[MyAppleMenu] May 30, 2007

[applesurf at myapplemenu.com]

MyAppleMenu
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**** Apple Announces iTunes U On The iTunes Store <http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/07/05/30/apple_announces_itunes_u_on_the_itunes_store.html>
by AppleInsider
Apple on Wednesday announced the launch of iTunes U, a dedicated area within the iTunes Store featuring free content such as course lectures, language lessons, lab demonstrations, sports highlights and campus tours provided by top US colleges and universities including Stanford University, UC Berkeley, Duke University and MIT.

**** Earbuds And Mosh Pits <http://chronicle.com/temp/reprint.php?from=myapplemenu&id=lwgshyqx8sryd3f8d408d22q6w7yvtmg>
by Kevin J.H. Dettmar, The Chronicle Of Higher Education
To see the iPod as an agent of isolation rather than a symptom of, or a clever adaption to, that isolation is to confuse cause and effect.

**** Mac Users Face Hurdles With New Office Versions <http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,2138349,00.asp>
by Daniel Drew Turner, eWeek
Microsoft and others are scrambling to offer options to regain at least a limited degree of compatibility for future Office users.

**** Too Big For Its Shoes?
by Heng-Cheong Leong, MyAppleMenu
There's a saying that Microsoft has so much money that it can afford to continuing improve on products that may have failed in the marketplace initially. WIth time, Microsoft's products will start to be sucessful because it has improved to the point that it is good enough, and that its competitors are either too scared to move or too scared and start making mistakes.
What happened to that spirit?
Why doesn't Play-for-sure devices gain Wi-fi sharing capabilities, just like Zune? Why don't Tablet PC and Windows Mobile gain multi-touch capabilities, just like the new Microsoft Table? Why did Microsoft abandon the wireless screen or slate-based PC so quickly, instead starting new projects from scratch again and again?
This is not the Microsoft I've known all my life...
P.S. On the other hand, Microsoft Bob /deserved/ a quick death. It's the least Microsoft can do.
<p class="permlink">Permanent Link to This Post <http://www.myapplemenu.com/2007/05/30/id0037/>

**** Nominee For Oddest Mac Mini Case Mod <http://cultofmac.com/?p=754>
by Peter Mortensen, Cult Of Mac
It's giant friendly green blob Haro from Gundam!

**** Putting The 'DRM' In 'Drama': DRM Free Tracks Arrive <http://www.macuser.com/itunes/putting_the_drm_in_drama_drm_f.php?lsrc=murss>
by Derik DeLong, MacUser
Apple and EMI have delivered on the promise.

**** Apple's iTunes 7.2 Supports DRM-Free Music <http://www.electronista.com/articles/07/05/30/apple.releases.itunes.72/>
by Electronista
Available via the Mac OS X Software Update, the 29.2MB enables users to preview and purchase iTunes Plus music &mdash; new higher-quality, DRM-free music downloads from participating music labels &mdash; although the iTunes Store itself has nto been updated with DRM-free music.

**** Dear Jef, The Wingo Works Great <http://www.technologyreview.com/blog/garfinkel/17610/>
by Simson Garfinkel, MIT Technology Review
After five years, I make good on my promise to Jef Raskin.

**** Owning Computers Via Spelling Mistakes <http://weblog.infoworld.com/zeroday/archives/2007/05/owning_computer.html>
by Matt Hines, InfoWorld
The simplest way to get around sudo's protection is to take advantage of a common mistake: spelling errors.

**** Microsoft To Unveil Coffee-Table-Shaped Computer <http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/30/AR2007053000014.html>
by Daisuke Wakabayashi, Reuters
Microsoft Corp. will unveil a coffee-table-shaped "surface computer" on Wednesday in a major step towards co-founder Bill Gates' view of a future where the mouse and keyboard are replaced by more natural interaction using voice, pen and touch.
Microsoft Surface, which has a 30-inch display under a hard-plastic tabletop, allows people to touch and mvoe objects on screen for everything from digital finger painting and jigsaw puzzles to ordering off a virtual menu in a restaurant.
See Also:
Will Microsoft Pit 'Milan' Multi-touch Against Apple's iPhone? <http://blogs.zdnet.com/microsoft/?p=478>, by Mary Jo Foley, ZDNet.

**** Three Reasons Apple Will Frustrate Music Subscription Moguls <http://596howelltaylor.wordpress.com/2007/05/29/three-reasons-apple-will-frustrate-music-subscription-moguls/>
by Howell Review
Subscription services where you sign up for an entire catalog of music sound attractive in theory, but place consumers squarely in the conundrum of the tyranny of too much choice.
/In fact, I don't see how Apple can profit from a subscription model. Bandwidth costs money, and a subscription service will suck up more and more bandwidth without necessary a corresponding increase in revenue./

**** A Day In The Life Of An Apple Genius <http://www.maclife.com/article/exclusive_a_day_in_the_life_of_an_apple_genius>
by Eugene Robinson, Mac|Life
What does it take to be chosen as an elite power user &mdash; a Mac aficionado so advanced you even pass Apple's muster? To find out, we asked some Genius Bar smarties.
/"Geniuses" must deal with both people and machines. Not an easy task, indeed./

**** Where Are The Third Party Ergonomic Peripherals? <http://www.applematters.com/index.php/section/comments/where-are-the-third-party-peripherals/>
by Matthew Bookspan, Apple Matters

**** Apple Plugs Two QuickTime Security Flaws <http://www.macnn.com/articles/07/05/29/quicktime.security.update/>
by MacNN
Apple today updated its QuickTime multimedia software by fixing two important security holes that, if left unpatched, could lead to the disclosure of sensitive information or allow a potential attacker to take over a Mac or Windows system running the affected software.

