[MyAppleMenu] Jun 16, 2008

[applesurf at myapplemenu.com]

MyAppleMenu
====================================

**** Apple Store To Open In Beijing <http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/news/2219119/china-first-apple-store>
by Simon Burns, vnunet.com
China may be about to see the opening of its first official Apple Store as the firm prepares to launch the iPhone in the country.

**** Apple's Open Secret: SproutCore Is Cocoa For The Web <http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/08/06/16/apples_open_secret_sproutcore_is_cocoa_for_the_web.html>
by Prince McLean, AppleInsider
One of the biggest revelations at WWDC was quietly unveiled in a session on Friday morning entitled "Building Native Look-and-Feel Web Applications Using SproutCore." While Apple maintained high security during the entire NDA-sealed WWDC session, the secret of SproutCOre is out because it is an open source project and people can't stop talking about it.

**** Review: Contactizer Pro 3.6 <http://www.macworld.com/article/133792/2008/06/contactizerpro.html>
by Christopher Breen, Macworld
Contactizer Pro 3.6.1 is, in many ways, an impressive information manager. The notion of the contact as hub to the information attached ot it is an attracive organization idea&mdash;one that you might take to.

**** Lingon 2.1 <http://www.macworld.com/article/133906/2008/06/lingon2.html>
by Rob Griffiths, Macworld
Using a simple GUI, Lingon lets you easily create launchd tasks.

**** The Promise And Peril Of Apple <http://online.barrons.com/article/SB121339731992773485.html?mod=googlenews_barrons>
by Eric J. Savitz, Barron's
My view is that Apple's price cut, combined with its steps to make the phone more acceptable to corporate information-technology departments, fundamentally changes the landscape for the device. It goes from high-end luxury good to middle-of-the-road crowd pleaser. My suspicion is that the STret will ratchet up its expectations for the phoen as the pre-launch hype machine gets rolling.

**** Apple's Bait: Application Developers Swarm To iPhone <http://www.mercurynews.com/business/ci_9599971>
by John Boudreau, San Jose Mercury News
Apple's soon-to-open online App Store has triggered a scramble among software developers to write business plans aimed at making money off Apple's iPhone, a mini-computer that doubles as a phone.

**** Iris 1.0 Image Editor For Macs Debuts <http://www.macworld.co.uk/macsoftware/news/index.cfm?RSS&NewsID=21667>
by Jonny Evans, Macworld UK
Iris performs its image editing operations within a single-window user interface, without confusing multiple palettes.

**** High Switching Costs <http://kennen.wordpress.com/2008/06/16/high-switching-costs/>
by The Paddlewheel
In your business, look for ways to make it harder for your customers to switch to another brand. I don't mean the kind of extortion tactics mobile phone companies use to handcuff their patrons. I mean through the services you offer and the mutual investments you make with your consumers. That is what creates loyalty.

**** The iPhone's Impact On Rivals <http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/jun2008/tc20080615_856046.htm?chan=top+news_top+news+index_top+story>
by Olga Kharif, BusinessWeek
As Apple looks to make further inroads with its soon-to-be-released 3G device, both handset makers and wireless carriers may suffer.

**** Mobile Me Shows Apple Still Dislikes Being A Team Player <http://cultofmac.com/mobile-me-shows-apple-still-dislikes-being-a-team-player/2088>
by Pete Mortensen, Cult Of Mac
What Apple doesn't grasp is that the real opportunity for the company isn't in becoming a web services also-ran.
/I disagree. If MobileMe is going to be core to Apple's strategy, and I believe it is, Apple gotta make sure it has good control over the web apps too. Besides, finding the talents to build a "good-enough" web app nowadays is rather easy, twitter notwithstanding./

**** The iPhone 3G Upgrade Question <http://daringfireball.net/2008/06/iphone_3g_upgrade>
by John Gruber, Daring Fireball

**** My First Mac <http://kontsevoy.blogspot.com/2008/06/my-first-mac.html>
by Ev's Alphabet Permutations
I'll just share a few biggest surprises, something I didn't know or heard about Macs until I ran into it first-hand.

