[MyAppleMenu] Apr 10, 2007

[applesurf at myapplemenu.com]

MyAppleMenu
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**** MacJournal 4.1.1 <http://www.macobserver.com/review/2007/04/10.1.shtml>
by Jeff Gamet, Mac Observer
As a journaling application and text-only blogging tool, MacJournal can't be beat. It is flexible, easy to use, and makes blog entry uploading a simple process.

**** Apple Offers AirPort Base Station Security Fix <http://www.infoworld.com/article/07/04/09/HNairportsecurityfix_1.html>
by Robert McMillan, IDG News Service
Firmware updates patch a flaw that prevented the router from acting as a firewall as well as a flaw that could let an attacker view filenames on a connected USB hard drive.

**** iDropper FTP For Publishers, Printers And Designers <http://www.it-enquirer.com/main/ite/more/idropper1/>
by Erik Vlietinck, IT-Enquirer

**** Sticky Windows For Mac - Elegant Simlicity <http://blogs.zdnet.com/Orchant/?p=402>
by Marc Orchant, ZDNet
Sticky Windows does one thing really well. It allows you to dock windows to the edge of the screen as tabs that can be expanded with a single click. The former clutter you might have been experiencing is replaced by a clean, ncluttered workspace with instant one-click access to any open window.

**** Apple's Plan B Products
by Heng-Cheong Leong, MyAppleMenu
Apple's products usually have, what I call, the Plan B functionality. This is the secondary functionality that is typically just as useful as the primary functionality or the product's main intented use.
Take the iPod as an example. When the whole iPod business is still in its infancy, a lot of people went ahead and bought an iPod even when they weren't sure of the whole 1000-tunes-in-your-pocket thing. After all, even if music was not their thing, the iPod is still a very decent portable hard disk. If I recall correctly, the iPod was even cheaper than an equivalent portable hard disk at one time.
Similiarly, the Intel Macintosh has a great Plan B design for switchers from the "dark side." Even if the Mac OS X is not what the switchers want, the Macintosh is still a great /and/ competitive piece of hardware for running Windows.
iPhone? Even if the phone functionality sucks, it is still a decent wide-screen movie-playing iPod. (Yes, we all know the iPhone is not out yet, and everything is still in flux.)
So, I am a little mystefied by the Apple TV. There is no Plan B. If you find the TV sync/stream/watching experience not what you wanted, your only option is to return it back to Apple. Apple has no Plan B for you.
Maybe that's what the USB port is going to be. Maybe that's why Apple is so okay with others hacking the Apple TV. Nevertheless, I can't help but feel just a little disappointed.
<p class="permlink">Permanent Link to This Post <http://www.myapplemenu.com/2007/04/10/id0017/>

**** iPod Success Won't Stop At 100 Million <http://playlistmag.com/news/2007/04/09/ipodanalysis/index.php>
by Jim Dalrymple, Playlist
Both analysts and executives at Apple expect the iPod's hold on the market to continue, even as more "iPod killers" emerge to take their shots at the music player.

**** How I Discovered Xcode Does More Than Cocoa (And Saved My Life In The Process) <http://mymacbuzz.com/2007/04/10/how-i-discovered-xcode-does-more-than-cocoa-and-saved-my-life-in-the-process/>
by Jinny Wong, myMacBUZZ
Many programmers from both Windows and Unix camps have the assumption that Xcode, the programming tool that Apple provides free with every Mac, is only good for developing Cocoa applications. Well, that's not exactly true. Here's a story of how a PowerBook and Xcode helped one computer science student to increase productivity and performance in uni.

**** For Apple, 8-Way Mac Pro Is A Stepping Stone <http://weblog.infoworld.com/enterprisemac/archives/2007/04/for_apple_8way.html>
by Tom Yager, InfoWorld
Mac Pro feels just about balanced to me as a four core machine, but you can be sure that I don't work this Mac Pro the way you work yours.