**** SOHO Organizer, SOHO Notes Get Major 6.0 Upgrades <http://www.macworld.com/news/2007/05/29/chronos/index.php?lsrc=mwrss>
by Peter Cohen, Macworld

**** Apple Recommends iPod Owners Not Buy Audiobooks <http://ilounge.com/index.php/news/comments/apple-recommends-ipod-owners-not-buy-any-audiobooks/>
by LC Angell, iLounge
Apple has confirmed that a number of recently released audiobooks being sold on the iTunes Store will not properly play on iPods.

The Tomorrow Weblog
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**** Is This The New Web? <http://www.forbes.com/2007/04/25/adobe-apollo-web-tech-cz_vmb_0425adobe.html?partner=rss>
by Victoria Murphy Barret, Forbes
If developers take to Apollo in droves, we're in for a creative explosion.

**** Take Note: Computing Takes Up Pen, Again <http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/30/technology/30pen.html?ref=technology>
by Miguel Helft, New York Times
Jim Marggraff, an entrepreneur with a long string of successful innovations, say he thinks he has figured out the secret of pen computing &mdash; and he has done it by playing with toys.

**** First Look: Microsoft Milan Surface Computer <http://blog.wired.com/gadgets/2007/05/first_look_micr.html>
by Danny Dumas, Wired
See Also:
Will Microsoft Pit 'Milan' Multi-touch Against Apple's iPhone? <http://blogs.zdnet.com/microsoft/?p=478>, by Mary Jo Foley, ZDNet.

**** TV Under Pressure In Online Shift, Says Sorrell <http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/media/article1848146.ece>
by Rebecca O'Connor, The Times

MyAppleMenu Reader
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**** Telling Lies Over Good Soldiers' Graves <http://www.salon.com/opinion/feature/2007/05/30/keillor/>
by Garrison Keillor, Salon
Dishonesty has gutted the last patriotic holiday that means something.

**** A Fresh Look At The Value Of Dried Fruit <http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/foodwine/2003726592_platkin30.html?syndication=rss>
by Charles Stuart Platkin, Seattle Times
Have you ever tried dried cherries? Wow, are they good.

**** How The Body (And Mind) Learns A Dance <http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/05/28/arts/dance.php>
by Diane Solway, Internationa Herald Tribune
Dancers call their ability to remember a wide range of steps, roles and styles, muscle memory. And while it obviously manifests itself physically as far as dance is concerned, what actually happens, according to neuroscientists, is that the movements become thoroughly mapped in the brain, creating a shorthand between thinking and doing.

**** If It Feels Good To Be Good, It Might Be Only Natural <http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/27/AR2007052701056.html?nav=most_emailed>
by Shankar Vedantam, Washington Post
The results are showing, unexpectedly, that many aspects of morality appear to be hard-wired in the brain, most likely the result of evolutionary procsses that began in other species.

**** Don't Point That Menu At My Child, Please <http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/30/dining/30kids.html>
by David Kamp, New York Times
I came to realization that America is in the grips of a nefarious chicken-finger pandemic, in which a blandly tasty foodstuff has somehow the de facto official nibble of our young.

**** The Concerts Found Onstage While Everyone Else Takes A Break <http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/30/arts/music/30inte.html?_r=1&8dpc&oref=slogin>
by Daniel J. Wakin, New York Times
Intermissions are a rare time when classical musicians can be heard improvising together.

**** In India, Grandma Cooks, They Deliver <http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/29/business/worldbusiness/29lunch.html?ex=1338091200&en=aaad0421a3cc5fc1&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss>
by Saritha Rai, New York Times
In India, where many traditions are being rapidly overturned as a result of globalization, the practice of eating a home-cooked meal for lunch lives on.
To achieve that in this sprawling urban amalgamation of an estimated 25 million people, where long commutes by train and bus are routine, Mumbai residents rely on an intricately organized, labor-intensive operation that puts some automated high-tech systems to shame. It manages to deliver tens of thousands of meals to workplaces all over the city with near-clockwork precision.

SingaporeSurf
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**** Did EDB Give Too Much To Lure UNSW Here? Or "Ang Mo Tuah Liap" <http://nofearsingapore.blogspot.com/2007/05/did-edb-give-too-much-to-lure-unsw-here.html>
by Huang Shoou Chyuan, nofearSingapore
So is someone from EDB going to take responsibility for this fiasco? I do not exepct any official to commit Hara-kiri like the Japanese, but an apology would be nice.

