[MyAppleMenu] May 8, 2007

[applesurf at myapplemenu.com]

MyAppleMenu
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**** Roxio Crunches Video For Apple TV, iPod, iPhone <http://www.macworld.com/news/2007/05/08/crunch/index.php?lsrc=mwrss>
by Peter Cohen, Macworld
Roxio on Tuesday introduced Crunch, a new $39.99 application designed especially for users of the Apple TV, video iPod or the forthcoming iPhone who want to convert video optimized for those devices but don't want to burn that content to disc.

**** Vista Slammed In Latest 'Get A Mac' Ads <http://www.macworld.co.uk/news/index.cfm?RSS&newsID=17974>
by Jonny Evans, Macworld UK
Consumer confusion and a lacklustre launch feature in latest 'Get a Mac' US exhortations.

**** Apple Confirms Exeter Retail Store Plan <http://www.macworld.co.uk/news/index.cfm?RSS&newsID=17965>
by Jonny Evans, Macworld UK

**** Week Three: New Media Family <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/6625279.stm>
by Rory Cellan-Jones, BBC News
The year 2007 is shaping up to be the year of a new media revolution &mdash; and one family in Gloucestershire, UK, is at the cutting edge.

**** Memo To Apple: Please Keep The Honor System <http://www.macnightowl.com/2007/05/07/memo-to-apple-please-keep-the-honor-system/>
by Gene Steinberg, Mac Night Owl

**** Audio Menus For iPods <http://www.technologyreview.com/Infotech/18703/>
by Kate Greene, MIT Technology Review
Researchers are testing ways to let people listen to gadget menu options instead of looking at them.

**** Mac Share Of Surfers Doubles In 8 Months <http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&taxonomyName=networking_and_internet&articleId=9018641&taxonomyId=16>
by Gregg Keizer, Computerworld
The portion of people surfing the web using a Mac has doubled in the past eight months, an internet metrics analyst said today, and represents an audience that can't beignored by web application developers.

**** Service With A Customizable Smile <http://www.macworld.com/weblogs/editors/2007/05/onetoone/index.php>
by Peter Cohen, Macworld
It's still a /fantastic/ deal; you'd be crazy not to take advantage of it, if you can.

**** Ambrosia To Publish Mac Version Of Aquaria Game <http://www.macworld.com/news/2007/05/07/aquaria/index.php>
by Peter Cohen, Macworld
Ambrosia Software on Monday announced plans to publish a Macintosh version of Aquaria. The game was the winner of the grand prize award at this year's Independent Game Festival, part of the Game Developers Conference.

**** Flash CS3 Professional: Remarkable Integration With Adobe's CS3 Family And Powerful Design Tools For Mobile Devices <http://www.macworld.com/2007/05/reviews/flashcs3/index.php?lsrc=mwrss>
by David Karlins, Macworld
Flash CS3 Professional includes dramatic new features for designes, particularly its integration with Illustrator CS3.

The Tomorrow Weblog
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**** On The Web, Oldies Are Golden Again <http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-oldies8may08,0,2517964.story?track=mostviewed-splashpage>
by Alana Semuels, Los Angeles Times
Easy access to vintage hits creates new fans for artists from bygone eras.

**** Mozilla CEO Speaks Out On Future Of Firefox <http://apcmag.com/6054/firefox_ceo_speaks_out>
by Dan Warne, APC

**** Pew Research: 'Web 2.0' Crowd A Small Minority <http://searchengineland.com/070507-095250.php>
by Greg Sterling, Searchengineland.com

MyAppleMenu Reader
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**** The Prize Bigger Even Than The Booker <http://books.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,2073376,00.html>
by Robert McCrum, The Guardian
You might not think it from this publicity, but most literary endeavour ends not in prizes, but failure.

**** Old Woman With A Goiter <http://www.slate.com/id/2163332/fr/rss/>
by Erica Levy McAlpine, Slate

**** Open (Secret) <http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/03/AR2007050301212.html?nav=most_emailed>
by Liza Mundy, Washington Post
For generations of adoptions, the birth mother was an anonymous woman who relinquished her infant and then receded into the shadows. That is so not Hava Leichtman.

**** CBS's Late Bloomer <http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/linkset/2005/04/11/LI2005041100587.html>
by Howard Kurtz, Washington Post
Byron Pitts was chatting with students at a Harlem charter school the day before a recent visit by president Bush when the CBS correspondent had a realization: They viewed him as just another empty suit who couldn't possibly understand their problems. Little did they know.
"When I was your age," he told thme, "I couldn't read."

**** How To Sink A Newspaper <http://www.opinionjournal.com/editorial/feature.html?id=110010038>
by Walter E. Hussman Jr., Wall Street Journal
Free news for online customers is a disastrous business plan.

SingaporeSurf
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**** On Singaporeans And Language <http://vantan.org/archives/2007/05/on_singaporeans.php>
by Vanessa Tan, Vantan.org
It's increasingly disturbing that so many Chinese Singaporeans speak in a mix of English and Mandarin. It demonstrates a lack of depth in either language. More critically, as this trend shows no signs of abating, it indicates a general lack of interest in learning how to improve in either language &mdash; in short, a poor attitude.

**** On Intellectuals And Deliberate Withdrawal <http://bleongcw.typepad.com/simple_is_the_reason_of_m/2007/05/on_intellectual.html>
by Simple Is The Reason Of My Heart
If our society continues to go along this path of anti-intellectualism, the intellectuals (dissociated with the establishment) might find ourselves in the line of fire till a point highlighted by my ex-colleague, Speranza Nuova that it will be sad to have a society to think that doing wel becomes doing wrong.

