[MyAppleMenu] Jan 19, 2006

[applesurf at myapplemenu.com]

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

[News]

*** A Personal Trainer, Right In Your iPod
<http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/19/fashion/thursdaystyles/19Fitness.html>
Catherine Saint Louis, New York Times

*** Is The New iMac A Cash Machine?
<http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/jan2006/tc20060119_311993.htm>
Arik Hesseldahl, BusinessWeek

It costs Apple $898 to asemble the iMac before loading it with software and packing it in a box, iSupply estimates.

*** Apple Sees 'Pause' In Mac Sales
<http://news.com.com/Apple+sees+pause+in+Mac+sales/2100-1047_3-6028468.html?part=rss&tag=6028468&subj=news>
Ina Fried, CNET News.com

Apple executives confirmed Wednesday that some buyers put off Mac purchases last quarter in anticipation of new Intel-based Macs -- although that slowdown was masked somewhat by strong iPod sales.

*** No Shine From Apple
<http://www.thestreet.com/_mktwrm/tech/gamesandgadgets/10262514.html>
Troy Wolverton, TheStreet.com

While the just-completed quarter was a good one for Apple, the company offered disappointing results for its current period.

*** Buying iPods From Vending Machines
<http://playlistmag.com/features/2006/01/ipodvending/index.php?lsrc=mwrss>
Mathew Honan, Playlist

*** Apple Posts $565 Million Profit
<http://www.macworld.com/news/2006/01/18/appleearnings/index.php?lsrc=mwrss>
Jim Dalrymple, Macworld

On the strength of higher iPod and Macintosh sales, Apple on Wednesday posted a profit of $565 million for its fiscal 2006 first quarter. Picking up from where it left off last year, Apple once again reported the highest revenue and earnings in the company's history.

[Opinion]

*** Photocasting Hyperbole
<http://www.intertwingly.net/blog/2006/01/18/Photocasting-Hyperbole>
Intertwingly

These are really the two biggest issues: lack of documentation, and a somewhat distateful and paternalistic attempt to be helpful in a way that ironically results in exactly the opposite results that one would desire -- assuming that interoperability is, in fact, the goal.

*** Unofficial Documentation Of iPhoto 6.0 Photocasting Feeds
<http://lists.apple.com/archives/syndication-dev/2006/Jan/msg00020.html>
Mark Pilgrim

To sum up, the "photocasting" feature centers around a single undocumented extension element in a namespace that doesn't need to be declared. iPhoto 6 doesn't understand the first thing about HTTP, the first thing about XML, or the first thing about RSS.

*** The Switch. A Boy And A Powerbook
<http://backside180.blogspot.com/2006/01/switch-boy-and-powerbook.html>
Backside 180

>From this day on, I will not ever recommend a Dell or any other Windows computer over a Mac... I'm not going to bash Microsoft and Windows, but like Mr. Scoble, I've become an evangelist and I'm the best kind, the unpaid kind.

*** A Big Move By Apple
<http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/editorials/la-ed-apple19jan19,0,1735310.story?coll=la-news-comment-editorials>
Los Angeles Times

Apple's move provided a solution that could serve as a model for the emerging generation of personalized tech products and services.

*** Have You Looked At iTunes?
<http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/wlg/9042?CMP=OTC-13IV03560550&ATT=Have+you+looked+at+iTunes>
Francois Joseph de Kermadec, O'Reilly Network

iTunes has reached the limits of its planned usefulness.

*** Too Much JavaScript
<http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/wlg/9043?CMP=OTC-13IV03560550&ATT=Too+much+JavaScript>
Francois Joseph de Kermadec, O'Reilly Network

*** A Mac Wedding
<http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/16/technology/poguesposts/16pogues-posts.html?ex=1295067600&en=61174ee3e0f80255&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss>
David Pogue, New York Times

For your blog-reading entertainment, I thought I'd share with you some of Andy Ihnakto's script for the event.

*** Why Isn't Photo Booth Free?
<http://www.tuaw.com/2006/01/18/photo-booth-is-fun/>
C.K. Sample, III, Unofficial Apple Weblog

[Review]

*** With Intel Inside, Apple Sets Bar For Home PCs Even Higher
<http://www.usatoday.com/tech/columnist/edwardbaig/2006-01-18-imac-intel_x.htm>
Edward C. Baig, USA Today

Apple has raised the bar on what a home computer should be. With or without Intel, its mix of hardware and software remains the one to beat.

*** iWeb
<http://www.macworld.com/news/2006/01/18/iwebfirstlook/index.php?lsrc=mwrss>
Jackie Dove, Macworld

*** First Lab Tests: iMac With Intel Core Duo Processor
<http://www.macworld.com/2006/01/features/imaclabtest1/index.php?lsrc=mwrss>
Jason Snell, Macworld

Intel-based iMacs are fast, but gains don't match Apple's claims.

[Sidetrack]

*** Look Out For More "Synergy"...
Heng-Cheong Leong

... if Disney really does buy Apple, as reported by the Wall Street Journal. Steve Jobs will be the biggest individual shareholder <http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9595_22-6028542.html> in Disney, and we will see all sorts of Disney stuff on iTunes Music Store.

