[MyAppleMenu] May 21, 2007

[applesurf at myapplemenu.com]

MyAppleMenu
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**** Why I Really Prefer Mac Over PC <http://www.jonholato.com/2007/05/21/why-i-really-prefer-mac-over-pc/?from=myapplemenu>
by Jon Holato
Macs provide a better overall computing experience.

**** A Knack For Macs <http://www.timesrecordnews.com/trn/local_news/article/0,1891,TRN_5784_5546971,00.html>
by Richard Carter, Times Record News
"Computers are supposed to work for us. We are not supposed to work for the computers. But we are working less for the computer than we used to. It's getting there. I don't see it though in the near future. They're complicated machines."

**** Ogg's Creator On Why Open Media Formats Still Rule <http://blog.wired.com/monkeybites/2007/05/oggs_creator_on.html>
by Michael Calore, Wired
"Every iPod in the country could offer Ogg support tomorrow if Apple wanted it. However, Apple is a member of MPEG which owns and licenses all the patents on the mainstream formats (MP3 and AAC) and by adopting Ogg they'd be cutting into their own license revenue stream."

**** Adobe, Please Stop The Insanity <http://www.gusmueller.com/blog/archives/2007/05/adobe__please_stop_the_insanity.html>
by Gus Muellr
What happened to you Adobe? You used to be so good!

**** Emotional Fonts
by Heng-Cheong Leong, MyAppleMenu
There is something about Macintosh and fonts that ties. Mac users are, generally, fussy about the fonts their system and applications use. If you are Windows user, and you are particular about fonts, chances are, you are a Mac user in future.
BBC <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/6654655.stm> queried its readers, asking them to "explain the reasons they fell in love with their favourite font, or what rankles about their most-loathed font." Maybe this will inspire you to go into the preference dialog of your favorite application, and change a font or two.
<p class="permlink">Permanent Link to This Post <http://www.myapplemenu.com/2007/05/21/id0018/>

**** One Year As An Indie Mac Developer: What I've Learned <http://www.codebykevin.com/blosxom.cgi/2007/05/18#year-one>
by Kevin Walzer, Code By Kevin
Actually building a software business &mdash; even the modest one I've developed thus far &mdash; is several orders of magnitude more complex than simply writing code. But it's a great pleasure to earn part of my living writing software, and it's an honor every time someone parts with a few dollars because my software has helped to solve their problem.

**** Hither And Dither <http://waffle.wootest.net/2007/05/18/hither-and-dither/>
by Waffle
Apple's using displays that are literally dithering some colors for you.

The Tomorrow Weblog
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**** Don't Look Now, But Tablet PCs Are On The Rise <http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20070521-dont-look-now-but-tablet-pcs-are-on-the-rise.html>
by Ken Fisher, Ars Technica

**** Is Speech Recognition Finally Good Enough? <http://computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9019224&intsrc=hm_ts_head>
by Lamont Wood, Computerworld
Better hardware and algorithms nudge the technology closer to its 10-year promise of supplanting keyboards.

**** Woz Magic Of Electronics And Computers <http://news.com.com/Woz+magic+of+electronics+and+computers/2100-1008_3-6185152.html?tag=nefd.lede>
by Daniel Terdiman, CNET News.com
If there's one person who perfectly personifies Maker Faire, it could well be Steve Wozniak.

MyAppleMenu Reader
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**** Divine Comedy <http://www.prospect-magazine.co.uk/article_details.php?id=9276>
by Julian Gough, Prospect Magazine
The Greeks understood that comedy (the gods' view of life) is superior to tragedy (the merely human). But since the middle ages, western culture has overvalued the tragic and undervalued the comic. This is why fiction today is so full of anxiety and suffering. It's time writers got back to the serious business of making us laugh.

**** Land Of The Giants <http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/15/AR2007051501731.html>
by Joel Achenbach, Washington Post
In the race for president, do the little people still matter?

