[MyAppleMenu] Oct 28, 2008

[applesurf at myapplemenu.com]

MyAppleMenu
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**** Apple's New MacBook Is A Stealth Business Notebook <http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&taxonomyName=&articleId=9118193&taxonomyId=&intsrc=kc_feat>
by Scot Finnie, Computerworld
The new MacBook fully addresses my year-old criticisms. It reaches critical mass in a notebook computer that's aimed not just at highly mobile execs or design professionals, but at business people in general (not to mention home users and students). Apple finally has the right hardware and software for mainstream business users.

**** First Look: Bento 2, Personal Database <http://www.macnn.com/articles/08/10/27/bento.2.personal.database/>
by MacNN

**** Review: Apple Takes The MacBook Upscale <http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9118166&source=rss_topic123>
by Ken Mingis, Computerworld
If an Apple iMac married a MacBook Air, what would their offspring look like? A lot like Apple Inc.'s new upscale MacBook.

**** Could An iPhone Completely Replace A Tablet Mac? <http://www.macblogz.com/2008/10/27/could-an-iphone-completely-replace-a-tablet-mac/>
by MacBlogz
The iPhone revenue model is such a juggernaut for Apple, that diverting resources to a niche marekt seems almsot foolish.

**** How To Become A Happy iPhone Developer <http://www.betanews.com/article/How_to_become_a_happy_iPhone_developer/1224993448>
by Jacqueline Emigh, BetaNews

**** About Those TV Ads Knocking Vista: Are They Unjustified? <http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/business/appleaday/blog/2008/10/about_those_tv_ads_knocking_vi.html>
by David Zeiler, Baltimore Sun
Apple spends far, far less money on R&amp;D, but look at what it has delivered over the past few years. Apple regularly delivers products and services that shake up entire industries. When was the last time Microsoft did that?

**** It's The Apple Indicators, Not Market Share That Spooks Microsoft <http://www.macobserver.com/analysis/2008/10/27.1.shtml>
by John Martellaro, Mac Observer
Apple is poised to move into double digit market share in the U.S., and from all indicators, Microsoft has few obvious strategies available in its arsenal to extricate itself from a continued defnsive position and some key failure points.

**** Google Earth Lands For iPhone, Netflix Testing Mac Streaming <http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/08/10/27/google_earth_lands_for_iphone_netflix_testing_mac_streaming.html>
by AppleInsider
Google on Monday launched a version of Google Earth as a native application for iPhone and iPod touch owners. Meanwhile, Netflix said it has begun testing its second-gen Generation Media Player, which will stream movies to Intel Macs.

**** Apple Releases Minor iPhoto Update <http://www.macworld.com/article/136394/2008/10/iphoto715.html?lsrc=rss_main>
by Philip Michaels, Macworld
According to Apple's sparse release notes, iPhoeo 7.1.5 "improves the printing quality of books, cards and calendars ordered via the iPhoto printing service."

**** Apple's Margin-Reducing Product That Wasn't: Blu-Ray? <http://arstechnica.com/journals/apple.ars/2008/10/27/apples-margin-reducing-product-that-wasnt-blu-ray>
by Iljitsch van Beijnum, Ars Technica
Blu-ray drives in the Mac, perhaps? Let's examine the evidence.

**** Troubleshooting Parental Controls <http://www.macworld.com/article/136387/2008/10/troubleshootparental.html?lsrc=rss_main>
by Christopher Breen, Macworld

The Tomorrow Weblog
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**** Microsoft Plans 'Cloud' Operating System <http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/28/technology/28soft.html?ref=todayspaper>
by John Markoff, New York Times
Looking for growth in new markets where it is increasingly being bypassed, Microsoft said Monday that late next year it would begin offering a new "cloud" operating system that would manage the relationship between software inside the computer and on the web, where data and services are becoming increasingly cnetralized.

