[MyAppleMenu] Dec 15, 2007

[applesurf at myapplemenu.com]

MyAppleMenu
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**** Lament For CompUSA <http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/lament-compusa/story.aspx?guid=%7BFC3427D8-890A-47A3-8557-FF48706984DD%7D>
by John C. Dvorak, MarketWatch
While things are all working out for Apple during the iPod era, if there ia any sort of slump the company will have to deal with what could be a herd of white elephants.

**** Santa's Super Friends For Mac Released <http://www.macnn.com/articles/07/12/14/santas.super.friends/>
by MacNN

**** Well, Come To Think Of It, iPhone At Work Might Not Be Such A Bad Idea <http://blogs.zdnet.com/ip-telephony/?p=2875>
by Russell Shaw, ZDNet.com

**** Paralles' Maker Talks Virtualization Strategy <http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9053140&source=rss_topic123>
by Jonny Evans, Macworld UK

**** MediaCentral 2.6: Front Row Alternative Turns Your Mac Into An Entertainment Center <http://www.macworld.com/article/131092/2007/12/mediacentral26.html>
by Brian Chen, Macworld
Giving you immediate access to virtually every media file on your Mac, MediaCentral 2.6.3 makes Apple's Front Row pale in comparison.

**** MarsEdit 2: Text Editing Nd Media Management Shine With Blogging Tool <http://www.macworld.com/article/131079/2007/12/marsedit2.html>
by Lisa Schmeiser, Macworld
MarsEdit 2.0.4 is worth considering if you'd like the comfort of composing your posts locally and keeping back-up copies. In addition, its media management tool is simpler and more intuitive than many other web-based options.

**** Updated GarageBand Does Custom Ringtones For iPhone <http://arstechnica.com/journals/apple.ars/2007/12/14/updated-garageband-does-custom-ringtones-for-iphone>
by David Chartier, Ars Technica
GarageBand 4.1.1 can ow create custom ringtones for the iPhone too. Officially-sanctioned ringtones.

**** Orange iPhones Not Genuinely Unlocked <http://www.macnn.com/articles/07/12/14/unlocked.orange.iphones/>
by MacNN
Despite being marketed as carrier-free, the phones in fact turn out to be country-locked, meaning they can only be used with SIM cards for French carriers.

The Tomorrow Weblog
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**** Gravity's Pull: Information Technology In India <http://www.economist.com/business/displaystory.cfm?story_id=10286436>
by The Economist
Is India's computer-services industry heading for a fall?

**** The Polarization Of Extremes <http://chronicle.com/temp/reprint.php?id=w218t7yc6kv2lhqvrq4450bllm36hgjc>
by Cass R. Sunstein, Chronicle Of Higher Education
If people are sorted into enclaves and niches, what will happen to their views? What are the eventual effects on democracy?

**** The Promise Of Social Network Advertising <http://www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx?id=1005688&src=article1_newsltr>
by eMarketer

**** Google To Wikipedia: "Knol" Thine Enemy <http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20071214-google-to-wikipedia-knol-thine-enemy.html>
by Nate Anderson, Ars Technica

**** What You Need To Know About Amazon SimpleDB <http://www.satine.org/archives/2007/12/13/amazon-simpledb/>
by Inside Looking Out

MyAppleMenu Reader
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**** Darwin's Children <http://www.economist.com/science/displaystory.cfm?story_id=10283306>
by The Economist
Human evolution has speeded up over the past 80,000 years. That raises awkward questions about the concept of "race."

**** Venti Capitalists <http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/16/books/review/O-Rourke-t.html?ref=books>
by P. J. O'Rourke, New York Times
There's a great story to be told about the success of Starbucks. But we'll have to wait to hear it from somebody other than Taylor Clark.

