[MyAppleMenu] Aug 5, 2009

[applesurf at myapplemenu.com]

MyAppleMenu
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**** NeXTStep Icons Still in OSX Leopard <http://robojamie.net/?p=4>
by James Little, Robojamie.net

I’ve always liked the design of the NeXT icons even if they appear slightly dated.

**** iTunes Store Finally Touches Down On Mexican Soil <http://feeds.arstechnica.com/~r/arstechnica/apple/~3/Y4s2i_ckJQI/itunes-store-finally-touches-down-on-mexican-soil.ars>
by Jacqui Cheng, Ars Technica

Music fans in Mexico can now purchase DRM-free tracks from their own localized version of the iTunes Store, as well as music videos and iPhone apps. No more annoying gift card workarounds!

**** Ulysses 2 Lives Up To Its Name <http://www.pheedcontent.com/click.phdo?i=f1115507688d203505c2ee211a44197a>
by John Martellaro, The Mac Observer

Ulysses 2 is the next generation of the well-known writing tool developed by Blue Technologies in Leipzig, Germany. Now, Ulysses 2 has been revamped, simplified slightly, made more robust, and gained added features. The developer has also re-imagined itself and has been reborn as The Soulmen. Ulysses 2 is now a worthy competitor to the other novel writing programs.

**** Play .wma, Ogg, And FLAC Files In iTunes <http://rss.macworld.com/click.phdo?i=7fe71a83738235091b2772f35242b89f>
by Christopher Breen, Macworld

With a little conversion magic and the proper add-ons, the audio contained within them will soon pour through your Mac’s speakers.

**** Review: Firefox 3.5 <http://rss.macworld.com/click.phdo?i=36289549d71749f2e4889312b86fd887>
by Nathan Alderman, Macworld

If you have the need for speed above all else, Firefox 3.5 can’t hold a candle to Safari’s raw power. But for most users, the difference will be negligible. Firefox has evolved into a beautiful, polished program that’s a pleasure to use. When it comes to customization and flexibility, it’s light-years beyond any other browser on the market.

**** MenuMinder: Simple Is Better <http://noodlemac.com/index.php/mac/articles/menuminder_simple_is_better/>
by NoodleMac

**** Will Apple Ever Support Blu-ray? <http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/gigaom/big-tech/2009_08_04_will_apple_ever_support_blu_ray.html?FORM=ZZNR2>
by Chris Ryan, Fortune

What a lot of people fail to realize when considering why Apple hasn’t made a huge foray into the Blu-ray world, is just how different Blu-rays are from DVDs (in terms of functionality).

**** The GigaOM Interview: FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski On Mobile, Broadband, iPhone & Innovation <http://gigaom.com/2009/08/03/the-gigaom-interview-fcc-chair-julius-genachowski/>
by Om Malik, GigaOM

**** Generate Google Voice Speed Dial Bookmarks For Your iPhone <http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/lFMPjmycrPc/generate-google-voice-speed-dial-bookmarks-for-your-iphone>
by Adam Pash, Lifehacker

**** Ninjawords: iPhone Dictionary, Censored By Apple <http://daringfireball.net/2009/08/ninjawords>
by John Gruber, Daring Fireball

Apple censored an English dictionary.

**** What Your 5 Most Used iPhone Apps Say About You <http://advice.cio.com/tom_kaneshige/what_your_5_most_used_iphone_apps_say_about_you>
by Tom Kaneshige, CIO

**** Report: iPhone Grabs 32% Of Global Handset Profits <http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/09/08/04/report_iphone_grabs_32_of_global_handset_profits_in_2009.html>
by AppleInsider

Apple's iPhone now accounts for 8% of all mobile phone revenue and a whopping 32% of the industry's handset profits, according to figures published by Bernstein Research analyst Toni Sacconaghi.

**** The iPhone Gets Easier To Dislike <http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/04/AR2009080401576.html>
by Rob Pegoraro, Washington Post

After spending two years as a darling of the digerati, Apple's iPhone has started getting some hate mail. And it's not coming from people happy with other devices who resent the fuss over this one gadget, but from folks who had until recently used or admired the iPhone.

**** Goodbye iPod, Hello iPhone <http://news.google.com/news/url?fd=R&sa=T&url=http%3A%2F%2Fcgi.money.cnn.com%2Ftools%2Fredirect.jsp%3Furl%3Dhttp%3A%2F%2Fbrainstormtech.blogs.fortune.cnn.com%2F2009%2F08%2F05%2Fgoodbye-ipod-hello-iphone%2F&usg=AFQjCNEDwDPimx4dFwB0WLgTIgogU6AQhw>
by Philip Elmer-DeWitt, CNNMoney.com

Apple passed an important milestone last quarter that nobody on Wall Street seems to have noticed: the iPod, once Apple’s No. 1 source of revenue, fell into third place after the Mac (No. 1) and the iPhone (No. 2).

**** iPhone A Hit With Consumer Companies <http://news.google.com/news/url?fd=R&sa=T&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.informationweek.com%2Fnews%2Fpersonal_tech%2Fiphone%2FshowArticle.jhtml%3FarticleID%3D219000211&usg=AFQjCNGCNL7NlOybcOmfd91aAHql0VyDxA>
by InformationWeek

Pizza Hut, Kraft, and Whole Foods are looking to iPhone apps to grow revenues in a tough economy.



