[MyAppleMenu] Apr 27, 2009

[applesurf at myapplemenu.com]

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

**** Why Apple Isn't Feeling The Bite Even As Other Tech Titans Stumble <http://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/online/andrew-keen-why-apple-isnrsquot-feeling-the-bite-even-as-other-tech-titans-stumble-1674695.html>
by Andrew Keen, The Independent

The iPhone is more than just a successful hardware product. With its telephone and internet access, it is driving the real-time communications revolution.

**** iPhone Is Boosting Demand For Location-Based Services <http://gigaom.com/2009/04/27/iphone-is-boosting-demand-for-location-based-services/>
by Om Malik, GigaOm

**** Apple "Say On Pay" Motion Approved By Shareholders <http://www.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUSTRE53Q2HN20090427>
by Reuters

Apple Inc said a shareholder proposal for more say over executive pay was approved at its annual meeting on February 25. The iPod, Mac and iPhone maker originally said it believed the resolution had failed. But it said on Monday that it had incorrectly counted abstentions as "no" votes.

An internal investigation found the mistake was due to human error, Apple said, adding the problem was discovered shortly after it filed its 10-Q with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission last Thursday.

**** Apple Xserve Review <http://www.itpro.co.uk/610660/apple-xserve-review>
by Dave Mithcell, IT Pro



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

**** Computer Program To Take On 'Jeopardy!' <http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/27/technology/27jeopardy.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss>
by John Markoff, New York Times

I.B.M. plans to announce Monday that it is in the final stages of completing a computer program to compete against human “Jeopardy!” contestants. If the program beats the humans, the field of artificial intelligence will have made a leap forward.

**** Tired Of Old Web Friends? A New Site Promises Strangers <http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/27/technology/internet/27omegle.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss>
by Douglas Quenqua, New York Times

**** A New E-Paper Competitor <http://www.technologyreview.com/computing/22545/?a=f>
by Parchi Patel, MIT Technology Review

Pixels containing ink reservoirs could lead to bright e-readers that look more like printed paper.



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

**** Against Readings <http://chronicle.com/free/v55/i33/33b00601.htm>
by Mark Edmundson, The Chronicle Of Higher Education

If I could make one wish for the members of my profession, college and university professors of literature, I would wish that for one year, two, three, or five, we would give up readings. By a reading, I mean the application of an analytical vocabulary — Marx's, Freud's, Foucault's, Derrida's, or whoever's — to describe and (usually) to judge a work of literary art. I wish that we'd declare a moratorium on readings. I wish that we'd give readings a rest.

**** Treatment <http://www.newyorker.com/fiction/poetry/2009/05/04/090504po_poem_mlinko>
by Ange Mlinko, The New Yorker

**** Forgotten Fountain <http://www.newyorker.com/fiction/poetry/2009/05/04/090504po_poem_merwin>
by W. S. Merwin, The New Yorker

**** Purpose-Driven Life <http://www.theamericanscholar.org/purpose-driven-life/>
by Brian Boyd, The AMerican Scholar

Evolution does not rob life of meaning, but creates meaning. It also makes possible our own capacity for creativity.

**** Inside The Baby's Mind <http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/articles/2009/04/26/inside_the_baby_mind/>
by Jonah Lehrer, Boston Globe

It's unfocused, random, and extremely good at what it does. How we can learn from a baby's brain.



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

**** Do Away With Cafes In Libraries <http://www.straitstimes.com/ST%2BForum/Online%2BStory/STIStory_368852.html>
by R. Jaichandra, Straits Times

I do not see the need to have cafeterias inside public libraries when numerous eating establishments are found just outside the libraries, some of which are located in shopping centres.

It must have looked good on paper: attract new users by appearing hip, while earning extra money for the NLB. Except that it totally alienate the core customers.

**** Declining Property Values Sock Singapore Developers <http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124078087953356969.html#mod=rss_whats_news_us_business>
by Patricia Kowsmann, Wall Street Journal

As property prices in Singapore continue to tumble, one of the country's biggest developers posted disappointing earnings while another said it will raise capital to protect itself against the downturn.

Analysts said the severity of the earnings decline suggests the property market in Singapore and in the rest of Asia is unlikely to recover this year.

**** Lee Boon Yang As Keppel Chair: How Much Are We Spending To Keep Ex-PAP Leaders On GLCs And Stat Boards? <http://wayangparty.com/?p=8323>
by Eugene Yeo, The Wayang Party Club

The PAP practice of lavishing generous rewards on its ex-leaders only goes to maintain political stability to serve its own partisan interest while it is a drain on our state resources.

**** I Am A Liberal <http://sayaetmoi.blogspot.com/2009/04/i-am-liberal-recent-aware-issue-has.html>
by Me And My Thoughts

I understand that discrimination can never be rooted out. What I hope to see though is a world where discrimination is criticized and recognized as contemptible in public opinion. Would Thio Li Ann and friends have gotten away if they talked about racial discrimination rather than gay discrimination? Yet both are the same and fundamentally contemptible.

There was a time where slavery, gender discrimination and colonialization were not viewed as immoral, and I hope gay discrimination will go the same way and gradually be recognized as abhorring in time to come.

**** Singapore All-Age Employment <http://simpleblob.blogspot.com/2009/04/singapore-all-age-employment.html>
by SimpleBlob's Life

**** Singapore Urges Public To Pass The Soap <http://www.reuters.com/article/lifestyleMolt/idUSTRE53Q1IE20090427>
by Nopporn Wong-Anan, Reuters

Singapore, one of cleanest nations in Southeast Asia, launched on Monday a campaign to teach people how to wash their hands properly to help curb the spread of disease.

**** SBS Transit Freezes Salaries, Cuts Bonuses Of Senior Staff <http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporebusinessnews/view/425253/1/.html>
by Channel NewsAsia

**** Singapore's Cable Car Rides To Close For S$36m Overhaul <http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/425270/1/.html>
by Cheryl Lim, Channel NewsAsia

Mount Faber Leisure Group is investing in a whole new cable car system which will see 67 new cable car cabins, as well as a Swarovski-encrusted VIP cabin.

**** Kenneth Jeyaretnam As Secretary-General Of Reform Party <http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/425280/1/.html>
by Channel NewsAsia

Kenneth Jeyaretnam has been voted in as secretary-general of the Reform Party by its central executive committee.

The post was left vacant by his late father, veteran opposition politician JB Jeyaretnam, after his death in September last year.

**** Workers Protest Against Unpaid Wages In Singapore <http://news.id.msn.com/business/article.aspx?cp-documentid=3252919>
by AFP

More than 100 construction workers from China gathered outside Singapore's manpower ministry Monday to complain about unpaid wages and cancellation of their work permits, witnesses said.

**** Singapore Says To Improve Disclosure On Tax Evasion <http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idUSSIN4555420090427>
by Reuters

Singapore will revise its laws this year to improve disclosure on foreigners evading income taxes in their home countries, its finance minister told his Japanese counterpart, a Japanese Finance Ministry official said.