[MyAppleMenu] Jun 30, 2008

[applesurf at myapplemenu.com]

MyAppleMenu
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**** The Steve Jobs Standard <http://blogs.zdnet.com/BTL/?p=9207>
by Tom Steinert-Threlkeld, ZDNet.com
The record inside and outside Apple says that Jobs stands alone. He has talent, perserverance and a devotion to making devices that delight in ways that others can't imagein - or carry out.

**** DRM-Free Threats Bounce Off iTunes' Chest <http://news.cnet.com/8301-10784_3-9980354-7.html>
by Greg Sandoval, CNET News.com
Remember, Apple didn't become an all-powerful music company just because of iTunes. Jobs was successful because of the total package: the player as well as a great music store. To pull us away, somebody has to offer a great new device and service that can do all these things /and/ more. Or else why jump?

**** Software Group To Promote Macs In The Enterprise <http://www.infoworld.com/article/08/06/30/Software-group-to-promote-Macs-in-the-enterprise_1.html>
by Ephraim Schwartz, InfoWorld
A consortium of five companies has announced the creation of the Enterprise Desktop Alliance (EDA) to promote the deployment of Macs in the enterprise. The five founding companies &mdash; Centrify, LANrev, Atempo, GroupLogic, and Parallels &mdash; are all focused on integrating the Mac operating system and infrastructure with Windows and PC-based network infrastructure for enterprise-level companies.

**** Telstra Joins The iPhone Club <http://www.smh.com.au/news/iphone-insider/telstra-joins-the-iphone-club/2008/06/30/1214677931987.html>
by Asher Moses, Sydney Morning Herald
Telstra has announced it will be the third mobile carrier to offer the iPhone when the handset launches in Australia on July 11.

**** The Hole In My Backup Plan <http://db.tidbits.com/article/9676>
by Joe Kissell, TidBITS

**** Wrap 1.1 <http://www.macworld.com/article/133944/2008/06/warp1gem.html>
by Dan Frakes, Macworld

**** Rhapsody To Challenge iTunes By Embracing The iPod <http://www.reuters.com/article/industryNews/idUSN2927845920080630>
by Yinka Adegoke, Reuters
Digital music seller Rhapsody is launching a $50 milion marketing assault on Apple's iTunes, offering songs online and via partners including Yahoo Inc and Verizon Wireless, Rhapsody said on Monday. The songs will be sold in MP3 format, which means users of the Rhapsody service will be able to play them on iPods.

**** A Year With The iPhone - iPhone Turns 1 Year Old <http://www.intomobile.com/2008/06/29/a-year-with-the-iphone-iphone-turns-1-year-old.html>
by Will Park, IntoMobile
The iPhone's UI has spoiled me to no end. With multi-touch and Mac OS, the iPhone has redefined what I expect out of a mobile phone.

**** 10,000 Canadians Petittion For iPhone Rate Relief <http://apple20.blogs.fortune.cnn.com/2008/06/29/9000-canadians-petition-steve-jobs-for-iphone-rate-relief/>
by Philip Elmer-DeWitt, Fortune
It's taken more than a year for the iPhone to make its way across the world's longest undefended border, which may help explain why so many Canadians are upset this weekend.

**** Want To Sell An iPhone App? Got Six Months To Wait In Line? <http://www.alleyinsider.com/2008/6/want-to-sell-an-iphone-app>
by Dan Frommer, Silicon Alley Insider
We hear the waiting list to get accepted into Apple's developer program is six months long.

**** Jobs Queue <http://www.smh.com.au/news/how-tos/jobs-queue/2008/06/28/1214472820094.html>
by David Flynn, Sydney Morning Herald
A line-up of cranky laptop owners is about to hit Sydney's Apple Store.

**** Your Laptop's Dirty Little Secret <http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1818902,00.html>
by Bryan Walsh, Time
The U.S. is by far the world's top producer of e-waste, but much of it ends up elsewhere &mdash; specifically, in developing nations like China, India and Nigeria, to which rich countries have been shipping garbage for years. There the poor, often including children, dismantle dumped PCs and phones, stripping the components for the valuable &mdash; and toxic &mdash; metals contained inside.

