[MyAppleMenu] Oct 8, 2008

[applesurf at myapplemenu.com]

MyAppleMenu
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**** Mac Security: Privacy <http://www.macworld.com/article/135904/2008/10/privacy.html?lsrc=rss_main>
by Joe Kissell, Macworld
What you can do to make sure your private data stays that way.

**** Elgato Updates EyeTV <http://www.macworld.co.uk/macsoftware/news/index.cfm?RSS&NewsID=23078>
by Jonny Evans, Macworld UK
The update includes some improvements to the video editor, some additional hardware support, and some country specific bug fixes.

**** Why I Can't Wait For The iPod To Die <http://news.cnet.com/8301-13506_3-10059976-17.html>
by Don Reisinger, CNET News.com
Nothing will change until Apple experiences a year of decining iPod sales. Once that happens, its competitotrs will panic and try to be the first to the market with something innovative and Apple will be forced to make serious changes to the iPod or come up with something new altogether.
/This guy never heard of the iPhone or the iPod Touch?/

**** Apple Doesn't Need A Public Succession Plan <http://www.macobserver.com/editorial/2008/10/07.1.shtml>
by John Martellaro, Mac Observer
A /public/ succession plan seems to be more about obsession by the media than a prudent executive management practice.

**** First Look: SyncMate, Mac/Smarthone Synchronization <http://www.macnn.com/articles/08/10/07/syncmate/>
by MacNN

**** Apple Faces Pressure Over Replaceable Batteries <http://www.ipodnn.com/articles/08/10/07/apple.battery.controversy/>
by iPodNN
Developing European Union guidelines could force Apple to adopt a more user- and environmentally-friendly approach to batteries, reports said.

**** Spell Catcher X Adds DirectCorrect <http://www.macworld.com/article/135947/2008/10/spellcatcher.html?lsrc=rss_main>
by Peter Cohen, Macworld
Spell Catcher provides spell checking for more than a dozen languages, and adds a variety of writing productivity features not embedded in the operating system.

**** Differentiating 'New' And 'Recent' Podcasts <http://www.macworld.com/article/135945/2008/10/newrecentpodcasts.html?lsrc=rss_main>
by Christopher Breen, Macworld
The way iTunes defines "new" is not, "most recent" but rather "most recent that you've never played any portion of."

**** What's Keeping Me? 1.3 <http://www.macworld.com/article/135941/2008/10/whatskeepingme.html?lsrc=rss_main>
by Dan Frakes, Macworld

The Tomorrow Weblog
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**** Microsoft Touts Touchless SDK <http://www.infoworld.com/article/08/10/07/Microsoft-touts-Touchless-SDK_1.html?source=rss&url=http://www.infoworld.com/article/08/10/07/Microsoft-touts-Touchless-SDK_1.html>
by Paul Krill, InfoWorld

**** New Media Feels Heat After Apple Misstep <http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/1008/p02s01-usgn.html>
by Ben Arnoldy, Christian Science Monitor

MyAppleMenu Reader
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**** The Unspeakable Odyssey Of The Motionless Boy <http://www.esquire.com/features/unspeakable-odyssey-motionless-boy-1008?src=rss>
by Joshua Foer, Esquire
How much of our humanity are we prepared to cede to machines? This is a dilemma of the future, but it's not much of a concern for Erik Ramsey. Erik can't move. He can't blink his eyes. And he hasn't said a word since 1999. But now, thanks to an electrode that was surgically implanted in his brain and linked to a computer, his nine-year silence is about to end.

**** Verbage <http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2008/10/13/081013fa_fact_wood?currentPage=all>
by James Wood, New Yorker
The Republican war on words.

**** High-End Restaurants On A Tightrope Of Economic Uncertainty <http://www.latimes.com/features/food/la-fo-economy8-2008oct08,0,2343288.story?track=rss>
by Russ Parsons, Los Angeles Times
People always have to eat, but do they have to dine out? That's the question Southern California's top chefs are facing after the last few weeks of grim economic news.

