[MyAppleMenu] Mar 23, 2007

[applesurf at myapplemenu.com]

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

[News]

*** Top Geek Details On Apple TV
<http://www.ilounge.com/index.php/articles/comments/ten-geek-details-on-apple-tv/>
Jeremy Horwitz, iLounge

iLounge's editors have assembled a robust testing environment for our two Apple TV units: four computers, five HDTVs ranging in size and resolution, one widescreen non-HDTV, and audio receivers with and without optical audio inputs. Prior to our final review, we wanted to share some of our preliminary findings for those who are interested.

*** Environmental Issues On Apple Shareholder Agenda
<http://www.macworld.com/news/2007/03/22/enviromental/index.php?lsrc=mwrss>
Jim Dalrymple, Macworld

Two environmental proposals will be on the agenda at this year's annual Apple shareholder meeting. Environment group, Greenpeace, is rallying support for the proposals, while Apple's Board of Directors is recommending shareholders vote against the proposals.

*** Surprise, Microsoft Listed As Most Secure OS
<http://www.internetnews.com/security/article.php/3667201>
Andy Patrizio, InteretNews.com

*** Apple TV - Is There A Niche?
<http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,2106711,00.asp?kc=PCRSS03069TX1K0001121>
Bryan Gardiner, PC Magazine

The question is whether Apple will rise to the top, or be swamped by the existing solutions. Can it carve out a niche? Unsurprisingly, vendors of existing products don't think so.

*** Disney Sued By Starz Over iTunes Movie Download Rights
<http://arstechnica.com/journals/apple.ars/2007/03/22/disney-sued-by-starz-over-itunes-movie-download-rights>
Justin Berka, Ars Technica

*** Apple Unveils More Apple TV Info
<http://www.macworld.com/weblogs/editors/2007/03/appletvbriefing/index.php?lsrc=mwrss>
Jonathan Seff, Macworld

Here are some of things we learned that should whet your appetite as you wait for your own Apple TV to arrive.

*** Analyst: Google Working With Apple In Phone Market
<http://www.macobserver.com/stockwatch/2007/03/22.1.shtml>
Jeff Gamet, Mac Observer

Despite talk that Google is developing its own mobile phone, Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster feels that the search giant is working with Apple, not against it, in the mobile phone space.

*** FileCatalyst Offer Creative Macs A Transfer Boost
<http://www.macworld.co.uk/news/index.cfm?RSS&newsID=17574>
Jonny Evans, Macworld UK

Transferring large files online got easier this morning with the release of FileCatalyst. The software boosts throughput and reliability for users engaged in point-to-point file transfers.

[Opinion]

*** FUD: Windows Is "Most Secure OS"
<http://www.tuaw.com/2007/03/22/fud-windows-is-most-secure-os/>
Mat Lu, The Unofficial Apple Weblog

It's pure FUD.

*** Apple TV A Game-Changer
<http://newteevee.com/2007/03/22/guest-opinion-apple-tv-a-game-changer/>
Carl Howe, NewTeeVee

Apple TV is about to attackthe fundamental assumptions underpinning the TV business just as the iPod cut the legs out from under CCDs and radio stations.

*** Once Bitten, Twice Shy?
<http://www.macuser.com/hardware/once_bitten_twice_shy.php?lsrc=murss>
Kate Marshall, MacUser

Paying $250 for an extended warranty and then worrying that I'll never be able to benefit from it is not a gamble I like.

*** Apple And The Enterprise: In 20 Years, "Who Would Have Thought...?"
<http://www.informationarbitrage.com/2007/03/apple_and_the_e.html>
Information Arbitrage

So change can happen quickly within SMEs. Yeah, we're not talking about Deutsche Bank going Mac tomorrow, but as the PC user experience degrades and/or requires new hardware, and as more and more grass-roots Mac users begin speaking up,s ome change -- material change -- will invariably take place.

*** Dear Mac, You Bore Me
<http://www.indieblogs.com/weblog/alert/dear_mac_you_bore_me/>
iNDiEBlogs.com

What is with the whole "working" thing? I mean, I'm used to going and scouting for drivers and security patches and updates and tweaks and performance enhancers. With my Mac, I just turned it on and it like... worked.

*** The Apple TV Debate Is Upside Down
<http://www.louisgray.com/live/2007/03/apple-tv-debate-is-upside-down.html>
Louis Gray

If this line sounds familiar, it's because the exact same grumblings were lodged against the iPod when it first debuted, and all those naysayers have been proven wrong. They will be again.

