[MyAppleMenu] Aug 7, 2009

[applesurf at myapplemenu.com]

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

**** Phil Schiller Responds Regarding Ninjawords And The App Store <http://daringfireball.net/2009/08/phil_schiller_app_store>
John Gruber, Daring Fireball

After going back to Ninjawords’s developers and conferring with some trusted sources within Apple, I believe what Schiller says here is genuinely the case — that what the App Store reviewers wanted for Ninjawords was a 17+ rating, not for Matchstick Software to filter its dictionary listings.

In particular, it seems like it really came down to bad timing around the launch of parental controls. Matchstick Software initially submitted the app on May 13. The response from the App Store was that Apple wouldn’t publish it with those words without a 17+ parental control rating. But parental controls — the preferences that specify the age rating limits for apps — debuted in iPhone OS 3.0, which was not released until June 17. And, it’s worth noting, the June 17 release date wasn’t announced until the WWDC keynote address on June 8. Back in May, Matchstick Software knew only that OS 3.0 was coming in the near future.

**** Apple's High-end Strategy Paying Off In The Mobile Market <http://feeds.arstechnica.com/~r/arstechnica/apple/~3/a1F6C3-zXe0/apples-high-end-strategy-paying-off-in-the-mobile-market.ars>
Chris Foresman, Ars Technica

Apple has long pointed out that its strategy isn't to focus on quantity, but quality. That strategy is paying of for its mobile platform just as well as it has for the Mac, garnering the company a third of the profits generated in the mobile handset market despite its tiny market share.

**** App Store Rejections Tied To Third Party Rights Infringements <http://www.tuaw.com/2009/08/05/app-store-rejections-tied-to-third-party-rights-infringements/>
Erica Sadun, TUAW

"We have not stopped approving ebook readers and ebooks in fact we've approved 221 new ebooks to the App Store since 7/30/09."

**** Product News: Secret Folder 7 Improves Finder Support <http://www.pheedcontent.com/click.phdo?i=775d05b6ab0d28fdde48fb3730d78096>
The Mac Observer

**** MyFi Plus iPod Touch (Almost) Equals iPhone <http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2009/08/myfi-plus-ipod-touch-almost-equals-iphone/>
Charlie Sorrel, Wired

The real point is that if you have a mobile Wi-Fi hotspot in your pocket, it is going to be cheaper than an iPhone contract pretty much anywhere, and can not only enable your iPod Touch to have an always on connection, but let you make Skype calls and stream music without having to worry about the usual iPhone size limits, as you’re on Wi-Fi. You can also share the connection with five machines in total, including a netbook for true on the go video calls and (gasp) Spotify.

**** Analysis: Why Apple Owns The High-end <http://rss.macworld.com/click.phdo?i=1767e35608e9a6a40fe768fdb4e6f4e4>
Tom Kaneshige, CIO

So why is Apple successful on the high-end, high-margins of the market? Good technology is one reason, for sure. Another reason: it’s much easier to capture the highpoint in a market you’ve reinvented. Put another way, Sacconaghi credits Apple’s first mover advantage to its success.

**** Dealing With Podcast Glut <http://rss.macworld.com/click.phdo?i=ab6fb67c9416886d6afbc9f0a34d3e88>
Christopher Breen, Macworld

There are steps you can take to prevent being overwhelmed with podcasts and their episodes.

**** Apple Reverses iPhone Developer Program Limit Policy <http://feeds.macnn.com/click.phdo?i=a3718dd89f1646bf909262f95edd8634>
MacNN

**** Top 10 Reader iPhone Annoyances (And How To Fix Them) <http://news.google.com/news/url?fd=R&sa=T&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pcworld.com%2Farticle%2F169706%2Ftop_10_reader_iphone_annoyances_and_how_to_fix_them.html&usg=AFQjCNEGwaqYCWUnp3-b7N0bb4fZUxTq9w>
Jared Newman, PC World

The iPhone is far from perfect. Readers contribute their top iPhone annoyances to the discussion, and we offer solutions.