**** Consistency Killed The Cat <http://ignorethecode.net/blog/2008/06/29/consistency/>
by Lukas Mathis, Ignore The Code
You don't need to make an application that looks like every other application. But you do need to make sure your application behaves the way the user epxects. If you can't use or mimic existing widgets, it's better to look entirely inconsistent with the host OS, hence influencing the user's expectations.

**** Ars Technica Digs Into iTunes App Store Payment Rumors <http://arstechnica.com/journals/apple.ars/2008/06/29/ars-technica-digs-into-itunes-app-store-payment-rumors>
by David Chartier, Ars Technica
This rumor of a $250 minimum hasn't shaken up any of the developers we spoke with. In fact, developers were more concened with Apple's continued slow and frustrating pace of store acceptance and how little we still know about how it's all going to work.

The Tomorrow Weblog
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**** Bill Gates: PC Genius, Internet Fool <http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1818989,00.html>
by Josh Quittner, Time
Bill Gates, who for years was the richest man in the world, is also one of the smartest. But even he couldn't figure out how to beat the internet-how to transition his grand old monopoly software company, Microsoft, into a business that thrives on the net.

**** I Freed Myself From E-Mail's Grip <http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/29/jobs/29pre.html>
by Luis Suarez, New York Times
It's not that I stopped communicating; I just communicated in different and more productive ways.

MyAppleMenu Reader
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**** Eye On The Universe <http://harvardmagazine.com/2008/07/eye-on-the-universe.html>
by Jonathan Shaw and Jennifer Carling, Harvard Magazine
The cosmic drama, as seen from a vantage in space.

**** Thirteen Hundred Rats <http://www.newyorker.com/fiction/features/2008/07/07/080707fi_fiction_boyle>
by T. Coraghessan Boyle, New Yorker

**** Songs Of A Season <http://www.newyorker.com/fiction/poetry/2008/07/07/080707po_poem_mclane>
by Maureen N. McLane, New Yorker

**** After Love <http://www.newyorker.com/fiction/poetry/2008/07/07/080707po_poem_gilbert>
by Jack Gilbert, New Yorker

**** 'The Book Of Getting Even' By Benjamin Taylor <http://www.latimes.com/features/books/la-et-book30-2008jun30,0,6529457.story?track=rss>
by Jonathan Kirsch, Los Angeles Times
At the end, we are sadder and wiser, and yet somehow comforted too &mdash; signs that we are in the hands of a gifted storyteller.

**** Isn't It Funny? <http://www.nybooks.com/articles/21616>
by Mary Beard, New York Review Of Books
Laughter is one of the most treacherous of all fields of history. Like sex and eating, it is an absolutely universal human phenomenon, and at the same time something that is highly culturally and chronologically specific.

SingaporeSurf
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**** Iskandar Malaysia Not Part Of Singapore But Competitor, Says Johor MB <http://www.bernama.com.my/bernama/v3/news.php?id=342905>
by Bernama
The Iskandar Malaysia development project covering 2,217 sq km will not become part of Singapore but more accurately a competitor to the republic, Johor menteri Besar Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman said. He said the issue of Singapore becoming part of Iskandar Malaysia did not arise because until today, no direct investment from the country had flowed into the region.

**** National Day Celebrations &amp; Rehearsals - The Cost &amp; Purpose Of <http://chiatilik.wordpress.com/2008/06/30/national-day-celebrations-rehearsals-the-cost-purpose-of/>
by Chia Ti Lik

**** Green Singapore Has Blue-Water Dreams <http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5glYcp45udr3Xio8arZuwi-rzIxog>
by AFP
Singapore is known for its grenery but it may soon be recognised for its blue - as in blue water. That is the hope of civic officials behind a project to seal off the city-state's waterfront from the sea and create a three-in-one water source for drinking, flood control and recreation.