*** Apple TV - Will You Be Throwing Out Your DVD Player?
<http://blogs.zdnet.com/hardware/?p=328>
Adrian Kingsley-Hughes, ZDNet

The fact that Apple TV isn't a replacement for a DVD player or a HDD recorder might mean that it's simpler to use, but it also means that it's yet another box and yet another remote control.

*** Top Ten Reasons You Don't Need Apple TV (Yet)
<http://ilounge.com/index.php/articles/comments/top-ten-reasons-you-dont-need-apple-tv-yet/>
Jeremy Horwitz, iLounge

Some are obvious, others aren't, and all are counterpointed to present both sides of the debate.

*** Leopard Not Ready For April - "Barely Beta, Not Final Or Gold Master"
<http://arstechnica.com/journals/apple.ars/2007/03/22/leopard-not-ready-for-april--barely-beta-not-final-or-gold-master>
Jacqui Cheng, Ars Technica

Our sources have told Ars that there is very little chance ("and that would be pushing it") for Leopard to ship in late April -- that is, if Apple wants to ship with a halfway stable operating system.

*** Apple's Notebook Sales Down While The Industry's Numbers Are Up: What Gives?
<http://arstechnica.com/journals/apple.ars/2007/03/22/apples-notebook-sales-down-while-the-industrys-numbers-are-up-what-gives>
Jeff Smykil, Ars Technica

Apple still makes a nice notebook, but what really differentiates it from the rest of the field?

[Review]

*** Apple TV Diary: Out Of The Box
<http://www.macworld.com/2007/03/firstlooks/atvdiary1/index.php>
Christopher Breen, Macworld

*** Apple TV Surprises And Impressions
<http://www.rogueamoeba.com/utm/posts/Article/appleTV-2007-03-22-21-30.html>
Rogue Amoeba

My guess is that Apple would rather lose a few customers than confuse everyone. Only standard-def TVs made in the past few years wil have component inputs, so most of the fifty years worth of standard-def TVs out there still won't work with the Apple TV.

[Sidetrack]

*** And We Shall Call It zMac
Heng-Cheong Leong

The "not invented here" syndrome has definite departed the building, cause Apple is learning from Microsoft in the choice of color. The iMac will now come in black, white and brown <http://vertexlist.blogspot.com/2007/03/wooden-mac-classic.html>. Yummy!

Just kidding.

[Wintel]

*** Google News Think "Zune" Is A Typo
<http://www.informationweek.com/news/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=198500120&cid=RSSfeed_IWK_News>
Thomas Claburn, InformationWeek

Microsoft's Zune is at risk of becoming the Rodney Dangerfield of digital music players: It doesn't get any respect.

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

[News]

*** U.S. Judge Blocks 1998 Law Criminalizing Web Porn That Reaches Kids, Saying Filters Are Better
<http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070322/internet_blocking.html?.v=3>
Associated Press

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

[Life]

*** Look Sharp
<http://nationaljournal.com/powers.htm>
William Powers, National Journal

Most American papers look as if they've stopped caring and are just going through the motions.

*** See You At The Barre
<http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/23/arts/dance/23ball.html?_r=1&oref=slogin>
Daniel J. Wakin, New York Times

Amateur ballet dancing is not so easy. Yet a substratum of dedicated -- even fanatical -- amateurs does exist.

*** God And His Gays
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/20/AR2007032001428.html?nav=most_emailed>
Harold Meyerson, Washington Post

By effectively insisting that God is a spiteful homo-hater, his followers saddle him with ancient phobias and condemn him to the backwaters of American moral life.

*** The Year Without Toilet Paper
<http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/22/garden/22impact.html?ex=1332216000&en=e775250d1fe1ae13&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss>
Penelope Green, New York Times

To reduce their impact on the environment, two New Yorkers give up what most take for granted.

*** The Opt-Out Myth
<http://www.cjr.org/issues/2007/2/Graff.asp>
E.J. Graff, Columbia Journalism Review

If journalism repeatedly frames the wrong problem, then the folks who make public policy may very well deliver the wrong solution.