**** Apple’s Phil Schiller Speaks On Censored iPhone Dictionaries, But Ignores The Bigger Issues <http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/08/06/apples-phil-schiller-speaks-on-censored-iphone-dictionaries-but-ignores-the-bigger-issues/>
Jason Kincaid, TechCrunch

I realize that Schiller probably has his hands tied to some extent, though he is obviously quite high up on the Apple food chain. And his letter to Gruber is really a breath of fresh air after many months of near-silence from Apple. But at the same time, his statement that Apple’s efforts are always made with the best intentions with hopes of improving quickly are hard to take at face value. Apple has remained mum on these problems for so long now, it’s hard not to think that they’re only beginning to address them publicly after the flurries of bad press have turned into a persistent raging storm. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if Apple really has been working hard behind the scenes, but they’ve done nothing to show that that’s the case.

**** As Apple Starts Talking About App Rejections, Another Popular One Is Pulled <http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/08/06/as-apple-starts-talking-about-app-rejections-another-popular-one-is-pulled/>
MG Siegler, TechCrunch

Sex Offender, an app to locate sexual predators in your area, had been consistently in the top 10 paid apps for weeks. And now it’s gone — not just off of the list, but off of the store.

**** Why Both Kids & Parents Love The iPhone <http://gigaom.com/2009/08/06/when-it-comes-to-the-iphone-parents-do-understand/>
Jennifer Martinez, GigaOM

If you’re a parent with an iPhone or iPod touch, chances are your kids are dying to play with it. And a majority of parents who own such devices let their kids do just that, at least once a week, a study conducted by MTV’s Nickelodeon has found. The motivation for parents? They see it as a source of entertainment, education — and plain ole distraction.

**** Rejected By Apple, iPhone Developers Go Underground <http://feeds.wired.com/~r/wired/index/~3/11PriqLRewc/cydia-app-store>
Brian X. Chen, Wired

Apple is the exclusive gatekeeper to its iPhone App Store, able to reject apps at will — as it did July 28 with Google Voice. But some developers aren’t taking the rejection lying down: They’re turning instead to an unauthorized app store called Cydia, where forbidden wares continue to exist — and even earn developers some money.

**** Realizations Of Rounded Rectangles <http://www.uiandus.com/2009/07/27/theories/realizations-of-rounded-rectangles/>
Keith Lang, UI&Us

Steve took Bill on a walk, pointing out the ubiquity of rounded rectangles in the world around them. Eventually a rounded rectangular No Parking sign convinced Bill.

**** Is Google Voice A Threat To AT&T? <http://pogue.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/08/06/is-google-voice-a-threat-to-att/>
David Pogue, New York Times

In short, what Apple and AT&T have accomplished with their heavy-handed, Soviet information-control style is not to bury these useful apps. Instead, Apple/AT&T have elevated them to martyr status—and, in effect, thrown down a worldwide challenge to programmers everywhere.

**** Apple Demonstrates The Need For Net Neutrality -- Now <http://www.infoworld.com/d/developer-world/apple-demonstrates-need-net-neutrality-now-468>
Neil Mcallister, InfoWorld

Recent moves to block apps from the iPhone show why legislation to preserve equal access to the internet is needed now more than ever.

**** Microsoft Office Update For Mac Adds Compatibility <http://feeds.macnn.com/click.phdo?i=f6f078f12ab9ed82e3b1f098db48ffe3>
MacNN

Microsoft has released v12.2.1 of its Office application suite for Mac, aiming to fix an issue that prevents users from opening various types of documents.

**** How Apple Offered An Olive Branch Over iPhone Apps <http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/blog/2009/aug/07/apple-iphone-philschiller?FORM=ZZNR6>
Bobbie Johnson, The Guardian

A rare public statement from senior Apple man Phil Schiller won't end developer frustrations with the iPhone - but it could be the first sign of a thaw.

**** Apple’s Curious PR Problem <http://brainstormtech.blogs.fortune.cnn.com/2009/08/07/apples-curious-pr-problem/?section=money_topstories>
Philip Elmer-DeWitt, Fortune

**** Google's Chief Accepted Gear But No Pay As Apple Board Member <http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/09/08/07/googles_chief_accepted_gear_but_no_pay_as_apple_board_member.html>
AppleInsider



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

**** Fabless And Fearless <http://www.economist.com/businessfinance/displaystory.cfm?story_id=14183077>
Economist

How a Taiwanese firm became one of the world’s fastest-growing chipmakers.



