[MyAppleMenu] Jul 7, 2008

[applesurf at myapplemenu.com]

MyAppleMenu
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**** Apple's Not So Secret Army <http://www.forbes.com/technology/2008/07/06/apple-internet-iphone-tech-cx_mji_bc_0707apple.html>
by Brian Caulfield, Forbes
Faced with a crush of media interst in the run-up to the new iPhone's launch July 11, some developers are talking to reporters, but they're begging off discussing specifics. Touchy topics span the technical details of their applications to the feedback they received from Apple.

**** INQ Hack Goes Mac <http://www.theinquirer.net/gb/inquirer/news/2008/07/06/inq-hack-goes-mac>
by Dean Pullen, The Inquirer
I like the no-fuss OS, the bells and whistles, and the ability to work for longer than ten minutes without my disk rotating at maximum velocity for an eternity.

**** Segway Top Designer Moves To Apple <http://www.macworld.co.uk/business/news/index.cfm?RSS&NewsID=21912>
by Jonny Evans, Macworld UK

**** Apple And Adobe Bully Small Busiensses Over Name Rights <http://www.daniweb.com/blogs/entry2751.html>
by Daniweb
These companies fail to understand there is a bright line between a trademark violation and using the trademark in a legitimate fashion to promote a business that's a natural off-shoot of the brand.

**** Service And The Fifty Percent Rule <http://ross.typepad.com/blog/2008/07/service-and-the.html>
by Ross Mayfield
It is curiously obvious that complex products not only need after-market support, but giving it equal treatment increases profit through customer satisfaction and loyalty.

**** Apple MacBook: Change Is In The Air <http://news.cnet.com/8301-10784_3-9984257-7.html?part=rss&subj=NewsBlog>
by Brooke Crothers, CNET News.com
The Air shouldn't change too much. With a simple performance upgrade, it would be an even more remarkable computer.

**** The Disruptive Potential Of GPS On The iPhone 3G <http://arstechnica.com/journals/apple.ars/2008/07/06/the-disruptive-potential-of-gps-on-the-iphone-3g>
by Charles Jade, Ars Technica
GPS makers will no doubt be coming to the same realization that those selling MP3 players are now experiencing, and that PDA makers have already been forced to deal with. Convergence is a bitch.

**** iPhone To Be Costliest In India On Lack Of Subsidy <http://www.business-standard.com/common/news_article.php?autono=327974&leftnm=8&subLeft=0&chkFlg=>
by Rajesh S Kurup, Business Standard
The much-awaited 3G iPhone is likely to cost a fortune in India, unlike in global markets, with Indian service providers unlikely to subsidise the gadget, like AT&amp;T in the US and O2 in Germany.
/At this point, this is just speculation or rumor. However, what is interesting is that the speculated unsubsidised price of the iPhone is "at least double the amount of that in the US", while AT&amp;T's price is thrice the subsidised price. (And yes, I noticed the qualifier "at least".)/

**** The iPhone And TiVo - The Digerati Is Out Of Touch <http://www.itwire.com/content/view/19259/1085/>
by Adam Turner, iTWire
100MB per month is about right for the entry level plans. If you're just checking your email, dipping into Google Maps and doing a little web surfing such as reading blogs on the train, then 100MB per month should meet  your needs.

**** Apple Opens Nation's Largest Store At WEM <http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/story.html?id=8b1e5007-1599-41f0-9c1a-8b71fe5857b8>
by Rosemary Westwood, Edmonton Journal
Hoots, hollers, high-fives and a lineup hundreds of people long sounds like Commonwealth Stadium on game day. But that was the scene outside Edmonton's new Apple Store at 10 a.m. Saturday as the tech giant opened its sixth and largest Canadian outlet to anxious fans.

**** PhotoTiles 1.0 Tiling Software Released <http://www.macnn.com/articles/08/07/06/phototiles.10.released/>
by MacNN
Limit Point Software has released PhotoTiles 1.0, an application used to create a single image of a tiled group of cells that can be images of other visuals.

The Tomorrow Weblog
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**** Technology Reshapes America's Classrooms <http://uk.reuters.com/article/governmentFilingsNews/idUKN2547885520080707>
by Jason Szep, Reuters

>From online courses to kid-friendly laptops and virtual teachers, technology is spreading in America's classrooms, reducing the need for textbooks, notepads, paper and in some cases even the schools themselves.


**** ISV Creates Open-Source Alternative To Twitter <http://www.pcworld.idg.com.au/index.php/id;695097634;fp;2;fpid;1>
by Briony Smith, Computerworld
Wikitravel and Certifi.ca founder Evan Prodromou launched last week an open-source microblogging tool that will give users &mdash; including those int he enterprise &mdash; an alternative to industry leader Twitter.

**** Google's Inner Conflict <http://www.portfolio.com/executives/features/2008/07/06/Googles-Board-Conflicts>
by Josh McHugh, Portfolio.com
As the search-engine giant expands into more and more areas, the outside affiliations of its board members may start to become problematic.

MyAppleMenu Reader
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**** 2B Or Not 2B? <http://books.guardian.co.uk/departments/referenceandlanguages/story/0,,2289259,00.html?gusrc=rss&feed=10>
by David Crystal, The Guardian
Some people dislike texting. Some are bemused by it. But it is merely the latest manifestation of the human ability to be linguistically creative and to adapt language to suit the demands of diverse setings. There is no disaster pending.