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

[News]

*** Son Of TIA Will Mine Asian Data
<http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,73046-0.html?tw=rss.index>
Sharon Weinberger, Wired News

Nearly four years after congress pulled the plug on what critics assailed as an Orwellian scheme to spy on private citizens, Singapore is set to launch an even more ambitious incarnation of the Pentagon's controversial Total Information Awareness program -- an effort to collect and mine data across all government agencies in the hopes of pinpointing threats to national security.

*** Singapore Emerges As Centre Of Oil, Gas Financing
<http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007%5C03%5C23%5Cstory_23-3-2007_pg5_30>
Pakistan Daily Times

Bankers say that Singapore is emerging as a capital-raising venue for Asian oil services firms.

*** High-Speed Train Is On The Right Track
<http://www.btimes.com.my/Current_News/BT/Friday/Latest/20070323014630/Article/>
Malaysia Business Times

Talks on the high-speed train project between Malaysia and Singapore should take place this year, Johor Menteri Besar Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman said.

*** 1.8% Cap On Any Bus, Train Fare Hike This Year
<http://www.straitstimes.com/portal/site/STI/menuitem.c2aef3d65baca16abb31f610a06310a0/?vgnextoid=6fadbe120b93a010VgnVCM1000000a35010aRCRD&vgnextfmt=vgnartid:7598a3643ea71110VgnVCM100000430a0a0aRCRD>
Christopher Tan, Straits Times

The new deadline of August and the cap on how high fares can go are the result of a change in the forumla adopted by the PTC last year to work out bus and train fare increases.

*** Top Govt Salaries Far Behind Private Sector's
<http://www.straitstimes.com/portal/site/STI/menuitem.c2aef3d65baca16abb31f610a06310a0/?vgnextoid=6fadbe120b93a010VgnVCM1000000a35010aRCRD&vgnextfmt=vgnartid:4e6ea3643ea71110VgnVCM100000430a0a0aRCRD>
Lydia Lim, Straits Times

Top private-sector salaries have surged ahead of those in the public sector and prime minister Lee Hsien Loong revealed last night just how far the pay of ministers and civil service leaders has fallen behind.

[Opinion]

*** The New Media And The Old Media With Its Old Spins
<http://mollymeek.livejournal.com/147093.html>
Mollymeek

*** The 'Service' In Civil Service...
<http://onthereddot.com/ian/2007/03/23/the-service-in-civil-service/>
Wanderings, Musings And Happens From Ian On Singapore

Once that subtle shift in perception of what it means to be a civil servant changes from a higher calling just another job then your goals as a civil servant changes. Instead of doing what is best for Singapore, the aim becomes to please your employers and further your own career. And Singapore as a whole loses out.

*** I Am Singaporean XX - Singaporeans In Demand?
<http://sturmdesjahrhunderts.wordpress.com/2007/03/22/i-am-singaporean-xx-singaporeans-in-demand/>
Die Neue Welle

What happened to "Made in Singapore?"

*** A Movement Of One's Own
<http://mingerspice.livejournal.com/231953.html>
Free Is A Verb

*** Why Is It Hard To Set A Minimum Wage For Maids?
<http://www.straitstimes.com/portal/site/STI/menuitem.c2aef3d65baca16abb31f610a06310a0/?vgnextoid=f832758920e39010VgnVCM1000000a35010aRCRD&vgnextfmt=vgnartid:f3213edd59971110VgnVCM100000430a0a0aRCRD>
Aida S. Yuson, Straits Times

[Technology]

*** StarHub Plans To Go Global With New Service For Cellphone Users
<http://www.asiamedia.ucla.edu/article-southeastasia.asp?parentid=66293>
Alfred Siew, Straits Times

StarHub is readying an ambitious suite of services that will enable mobile phone users to make internet phone calls, read e-mail and chat online for a monthly flat fee, bringing it into an arena that will see it battling online giants like Yahoo, Google and Skype.

[Entertainment]

*** Asia's Best At Singapore Film Fest
<http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/nst/Friday/Features/20070323091539/Article/index_html>
Faridul Anwar Farinordin, New Straits Times

The Singapore International Film Festival next month will feature a wide genre of films from around Asia, two Malaysian productions among them.

*** A Real Melting Pot, A La Singapore
<http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/16952161.htm>
Nicholas Boer, Contra Costa Times

You've never had satay like this.

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

[Tunes]

*** The Long Goodbye
<http://www.anti.com/artist.php?id=10>
A Girl Called Eddy
<http://media.anti.com/agirlcallededdy/st/thelonggoodbye.mp3>