**** Surprise Ad For Apple TV Begins Airing On Networks <http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/07/04/09/surprise_ad_for_apple_tv_begins_airing_on_networks.html>
by Aldan Malley, AppleInsider
Apple on Monday launched a surprise new commercial for its Apple TV device, emphasizing the simplicity and echoing Steve Jobs' observations that the company was entering the living room after coming into cars, dens, and pockets.

**** Introducing Google Desktop For Mac <http://www.macdevcenter.com/pub/a/mac/2007/04/09/introducing-google-desktop-for-mac.html>
by Giles Turnbull, O'Reilly MacDevCenter.com
Google Desktop does some of these things better or faster&mdash;in my opinion, finding a file on your hard disk is much simpler using GDesktop than it is with Spotlight.
And it does some new things /smarter/, such as the trickle-mode caching of your Gmail account, with subsequent offline access to your messages, or the improved search capabilities it brings to existing apps like Mail.

**** 10 Years Of 'Think Different': The Ad Campaign That Restored Apple's Reputation <http://lowendmac.com/orchard/07/0409.html>
by Tom Hormby, Low End Mac
As Steve Jobs slowly consolidated control of the company, one of his top priorities was a rejuvenation of Apple's image. This ultimately took the form of the immensely succesful (and long lived) /Think Different/ campaign.

The Tomorrow Weblog
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**** Blogging In A Land Where The Press Isn't Free <http://www.wired.com/politics/onlinerights/news/2007/04/pakistanblogger_0410>
by Jeff Koyen, Wired

**** What The Enterprise Can Learn From Consumer Technologies <http://www.infoworld.com/article/07/04/09/15FEconsumer_1.html>
by InfoWorld

MyAppleMenu Reader
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**** 'Shhh' &mdash; The One Thing You Won't Hear In A Library <http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-miller10apr10,0,3015857.story?coll=la-opinion-rightrail>
by Sarah Miller, Los Angeles Times
Sure, times have changed, but can't people shut off their cellphones and quiet down for a little while?

**** A Volcano <http://www.slate.com/id/2158519/fr/rss/>
by Daniel Tobin, Slate

**** The Countless Achievements Of A Math Master <http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/08/AR2007040800745.html>
by Daivd Brown, Washington Post
If one is not a mathematician (and except for a few of you out there, who is?), it's going to be impossible to actually understand why Euler was such a great man. Other people will have to tell us, and we should probably believe them.

**** Birds Do It. Bees Do It. People Seek The Keys To It. <http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/10/science/10desi.html?_r=1&8dpc&oref=slogin>
by Natalie Angier, New York Times
Universal does not mean uniform, and the definition sof sexual desire can be as quirky and personalized as the very chromosomal combinations that sexual reproduction will yield.

**** The United States <http://www.newyorker.com/fiction/poetry/2007/04/16/070416po_poem_williams>
by C. K. Williams, New Yorker

**** Burial Rites <http://www.newyorker.com/fiction/poetry/2007/04/16/070416po_poem_levine>
by Philip Levine, New Yorker

**** The Stolen Pigeons <http://www.newyorker.com/fiction/features/2007/04/16/070416fi_fiction_duras>
by Marguerite Duras, New Yorker

SingaporeSurf
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**** The PAP Not Singaporeans Made Singapore!! <http://singaporemind.blogspot.com/2007/04/pap-not-singaporeans-made-singapore.html>
by Diary Of A Singapore Mind

**** Martyn See's Film "Zahari's 17 Years" Prohibited By Government <http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/269576/1/.html>
by Pearl Forss, Channel NewsAsia
The film "Zahari's 17 Years" &mdash; directed, shot and edited by martyn See &mdash; will be prohibited from April 12. The Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts said "the film gives a distorted and misleading portrayal of Said Zahari's arrest and detention under the Internal Security Act in 1963 and is an attempt to exculpate himself from his past involvement in communist united front activities against the  interests of Singapore."