**** MBA: Magnum Opus In Design, Style <http://old.thejakartapost.com/detailfeatures.asp?fileid=20080616.Q01&irec=0>
by Zatni Arbi, Jakarta Post
The approximately US$2,000 MBA is truly an engineering marvel. It allows you to be productive, enjoy a lot of entertainment, stay connected with our loved ones, put you at the center of attention and boost your self-confidence wherever you use it.

**** Don't Laugh At Mrs La Tour Eiffel - I Took My New Apple Laptop Out For Lunch <http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/article4130547.ece>
by Caitlin Moran, The Times
Yes, damn it, I'm coming out as a proud objectum sexual. And through this rather ravishing door, which I'd really like to get to know better.

The Tomorrow Weblog
====================================

**** The Associated Press To Set Guidelines For Using Its Articles In Blogs <http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/16/business/media/16ap.html?_r=1&oref=slogin>
by Saul Hansell, New York Times
The Associated Press, one of the nation's largest news organizations, said that it will, for the first time, attempt to define clear standards as to how much of its articles and broadcasts bloggers and web sites can excerpt without infringing on The A.P.'s copyright.

**** Five Hot - And Cool - Storage Technologies <http://www.pcworld.idg.com.au/index.php/id;930094667;fp;2;fpid;2>
by Dave Webb, Network World Canada
By 2010, we'll be creating close to one trillion gigabytes of data. Here's a look at some of the technologies that will manage all that information.

**** Hollywood Studios Are Editing Their Home-Video Strategy <http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-fi-dvd16-2008jun16,0,3403364.story>
by Dawn C. Chmielewski, Los Angeles Times
As one of their most lucrative sources of revenue stagnates, several Hollywood studios are considering something that would have been unthinkable even two years ago: renting films to cable subscribers and internet users on the same day they're released on DVD.

**** Google, Yahoo And The Elephant In The Room <http://www.pcworld.idg.com.au/index.php/id;2016606166;fp;2;fpid;1>
by Linda Rosencrance, Computerworld

MyAppleMenu Reader
====================================

**** The Headstrong Historian <http://www.newyorker.com/fiction/features/2008/06/23/080623fi_fiction_adichie>
by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, New Yorker

**** Slow Drag Blues <http://www.newyorker.com/fiction/poetry/2008/06/23/080623po_poem_young>
by Kevin Young, New Yorker

**** A Frame <http://www.newyorker.com/fiction/poetry/2008/06/23/080623po_poem_mcclatchy>
by J. D. McClatchy, New Yorker

SingaporeSurf
====================================

**** Singapore Making Steady Progress Towards Digital Broadcasting <http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/354491/1/.html>
by Imelda Saad, Channel NewsAsia
Singapore is making steady progress towards the 2015 target to switch from analogue to digital broadcasting. But MDA said the exact date to the analogue switch-of has yet to be decided.

**** US Blogger Charged With Insulting Singapore Judge <http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5jRu8YzpmL9yIEjqMwE7bFCaheaVQ>
by AFP
A US citizen was charged Monday with insulting a Singapore judge in his blog by saying she was "prostituting herself", a court document said. The latest Penal Code charge replaces an initial charge which alleged Nair sent the comments in an email, his lawyer Chia Ti Lik said.

**** One Death Too Many <http://singaporealternatives.blogspot.com/2008/06/one-death-too-many.html>
by Goh Meng Seng, Singapore Alternatives
It is abot time to re-consider the needs of spending more money to safe guard the welfare of our people, especially when life and death is concerned.

**** Economists See Singapore Q2 Growth At 4.7Pct - Poll <http://in.reuters.com/article/asiaCompanyAndMarkets/idINSP14721320080616>
by Koh Gui Qing, Reuters
Singapore's economy will grow 4.7 percent in the second quarter from a year ago, slowing from a 6.7 percent expansion in the January-March period, a central bank survey of economists showed on Monday. Economists also raised their forecasts for 2008 inflration to 6 percent from 5.0 percent in the March survey.

