[MyAppleMenu] Jul 11, 2008

[applesurf at myapplemenu.com]

MyAppleMenu
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**** Meet Canada's First iPhone Buyer <http://www.reportonbusiness.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080711.wiphonehalifax0711/BNStory/Business/home?cid=al_gam_mostemail>
by Oliver Moore and Matt Trevisan, Reporton Business
Christian Meagher yawned as he did his fifth interview of the morning. Minutes away from being the first person to buy the new iPhone in Canada, he'd been up all night and was having trouble staying excited.

**** Canada's iPhone Addicts Finally Get Their Fix <http://www.canada.com/cityguides/toronto/info/story.html?id=b5988598-38d0-4f08-b967-d41dbe09b2b0>
by Linda Nguyen, Hollie Shaw and Brendan Kennedy, Finance Post/Ottawa Citizen/Edmonton Journal

**** iPhone 3G Review <http://www.engadget.com/2008/07/11/iphone-3g-review/>
by Ryan Block, Engadget
There are always things that could be improved, features to be added, fixes that should be applied &mdash; but from first to second gen, from year one to year two, Apple has proven itself a relentless upstart in the mobiile space, and is showing no signs of slowing down.

**** iPhone 2.0 Software Review: Forget 3G, It's Code That Counts <http://gizmodo.com/5024078/the-iphone-20-software-review>
by Gizmodo

**** The iPhone Haters <http://www.newsweek.com/id/145435>
by Brian Braiker, Newsweek
For a small, disparate group of passionate technophiles, Steve Jobs &amp; Co. can do no right.

**** Minireview: Bejeweled 2 For iPhone <http://arstechnica.com/journals/apple.ars/2008/07/11/minireview-bejeweled-2-for-iphone>
by Charles Jade, Ars Technica
The game of Bejeweled is fun to play and the iPhone is probably the best mobile platform made for it to date, and yet /Bejeweled 2/ is not nearly as good as it could have been.

**** Apple Statement On MobileMe Transition Delay <http://www.macworld.co.uk/digitallifestyle/news/index.cfm?RSS&NewsID=21992>
by Jonny Evans, Macworld UK
The service was expected to be fully operational by now, but things have clearly not been going according to plan. And Apple has now confessed to problems.

**** Apple Extends iTunes To New Countries <http://www.macworld.co.uk/business/news/index.cfm?RSS&NewsID=21990>
by Jonny Evans, Macworld UK
However, if you've hungry for music and media you won't find this in the new iTunes Stores - they're App Stores designed to support the iPhone 3G.
/We started asking whether iTunes is suitable name when Apple added movies and TV shows. Now, we essentially have iTunes Stores that do not even sell music, movies or TV shows. Still iTunes Stores, eh?/

**** London Launch Of iPhone 3G Marred By Software Problems <http://www.macworld.com/article/134436/2008/07/londoniphone.html>
by Jeremy Kirk, IDG News Service
Software problems marred the launch of the iPhone 3G at Apple's flagship store in London, where customers had difficulty activating their new phones.

**** TinyCal 1.3 <http://www.macworld.com/article/134066/2008/07/tinycal1.html>
by Dan Frakes, Macworld

**** Pandora For iPhone Shows The Device Will Be More Like A Mac, Less Like An iPod <http://cultofmac.com/pandora-for-iphone-shows-the-device-will-be-more-like-a-mac-less-like-an-ipod/2288>
by Pete Mortensen, Cult Of Mac
The fact that Apple has made room for someone else to deliver media to the iPhone really announces to the world that it is a platform for other companies to make money.

**** 11Th Hour Settlement In iPhone Dispute <http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080711.wgtcomwave0710/BNStory/Technology/home>
by Matt Hartley, Globe And Mail
After striking an eleventh-hour deal with Apple on Wednesday night, the president and founder of Tornoto-based Comwave Telecom Inc. is pleased with the way his legal odyssey with the computer maker has ended.