**** Increase Patrols Along Johor Waters, Says Assemblyman <http://thestar.com.my/metro/story.asp?file=/2008/6/30/southneast/21671877&sec=southneast>
by The Star
Enforcement agencies such as the Maritime agency and the Marine police must increase patrols along Johor waters to prevent further intrusion of the state's islands. Datuk Aziz Sapian told the state assembly that the agencies should be on their toes especially after the Johor Sultan reminded everyone that Pulau Batu Puteh was under Johor's sovereignty and must be reclaimed.

**** New Bus Service Along MRT Line To Launch On July 7 <http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/357242/1/.html>
by Chan Eu Imm, Channel NewsAsia
A new basic bus service that is aimed at easing passenger load along the southbound section of the North-South-East-West MRT line will take off on July 7.

**** Total Wages In Singapore Up By 7-Year High Of 5.9% In 2007 <http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporebusinessnews/view/357232/1/.html>
by Channel NewsAsia
Total wages - basic wages plus bonuses - of private sector employees rose by a seven-year high of 5.9 per cent in 2007, higher than the increase of 4.5 per cent the year before.

**** Singapore's 4Th Multi-Disciplinary University <http://www.designsojourn.com/singapores-4th-multi-disciplinary-university/>
by Design Sojourn
I believe this is a great step forward for the country and for the creation of graduates suitable for any profession that requires multi-disciplinary influences.

**** Does Singapore Need A Ministry Of Energy? <http://www.asiaisgreen.com/2008/06/30/does-singapore-need-a-ministry-of-energy/>
by AsiaIsGreen
On paper, it seems that there is no need for one as the energy policies are managed and coordinated by the EPG. But on the ground, the administrative difficulties and layers of bureaucatic red tape accumulated across 11 ministries and agencies in the EPG might pose a problem to the effectivness and timeliness of the energy policies.

**** Hong Kong Tax Systems Seen As Fairest <http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/business/news/article_1413986.php/Hong_Kong_tax_systems_seen_as_fairest>
by DPA
Hong Kong is seen as having the fairest and most transparent tax system out of six major developed economies, followed by Singapore, a study said on Monday.

**** A Rebuttal To PAP Media Crucifixion Of Dr Chee Soon Juan <http://chiatilik.wordpress.com/2008/06/29/a-rebuttal-to-pap-media-crucifixion-of-dr-chee-soon-juan/>
by Chia Ti Lik
In short, we have a political editor trying to play psychologist, an assistant editor without an independent opinion, and a journalist who had an opinion of how the article should read even before he started his interviews.

**** Making Sense Of HDB Rejections <http://theonlinecitizen.com/2008/06/making-sense-of-hdb-rejections/>
by Leong Sze Hian, The Online Citizen
Instead of offering more land sites for private developers to tender and build HDB flats, I would like to suggest that the HDB continue to focus on its historic role to build affordable housing to meet Singaporeans' needs, as the price of private-develpoment HDB flats tend to be higher than HDB-developed flats.

**** Crossing The Line Into Vulgarity <http://theonlinecitizen.com/2008/06/crossing-the-line-into-vulgarity/>
by Andrew Loh, The Online Citizen
"If you have truth on your side and you know your cause to be just, you need never fear your rulers and what they do to you."

**** Analysis: Will ERP Mean 'Every Road Pay'? <http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/357200/1/.html>
by Conrad Raj, Today
Few would deny that the ERP system has helped in smoothening traffic flow, especially int he Central Business District. THe main quarrel with the timing of the new round of increases is that it comes in the wake of higher petrol prices and insurance costs. Many would argue that traffic congestion here is still tolerable compard with the traffic jams in Bangkok, Jakarta and even Kuala Lumpur.

**** Audience Numbers Don't Tell Entire Story <http://www.todayonline.com/articles/262349.asp>
by Chia I-Ling, Today
Festival boosted Singapore's arts scene in other ways too.