**** Inflation Across The Causeway <http://tiradeagainsthumanity.blogspot.com/2008/06/inflation-across-causeway.html>
by Murmurs, Mutters And Other White Noise
There was less traffic on the Malaysian roads. With the price of petrol these days, I think a lot less Malaysians are out and about. This was the same situation in the shopping centre we visited. Less Singaporeans, and a lot of empty parking lots. Petrol stations were empty. Imagine that!

**** Q1 Unemployment Rate Up Slightly From Previous Quarter To 2% <http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/354404/1/.html>
by S Ramesh, Channel NewsAsia
Singapore's unemployment figure for the first three months of this year is up slightly from the previous quarter, but lower if compared to the same period a year ago.
See Also: Labour Market, First Quarter 2008: Employment Growth Remains Strong; Unemployment Up <http://app.sprinter.gov.sg/data/pr/20080616998.pdf>, by Ministry of Manpower, Singapore Government. (Note: PDF document.) In summary, employment continued to expand strongly in a healthy economy, although uncertain outlook and more cautous sentiments resulted in higher unemployment rate. Amid an overall tight labour market, workers' earnings rose substantially. On the other hand, without corresponding improvement in productivity, cost pressures on businesses continued to rise.

**** Pinyin Names <http://yanyanyanyanyan.wordpress.com/2008/06/16/pinyin-names/>
by Blabbering Blob Of Blogging Blogger

**** CPF Minimum Sum Raised To $106,000 From July <http://www.straitstimes.com/Latest%2BNews/Singapore/STIStory_248446.html>
by Irene Ngoo, Straits Times
The minimum sum for Central Provident Fund members who turn 55 from July 1 will be raised to $106,000 - from the current $99,600, the CPF Board announced on Monday, along with other changes to the Medisave contributions and withdrawal rule.

**** Governments Step Up Blogger Arrests <http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080615-worldwide-rise-in-the-number-of-blogger-arrests.html>
by Jonathan M. Gitlin, Ars Technica
No matter what you think of blogging, internet-basd citizen journalism is a real threat not just to traditional media business models but to totalitarian governments.

**** Should Police Cars Be Allowed On Footpath? <http://www.straitstimes.com/Free/Story/STIStory_248267.html>
by Esther Tan, Straits Times
Police cars have been patrolling along the East Coast Park footpaths and members of the public are questioning the need for it.

**** 134 Accidents Involving Cyclists In 3 Months <http://www.straitstimes.com/Free/Story/STIStory_248266.html>
by Melissa Sim, Straits Times
Jostling for space on the increasingly busy roads here, cyclists are getting into more accidents.
/The cynic in me is thinking that we are being prepared for a revision in law to allow bicycle onto pedestrian path./

**** Why Only 'Practical NGOs' And For Economic Reasons? <http://www.yawningbread.org/guest_2008/guw-151.htm>
by Vinita Ramani Mohan, Yawning Bread
It is disingenuous to invite international "civil society" in a bid to make Singapore a "world-class city", but insist that the NGOs that come to Singapore are "practical".

**** University Admissions, Employment And Help For The Poor <http://theonlinecitizen.com/2008/06/university-admissions-employment-and-help-for-the-poor/>
by Leong Sze Hian, The Online Citizen

**** National Service - Who Fights For The NSMan? <http://www.insanepoly.com/blog/?p=531>
by Insane Polygons
Like it or not, NS has become a liability in every sense of the word for the Singaporean male.

**** I Didn't Know I Can't Honk <http://tnp.sg/news/story/0,4136,167776,00.html?>
by Crystal Chan, New Paper
Under the Road Traffic Act, those who blare their horns while their vehicles are stationary can be given a $70 compound fine or be charged in court and face up to $1,000 fine and three months' jail.
Responding to queries from The New Paper on Sunday, a spokesman for both the ICA and the Singapore police confirmed that the authorities are cracking down on incessant honking by motorists at the checkpoints.