**** Asia Customers First In Line For Next-Generation Apple iPhone <http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/djf500/200807110206DOWJONESDJONLINE000327_FORTUNE5.htm>
by AFP
Apple fans across Asia lined for hours to get their hands on the new iPhone Friday, looking to be the first to own a gadget the company hopes will be as big a worldwide smash as the iPod.
/For the purpose of this article, Australia and New Zealand are also part of Asia./

**** The App Store, Day One <http://daringfireball.net/2008/07/app_store_day_one>
by John Gruber, Daring Fireball
On the iPhone's App Store app, at the bottom of the details page for every app is a downloads count. Given that the only way to downoad a non-free app is to buy it, it more or less puts sales figures out in the open.

**** Why I Won't Spend Money On The App Store <http://news.cnet.com/8301-13506_3-9987222-17.html?hhTest=1>
by Don Reisinger, CNET News.com
It's just that I think there will be so many great free apps in the store that I won't even need to worry about paying for software.

**** Battle Of The iPhone Apps: MySpace Vs Facebook <http://mashable.com/2008/07/10/myspace-facebook-iphone/>
by Paul Glazowski, Mashable

**** More Consumers Make The Switch To Macs <http://adage.com/article?article_id=129532>
by Beth Snyder Bulik, Advertising Age
Blog after blog chronicles the move from Windows to Mac operating systems.

**** 3G iPhone: The Business Perspective <http://news.cnet.com/3G-iPhone-The-business-perspective/2100-1041_3-6243471.html?hhTest=1>
by Natasha Lomas, CNET News.com
The iPhone&mdash;and its app store&mdash;has bags of potential as a business tool&mdash;so in the not too distant future it will undoubtedly be disrupting a fair amount of workplaces, and work practices.

**** iPhone OS 2.0 Unlocked <http://gizmodo.com/5023971/iphone-os-20-unlocked>
by Gizmodo

**** Crowds Greet iPhone With Enthusiasm At Japan Sales Launch <http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/djf500/200807102203DOWJONESDJONLINE000906_FORTUNE5.htm>
by AFP
Japan's Apple fans traded sleep and comfort for the thrill of being the first to buy the iPhone, with many camping out days before the launch.

**** The iPhone Naysayers, One Year Later <http://www.thestandard.com/news/2008/07/10/iphone-naysayers-one-year-later?page=0%2C0>
by Jake Widman, The Industry Standard
Remember the iPhond naysayers? The experts, observers and competitors who said Apple's mobile phone wsa too expensive, overhyped, or otherwise lacking? Well, the /Industry Standard/ went back to seven of the critics &mdash; including John C. Dvorak, Dan Gillmor, and Steve Ballmer &mdash; and asked them what they think now that the iPhone has proven itself a hit with consumers and turned the mobile world upside-down.

**** Apple Users Angry Over MobileMe Outage <http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9108998&source=rss_topic123>
by Gregg Keizer, Computerworld
Apple's revamped online service, MobileMe, remained unavailable to users throughout much of the day Thursday, prompting some angry complaints on the company's support forums.

**** iPhone Gaming: A Lack Of Controls? <http://cultofmac.com/iphone-gaming-lack-of-controls/2280>
by Craig Grannell, Cult Of Mac
My concern is that the genius of Apple's lack of physical controls for most applicatoins might be its undoing in the games world.

**** 500 iPhone Apps, But Why These? <http://arstechnica.com/journals/apple.ars/2008/07/10/500-iphone-apps-but-why-these>
by Jeff Smykil, Ars Technica
We have talked to several developers, some with several apps that didn't make the cut and have made some guesses as to what Apple's process was.

**** Apple Remote: Remote Control Done Right! <http://www.friday.com/bbum/2008/07/10/apple-remote-remote-control-done-right/>
by Bbum's Weblog-O-Mat
Having bi-directional, fully stateful, communication between the remote and the media playback device is a gigantic game changer.