SingaporeSurf
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**** With Recession Coming, What Social Safety Nets Have We In Place? <http://www.yawningbread.org/arch_2008/yax-944.htm>
by Au Waipang, Yawning Bread

**** Energy Market And Renewable Energy In Singapore <http://csr-asia.com/weekly_detail.php?id=11498>
by Marie Morice, CSR Asia

**** Temasek Passes On Bank Of America Offering - Sources <http://nachrichten.finanztreff.de/news_news,awert,ticker,bwert,,id,28028703,sektion,uebersicht.html>
by John Jannarone, Dow Jones
Temasek Holdings didn't participate in a $10 billion stock offering by Bank of America, allowing a dilution of the stake it will own in the bank after a takeover deal with merrill Lynch is complete.

**** Singapore Public Housing: 'A Nation Of Homeowners' <http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5g7fvcsA4Oyf25GxTTQ8BWRblyeTw>
by AFP
Public houisng is often associated with poverty-stricken slums and other social ills but Singapore's high-rise apartment blocks built by the government are an exception. "Essentially we have housed an entire nation and created a nation of homeowners," Tay Kim Poh, chief executive officer of the city-state's Housing and Development Board (HDB), told AFP in a recent interview.

**** The Importance Of Editorial Independence In The News Process <http://theonlinecitizen.com/2008/10/the-importance-of-editorial-independence-in-the-news-process/>
by Lim Yan Wen, The Online Citizen

**** Increasing The Price Of A Dying Technology Is A Bad Move <http://blog.dk.sg/2008/10/08/increasing-the-price-of-a-dying-technology-is-a-bad-move/>
by Dee Kay Dot As Gee
If you ask me, I would say that it is a reasonable pric eincrease. But increasing the price now on a dying technology is a bad move. Not only will it affect the fix line customer base, it might also affect the customer base in other Singtel services.

**** How Much Do You Earn? That's Too Much, Isn't It
by Heng-Cheong Leong, MyAppleMenu
If I ask you how much you earn per month, and you reply, say, $4000 per month. Do I have any idea whether you are earning too little, earning too much, or earning just right?
Of course not. Not without, for example, finding out what you do, what is the quality of work you produce, and how easily you can be replaced.
Similarly, if I ask a company how much profit is a commercial for-profit company earning, and the company tells me, say, $4 million per year. Do I have any idea whether the company is earning too little, too much, or just right?
Lately, there are a lot of complains about why some for-profit companies are raising prices when the companies are still earning profits. But, none of these complains compare the profit to, say, the amount of investment the companies have made.
Take two extreme example. If a company spent $1 to earn $4 million profit, one may be justified in claiming the company is earning too much profit. However, if the company spent $1 trillion to earn $4 million profit, one will be justified in claiming the company is earning too little, and the company should just close down, and the shareholders can simply earn more money just by putting the $1 trillion in the bank and earn interests.
Of course, these are extreme examples. The reality lies somewhere in the middle.
The problem with all these complaints, however, are that none of these bloggers bother to look at this reality. $4 million profit may be a lot of money, but without the context of the cost of production or service, the complaints sound hollow.
<p class="permlink">Permanent Link to This Post <http://www.myapplemenu.com/singapore/2008/10/08/id0015/>

**** Lessons On Governance From Singapore <http://www.bdafrica.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=10481&Itemid=5848&from=myapplemenu>
by James Shikwati, Business Daily Africa
The dictatorship in this tiny country of close to 4.5 million people figured out that instilling the right attitude among people is the best strategy to get citizens to engage in productive activity.

**** Telco Wars: StarHub Dangles $100 Carrot <http://www.todayonline.com/articles/280219.asp>
by Cheow Xin Yi, Today

**** Sorry For The Confusion <http://www.todayonline.com/articles/280164.asp>
by Tammy Tan, SBS Transit, Today
SBS Transit would like to apologise to all of its wheelchair-bound commuters who have been confused by the use of blue Wheelchair-Accessible Bus (WAB) decals on buses not running on WAB routes. SBS Transit has taken immediate action to remove them to avoid further confusion and will ensure that only WAB-designated Services carry the decals from now on.