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

**** Will Marcus Brauchli Please Grow A Spine? <http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/slate/~3/ENLJxut4H5M/>
Jack Shafer, Slate Magazine

The Washington Post executive editor grovels before the paper's critics in the Mad Bitch controversy.

**** The Gathering Dark Age <http://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/2009/08/the_gathering_dark_age.html>
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

Some weeks ago I went so far as to suggest the gap between some critics and some moviegoers may be because the critics are more "evolved." Man, did the wrath hit the fan. I was clearly an elitist snob. But think about it. Wouldn't you expect a critic to be more highly evolved in taste than a fanboy zealot?

**** Sincerely, John Hughes <http://wellknowwhenwegetthere.blogspot.com/2009/08/sincerely-john-hughes.html>
Alison Byrne Fields, We'll Know When We Get There

Thank you, John Hughes. I love you for what you did to make me who I am.



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

**** Mr Yeh Siang Hui’s ST Letter On Protection For Pregnant Women Misses Several Critical Points <http://www.sgpolitics.net/?p=3501>
Ng E-Jay, Sgpolitics.net

It is highly unfortunate that in defending the interests of employers, Mr Yeh has adopted the PAP mindset of regarding Singaporeans as mere economic digits, to be rudely shunted aside and left out in the cold as and when it fits their purposes.

We don't need any government at all if all we are are simply economic digits.

**** REACH Survey Shows Singaporeans Worried About Rising Costs Of Living <http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/447305/1/.html>
Satish Cheney, Channel NewsAsia

A survey has shown that more than one in three Singaporeans are dissatisfied with job opportunities for older workers. Other concerns Singaporeans have include housing affordability as well as health costs.

**** A Quiet Rebel Called Goh Chok Tong <http://www.todayonline.com/Singapore/EDC090807-0000076/A-quiet-rebel-called-Goh-Chok-Tong>
P N Balji, Today

His most notable achievement as prime minister was his ability to move Singapore away from one of the most-jealously guarded philosophies of Mr Lee Kuan Yew and his "Old Order" welfarism.

**** Policing Express Bus Fares May Lead To Safety Issues And Monopoly <http://www.straitstimes.com/ST%2BForum/Online%2BStory/STIStory_413493.html>
Tan Pang Soon, Straits Times

Although I do not agree with price fixing, I prefer a stable market to an evil business cycle.

But, there are other ways to regulate for a stable market besides price fixing.

**** Who's To Blame In The Credit Card Game? <http://tnp.sg/news/story/0,4136,209732,00.html?>
New Paper

When credit card fraud takes place, the finger-pointing game begins. Who is to blame? Banks, consumers, or retailers?

Not us, says the Singapore Retailers Association. Its executive director, Ms Lau Chuen Wei, said: 'The job of a retailer, especially the one at the front line, is indeed onerous.

**** Temasek’s Big Blunder As BOA And Barclays Rebound <http://temasekreview.com/?p=11733>
The Temasek Review

Temasek’s recent gain in its portfolio is due largely to the rebound in the global economy and should not be used to vindicate its over-exposure in the financial markets.

Furthermore, it should not be used to excuse the Temasek’s Board for blunders such as the ill-timed purchase and sale of BOA and Barclays, the dissolution of Australia’s ABC Learning and the investment in the much maligned Shin Corp, none of which it has been held accountable for so far.

**** 面薄·干 <http://www.zaobao.com/fk/fk090807_003.shtml>
亮亮, 联合早报

ç¦»å¼€æ–°åŠ å¡ä¸€é˜µï¼Œå°±ä¼šæƒ³å¿µå°è´©ä¸­å¿ƒçš„ç§ç§ï¼Œç‰¹åˆ«æ˜¯é¢è–„Â·å¹²ã€‚

**** The Second Question: Homes For Singaporeans <http://mrwangsaysso.blogspot.com/2009/08/second-question-homes-for-singaporeans.html>
Mr Wang Says So

**** New Concept Plan For S'pore <http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking+News/Singapore/Story/STIStory_413744.html>
Straits Times

**** Ministers Urge Caution <http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking+News/Singapore/Story/STIStory_413878.html>
Sue-Ann Chia, Straits Times

Two ministers on Friday cautioned against calls to reduce employers' access to foreign workers as a way to improve the productivity of the Singapore worker.

**** No More Battle Of The Logos <http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking+News/Singapore/Story/STIStory_413935.html>
Straits Times