**** Crossword Puzzles Come To The iPhone <http://www.macworld.com/article/134430/2008/07/crosswords.html>
by Joanathan Seff, Macworld

**** EA Announces iPhone Game Lineup <http://www.macworld.com/article/134422/2008/07/eagames.html>
by Peter Cohen, Macworld
The first three native EA Mobile iPhone games from EA are Scrabble, Sudoku and Tetris.

**** Three New iPhone Calculators <http://www.macworld.com/article/134416/2008/07/pcalc_rpn.html>
by Jason Snell, Macworld
Here on the first day of the App Store's existence, what do we find? Three alternatives to Apple's built-in calculator.

**** Race Motorcycles With Wingnuts Moto Racer <http://www.macworld.com/article/134412/2008/07/motoracer.html>
by Peter Cohen, Macworld
Freeverse Software's debut game on the iPHone is a challenging 3D vehicle racing game called Wingnuts Moto Racer.

**** Twitterrific Adds iPhone Version <http://www.macworld.com/article/134410/2008/07/twitterrific_iphone.html>
by Jason Snell, Macworld
Twitterrific displays tweets from your contacts and lets you send tweets.

**** Exposure Brings Flickr To Your iPHone <http://www.macworld.com/article/134406/2008/07/exposure.html>
by Dan Moren, Macworld
The most fascinating feature of Exposure by far is using the iPhone's built in location service to browse pictures that were taken near your current location.

**** Use Jott To Record Your Thoughts <http://www.macworld.com/article/134402/2008/07/jottphone.html>
by Rob Griffiths, Macworld

**** Sketches Lets You Draw All Over Your iPhone <http://www.macworld.com/article/134401/2008/07/sketches.html>
by Dan Moren, Macworld
LateNiteSoft's Sketches lets you draw all over your iPhone, including on pictures that you import from your iPhone's photo albums or camera.

**** Circulator Tracks Your Swaps <http://www.macworld.com/article/134398/2008/07/circulator.html>
by Jason Snell, Macworld
Circulator lets you track of what stuff of what stuff you've borrowed and what you've lent, including the day the loan started and the due date of the item in question.

**** Ambrosia Announces Three New App Store Games <http://www.macworld.com/article/134399/2008/07/ambrosia.html>
by Peter Cohen, Macworld
Ambrosia Software, long-time Macintosh utility and application developer, announced Thursday that it has launched three iPhone games with the introduction of the App Store. Ambrosia's kicking off its iPhone application releases with Aki Mahjong, mondo Solitaire and Mr. Sudoku.

**** Mobile Game Maker Jirbo Makes Big iPhone Play <http://www.macworld.com/article/134395/2008/07/jirbo.html>
by Peter Cohen, Macworld

**** Remote Lets You Control iTunes From iPhone, iPod Touch <http://www.macworld.com/article/134392/2008/07/iphone_remote.html>
by Dan Moren, Macworld
Among the first programs available in Apple's newly launched App Store is a free application called Remote, developed by Apple itself. Remote lets you control your iTunes library or an Apple TV all from your iPhone or iPod touch.

**** Taking Screen Shots With iPhone 2.0 <http://www.macworld.com/article/134391/2008/07/iphone_screen_shots.html>
by Jason Snell, Macworld
If you've ever seen something interesting on your iPhone's screen and wanted to capture it&mdash;or, more practically, you're someone who writes about the iPhone and has lamented its inability to take screen shots&mdash;you'll be happy about a small feature in the iPhone 2.0 software.

**** A Heads-Up On Purchasing Things In The App Store <http://www.macworld.com/article/134388/2008/07/appstorewarn.html>
by Rob Griffiths, Macworld
When you click Buy in the App Store, you buy /immediately/.

The Tomorrow Weblog
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**** Making A Modern 3-D Movie <http://www.technologyreview.com/Infotech/21067/?a=f>
by Kate Greene, MIT Technology Review
/Journey to the Center of the Earth 3-D/ shows off Hollywood's most advanced technology.