**** Head Fake <http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/articles/2008/07/06/head_fake/>
by Jonah Lehrer, Boston Globe
Like many other antidepressants, Prozac increases the brain's supply of serotonin, a neurotransmitter. The drug's effectiveness inspired an elegant theory, known as the chemical hypothesis: Sadness is simply a lack of chemical happiness. The little blue pill cheer us up because they give the brain what it has been missing.
There's only one problem with this theory of depression: it's almost certainly wrong, or at the very least woefully incomplete.

SingaporeSurf
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**** Singapore, Democracy Or Dictatorship? <http://www.post.12buzz.com/singapore-democracy-or-dictatorship.htm>
by Buzz Asia
Why is all this oppression necessary in a peaceful and prosperous country like Singapore where citizens otherwise enjoy so many freedoms? Mr Chee has his own theory that the answer lies with strongman Lee Kuan Yew himself.

**** Temasek Seeks Bids For Senoko, Its Second Utility Sale In 2008 <http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601080&sid=aUAJYfH4nQ3A&refer=asia>
by Nesa Subrahmaniyan and Dinakar Sethuraman, Bloomberg
Temasek Holdings Pte, Singapore's government-owned investment company, put the city-state's largest utility up for sale after an auction of a smaller generator this year drew bids from groups that include banks.

**** It's Confirmed - Singapore Has Incomplete Number Portability <http://www.techgoondu.com/?p=92>
by Techgoondu
By disallowing true number portability, this simply goes against the initial reason for implementing what IDA calls 'full number portability' - which is to empower consumers with choice and presumably promote and liberalise the local telco market.

**** Day 145: Singapore <http://hfaroundtheworldin180days.blogspot.com/2008/07/day-145-singapore.html>
by Around The World In 180 Days
Yes, in some respects it is the ultimate police state, reminiscent of The Village in the TV series The Prisoner. On the other hand, the people are happy and prosperous, crime is very low, and the country has the highest rate of home-ownership in the whole of Asia. Worth keeping in mind the merits of benign dictatorships.

**** Singapore Bakery Titan Started At The Bottom <http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121538270885430913.html?mod=googlenews_wsj>
by Tor Ching Li, Wall Street Journal
"The F&amp;B industry is a very tough business, so you have to be really passionate about it and be willing to start from the bottom. A solid foundation is necessary before being able to excel and stay with it."
/Hard work and passion: there's no luck in being successful. Just the readiness to seize on opportunities./

**** NSman Gets Over 9 Years Jail, 18 Strokes For Having Rifle, Bullets And Knife <http://www.straitstimes.com/Latest%2BNews/Courts%2Band%2BCrime/STIStory_255420.html>
by Jermyn Chow, Straits Times
Full-time national serviceman Dave Teo Ming on Monday was sentenced to a total of nine years and two months jail, and 18 strokes of the cane on three charges of being in possession of a rifle, live bullets and knife.

**** One United People <http://www.insanepoly.com/blog/?p=542>
by Insane Polygons
So as National Day draws closer each day, I asked myself all those years of blindly reciting the pledge - is this the best we that we can do? Is this the best that we can do? Is this the best that the government can do?

**** NightRider And Nite Owls <http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/358700/1/.html>
by Leong Wee Keat, Today

**** 'We'll Keep Driving' <http://www.todayonline.com/articles/263611.asp>
by Leong Wee Keat, Today
Motorists are certainly keeping closer tabs on the cost of driving, as fuel prices and parking charges also climb.

**** Market-Based Pricing Has Cost Buyers Dearly <http://www.straitstimes.com/ST%2BForum/Story/STIStory_255323.html>
by See Leong Kit, Straits Times
This market-based pricing approach caused new flat prices and resale flat prices to chase each other in an upward spiral, affecting buyers of both new and resale flats.
/Has the government lost its sense of serving the poeple, and is now just running like a commercial entity? Should we just rename the PAP government to Temasek government?/

**** Iras Sorry For Service Lapse <http://www.straitstimes.com/ST%2BForum/Story/STIStory_255324.html>
by Deanna Choo, Inland Revenue Authority Of Singapore, Straits Times
Iras will not hesitate to apologse for lapse and did so in Madam Cheah's case.

**** Pre- Or Post-Paid Still Not Free To Port <http://www.straitstimes.com/ST%2BForum/Story/STIStory_255316.html>
by Ng Sook Fun, Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore, Straits Times
Full mobile number portability is offered only within those respective service offerings.
/Why does it seem that the IDA is being pulled by the nose by the telcos? Why is full number portability so hard that after more than a decade, there are still so many gotchas for the customers?/

**** Expect To See More Of These Gantries In Coming Months <http://www.straitstimes.com/Free/Story/STIStory_255258.html>
by Christopher Tan, Straits Times
Besides the half dozen announced for spots along roads such as Commonwealth Aveneue, Alexandra Road and Serangoon Road, 16 more are planned for the new Kallang-Paya Lebar Expressway (KPE), which will run 12km from East Coast Parkway in the south to Tampines Expressway in the north. According to a Land Transport Authority (LTA) spokesman, however, they will not all be switched on at the same time, unless the average speed dips below 45kmh in the tunnels.

**** Fresh Call For Qantas To Share Lucrative LA Route <http://business.smh.com.au/fresh-call-for-qantas-to-share-lucrative-la-route-20080706-32lq.html>
by Scott Rochfort, Sydney Morning Herald
The stranglehold of Qantas on the Australia-US route faces a fresh challenge after the Victorian government called on its federal counterpart to grant Singapore Airlines and other "third country" airlines access on the lucrative route.

**** Of Complacency And Leading By Example <http://theonlinecitizen.com/2008/07/of-complacency-and-leading-by-example/>
by Leong Sze Hian, The Online Citizen
Are we being complacent in shouldering our responsibiity by not leading by example?