**** Finding A Gold Mine In Digital Ditties <http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/28/business/media/28video.html?ref=todayspaper>
by Stephanie Clifford, New York Times

**** To Survive, Net Start-Ups Slow Their Metabolism <http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/27/technology/companies/27dotbomb.html?ref=todayspaper>
by Brad Stone and Claire Cain Miller, New York Times

**** Microsoft's Azure Cloud Platform: A Guide For The Perplexed <http://blogs.zdnet.com/microsoft/?p=1671>
by Mary Jo Foley, ZDNet.com
Microsoft layed out its "Azure" foundation infrastructure for the cloud during the keynote kick-off on day one of the Professional Developers Conference (PDC). THe goal of Azure is to provide developers who want to write applications that run partially and/or entirely in a remote datacenter with a platform and set of tools.

**** Even If Royalties For Web Radio Fall, Revenue Remains Elusive <http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/27/technology/internet/27radio.html?_r=1&oref=slogin>
by Claire Cain Miller, New York Times

**** Twitter Goes Mainstream <http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122461906719455335.html>
by Jessica E. Vascellaro, Wall Street Journal
One of the hottest technologies in Silicon Valley is also one of the simplest.

**** Texts You Can Believe In <http://www.slate.com/id/2203146/>
by Farhad Manjoo, Slate
Forget robo-calls&mdash;Obama's text messages are this campaign's secret weapon.

**** Opera Sings An Ode To Browsers Everywhere <http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/10/27/opera-sings-an-ode-to-browsers-everywhere/>
by Saul Hansell, New York Times

MyAppleMenu Reader
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**** The Questions <http://www.2River.org/2RView/13_1/poems/cullina.html>
by Alice Cullina, 2River View

**** Payback's A Bitch <http://www.salon.com/books/review/2008/10/28/payback/index.html>
by Louis Bayard, Salon
If nothing else, Margaret Atwood has a gift for timing. Her 1986 futuristic dystopia, "The Handmaid's Tale," arrived at the precise cultural moment when theocracy was starting to look scarier than nuclear holocaust. And her latest work, a book-length essay called "Payback: Debt And The Shadow Side Of Wealth," comes just as Wall Street is undergoing a holocaust of its own.

**** Confessoins Of A Naked Sushi Model <http://www.vanityfair.com/online/style/2008/10/naked-sushi.html>
by Melanie Berliet, Vanity Fair
Be still, rogue toe. Please! Don't you dare surrender to that muscle cramp. Now is not the time.

SingaporeSurf
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**** Town Councils' Sinking Funds Not Substantially Affected By Financial Turmoil <http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/386016/1/.html>
by May Wong, Channel NewsAsia
Town councils said only a small percentage of their total investments were spent on those affected products.
Under current guidelines, each town councils can use 65 per cent of their sinking funds to invest in government bonds, while up to 35 per cent can be invested in other financial instruments like corporate bonds and equities.

**** Singapore Jobless Rate To Rise <http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking%2BNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_295727.html>
by Fiona Chan, Straits Times
Job losses are looming as the economy slows, with companies in the manufacturing and financial services industries expected to be the first to cut staff.
This means unemployment is set to rise over the next few quarters, while salaries will grow at a much slower pace, said the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) in its latest half-yearly Macro Economic Review, released on Tuesday.

**** Anlysts Say Tourism Sector Unlikely To Grow In Months Ahead <http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/386000/1/.html>
by Wong Siew Ying, Channel NewsAsia

**** Minimum Sum Scheme <http://mycpf.cpf.gov.sg/NR/rdonlyres/37244D4D-99EC-4813-A7BF-6B0D99F443F9/0/CPFTrends_MinimumSumScheme.pdf>
by CPF Board, Singapore Government
Among the active members who turned 55 in 2007, about one third (35.6%) met the required Minimum Sum (MS). This is a drop from 57.1% in 1996, and could be attributed to the increase in the required MS from $40,000 in July 1995 to $99,600 in July 2007, and cuts in CPF contribution rates in 1999 and 2003.

