[MyAppleMenu] Jun 5, 2006

[applesurf at myapplemenu.com]

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

[News]

*** Apple's Back-To-School Program Offers Free iPod
<http://www.appleinsider.com/article.php?id=1785>
Katie Marsal, AppleInsider

Apple is relaunching its Back-to-School program this week, offering a free iPod nano to students who buy a new Intel Mac by September 16th.

*** What Is Constellation Mode?
<http://www.oreillynet.com/mac/blog/2006/06/what_is_constellation_mode.html>
Giles Turnbull, O'Reilly Network

While Quicksilver as a whole is about using the keyboard as your primary interface with the computer, its Constellation mode brings back a degree of mouse-oriented control.

*** iTunes To Be On Radio Web Sites
<http://www.mediaweek.com/mw/news/tvstations/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1002612377>
Katy Bachman, Media Week

*** Macintosh Becoems Latest Vehicle For Chinese Scam
<http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=32166>
Nick Farrell, The Inquirier

According to people who have contacted the INQ, a Chinese criminal ring has been luring punters with fake promises of cut-price Macinteltoshes.

[Opinion]

*** It's Official, iTunes Sucks Balls
<http://tf.erzz.com/2006/06/05/its-official-itunes-sucks-balls/>
Trigger Finger

A certain level of reliability and common sense need to be present in any software, and iTunes fails on both counts.

*** We Are All Journalists Now
<http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1149460817901&call_pageid=968350072197&StarSource=RSS>
Michael Geist, Toronto Star

*** No RJ-11 For You
<http://www.oreillynet.com/mac/blog/2006/06/no_rj11_for_you.html>
Scot Hacker, O'Reilly Network

Wi-Fi is flowing through our neighborhoods like water from drinking fountains, like the air we breathe (password protected air, but air nonetheless).

*** Apple's Achilles' Heel?
<http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2006/06/04/apples-achilles-heel/>
Michael Rogers, Blogging Stocks

How might Apple blow its commanding lead in legal digital audio and video distribution? By not playing well with others, and thus creating an industry demand for alternatives.

[Sidetrack]

*** What's A Pod?
Heng-Cheong Leong

Why does everyone want to believe that Apple is going to add major functionalities to the iPod? From satellite radio receiver to mobile phone to wireless e-mail to a plain old PDA, there's nothing it seems that Apple cannot fail to improve on with just a right pod.

While today, you still cannot manage your tunes on the iPod beyond a simple "On-The-Go" playlist.

Maybe what Apple should do is to create a MacBook the size of a iPod.

*** What's Vista?
Heng-Cheong Leong

Scot Finnie <http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9000829&pageNumber=1>: Apple has the best operating system this year, last year and next year. I'm placing Windows Vista as a distant second-best to OS X.

I have no problem with Microsoft copying Apple's or any other company's best interface designs. We all win when that happens, and I wish Apple would steal the best things Microsoft does right back. What's really strange is when a company lifts good ideas and makes them worse, not better.

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

[News]

*** Building A New Political Party, Byte By Byte
<http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/la-na-unity5jun05,1,1966470.story?coll=la-news-a_section>
Ronald Brownstein, Los Angeles Times

Campaign veterans tired of politics as usual plan an internet primary to nominate a centrist, third-party presidential ticket for 2008.

*** Laptops Continue To Trample Desktops
<http://news.zdnet.co.uk/0,39020330,39273082,00.htm>
Will Sturgeon, CNET News.com

*** Digital Publishing Is Scrambling The Industry's Rules
<http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/05/books/05digi.html?_r=1&oref=slogin>
Motoko Rich, New York Times

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

[World]

*** Born With The Desire To Know The Unknown
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/04/AR2006060400618.html>
Shankar Vedantam, Washington Post

There is something odd about so many secrets being bandied about in the one place that would seem antithetical to secrets -- the mass media -- but let us set aside that quibble and ask what explains this avalanche of conspiracies and secrets.

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

[Ramblings]

*** Song And Dance? No Thanks!
Heng-Cheong Leong

Michael Palmer <http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/212077/1/.html>, MP for Pasir Riss-Punggol GRC: "We need to see how we can attract [younger voters]... We need to bring them in even if it means getting the MP to do a bit of dance to show that we are normal people as well, and you can always come down and talk to us."

NO! Please don't pull a Creative: don't wayang for wayang sake.

