[MyAppleMenu] Jun 23, 2008

[applesurf at myapplemenu.com]

MyAppleMenu
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**** It's Never Easy, Ven When You Have A Mac <http://community.zdnet.co.uk/blog/0,1000000567,10008509o-2000432356b,00.htm>
by ZDNet UK

**** Review: Synchronize Pro X 6.0 <http://www.macworld.com/article/134048/2008/06/syncprox6.html>
by Peter Cohen, Macworld
For users looking for a complete bckup, archival, and synchronization software tool for their Macs that also works on Tiger or Pather, Synchronize Pro X 6.0 is an excellent choice.

**** Review: SyncTogether 1.0.2 <http://www.macworld.com/article/134083/2008/06/synctogether102.html>
by Joe Kissell, Macworld
If .Mac Sync isn't an option for you, this program is far better than nothing. But its limitation and annoyances are not insignificant, and they multiply if you have more htan a few Macs, especially if some of them are remote.

**** iPassword Improves Firefox 3 Support <http://www.macworld.com/article/134097/2008/06/1password.html>
by Peter Cohen, Macworld

**** Apple's iPhone: Beware Of Poisonous Pips <http://www.telco2.net/blog/2008/06/appes_iphone_beware_of_poisono.html>
by Telco 2.0
So Apple have an interesting solution to a real technical problem with their push messaging, coupled to a powerful back end. But under that tasty, shiny skin lies a potentially bitter taste for the operators who swallow the fruit.

**** SmartSleep 1.2 <http://www.macworld.com/article/133934/2008/06/smartsleep1.html>
by Rob Griffiths, Macworld
Patrick Stein's Smart Sleep, a System Preferences panel, lets you choose between four different sleep modes.

**** Apple, HP Sued Over Online Stores <http://www.macworld.co.uk/business/news/index.cfm?RSS&NewsID=21759>
by Jonny Evans, Macworld UK
A Texas company called Clear With Computers is suing the tech firms over the way their online stores work.

**** Softbank Says To Sell iPhones For Y23,040 In Japan <http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssTechMediaTelecomNews/idUSTKF00321720080623>
by Sachi Izumi, Reuters

**** Learn To Rock With GarageBand <http://www.cnet.com.au/mp3players/musicsoftware/0,239029154,339289932,00.htm>
by Brendon Chase, CNET.com.au
Rock hair? Check. Leather pants? Check. Air guitar skills? Check. Move over Rover and let the music nerds at /CNET.com.au/ show you how to set up a simple home recording environment with GarageBand.

The Tomorrow Weblog
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**** Delaying News In The Era Of The Internet <http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/23/business/media/23link.html?_r=1&oref=slogin>
by Noam Cohen, New York Times
When the NBC News host Tim Russert died on June 13, NBC tried to hold back the news from going public for more than ahour to notify his family vacationing in Italy and presumably to prepare for what became six hours of coverage on its cable news outlet, MSNBC.

**** The Next Bubble <http://www.technologyreview.com/Biztech/20916/>
by Jason Pontin, MIT Technology Review
Are web 2.0 companies the unlucky beneficiaries of a speculative mania?

MyAppleMenu Reader
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**** Propofol <http://www.newyorker.com/fiction/poetry/2008/06/30/080630po_poem_kirchwey>
by Karl Kirchwey, New Yorker

**** The Itch <http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2008/06/30/080630fa_fact_gawande>
by Atul Gawande, New Yorker
Its mysterious power may be a clue to a new theory about brains and bodies.

SingaporeSurf
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**** How Much Can We Not Trust Our Government?
by Heng-Cheong Leong, MyAppleMenu
Look at this edited transcript <http://app.sprinter.gov.sg/data/pr/20080621996.htm> of an interview of Mr Goh Chok Tong by the Straits Times, released by the Singapore Government. Note that this is /edited/, presumably by the government, so we don't really know what is missing in the transcript. But it strikes me that there are virtually no follow-up questions asked by the Straits Times. Every assertion, every idea, every statement by Mr Goh was not questioned nor challenged by the interviewer.
We all know that Straits Times is a pro-government paper. But, even so, I hope the paper still exhibits some form of skepticism, especially from authority figures.
<p class="permlink">Permanent Link to This Post <http://www.myapplemenu.com/singapore/2008/06/23/id0014/>

**** Singapore's Consumer Prices Rise Less Than Expected <http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601080&sid=aV3hu_dR4CPA&refer=asia>
by Shamim Adam, Bloomberg
Singapore's consumer prices rose at a slower-than-expected pace last month, reducing the need for the central bank to allow further gains in the currency to rein in inflation.
The consumer price index jumped 7.5 percent from a year earlier, matching April's pace that was a 26-year high, the Department of Statistics said today. That's lower than all 13 estimates in a Bloomberg News survey of economists, where the median forecast was a 7.8 percent increase.
See Also: Singapore Consumer Price Index <http://www.singstat.gov.sg/news/news/cpimay2008.pdf>, by Department of Statistics, Singapore Government. (Note: PDF document.)

**** Qantas-Singapore Marriage Unlikely <http://business.smh.com.au/qantassingapore-marriage-unlikely-20080623-2v7o.html>
by Mathew Murphy, Sydney Morning Herald
Speculation that Qantas chief executive Geoff Dixon may use his last year at the helm of the Kangaroo carrier to forge a merger or "regional alliance" with Singapore Airlines would be an ambitious feat to say the least.

**** Orchard Road: Boom, Bust, Stuck And Shut <http://www.yawningbread.org/arch_2008/yax-900.htm>
by Au Waipang, Yawning Bread
I cannot see how this main artery can be unclogged without a major rconceptualisation of traffic flow.

**** Foreigners Key To Avoiding Worst-Case Scenario <http://www.straitstimes.com/Free/Story/STIStory_250658.html>
by Clarissa Oon, Straits Times
One way to avoid stagflation is to maintain a foreign-worker policy that is 'very responsive' to business needs, labour chief Lim Swee Say said.

**** Disparities In Singapore <http://dghiinsingapore2008.blogspot.com/2008/06/disparities-in-singapore.html>
by Mary Bohan, Reflections On A Global Health Lab Experience
It's been five weeks since I've been in Singapore, and one thing that has become more and more apparent since arriving in this small island nation is the discrepancy that exists between the rich and the poor.

**** Separate Pumps For Foreigners <http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/6/23/nation/21627592&sec=nation>
by Bernama
The government has agreed to implement a dual pump system at fuel stations in border areas so that foreigners do not buy fuel at subsidised prices.

**** New ERP A Short-Term Solution <http://www.todayonline.com/articles/261065.asp>
by Leslie Wang, Today
The question I would pose is, why bother owning a car when we can't use the road as freely as we want?
/Someone who drives daily from, say, Yishun to Woodlands for work should pay significantly less than another fellow who drives daily from Ang Mo Kio to Raffles Place. That, to me, is simple logic. You want to drive freely? Don't contribute to the congestion./