**** Kiss Lands Man 6-Months Jail <http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking%2BNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_295674.html>
by Straits Times
Kissing the back of a woman's hand may be an age-old gentlemanly form of greeting - when permission is granted. But when a teenage girl was suddenly approached by a stranger who planted an uninvited kiss on her hand on Sept 7, she complained to her fther, who then called the police.
/I'm not sure whether this Straits Times article is reporting accurately, but it sure seems too excessive penalty to me./

**** Singapore's Economy Faces 'Further Slippage,' Central Bank Says <http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aho_MWIv2Mh8&refer=home>
by Shamim Adam, Bloomberg
Singapore's economy, which entered a recession last quarter, faces "further slippage" as a global slowdown threatens manufacturing, consumer spending and tourism, the city-state's central bank said.

**** Nation-Building Or Party Building? <http://theonlinecitizen.com/2008/10/nation-building-or-party-building/>
by Andrew Ong, The Online Citizen
After listening to the speeches and reading through the handed materials, I concluded that the vision of the PA should be more accurately communicated as "contributing readily to the PAP," and not to our nation.
/Unfortunately, I don't see much of justifications made by the author in this article to support the assertion. I would like to see more insights beyond the surface./

**** For Better Public Transport; Little India Crisis <http://tib1224y.blogspot.com/2008/10/for-better-public-transport-little.html>
by Life At 60km/h

**** Singapore Dubai Similarities <http://dubaithoughts.blogspot.com/2008/10/singapore-dubai-similarities.html>
by Life In Dubai
Then they woke up to the fact that they were destroying their history, their heritage, their heart and soul.

**** Iskandar Project Can Absorb The Retrenched <http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Tuesday/National/2386677/Article/index_html>
by Satiman Jamin, New Straits Times
Iskandar Malaysia has the potential to absorb Malaysians who may lose their jobs in Singapore due to the global economic slowdown, home minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar said on Saturday.

**** Fear, Apathy - And Being Interested <http://theonlinecitizen.com/2008/10/fear-apathy-and-being-interested/>
by Andrew Loh, The Online Citizen
We need new heroes, basiclaly - people who can inspire and re-awaken the lethargic spirits of our citizens. At least as far as political participation is concerned.

**** This Dude Gets It Yo <http://shianux.jiyuuu.org/2008/10/28/this-dude-gets-it-yo/>
by The Legal Janitor
For all your complaining about "fairness" and "Singaporeans first", it is all bullshit, and you are just a xenophobic and/or racist fucker.

**** Dark Days For Night Markets <http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking%2BNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_295631.html>
by Jermyn Chow, Straits Times
These are bad times to be a psar malam or night market vendor. Many are dropping out of the business, hit by a triple whammy of factors: competition from heartland malls, rising overheads, and the ongoing financial meltdown.

**** Tariff Revision No Benefit To Power Generation Companies <http://www.todayonline.com/articles/283886.asp>
by Jenny Teo, Today
Changes in the fuel oil cost are reflected in the electricity tariff every quarter. As the tariff is set in advance using the forward fuel on price, there is a three-month time lag between the oil price movement and the actual tariff revision. Alternatively, if we had used the spot oil price to compute the tariff, it would have been higher in 11 of the 16 quarters since 2004.
/In other words, when the tariff hasn't been increasing due to this 3-month lag while the fuel oil cost was rising, I don't see you guys complaining, eh?/

**** We Are A Power Service Provider <http://www.todayonline.com/articles/283885.asp>
by Ho Lai Fung, Singpaore Power Ltd, Today
The increase in the tariff this quarter is used to meet the higher cost of fuel needed to generate electricity. Neither SP nor any of its subsidiaries benefit from the tariff increase.

**** No Leeway For Visually Impaired Student <http://www.straitstimes.com/ST%2BForum/Story/STIStory_295499.html>
by Lee Lay Hong, Straits Times
Why is my child discriminated against for her disability, and why is she penalised for coping well? And why is the school unwilling to meet me to discuss my child's needs?

**** LTA's Approach Holistic And Balanced <http://www.straitstimes.com/ST%2BForum/Story/STIStory_295500.html>
by Geoffrey Lim, Land Transport Authority, Straits Times
Any system based on forward projections is subject to errors in forecasting.