**** Singapore's Artistic Pose (Draped) <http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Southeast_Asia/ID11Ae03.html>
by A D McKenzie, Asia Times
Music festivals. International art shows. Ballet under the stars. Literary readings. Fashion galas. Film fiestas.
No, we are not talking about New York, London or Paris, but rather the strait-laced city state of Singapore &mdash; better known ofr its official ban on chewing gum and for caning petty criminals than its cultural offerings.

**** Singapore To Keep Policy Of Modest, Gradual Rise In S$: MAS <http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporebusinessnews/view/269456/1/.html>
by AFP
Singapore's central bank said Tuesday it was maintaining a policy of allowing a "modest and gradual" appreciation of the local dollar amid expectations inflation will be contained.

**** How Does One Lead Without Moral Authority? <http://zyberzitizen.wordpress.com/2007/04/10/how-does-one-lead-without-moral-authority/>
by zyberzitizen
Moral authority has a price tag now &mdash; backed by the threats of arrogance and the dismantling of fair competition during elections.

**** The Value Of Insults In A Righteous World <http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Tuesday/Columns/20070410074459/Article/index_html>
by Rehman Rashid, New Straits Times
Paying multi-million-dollar salaries to MPs may work for Singapore. To conduct the deliberations of government, our neighbour seeks to retain the services of the best that money can buy.
There's not much chance of that happening here. Our MPs perceive loftier callings than filthy lucre; there is also the exercise of honest opinion, open expression, and the free and frank exchange of views.

**** A Rather Hasty Jab In The Dark? <http://www.straitstimes.com/portal/site/STI/menuitem.c2aef3d65baca16abb31f610a06310a0/?vgnextoid=6fadbe120b93a010VgnVCM1000000a35010aRCRD&vgnextfmt=vgnartid:17b99921087d1110VgnVCM100000430a0a0aRCRD>
by Burton Ong, Straits Times
Although the SMA says it acted on legal advice, it is not entirely clear if its concerns were justified.

**** How Well Is Well-Paid? <http://www.todayonline.com/articles/182369.asp>
by Tan Hui Leng and Jasmine Yin, Today
Member of parliament who took part in yesterday's parliamentary debate on the pay hike spoke passionately about what many Singapoerans believe to be the heart of the issue: the benchmarking formula used to determine minsterial pay.

**** Their Greed Is Obscene <http://mrsbudak.livejournal.com/322351.html>
by mrsbudak

**** Singapore Shoudl Not Instruct ASEAN On Human Rights Issues: George Yeo <http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/269396/1/.html>
by Ashraf Safdar, Channel NewsAsia
Mr Yeo said Singapore should not be telling her neighbours what to do.

**** Who Supported The Hike In Ministerial Salaries? <http://antineodem.wordpress.com/2007/04/09/who-supported-the-hike-in-ministerial-salaries/>
by The Anti Neo-Democracy Theorist

**** Singapore Announces 60 Percent Pay Raise For Ministers <http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/04/09/news/sing.php>
by Seth Mydans, Internationa Herald Tribune
How much money does it take to keep a Singapore government minister happy?

**** World Leader Salary Comparison <http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/04/09/asia/singbox.php>
by Internationa Herald Tribune

**** Fair Views From MPs On Ministeral Payrise <http://www.mrbiao.com/blog/fair-views-from-mps-on-ministeral-payrise.html>
by This Lush Garden Within
Words are just words. We need to see some concrete actions for things to change. The MPs can question every single aspect but in the end nothing changes.

**** On Maids And Ministers <http://mrwangsaysso.blogspot.com/2007/04/on-maids-ministers.html>
by Mr Wang Says So
Thus, we can say that one in five Singaporeans is no better off than a foreign maid. If we use Lee Kuan Yew's suggested methodology, we would begin to develop strong suspicions that our PAP ministers are not very competent, after all.

The Shuffe by MyAppleMenu
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**** Gone Fishing <http://www.thephoenixfoundation.co.nz/>
by The Phoenix Foundation
Click here to listen <http://www.thephoenixfoundation.co.nz/downloads/09%20Going%20Fishing.mp3>.