*** The Return Of The Middleman?
Heng-Cheong Leong

Everybody is saying, a decade ago, that the internet will kill off the middleman. Who need a middleman when the internet can easily link up the buyer and the supplier directly?

So, why is it at the age of Web 2.0 that so many companies are aiming to become the middleman? From Google (AdSense, Google Video) to Real (Rhapsody) to Audible? What's the secret sauce? DRM?

*** The Pro And The Con
Heng-Cheong Leong

Dori Smith <http://www.backupbrain.com/2006_01_15_archive.html#a004818>: If the MacBook Pro is the machine for professionals, does that mean that the consumer-level Mac laptop will be the MacBook Con?

*** Random Thoughts
Heng-Cheong Leong

I live in a country where homosexual acts are illegal, and where all mass media are government-linked and pro-government, so I may be losing all the context... but why is there a debate, as far as I understand, on whether Brokeback Mountain is or is not a gay film? Isn't it just a label?

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

[News]

*** Adult Studio Picks Blu-Ray
<http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,1558,1912217,00.asp?kc=ETRSS02129TX1K0000532>
Patricks Klepek, ExtremeTech

*** Swords Sharpened For Ajax Projects
<http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,1909570,00.asp?kc=EWRSS03119TX1K0000594>
Peter Coffee, eWeek

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

[Tech & Science]

*** The Myth Of The Midlife Crisis
<http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10753221/site/newsweek/>
Gene Cohen, Newsweek

It's time we stopped dismissing middle age as the beginning of the end. Research suggests that at 40, the brain's best years are still ahead.

[Life]

*** The Girl Who Named A Planet
<http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4596246.stm>
Paul Rincon, BBC News

Venetia Phair, a retired teacher from Epsorn in Surrey, has left an indelible signature on our map of the Solar system. Now 87 years of age, she is theonly person in the world who can claim to have named a planet.

*** Adventures In Storyland
<http://www.calendarlive.com/books/cl-wk-cover19jan19,0,6004911.story?coll=cl-home-top-blurb-right>
Susan Carpenter, Los Angeles Times

Indie bookstores catering to young readers in Southern California offer some surprising tales -- far beyond just the classics of kid lit.

*** Veni, Vidi, Vici, Vino
<http://www.latimes.com/features/food/la-fo-winebars18jan18,1,6027209.story?coll=la-headlines-food>
Leslie Brenner, Los Angeles Times

Coffeehouses? They're so last year. Now wine bars are conquering the city.

*** The Spreadhsheet Diet
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/17/AR2006011700264.html>
Ed Bruske, Washington Post

How a personal chef got his high-powered client to embrace the whole grains we all need.

*** The Broken Windows Theory
<http://www.slate.com/id/2134453/>
Daniel Gross, Slate

Who suffers when the DVD is released before the movie has left theaters?

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

[Ramblings]

*** We Can Get Away With It
Heng-Cheong Leong

DBS Bank <http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/forum/story/0,5562,365700,00.html?>: Standard processing fees are chargeable for the cheque-return transactions that were carried out... In line with industry practice, service charges are levied on the retrieval of old documents... Such fees are not unique to DBS and they are chargeable by all banks in Singapore.

My read: Since everyone is charging such a high amount, we can charge too. It doesn't matter if the actual cost to us is much lower. It doesn't matter that we can decrease the cost to us by automation and better business processes. We can charge you such a high cost since everyone is doing it, and you have no choice.

[News]

*** Surprise Switch: Sats' Rival Bags A Tiger
<http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/free/story/0,6418,365836,00.html?>
Karamjit Kaur, Straits Times

SIA-backed Tiger Airways ditches sister firm Sats, inks deal with Swissport.

*** Warwick To Teach Course In Singapore After All
<http://www.todayonline.com/articles/96025.asp>
Lee U-Wen, Today

But still no campus, as British varsity joins hands with SIMTech, SIM in 3-way tie-up.

*** SDA Defines Election Targets
<http://www.todayonline.com/articles/96057.asp>
Loh Chee Kong, Today

[Opinion]

*** Elephants Saga Contrary To Goal Of Open Society
<http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/forum/story/0,5562,365890,00.html?>
Tan Weiming, Straits Times

*** If You Choose To Leave, Pay The Price
<http://www.todayonline.com/articles/96026.asp>
Siew Kum Hong, Today

In our ongoing quest for talented Singaporeans, are we so focused on "talent" that we have forgotten about "Singaporean"?

*** My Wish For Budget 2006
<http://tankinlian.blogspot.com/2006/01/my-wish-for-budget-2006.html>
Tan Kin Lian

We need to have an attractive scheme that will encourage people to save for retirement.

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

[Tunes]

*** Ffestiniog - Prince Departs Penrhyn, 21/02/04
<http://www.steamysounds.co.uk/free_mp3s.htm>
LSJ Recordings

High-quality sound recordings of UK steam locomotives.
<http://www.steamysounds.co.uk/Sounds/free_track6.mp3>