**** Why Do Many Indonesians Seek Healthcare Abroad? <http://www.thejakartapost.com/detaileditorial.asp?fileid=20070530.E02&irec=1>
by T. Sima Gunawan, Jakarta Post

**** Minister Reiterates Weight <http://www.thejakartapost.com/detailnational.asp?fileid=20070530.H11&irec=10>
by Jakarta Post
Defense minister Juwono Sudarsono said Tuesday the defense treaty with Singapore was important for maximizing the benefits of using the city-state's military technology because neighboring countries would not want to see a militarily strong Indonesia.

**** Tomorrow.sg Receives Legal Letter <http://aaron-ng.info/blog/tomorrowsg-receives-legal-letter.html>
by Aaron Ng, Hear Ye! Hear Ye!
I believe it has to be a first that a local blog aggregating site received a legal letter.

**** 2 9 We Dine In Hell!!! <http://thestraitjackettimes.blogspot.com/2007/05/2-9-we-dine-in-hell.html>
by The Straitjacket Times

**** Casinos Or Culture? Singapore Seeks Tourists <http://nz.news.yahoo.com/070530/5/jrx.html>
by Reuters
What makes a successful tourist destination? Casinos, theme parks, and Bollywood films &mdash; or a mix of historic sites and local culture?

**** Cash, Card, Or Ez-Link?
by Heng-Cheong Leong, MyAppleMenu
With NETS raising the costs for merchants, it is perhaps timely for Ez-Link to move in and start disrupting the market, wouldn't you say?
<p class="permlink">Permanent Link to This Post <http://www.myapplemenu.com/singapore/2007/05/30/id0018/>

**** Dengue Cases In Singapore Reach Epidemic Levels <http://news.asiaone.com.sg/a1news/20070530_story2_1.html>
by AsiaOne
Acting against the dengue menace has become more urgent, as Singapore's dengue cases have crossed into the "warning level", with 259 cases recorded last week. According to the health ministry, a band of 256 to 378 cases a week warrants an orange alert, equivalent to a warning signal, while epidemic levels are reached when more than 378 cases occur in a week.

**** The Faculty Of Accountability <http://www.todayonline.com/articles/191364.asp>
by Siew Kum Hong, Today
Yes, capital should be able to flow in and out of Singapore freely, and we cannot stop an investor from leaving. But surely it is not too much to ask that where public funds are spent to entice foreign investments, we also extract some assurances and commitments to stay in Singapore.

**** Before <http://matrixisland.blogspot.com/2007/05/shocked-and-surprised-parent-wrote-to.html>
by The Matrix Island
Please take an active interest in politics /before/ it affects you and your loved ones.

**** Malaysia Says Singapore Won't Control Johor Project <http://asia.news.yahoo.com/070529/3/32kr7.html>
by Reuters
Malaysia will have the final say over the $105 billion development of its southern state of Johor, Malaysia's deputy prime minister said on Tuesday, rejecting talk that Singapore would have too much control over the venture.

**** Nerves Jangle In Singapore As Tills Jingle <http://www.todayonline.com/articles/191368.asp>
by Loh Chee Kong, Today
Business coffers might be rising but there is a price to pay as stress levels in Singapore continue to head north.
According to the latest Grant Thornton International Business Report, almost seven in 10 business leaders here feel stress levels here have gone up compared to last year, placing Singapore sixth out of the 32 countries polled.

**** Promise Of No Flip-Flops On IDR <http://www.todayonline.com/articles/191390.asp>
by Johnson Choo, Today
Malaysia deputy PM gives assurance on governemnt policies, vows to combat Johor crime.

**** EDB Clarifies Involvement With UNSW Asia <http://www.straitstimes.com/ST%2BForum/Story/STIStory_124092.html>
by Ko Kheng Hwa, Economic Development Board, Straits Times
We are unable to give details of the support package offered to UNSW, for confidentiality reasons. We nonetheless would like to explain the terms which typically apply to support packages offered by EDB for qualifying investments and business activities which would enhance Singapore's economic competitiveness. These normally comprise tax incentives, loans or grants which are recallable if pre-agreed milestones and outcomes are not met.
/Why is the Singapore government getting into all these confidential deals? Is it even ethical?/

**** On Citizens, Permanent Residents And Bumiputrification <http://perspectiveunlimited.blogspot.com/2007/05/on-citizens-permanent-residents-and.html>
by Perspective Unlimited
These new measures are acts of discrimination against permanent residents, which are aimed at placating locals who feel threatened by the preceived economic advantage of immigrants. The original bumiputra policy also began this way.

The Shuffe by MyAppleMenu
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**** When I'm 64 <http://www.archive.org/details/HBRSB2006-08-05.sbd.flac16>
by Caspar Inn
Click here to listen <http://ia331321.us.archive.org/1/items/HBRSB2006-08-05.sbd.flac16/HBRSB2006-08-05d1t06_vbr.mp3>.