MyAppleMenu Reader
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**** Make That a Double Shot <http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/slate/~3/cJoxOSrhdp0/>
by Michael Idov, Slate

I turned my disastrous experience of opening a cafe into a novel.

**** Inside The Mayor's Studio: NYC-TV's Secrets Of New York <http://www.villagevoice.com/2009-08-04/news/inside-the-mayor-s-studio-nyc-tv-and-the-secrets-of-new-york/>
by Tom Robbins, Village Voice

The many scams of Bloomberg's hip TV execs.

**** How God Propelled Stephen Hawking Into The Bestsellers Lists <http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2009/jul/30/stephen-hawking-brief-history-time>
by Tim Radford, Guardian

There, that's my thesis. Profound theme, good narrative style, great title and accidentally perfect timing, plus a bit of divine help and of course a lot of media attention. Those are the initial conditions for a bestseller, certainly, but nine million copies? That's the real puzzle. Anyone got a better idea?



SingaporeSurf
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**** Guest Piece On Blogtv.sg: Speaker's Corner CCTV Cameras <http://siewkumhong.blogspot.com/2009/08/guest-piece-on-blogtvsg-speakers-corner.html>
by Siew Kum Hong

My own suspicion is that the cameras were installed in advance of the upcoming APEC meeting in Singapore. During the IMF-World Bank meeting in Singapore in 2006, there was a public protest at Speaker’s Corner, as well as an attempt to march to the venue of the meeting. The film Speakers Cornered captured the events of that day. I can only surmise that the CCTV cameras are in anticipation of similar incidents. But at what cost to Singapore?

**** Where Are The Singaporeans Left? <http://www.oikono.com/wordpress/?p=555>
by Oikono

Will Singapore’s income inequality reach South American standards someday?

**** David's Death And Singapore <http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2009/08/04/letters-david039s-death-and-singapore.html>
by L. Tan, Jakarta Post

On this case, David's family has every right to seek closure and recourse for themselves by requesting for a full and complete investigation into their son's tragedy. However in doing so, they have to adhere to the laws of the land, in this case Singaporean law. They shouldn't do so by going public based on allegations and unverified evidence or hearsay from David's friends in the institution.

**** To Be Good Singapore DJ, You Must Have American Accent, Issit? <http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/mrbrown/~3/mkKszNQhvq0/to-be-a-good-singapore-dj-you-must-have-american-accent.html>
by Mrbrown: L'infantile terrible of Singapore

In this day and age when you can turn to the internet and listen to any radio podcast from any where in the world, why would you want to listen to a local DJ trying to sound like an American?

Pick up an iPod and check out the thousands (millions?) of podcasts from all over the world via iTunes. The local FM dial is almost useless.

**** George Yeo's Response To My Article On Facebook <http://singaporesocialactivist.blogspot.com/2009/08/george-yeos-response-to-my-article-on.html>
by Singapore Social Activist

**** How Switzerland And Singapore Celebrate Their National Days <http://temasekreview.com/?p=11669>
by The Temasek Review

**** ç»™å¤–å›½å­¦ç”Ÿå¥–å­¦é‡‘ï¼Œæ–°åŠ å¡æ˜¯å¾—æ˜¯å¤±ï¼Ÿ <http://www.zaobao.com/yl/yl090805_010.shtml>
by 吴静娴, 联合早报

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**** Time For A Long, Hard Look <http://www.todayonline.com/Business/EDC090805-0000096/Time-for-a-long,-hard-look>
by Kelvin Chow, Today

While the news is a blow economically and in terms of sentiment, it also raises the question of the kinds of jobs that Singapore wants to attract and keep - an issue for the high-level Economic Strategies Committee to mull over.

**** The Temasek Debacle And The Failure Of One-party Rule <http://temasekreview.com/?p=11537>
by The Temasek Review

As public servants, both the Temasek Board and the Ministry of Finance are expected to be  subjected to public scrutiny. The continuous passing of the “hot potato” from one side to another is making a mockery out of our public institutions. The buck has to stop somewhere.

**** Will I Vote For PAP? <http://singapore-lighthouse.blogspot.com/2009/08/will-i-vote-for-pap.html>
by Singapore Social And Political Thoughts

**** First High-speed Internet Services Expected In First Half Of 2010 <http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/446971/1/.html>
by Valarie Tan, Channel NewsAsia

Some 32,000 houses in Singapore will soon be getting installations of fibre-to-the-home in the next few months, which will enable them to get ready for the ultra-high speed broadband network, capable of delivering speeds of one Gigabyte per second and above.

**** Singapore Airlines A380 Suites – A Class Beyond First Or A First Class Branding Debacle? <http://simpliflying.com/2009/singapore-airlines-a380-suites-%E2%80%93-a-class-beyond-first-or-a-first-class-branding-debacle/>
by Shashank Nigam, SimpliFlying

Alienating your First Class passengers should be the last thing any premium airline should aim to do, and it is a pity that SIA has done just that.

**** It's Appalling <http://business.asiaone.com/Business/News/My%2BMoney/Story/A1Story20090803-158894.html>
by New Paper

That is the verdict of the Consumers Association of Singapore (Case) after a recent random test by The New Paper revealed shocking lapses at stores.

At four out of the five retail outlets, no one bothered to check the signatures on the bills. No one asked why two Chinese women were charging expenses to a credit card bearing an Indian name.