If you want real communication, you've gotta have real communication. No amount of wayang is going to help if you don't have any real communications.

For a start, all MPs should start a blog. A real blog, with comments and trackback and real activity. Don't repeat party line; rather, as my primary school English teacher would say, use your own words. Or, updated to the 21st  blog century, use your own real words.

Start a community newspaper. Don't rely on the Forum Page of the Straits Times. Start your own Forum Page.

But, most importantly, never wayang. Everyone can see through that. Your audience is going to be much more clever than you.

*** So Much For Writing This Letter
Heng-Cheong Leong

If you are going to argue for a point, like this writer <http://www.todayonline.com/articles/122421.asp> writing in today's Today (sorry), it helps if you do some research and get your facts right first before you write.

You are not going to persuade me very much further, if you are already wrong right at the opening.

"Not everyone has a surname but certainly everyone has a first name and I would say a last name."

There are people who do not <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indonesian_names> have a surname or last name.

Anyway, my opinion is that the existing situation is fine, and any changes as proposed by the writer is going to make life much more difficult for some people, than this little inconvenience this writer faces.

[News]

*** MOE's New Office Holders Detail Area Of Focus
<http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/212084/1/.html>
Pearl Forss, Channel NewsAsia

*** Engaging Younger Voters Key To Meeting Future Aspirations: New PAP MPs
<http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/212077/1/.html>
S Ramesh, Channel NewsAsia

PAP MPs who received a strong mandate in the recent elections are wooing younger Singaporeans to hear how they want their constituencies shaped.

*** Government Responds To IHT Commentary
<http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/portal/site/STI/menuitem.c2aef3d65baca16abb31f610a06310a0/?vgnextoid=6fadbe120b93a010VgnVCM1000000a35010aRCRD&vgnextfmt=vgnartid:1a5af26bd40ab010VgnVCM100000430a0a0aRCRD>
Leslie Koh, Straits Times

Press secretary K. Bhavani said that Mr Bowring 'has an axe to grind.' She noted that he defamed PAP leaders in an IHT article in 1994, which resulted in the paper having to apologise and pay damages.

*** DBS To Use 'Tokens' To Make I-Banking Safer
<http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/portal/site/STI/menuitem.c2aef3d65baca16abb31f610a06310a0/?vgnextoid=6fadbe120b93a010VgnVCM1000000a35010aRCRD&vgnextfmt=vgnartid:b6821cb5b7f9b010VgnVCM100000430a0a0aRCRD>
Grace Ng, Straits Times

Customers will get pager-like devices in 2-step identity check programme.

[Opinion]

*** Speech By Mr Teo Chee Hean, Minister For Defence, At 5th Shangri-La Dialogue, 4 June 2006, 9.30 AM At Shangri-La Hotel
<http://app.sprinter.gov.sg/data/pr/20060604998.htm>
Singapore Government

*** Disneyland On Acid
<http://singadventure.blogspot.com/2006/06/disneyland-on-acid.html>
Singapore Adventure

It's one thing to threaten that if you misuse books or waste food that your body will be sawn in two, and it's another to show you the tragic fate that awaits.

*** The Political Maturity Of Singaporeans
<http://leounheort.blogspot.com/2006/06/political-maturity-of-singaporeans.html>
Words Of The Lionheart

*** Free, Yet Faced With A Mountain Of Debt
<http://www.todayonline.com/articles/122403.asp>
Thomas Koshy, Today

A person should not have to choose between a wrongful conviction and personal bankruptcy. There is no cogent reason why a person found innocent should have to bear the costs of his defence.

*** Beware Misuse Of NRIC Copy By Strangers
<http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/portal/site/STI/menuitem.c2aef3d65baca16abb31f610a06310a0/?vgnextoid=7532758920e39010VgnVCM1000000a35010aRCRD&vgnextfmt=vgnartid:99e41cb5b7f9b010VgnVCM100000430a0a0aRCRD>
Tan Swee Cheng, Straits Times

[Entertainment]

*** Adventures In Singapore
<http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/viewArticle.asp?articleID=10684>
Donna Williams, American Chronicle

>From art deco to Victoriana, from 80s functionality and cost cutting brashness, to 1930s accomodation of the depression, Singapore has many face.

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

[Tunes]

*** Adeline
<http://www.ourladyofbells.com/music.htm>
Our Lady Of Bells
<http://www.ourladyofbells.com/music/Adeline.mp3>