you've ever thought it would be nice to write a weblog entry while you're not connected to the Internet, or to be able to easily spell check and copy edit them before posting, you should give MarsEdit a whril. I'm a believer.

[Wintel]

*** Five Things That Microsoft Won't Do In 2005 -- But Should
<http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/wlg/6152>
Preston Gralla, O'Reilly Network

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

[News]

*** RFID: The Plot Thickens
<http://www.informationweek.com/story/showArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=RFJDDSO2RJ4F2QSNDBGCKHSCJUMEKJVN?articleID=56800166>
Laurie Sullivan, InformationWeek

The first big deadline from Wal-Mart passes this month, but the real challenges are just starting to unfold.

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

[Life]

*** My Dinner With Sontag
<http://www.salon.com/books/feature/archives/2005/01/04/susan/index_np.html>
Val Wang, Salon

I crossed chopsticks with America's most ferocious intellectual -- and the sushi turned to ashes in my mouth.

*** Arts Project Provokes Hong Kong Uproar
<http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/04/arts/design/04kong.html?ex=1262581200&en=f7b9f344f65084dd&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt>
Keith Bradsher, New York Times

A cultural complex several times the size of Lincoln Center sitting on a long peninsula in Hong kong has become the center of a bitter debate in the last few weeks.

*** Welcome To 'TEH-jas', Land Of The Alamo And The Cowboy
<http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/02/weekinreview/02rome.html?ex=1262408400&en=febeeb197c49a81f&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt>
Simon Romero, New York Times

Thje pronounciation of place names is one of those quiet conflicts that are played out everyday throughout the Southwest as the number of Hispaics in areas originally colonized by Spain and Mexico continue to grow -- and in some cases nudge Anglos into the minority.

[Expressions]

*** The Seamstress
<http://slate.msn.com/id/2111734/fr/rss/>
Jim Powell, Slate

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

[Technology]

*** IDA Loosens Pricing Controls For Telcos
<http://business-times.asia1.com.sg/sub/news/story/0,4574,140824,00.html?>
Angela Tan, Business Times

In a stark shift away from its pricing control policy, the Infocomm Development Authority (IDA) yesterday said mobile operators are now free to charge different rates for calls originating from 2G and 3G handphones.

*** Singapore's Mobile Phone Operators Meet 3G Criterion: IDA
<http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporebusinessnews/view/125592/1/.html>
Jamie Koh, Today