**** From Albedo To Zugunruhe <http://books.guardian.co.uk/review/story/0,,2227650,00.html>
by James Meek, Guardian
For clarity, we need common, current words; but, used alone, these are commonplace, and as ephemeral as everyday talk. For distinction, we need words not heard every minute, unusual words, large words, foreign words, metaphors; but, used alone, these become bogs, vapours, or at worst, gibberish. What we need is a diction that weds the popular with the dignified, the clear current with the sedgy margins of language and thought.

**** The Road Trip Of 2 Lifetimes, And Still Going <http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/14/travel/escapes/14sisters.html?_r=1&oref=slogin>
by Maureen Orth, New York Times
When Roberta and Rowena Wright first started traveling together, their father had to use a crank to get the car going. But once they got moving, they never stopped.

**** Every Loo Must Have One <http://books.guardian.co.uk/review/story/0,,2227680,00.html>
by Stuart Jeffries, Guardian
Americans go for self-help, the French for philosophy and the British for trivia: the phenomenon of the Christmas bestseller.

SingaporeSurf
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**** It's Just Not Right <http://iantan.org/?p=784>
by Empty Vesel
We have to stop comparing our taxi rates with the rest of the world. A country's reputation is measured by its real-world efficiency, not how it stacks up in terms of quantitative data.

**** All Aglow Over RM33bil Swiss Buy <http://thestar.com.my/columnists/story.asp?file=/2007/12/15/columnists/insightdownsouth/19760274&sec=Insight%20Down%20South>
by Seah Chiang Nee, The Star
Among all its bank shareholdings, mostly across Asia, Switzerland is a special case, because it has long been regarded as the role model for Singaore to emulate.
In the eyes of many people here, this is the sort of opportunity that only comes once in decades.

**** Singapore's Airport Aims To Regin Title <http://www.smh.com.au/news/news/singapores-airport-aims-to-regain-title/2007/12/13/1197135622569.html>
by Kay O' Sullivan, Sydney Morning Herald
Long regarded as one of the world's best airports, Singapore's Changi ceded its crown to Hong Kong this year in the Skytrax awards, the world's largest and most influential survey of passenger opinions. But that could change with the opening of the new terminal, T3, on January 9.

**** Giving Life TO The Dying <http://www.todayonline.com/articles/227634.asp>
by Clement Mesenas, Today
The staff at Dover Park Hospice do their best to make the patients' last days as pleasant as possible. According to a DPH flyer, which promotes the hospice's annual bid to raise funds: "If we cannot add days to life, we add life to days."

**** Expat School Offers Guaranteed Place For A Cool $165,000 <http://www.straitstimes.com/Free/Story/STIStory_187068.html>
by Sandra Davie, Straits Times

**** Youth Challenge Founder Invovled In Another Challenge <http://www.straitstimes.com/Free/Story/STIStory_187029.html>
by Theresa Tan, Straits Times

**** Is It Right Time To Raise Top Civil Servants Pay? <http://www.straitstimes.com/ST%2BForum/Story/STIStory_187061.html>
by Chua Sheng Yang, Straits Times
The government's action in giving itself a pat on the back with salary increases, in the face of the plight of low-income Singaporeans, would come across as a callous one.
/The whole idea of haivng a formula determining the maximum pay of ministers came into being so as to reduce the amount of debate and justification needed in the parliament, if I recall correctly. Well, the debate is still continuing, and the idea doesn't seem to work./

**** Shortage Of Economic Teachers In JCs <http://www.todayonline.com/articles/227633.asp>
by Lee U-Wen, Today
Because of the new compulsory requirement for students to take a subject outside their discipline, most Science pupils, who formt he bulk of the junior college cohort, chose Economics, a subject usually offered by those in the Arts stream.

**** Behind GIC's Buy Into UBS <http://www.todayonline.com/articles/227676.asp>
by Christie Loh, Today
Citigroup economist CHua Hak Bin said he "can't help feeling there is some strategic, national imperative as well", because the deal "fits SIngapore's drive to become a private banking hub."