[MyAppleMenu] Jan 12, 2005

[applesurf at myapplemenu.com]

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

[iPod Shuffle]

*** Flash-Based iPod Shuffle Debuts
<http://www.macworld.com/news/2005/01/11/ipodshuffle/index.php?lsrc=mcrss-0105>
Peter Cohen, MacCentral

The digital music player is Apple's first to use flash memory to store files on instead of a hard drive, and starts at US$99.

*** iPod Shuffle Sparks Stampede
<http://www.wired.com/news/mac/0,2125,66243,00.html?tw=rss.TOP>
Daniel Terdiman, Wired News

Steve Jobs' Macworld keynote speech -- and a lack of Wi-Fi -- set off a rush among iPod fans to see who can get to the nearby Apple Store before the newfangled devices sell out.

*** iPod Shuffle: Even More Like The Original Sony Walkman
<http://homepage.mac.com/lesposen/blogwavestudio/index.html>
Les Posen, CyberPsych Blog

*** iPod Shuffle -- Great Software Makes It Possible
<http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/wlg/6190>
Derrick Story, O'Reilly Network

How can Apple get away with a Flash music player that doesn't even have an LCD screen? The answer: iTunes.

*** Apple iPod Shuffle Poised To Sideswipe Portable Music Market
<http://emperor.tidbits.com/webx?14@738.M5zAaSAMS62.0@.3c4f5c5c!discloc=.3c56ed8d>
Matt Neuburg, TidBITS

The disadvantage of flash memory has traditionally been the cost, but Apple has chosen an impressive and surprising strategy of undercutting the competition on price.

*** iPod Shuffle: First Impressions
<http://playlistmag.com/weblogs/todayatplaylist/2005/01/ipodshufffirst/index.php>
Christopher Breen, Playlist

*** Warning: The iPod Shuffle Is Not Edible
<http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/wlg/6185>
Nitesh Dhanjani, O'Reilly Network

[Mac Mini]

*** Apple Introduces Mac Mini
<http://www.macworld.com/news/2005/01/11/macmini/index.php?lsrc=mcrss-0105>
Peter Cohen, MacCentral

Measuring 6.5 inches wide and long and 2 inches tall, Mac mini weighs 2.9 pounds. The Mac mini starts at US$499, the lowest-priced computer Apple has sold.

*** A Mac For The Masses
<http://www.salon.com/tech/feature/2005/01/12/macworld/index_np.html>
Farhad Manjoo, Salon

Cheap, small and beautiful: The Mac Mini that premiered this week at Macworld is a computer for the cost-conscious techno-aesthete.

*** Don't Mention The C-Word
<http://wiredblogs.tripod.com/cultofmac/index.blog?entry_id=590882>
Leander Kahney, Cult Of Mac

The Mac mini has all the Cube's virtues -- it's small, quiet and stylish -- without the sticker shock.

*** Changing Course, Apple Offers Low-Priced Mac For The Home
<http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/12/technology/12apple.html?ex=1263186000&en=98fe92b3bf32d5ae&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt>
John Markoff and Saul Hansell, New York Times

While computers have long been sold as machines that can turn a home into an office, most Americans now use them in their bedrooms and kitchens as e-mail terminals; as hubs for playing music, storing and editing photos; and as stations for navigating the Web. The new Mac Mini is aimed squared at the needs of this new digital household.

*** Mac Mini Demand Downs Apple's Store Briefly
<http://news.com.com/Mac+Mini+demand+downs+Apples+store+briefly/2100-1041_3-5532162.html>
Stefanie Olsen, CNET News.com

Minutes after Apple announced its $499 mini Macintosh, the company's Web store was inaccessible to some visitors and slowed to a crawl for others.

*** Mac mini: Flat Cube, Or Honey! I Shrunk The Power Mac!
<http://emperor.tidbits.com/webx?14@737.X5zxaSNgS52.0@.3c4f5c5c!discloc=.3c56ed9f>
Glenn Fleishman, TidBITS

The Mac mini essentially cuts the lungs out of the PC world's (and many columnists') argument about Macs costing too much.

*** Apple Lowers Pricing Floor With 'Mini' Mac
<http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,1750262,00.asp?kc=EWRSS03119TX1K0000594>
Ryan Naraine, eWeek

Apple plans to release two models of a low-priced, bring-your-own-display Mac mini later this month. The Mac mini is priced between $499 and $599 and is scheduled to hit stores Jan. 22.