**** Funny, You Don't Look Dancerish <http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/20/arts/dance/20laro.html?_r=1&ref=arts&oref=slogin>
by Claudia La Rocco, New York Times
A new generation of choreographers confronts a bias where thin is eternally in.

**** The Once And Future Pee-Wee <http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/20/fashion/20peewee.html?ei=5090&en=1df67ef5270522b2&ex=1337313600&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss&pagewanted=all>
by Ruth La Ferla, New York Times
Paul Reubens remains the hero of legions of post-adolescents and their parents, who recall him as a shrewd merchant of anticonformity.

SingaporeSurf
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**** New Hospital To Be Built In Western Part Of Singapore Soon <http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/277510/1/.html>
by Hoe Yeen Nie, Channel NewsAsia

**** Property Boom Driving Singapore <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/6675971.stm>
by BBC News
Singapore's economy grew faster than expected in the first three months of 2007, led by an onging property and service sector boom.

**** Love Deferred: Singapore Means <http://mollymeek.livejournal.com/155174.html>
by Mollymeek
I can chain myself physically to the upgraded HDB flat, but perhaps I have quitted because I no longer have much of myself left to be drained away... into the sewers bloated with fat ikes and the specters of dead NSmen whose cries echo throughout the soundproof pipes, fading away...

**** SAF Given New Powers To Deal With Changed Security Landscape <http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/277507/1/.html>
by Asha Popatlal, Channel NewsAsia

**** GIC Board Members Holding Political Office Don't Get Director's Fees: PM <http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/277494/1/.html>
by S Ramesh, Channel NewsAsia
Board members who sit on the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC) and hold political office do not receive any director's fee.
Prime minister Lee Hsien Loong clarified this in a reply to a question for written answer in parliament.

**** New Singapore Passport Valid For Only 6 Years Once Passport Bill Passed <http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/277487/1/.html>
by S Ramesh, Channel NewsAsia

**** Higher Pay For Fresh Graduates Joining Civil Service <http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/277477/1/.html>
by Channel NewsAsia
Those with good honours who join the management executive scheme, a scheme for graduates employed across many ministries, can be paid up to $2,800 up from $2,410.

**** Sand Ban Not Tied To Extradition, Defence Pacts: Zainul Abidin <http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/277454/1/.html>
by Channel NewsAsia
The extradition treaty and defence cooperation agreement signed between Indonesia and Singapore last month contain a "carefully negotiated balance of benefits". This was stressed by senior minister of state for foreign affairs, Zainul Abidin Rasheed, in parliament on Monday.

**** No More Conversion Of Office Space To Other Uses In Central Area <http://news.asiaone.com.sg/a1news/20070521_story18_1.html>
by Irene Ngoo, AsiaOne
URA says this temporary move, in force until December 2009, is to curb further shortage of office space.
/Nothing to do with this "short-term" problem, but I do wonder what happened to earlier plans of building office spaces in Jurong East, Tampines, and Woodlands, the so-called regional centers. Most white-collar jobs, I think, are still located in the city./

**** Must It Always Be About Money? <http://badnewsonthedoorstep.blogspot.com/2007/05/must-it-always-be-about-money.html>
by Bad News On The Doorstep
Why do we behave this way? I don't know. Maybe it has to do with the fact that our leaders are all paid 'market rates' and constitute some of the best brains that money can buy in this land.

**** The Search For Micro-Financing In Singapore <http://goingback.wordpress.com/2007/05/21/the-search-for-micro-financing-in-singapore/>
by A Father Thoughts, sin
Maybe it is time, the government look at Grameen's business model and come up with similar loan schemes and give this group of people another alternative in their quest for a better life.
/I'm no expert in this area, but I'm guessing that MAS policies will strongly discourage any private entities from setting up micro-financing business in Singapore./

**** The Gay Debate And The Breakthrough We Need <http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/analysis/view/277398/1/.html>
by P N Balji, Today
Yes, gays are normal people and they should be treated normally. That is the breakthrough we need to achieve in this gay debate.