SingaporeSurf
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**** Behold The Silent Majority <http://singaporekopitok.blogspot.com/2008/07/behold-silent-majority.html>
by Singapore Kopi Tok
The views of the vocal few are important, but let's not forget about those of the silent majority.
/Did anyone ask what the silent majority really want? Are you sure, for any particular issue, there is even a silent majority?/

**** 19 Facing Charges Of Illegal Assembly To Claim Trial <http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/359755/1/.html>
by Wong Siew Ying, Channel NewsAsia
Nineteen people facing charges of illegal assembly near Parliament House earlier this year intend to claim trial.

**** ComfortDelGro Taxis To Impose 30 Cents Surcharge From July 17 <http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/359729/1/.html>
by CHio Su-Mei, Channel NewsAsia

>From July 17, passengers on Comfort and CityCab taxis will have to pay a 30-cent surcharge per journey. Singapore's largest taxi group ComfortDelGro said this is to help its cabbies cope with increases in diesel costs.


**** Singapore Slowdown <http://www.pressrun.net/weblog/2008/07/singapore-slowdown.html>
by Blowin' In The Wind
Singapore seems to be caught in a perfect storm from which not even its government's fabled economic management can bail it out.

**** In Singapore, They're Making A Meal Out Of Gastrobars <http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1821193,00.html>
by Joan Koh, Time
In Singapore, a cluster of gastrobars, as they're called, are becoming dining destinations in their own rights, dishing out the likes of /o-toro/ sashimi and Boston lobster to famished partygoers.

**** So, You Want To Just Check Off Features?
by Heng-Cheong Leong, MyAppleMenu

>From Techgoondu <http://www.techgoondu.com/?p=105>, on the new Zen X-Fi from Creative: It has most of what the pricier - and longer - Apple iPod Touch has and more. Wi-Fi? Check. Video playback (including DivX and WMV)? Check. SD card slot for additional expansion? Check. Wait, there's also built-in FM and a microphone.

Well, let's start to check other things. Macintosh support? Push e-mail/contact/calendar (Mobile Me)? Exchange? iTunes-like powerful smart playlist? Bookmarkable audio, automatically? Two-way sync of bookmarked location? Two-way sync of play count and last play information? One-click podcast subscription? Web browser? Email? PDF viewer? Microsoft Office viewer? YouTube? Dictionary? H.264 video? App Store? Third-party applications?
The statement by Techgoondu, "Would you pay twice as much for <iPod Touch> with less stuff just to look cool" is simply wrong.
Yes, the Creative product may well be cheaper, and it has some features that the iPod touch do not have. But, remember, there are also other "features" that iPod Touch have over the Zen X-Fi. It's not just about coolness. iPod touch do not have less stuff.
(I am not saying Creative Zen X-Fi is not a good product. I don't know, not having used one, having only see the specs as posted by Creative. What I am saying is that Creative Zen X-Fi do /not/ have all the features of an iPod Touch. Not even "most" of the features. And no, I'm not talking about being cool.)
<p class="permlink">Permanent Link to This Post <http://www.myapplemenu.com/singapore/2008/07/11/id0023/>

**** The Blame Game <http://theonlinecitizen.com/2008/07/the-blame-game/>
by The Online Citizen

**** 'All-You-Can-Eat' Season Pass <http://www.todayonline.com/articles/264461.asp>
by Neo Chai Chin, Today
Heavy users of public transport have been asking for it, and soon, an integrated season pass for commuters could become a reality. The Land Transport Authority (LTA) said yesterday that such a season pass would likely be introduced by the end of this year.

**** Do Ads Teach Wrong Values? <http://tnp.sg/news/story/0,4136,170402,00.html?>
by Teh Jen Lee, New Paper
The commercials are meant to be funny, says Swensen's restaurant. But some viewers say they promote the wrong values.

**** Let's Have Booths For Those Who Want A Puff In Public <http://www.todayonline.com/articles/264403.asp>
by Today
Why not build smoking booths with air purifiers in public places, like they have done in Japan?
/I hope we'll reverse the laws in the near future, such that smoking is only permitted at destinated places./