[MyAppleMenu] Sep 4, 2006

[applesurf at myapplemenu.com]

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

[News]

*** Apple Buys Pod Rights
<http://www.theinquirer.net/default.aspx?article=34136>
The Inquirier

Maker of entertainment gear Apple has paid an undisclosed sum to a New Jersey woman to stop her using the word 'pod' in a protective case she designed for laptops.

*** iPods Spread Seeds Of Fitness
<http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/ss/body/24515>
Sandra Valdez Gerdes, Tucson Citizen

Virtual trainers are the latest trend in fitness, and they can be downloaded right onto your iPod or other MP3 player.

*** Apple Financial Announcements Now On Podcast
<http://www.macworld.co.uk/news/index.cfm?RSS&NewsID=15745>
Macworld UK

*** Interest In Mobile Music Downloads Wanes
<http://news.moneycentral.msn.com/provider/providerarticle.asp?feed=FT&Date=20060903&ID=5990731>
Financial Times

Twice as many respondents favoured mobile handsets incorporating an MP3 player than said they would prefer music players with mobile phone features.

*** Taiwan Firm Drops China iPod Libel Case
<http://news.com.com/Taiwan+firm+drops+China+iPod+libel+case/2100-1014_3-6112056.html?tag=nefd.top>
Reuters

A Taiwanese firm has dropped its libel claim against two Shanghai journalists and their newspaper for saying that workers at a plant manufacturing iPods were mistreated, the official Xinhua news agency said on Sunday.

[Opinion]

*** Apple, You've Failed Me
<http://grey-wanderer.org/blog/?p=6>
Fields Of Gold

I'm seriously up to right here with this pointless copyright nonsense.

*** Macinterface
<http://www.thepond.com/wordpress/?p=556>
The Pond

I like that OS X has a strong application-based metaphor for performing tasks.

*** Apple's Secret Ingredient
<http://theocacao.com/document.page/298>
Theocacao

Fearlessness allows you set aside all ideas of what people might think and focus on what feels right instinctively. Without that sort of conviction, there wouldn't be Mac OS X, the iPod, or even the Mac.

[Review]

*** How To Get More From Your iPod
<http://www.smarthouse.com.au/iPods_And_Devices/iPods?Article=/iPods%20And%20Devices/iPods/K9J6E2V4>
Smarthouse

A few simple, affordable adjustments can make your digital music listening experience better and easier.

*** The Future Of Mac Spreadsheets
<http://infinityandbeyond.wordpress.com/2006/09/03/the-future-of-mac-spreadsheets/>
Infinity ANd Beyond

[Sidetrack]

*** Sam! I Do Like Green Eggs And Ham!
Heng-Cheong Leong

My daughter is in love with Dr Seuss right now. (She is 3-going-on-to-4.) The Cat in The Hat, Green Eggs and Ham.

And, for reasons unknown to me, she has assigned Thing One to be a "boy-boy" and Thing Two to be a "girl-girl."

Oh, and CNN have some pointers <http://www.cnn.com/2006/HEALTH/08/24/joy.of.reading.par/index.html> on reading to your child.

[Wintel]

*** Finally, A Sirius iPod Threat
<http://www.wired.com/news/columns/0,71711-0.html?tw=rss.index>
Eliot Van Buskirk, Wired News

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

[News]

*** The Game Is On To Woo The Elusive Female Player
<http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/04/technology/04games.html?ex=1315022400&en=0f31b8a44d82fe8d&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss>
Doreen Carvajal, International Herald Tribune

Things are starting to change in the gaming industry.

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

[Ramblings]

*** Call Me A Cab
Heng-Cheong Leong

Suraj Chew Sein Yeang <http://straitstimes.asiaone.com/portal/site/STI/menuitem.c2aef3d65baca16abb31f610a06310a0/?vgnextoid=f832758920e39010VgnVCM1000000a35010aRCRD&vgnextfmt=vgnartid:39c6c04bbc86d010VgnVCM100000430a0a0aRCRD>: The LTA fails to acknowledge that each peak hour CBD taxi replaces several private commuter cars, thus reducing traffic congestion and not adding to it.

Huh? I fail to see how one taxi can replace several private cars at any given time. LTA tried taxi-sharing schemes, and that failed miserably. Look, if five families take taxi instead of private cars, that is still five trips, and five contribution to the road congestion.

Of course, Sein Yeang failed to provide any backing to this statement in the published letter.