*** New Apple Mini Looks Good On Paper
<http://cbs.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?guid=%7B9DE121D7-0280-42AB-92BD-C9E97BD832A8%7D&siteid=google&dist=google>
John C. Dvorak, CBS Marketwatch

I have to wonder exactly how the new computer will handle the number one problem with today's high performance computers: heat dissipation... [But] the machine in every other sense is close to perfect.

*** The Impressive Value Of The Mac Mini
<http://lowendmac.com/musings/05/0111mm.html>
Dan Knight, Low End Mac

[iWork '05]

*** iWork '05 Contains Keynote 2, Pages
<http://www.macworld.com/news/2005/01/11/iwork/index.php?lsrc=mcrss-0105>
Brad Cook, MacCentral

Designated as the successor to AppleWorks, iWork features Keynote 2 and the new word processing application Pages and integrates, via a media browser, with the iLife suite.

*** iWork Or Not, Microsoft Will Continue With Mac Office
<http://news.com.com/iWork+or+not%2C+Microsoft+will+continue+with+Mac+Office/2100-1016_3-5532187.html>
Ina Fried, CNET News.com

As Apple introduced its own productivity software Tuesday, Microsoft reiterated its commitment to the Mac market and said sales of its Mac Office package are growing.

*** iWork: I, PageMaker?
<http://www.macworld.com/weblogs/editors/2005/01/iworkreax/index.php>
Philip Michaels, Macworld

If there's one application that Page seems primed to take out, it's a basic page-layout program along the lines of PageMaker.

[iLife '05]

*** Apple Brings Out iLife '05
<http://www.macworld.com/news/2005/01/11/ilife05/index.php?lsrc=mcrss-0105>
Brad Cook, MacCentral

iTunes 4.7.1 come swith a single addition -- the AutoFill option -- but the other applications offer a slate of new features.

*** iPhoto 5
<http://apple.weblogsinc.com/entry/1234000557027010/>
Scott McNulty, Unofficial Apple Weblog

The most exciting feature of iPhoto 5 has to be hierachical folders!

*** GarageBand 2: The Revenge
<http://apple.weblogsinc.com/entry/1234000030027036/>
Barb Dybwad, Unofficial Apple Weblog

[Macworld]

*** Apple Crashing The Party
<http://minimsft.blogspot.com/2005/01/apple-crashing-party.html>
Mini-Microsoft

Proving that demo crashes / problems are not just a Microsoft-thang, Jobs crashed during his demo today at Macworld.

*** Made For iPod: The Safety Badge We've Hoped For?
<http://www.ipodlounge.com/ipodnews.php?id=P6090>
iPodlounge

Apple today introduced the "Made for iPod" certification, a badge that iPod accessory developers can display to differentiate their Apple-authorized accessory products from unauthorized ones.

*** Apple Centers Spotlight On Desktop Search
<http://news.com.com/Apple+centers+Spotlight+on+desktop+search/2100-7354_3-5532367.html>
Stefanie Olsen, CNET News.com

Not to msis the search beat reverberating throughout the PC market, Apple Computer chief Steve Jobs touted the company's innovations in desktop search coming with its next Mac OS X upgrade.

*** Steve Jobs' Expo Keynote Now Available In QuickTime
<http://www.macminute.com/2005/01/11/jobs-keynote-mwsf05/>
MacMinute

*** Final Cut Express HD Announced At MWSF
<http://www.macminute.com/2005/01/11/final-cut-express-hd/>
MacMinute

*** Apple And Mercedes-Benz Unveil iPod Integration Kit
<http://macdailynews.com/index.php/weblog/comments/apple_mercedes_benz_unveil_ipod_integration_kit/>
MacDailyNews

*** Apple Releases iTunes, iPod Software Updates
<http://www.macminute.com/2005/01/11/itunes-ipod/>
MacMinute

The new version of iTunes includes support for the new iPod shuffle and other performance improvements.

*** MSN Messenger, Tiger Support From Microsoft
<http://www.macworld.com/news/2005/01/11/microsoft/index.php?lsrc=mcrss-0105>
Jim Dalrymple, MacCentral

Microsoft has been working closely with Apple to ensure compatibility with technologies that will be released in the next version of Mac OS X.

*** Bare Bones Software Ships TextWrangler 2.0
<http://www.macminute.com/2005/01/11/textwrangler/>
MacMinute

Version 2.0 introduces syntax coloring and function navigation for eight new languages, plus a rich assortment of feature additions and improvements. And it's free.

[News]

*** Marthon Freeware Reelased
<http://www.insidemacgames.com/news/story.php?ID=10700>
Eddie Park, Inside Mac Games

Mac users should note, however, that the titles won't run natively under OS X.