**** Singapore Lifts 2007 Forecast; 1St Qtr Tops Estimate <http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=atdjuDs1uDFs>
by Shamim Adam, Bloomberg
Singapore raised its growth forecast for the second time this year after the economy expanded faster than initially estimated in the first quarter, driven by construction and services.

**** Hong Kong Should Learn From Competitors <http://paper.wenweipo.com/2007/05/21/PL0705210002.htm>
by Wen Wei Po

**** Singapore Exhibition Celebrates Beauty <http://www.canada.com/topics/news/world/story.html?id=129fa2fe-ca17-43b6-a1f0-74eaaa088d7a&k=3179>
by Reuters
Are you beautiful? Singapore's Asian Civilisation Museum aims to define the elusive concept in a new exhibition that provides eye candy as well as though-provoking displays ranging from Barbie dolls to ancient artifacts dating back 2,200 years ago.

**** Be Fair To All Job Applicants <http://www.todayonline.com/articles/189599.asp>
by Jasmine Soh Hui Tsan, Today

**** Mediacorp's Survey On Decriminalisation <http://www.yawningbread.org/arch_2007/yax-745.htm>
by Au Waipang, Yawning Bread
We should avoid taking the results as representative of Singaporeans as a whole.

**** Not Necessary To 'Eye' Malaysian Railway Land <http://www.straitstimes.com/portal/site/STI/menuitem.c2aef3d65baca16abb31f610a06310a0/?vgnextoid=f832758920e39010VgnVCM1000000a35010aRCRD&vgnextfmt=vgnartid:5673d9777c1a2110VgnVCM100000430a0a0aRCRD>
by Retnam Thillainathan, Straits Times
There is a memorandum of understanding between our two countries that this piece of land is held by Malaysia in perpetuity.

**** Tougher Laws Needed Before Giving Green Light To Cyclists <http://www.straitstimes.com/portal/site/STI/menuitem.c2aef3d65baca16abb31f610a06310a0/?vgnextoid=f832758920e39010VgnVCM1000000a35010aRCRD&vgnextfmt=vgnartid:0ab2d9777c1a2110VgnVCM100000430a0a0aRCRD>
by Elvin Tan Meng Tee, Straits Times
See Also:
Why Allowing Cyclists On Footpaths Is Not Practical <http://www.straitstimes.com/portal/site/STI/menuitem.c2aef3d65baca16abb31f610a06310a0/?vgnextoid=7532758920e39010VgnVCM1000000a35010aRCRD&vgnextfmt=vgnartid:8437923e21aa2110VgnVCM100000430a0a0aRCRD>, by Lee Siew Boo, Straits Times.

**** Our MRT System Not Up To Par <http://www.straitstimes.com/portal/site/STI/menuitem.c2aef3d65baca16abb31f610a06310a0/?vgnextoid=f832758920e39010VgnVCM1000000a35010aRCRD&vgnextfmt=vgnartid:5060ae8fe18a2110VgnVCM100000430a0a0aRCRD>
by Samuel Oh Chee Ooi, Straits Times
Being publicly listed, <our public transport operators> are answerable to their shareholders, and their main key performance indicator is to increase profits.
Sadly, this comes at the expense of commuters who have to bear the brunt of these selfish actions.

**** Profit Limit For F1 Organisers <http://www.todayonline.com/articles/189612.asp>
by Ian De Cotta, Today
There is a cap on how much profit Mr Ong Beng Seng can earn from staging the Singapore Grand Prix. This is part of the co-funding deal between race organiser Singapore GP and the government.

**** JBJ's Return To Politics: Method In The Madness? <http://theonlinecitizen.com/2007/05/20/jbj%e2%80%99s-return-to-politics-method-in-the-madness/>
by Choo Zheng Xi, theonlinecitizen

The Shuffe by MyAppleMenu
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**** Everything At Best <http://www.summerhymns.com/musicandphotos.htm>
by Summer Hymns
Click here to listen <http://www.summerhymns.com/EverythingAtBest.mp3>.