[MyAppleMenu] Feb 14, 2007

[applesurf at myapplemenu.com]

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

[News]

*** The Next Class Fits In Your Pocket
<http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/news/state/16680431.htm>
John Austin, Star-Telegram

Distance learning has been around for decades, but thanks to the iPod and other digital music players, higher education is becoming as portable as a pop song.

*** Coral To Apple: We've Got Your Interoperable DRM Right Here!
<http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20070213-8829.html>
Nate Anderson, Ars Technica

Coral is not itself a DRM scheme; it is a method for translating between DRM schemes.

*** Greenpeace Activists Claim Apple May Clean Up Its Act
<http://www.macworld.co.uk/news/index.cfm?RSS&newsID=17220>
Jonny Evans, Macworld UK

Greenpeace activists GreenMyApple.org claim Apple may be preparing to take steps to address their criticisms of the company's environmental record.

*** Warner Boss Seeks Middle Way For Mobile Music
<http://technology.guardian.co.uk/news/story/0,,2012817,00.html?gusrc=rss&feed=20>
Richard Wray, The Guardian

"DRM and interoperability are not the same thing," stressed Edgar Bronfman Jr, head of Warner Music. "We believe very strongly in interoperability. Consumers want it, consumers should have it."

*** Visit The Apple Store In Second Life
<http://www.micropersuasion.com/2007/02/visit_the_apple.html>
Steve Rubel, Micro Persuasion

Someone has created an unofficial virtual replica of Apple's famed retail stores. They come complete with vintage Think Different posters and a virtual Genius Bar.

*** When The iPod Wheezes, Some Owners Call The Doctor
<http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/business/technology/16690419.htm?source=rss&channel=siliconvalley_technology>
Associated Press

A self-styled iPod Doctor, the affable Demetrios Leontaris is a full-time iPod resuscitator, part of a cotage industry catering to music devotees whose musical companions have fallen ill, usually from mistreatment.

[Opinion]

*** iWorld: Why The iPod Personalizes Everything
<http://www.reason.com/news/show/118519.html>
Katherine Mangu-Ward, Reason

That's the beauty of the iPod. there's no jamming it.

*** Why I Don't Believe Steve Jobs
<http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6353889.stm>
Bill Thompson, BBC News

We may see the end of protected music downloads, but it won't be Apple's doing.

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

[News]

*** A More Personalized Internet?
<http://www.technologyreview.com/read_article.aspx?id=18185&ch=infotech>
Kate Greene, MIT Technology Review

Yahoo Pipes lets people make highly customized feeds that combine information from multiple sources and weed out the junk.

*** The New HD-DVD/Blu-Ray Hack: What It Might Mean For Us
<http://blog.wired.com/gadgets/2007/02/the_new_hddvdbl.html>
Wired News

09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0. That's the so-called "Processing Key" that unlocks the heart of every HD-DVD disk to date. Happy Valentine's day, AACS.

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

[Life]

*** Great Poems About Sex
<http://www.slate.com/id/2159730/fr/rss/>
Robert Pinsky, Slate

Here is Slate's little anthology of love poems for Valentine's Day, once again trying to have it both ways: accepting the traditional association of love with verse but going light on the sugar. This year, let's look at sex.

*** Chinese Welcome New Year In A Whole Fish Way
<http://www.boston.com/ae/food/articles/2007/02/14/chinese_welcome_new_year_in_a_whole_fish_way/?rss_id=Boston+Globe+--+Food+stories>
Kimberly W. Moy, Boston Globe

For home cooks with access to a Chinese supermarket -- or any market that sells whole fish -- Chinese New Year dinner isn't an overwhelming task. The most challenging part of serving a whole fish is gutting it. That's done before you leave the store.

*** Say Everything
<http://nymag.com/news/features/27341/>
Emily Nussbaum, New York Magazine

As younger people reveal their private lives on the internet, the older generation looks on with alarm and misapprehension not seen since the early days of rock and roll. The future belongs to the uninhibited.

*** In Travel Writing, Even Vacation Is Work
<http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/13/business/13flier.html?ex=1329022800&en=728a251f2e11b0f0&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss>
Peter J. Frank, as told to Christopher Elliott, New York Times

I envy business travelers for whom a business trip is a business trip, and a vacation is a vacation. As someone who edits a travel site, my business trips are business trips, and my vacations are -- business trips.

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

[News]

*** Passport Unstamped? See Me, Says Johor MB
<http://www.straitstimes.com/portal/site/STI/menuitem.c2aef3d65baca16abb31f610a06310a0/?vgnextoid=6fadbe120b93a010VgnVCM1000000a35010aRCRD&vgnextfmt=vgnartid:0405a2fa88bb0110VgnVCM100000430a0a0aRCRD>
Straits Times

Johor Menteri Besar Abdul Ghani Othman has urged Singaporeans who say their passports were left unstamped by immigration officials when they entered Johor to come forward and lodge reports.

*** Singapore May Cut Company Tax, Shift Burden To Buyers
<http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=aSGN4Skiprpk>
Shamim Adam, Bloomberg

Singapore may cut corporate taxes for the first time in three years and shift the revenue-shortfall burden to consumers amid efforts to make the island a more conducive place for companies such as Intel Corp. and Royal Dutch Shell Plc to do business.

*** Singapore Raises 2007 Growth Forecast
<http://www.ft.com/cms/s/23cd7ab6-bbd1-11db-afe4-0000779e2340,_i_rssPage=5d866f00-6714-11da-a650-0000779e2340.html>
Reuters

Singapore's trade-driven economy grew faster than expected in the fourth quarter as electronics output picked up in December, prompting the government to raise its 2007 forecast to 4.5-6.5 percent.

*** Tharman To Deliver Budget Statement On Thursday From 3.20pm
<http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/258479/1/.html>
Channel NewsAsia

[Opinion]

*** Budget 2007 - Changes Necessary In Our Fiscal Policy
<http://theonlinecitizen.com/2007/02/09/budget-2007-changes-necessary-in-our-fiscal-policy/>
The Online Citizen

It has been emphasised that reducing corporate income tax rate is necessary to enhance our global competitiveness, and raising indirect taxes is the last resort. But is it the true picture?

*** Taxing The Poor And Then Handing Out Aid Packages "Demeans Human Dignity"
<http://singaporepatriot.blogspot.com/2007/02/some-thoughts-on-eve-of-gst-hike.html>
Gerald Giam, Singapore Patriot

It demeans their human dignity by making them permanently dependant on government handouts for survival.

*** PAP Masterpiece -- GINI Out Of The Bottle!
<http://singaporemind.blogspot.com/2007/02/pap-masterpiece-gini-out-of-bottle.html>
Diary Of A Singapore Mind

Thanks to the PAP, we can expect more record breaking GINI indices in the future.