[Opinion]

*** Apple's Down-Market Gamble
<http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/jan2005/tc20050112_7424_tc119.htm>
Peter Burrows, BusinessWeek

By launching a much cheaper Mac and iPod, Steve Jobs is appealing to hordes of price-conscious consumers. The risk: Cannibalization.

*** The Age Of Egocasting
<http://www.thenewatlantis.com/archive/7/rosen.htm>
Christine Rosen, New Atlantis

TiVos and iPods will never destroy us. But our romance with technologies of personalization has partially fulfilled Krutch's prediction. We haven't become more like machines. We've made the machines more like us. In the process we are encouraging the flourishing of some of our less attractive human tendencies: for passive spectacle; for constant, escapist fantasy; for excesses of consumption.

*** Macintosh: It's A Madison Avenue Thing
<http://news.com.com/Macintosh+Its+a+Madison+Avenue+thing/2010-7354_3-5532698.html?part=rss&tag=5532698&subj=news.7354.20>
Michael Kanellos, CNET News.com

Mac people seem to want you to go into advertising. PC people don't give nearly as much career guidance.

[Review]

*** RSS And Tabbed Browsing In Safari, Firefox, And Camino
<http://www.macdevcenter.com/pub/a/mac/2005/01/11/rsstabbed.html>
Wei-Meng Lee, O'Reilly Network

[Sidetrack]

*** Random Thoughts On Apple's New Stuff
Heng-Cheong Leong

I would like an upgrade to Appleworks... Unfortunately, the major part of what I use Appleworks is the spreadsheet module, which is not in iWork '05. Well... maybe next year.

I wonder if Tiger will include iLife '05. I can definitely wait, as the new features are really not that impressive to me, and I'm definitely going to get Tiger anyway.

If the Mac mini is really aimed for the switchers, maybe Apple should include a "keyboard switcher" application in Mac mini that will switch Windows-based keyboards to Mac-based keyboards.

*** You Want The Shuffle?
Heng-Cheong Leong

Gizmodo <http://www.gizmodo.com/gadgets/portable-media/ipod/howto-hack-ipod-into-ipod-shuffle-029509.php> has a simple 1-2-3 guide to hacking your iPod into an iPod shuffle.

:-)

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

[News]

*** Workers To Employers: Show Me The Time Off
<http://news.com.com/Workers+to+employers+Show+me+the+time+off/2100-1022_3-5532248.html?tag=nl>
Ed Fraueheim, CNET News.com

Time is more than money for a growing number of American workers, according to a study released Tuesday.

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

[Tech & Science]

*** Blasting Into The Core Of A Comet To Learn Its Secrets
<http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/11/science/space/11come.html?oref=login&8hpib>
Warren E. Leary, New York Times

Since the earliest days of the solar system, comets have periodically smashed into Earth, blasting holes in the surface and scattering cosmic debris. Now it is our turn to strike back.

[Life]

*** It'd Be Easier If SpongeBob Were Hawking Broccoli
<http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/12/dining/12WELL.html>
Marian Burros, New York Times

Food marketed to children is being criticized as high in fat and sugar.

*** Linguists Gone Wild!
<http://slate.msn.com/id/2112150/fr/rss/>
Jesse Sheidlower, Slate

Why "wardrobe malfunction" wasn't the Word of the Year.

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

[News]

*** President Nathan Opens Second Session Of The 10th Parliament
<http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/127026/1/.html>
Joanne Leow, Channel NewsAsia

*** Singapore To OK Chinese Debit Card Use
<http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/apbiz_story.asp?category=1310&slug=Singapore%20Debit%20Cards>
Wee Sui Lee, Assoicated Press

In a first, Chinese visitors will be able to use their bank debit cards in Singapore, thanks to an agreement signed Tuesday between Singapore electronic payment company NETS and China's China Union Pay.

*** Westernization Linked To Breast Cancer Rise
<http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=healthNews&storyID=7294749>
David Douglas, Reuters

The breast cancer rate is rising among women in Singapore and appears to be approaching that seen in Europe, researchers report. The introduction of a Westernized lifestyle and child-bearing pattern may underlie this trend, they suggest.

*** Traffic Gives Way To Add Flavour To Little India
<http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/sub/singapore/story/0,5562,295159,00.html?>
Yeo Ghim Lay, Straits Times

Congested Campbell Lane, in the heart of Little India, will soon be a 'cultural corner', when the first half of the street is closed to traffic within this year.