**** Singapore's Class Divide <http://aaron-ng.info/blog/singapores-class-divide.html>
by Aaron Ng, Hear Ye! Hear Ye!

**** PRs' Children Not Eligible For Child Care Subsidy From 2009 <http://news.asiaone.com.sg/a1news/20070508_story6_1.html>
by AsiaOne
Children of Singapore permanent residents will not be eligible for child care subsidy from January 2009, as part of a move by the government to make a clearer differentiation of fees paid by Singapore citizens and PRs.

**** EU Hailed As An "Inspiring Model" For ASEAN <http://jurnalo.com/jurnalo/storyPage.do?story_id=33921>
by DPA
South-east Asian countries were urged on Tuesday to look to the European Union's "inspiring model" and integrate further in response to the growing strength of China and India.
Singapore's foreign minister George Yeo told a Europe Day celebration that the Association of South-east Asian Nations (ASEAN) faces the danger of being left behind and a "source of instability in 21st century Asia."

**** Singaore Extradition Treaty And Fight Against Corruption <http://www.thejakartapost.com/detaileditorial.asp?fileid=20070508.F05&irec=4>
by Adnan Topan Husodo, Jakarta Post
Although we have already signed the extradition treaty, it would be impossible to depend on Singapore's political will alone to eradicate corruption. The government needs to be much more serious about bringing the crooks to justice.

**** Government May Terminate Singapore Gas Contract Midyear <http://www.thejakartapost.com/detailbusiness.asp?fileid=20070508.L03&irec=2>
by Ika Krismantari, Jakarta Post
Indonesia, the world's second largest gas exporter, may terminate a gas export contract with a Singaporean company midyear should it fail to cmply with conditions precedent set out in the contract, a government official says.
The government is currently reviewing the gas-export contract with Island Power (IP), as it has failed to secure a pipeline connection with another Singaporean company, Gas Supply Pte. Ltd., a subsidiary of Temasek Holdings.

**** Service Pledge Lets Statutory Board 'Wiggle' Out Of Complaints <http://www.todayonline.com/articles/187262.asp>
by Richard Gomez, Today
Pledges like this are meaningless and will promote mediocrity.

**** No Go For CPF Reversal Bid <http://www.todayonline.com/articles/187288.asp>
by Loh Chee Kong, Today
The country's highest court has rejected a class action suit by 100 veteran civil servants who want to return to the pension scheme, 34 years after they had opted for the Central Provident Fund.
In doing so, the Court of Appeal upheld the High Court's earlier ruling that state pension was an entitlement and not an absolute right for civil servants, and that the 1973 option was legally binding.

**** New Privacy Laws To Protect Data Of Research Participants <http://www.straitstimes.com/portal/site/STI/menuitem.c2aef3d65baca16abb31f610a06310a0/?vgnextoid=6fadbe120b93a010VgnVCM1000000a35010aRCRD&vgnextfmt=vgnartid:735a841bee762110VgnVCM100000430a0a0aRCRD>
by Tania Tan and Michelle Neo, Straits Times

**** Impractical Operating Budget For Arts House <http://www.straitstimes.com/portal/site/STI/menuitem.c2aef3d65baca16abb31f610a06310a0/?vgnextoid=f832758920e39010VgnVCM1000000a35010aRCRD&vgnextfmt=vgnartid:26ad1f32ae562110VgnVCM100000430a0a0aRCRD>
by Maria Talor, Straits Times
Singapore arts policy-makers need to take a... long-term view or the Arts House will end up being judged a well-meaning government exercise that failed due to short-sighted execution.

**** Yet Another MRT Station Mishap <http://www.todayonline.com/articles/187279.asp>
by Loh Chee Kong, Today
In waht was apparently another freak accident, a train hit a man's head yesterday while he was standing on the platform at Tampines MRT station.

**** Will Malaysian Oil Pipeline Hurt Singapore? <http://www.todayonline.com/articles/187277.asp>
by Agencies / Today
In a move that would not just allow oil tankers to bypass the heavy traffic and pirates of the Malacca Strait, but which could also impact Singapore's oil refining and shipping industries, the Malaysian cabinet has given its blessing to a $7-billion crude oil pipeline stretching across the country.
See Also: PM Confirms Govt Nod For Trans-Peninsula Pipeline <http://www.btimes.com.my/Current_News/BT/Tuesday/Frontpage/BT621507.txt/Article/>, by Zuraimi Abdullah and Kamarul Yunus, Malaysia Business Times.

**** Malaysia-Singapore Officials To Discuss Liberalising KL-Singapore Air Route <http://www.bernama.com.my/bernama/v3/news_business.php?id=260551>
by Bernama
Senior transport ministry officials from Malaysia and Singapore will meet in the island-republic tomorrow to hold preliminary discussions on the opening up of the lucrative Kuala Lumpur-Singapore air route.
Transport minister Datuk Seri Chan Kong Choy told Bernama that the meeting would not merely focus on the opening up of the route but also include other bilateral issues relating to transport.
See Also: Transport Officials From Singapore, Malaysia Discuss Air Services Agreement <http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/274959/1/.html>, by Asha Popatlal, Channel NewsAsia. A statement from Singapore's transport ministry called it a fruitful preliminary meeting.

The Shuffe by MyAppleMenu
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**** Deep Wilson <http://www.throwingmusic.com/freemusic/>
by Kristin Hersh
Click here to listen <http://www.throwingmusic.com/freemusic/KristinHersh-Deep_Wilson.mp3>.

**** Snake Oil <http://www.throwingmusic.com/freemusic/>
by Kristin Hersh
Click here to listen <http://www.throwingmusic.com/freemusic/KristinHersh-Snake_Oil.mp3>.