Yong Kwek Ping <http://straitstimes.asiaone.com/portal/site/STI/menuitem.c2aef3d65baca16abb31f610a06310a0/?vgnextoid=f832758920e39010VgnVCM1000000a35010aRCRD&vgnextfmt=vgnartid:ded5c04bbc86d010VgnVCM100000430a0a0aRCRD> wanted LTA to do something about charges. Well, LTA cannot and should not. Taxi fares is no longer regulated, and the taxi companies can well charge whatever they want to charge.

The solution to Singapore's taxi problem is not more regulation, but less. Much less. Let free market take over, and the free market will solve the problem.

Allow anyone who passes a test to become taxi drivers. Drastically lower the minimum service standard requirements, so that more companies and private individuals can set up taxi companies. There is really no need for LTA to micro-manage the taxi industry. The existing policies towards private cars -- road tax, ERP, etc -- are already enough when applied to the taxi industry.

[News]

*** Singapore Turns Wastewater Into City's strength
<http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601039&refer=columnist_mukherjee&sid=aMTGpu2Q2cj4>
Andy Mukherjee, Bloomberg

It's hard to find an Asian nation as serious about urban services, or as inventive, as Singapore.

*** Education Ministry To Spend $250m To Improve Teaching Profession
<http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/228547/1/.html>
Joanne Leow, Channel NewsAsia

*** Singapore And Malaysia Welcome Opening Up Of Two-Way Air Routes
<http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/228500/1/.html>
Melissa Goh, Channel NewsAsia

*** Singapore Should Get Bigger Voice In IMF, Goh Says
<http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601080&sid=ahbpvz8.hZMY&refer=asia>
Linus Chua and Haslinda Amin, Bloomberg

Singapore and other Asian countries should push for a bigger voice in the International Monetary Fund as the region gains importance within the global economy, Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong said.

*** Frenzy Flower Planting In The CBD / Tourist Belt
<http://keropokman.blogspot.com/2006/09/frenzy-planting-of-flowers-in-cbd.html>
The Keropok

*** Ministers May Discuss Singapore-KL Air Route
<http://straitstimes.asiaone.com/portal/site/STI/menuitem.c2aef3d65baca16abb31f610a06310a0/?vgnextoid=6fadbe120b93a010VgnVCM1000000a35010aRCRD&vgnextfmt=vgnartid:dde1ed09f147d010VgnVCM100000430a0a0aRCRD>
Karamjit Kaur, Straits Times

Transport Minister Raymond Lim is likely to discuss the Singapore-KL air route with his Malaysian counterpart Chan Kong Choy when they meet in Kuala Lumpur today, as pressure builds for the lucrative sector to be opened up.

*** Singapore In Stiff Competition With Dubai To Woo Tourists
<http://www.newkerala.com/news4.php?action=fullnews&id=16578>
NewKerala.com

[Opinion]

*** On Being Mean To Kids In Public
<http://cowboycaleb.liquidblade.com/index.php/archives/2006/09/03/on-being-mean-to-kids-in-public/>
A Gonzo Journal

*** Where Are Your Procedures Singapore?
<http://blueblueheeler.blogspot.com/2006/09/where-are-your-procedures-singapore.html>
Blueheeler

*** Reflections On Singapore
<http://settles.typepad.com/exchanging_hats/2006/09/reflections_on_.html>
Exchanging Hats

Singapore is unique in many ways I had not expected.

*** I Worried About Upgrading Lim Chu Kang...
<http://www.zaobao.com/yl/yl060904_503.html>
Weng Yanpin, Lianhe Zaobao

When will Singaporeans stop lying to themselves?

*** Brakes, Packed MRT Trains And Terrorism
<http://www.nowhere.per.sg/?p=190>
Darth Grievous' Dark Domain

*** Do Lower Toilet Flush Volumes Cause Chokes?
<http://straitstimes.asiaone.com/portal/site/STI/menuitem.c2aef3d65baca16abb31f610a06310a0/?vgnextoid=7532758920e39010VgnVCM1000000a35010aRCRD&vgnextfmt=vgnartid:8740ed09f147d010VgnVCM100000430a0a0aRCRD>
Chia Wai Chon, Straits Times

Consumers who embrace water conservation measures may enjoy lower water bills, but the savings achieved may in the long term be channelled back in more frequent maintenance of clogged pipes.

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

[Tunes]

*** Nothing's Bound
<http://www.hezekiahjones.com/music.html>
Hezekiah Jones
<http://www.hezekiahjones.com/music/Hezekiah_Jones-Nothings_Bound.mp3>