[MyAppleMenu] Dec 18, 2009

[applesurf at myapplemenu.com]

MyAppleMenu
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**** 12 Days Of Christmas? New Apple Ad Shows There’s Apps For That <http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/cultofmac/bFow/~3/epD-XhAOVH0/23682>
Nicole Martinelli, Cult of Mac

Apple’s latest iPhone ad revisits that old holiday chestnut “The 12 Days of Christmas” with a lucky smartphone owner breezing through the rigors of the season with a few effortless finger scrolls.

**** Is It Time For Apple To Face An Antitrust Investigation? <http://blogs.zdnet.com/Bott/?p=1593>
Ed Bott, ZDNet

And now an upstart open-source developer claims that Apple is actively trying to block its widely used multimedia playback program, VLC.

**** Clicking The Right Button <http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/tidbits_main/~3/2RkM1HTFVdY/10859>
Joe Kissell, TidBITS

I would like to share with you a tiny personal frustration in the hope that by doing so, I can eventually eliminate it. The frustration is that in nearly every Mac-related book and article I write, the Powers That Be require me to add cumbersome extra words - over and over again - to explain how to click one of the buttons on your mouse (or trackball or trackpad).



The Tomorrow Weblog
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**** Rethinking Voice As An App <http://feeds.technologyreview.com/click.phdo?i=223b3d8dd9bdbcec278db4f2cadb986f>
Erica Naone, MIT Technology Review

VoIP does for voice what cloud computing did for the Web, experts say.



MyAppleMenu Reader
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**** Looking For Life In The Multiverse <http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=looking-for-life-in-the-multiverse>
Alejandro Jenkins and Gilad Perez, Scientific American

Universes with different physical laws might still be habitable.



SingaporeSurf
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**** Study: One-third Of Countries Repress Religion <http://www.usatoday.com/news/religion/2009-12-17-freedom-of-worship_N.htm>
Associated Press

In Indonesia, Muslim groups burn down a mosque belonging to the minority Ahmadiyya. In Singapore, the government refuses to recognize Jehovah's Witnesses. In Belgium, 68 religion-based hate crimes are reported in 2007 alone.

People living in a third of all countries are restricted from practicing religion freely, either because of government policies and laws or hostile acts by individuals or groups, according to a study released Wednesday by the Pew Research Center, "Global Restrictions on Religion."

**** Mr Chiam's Risky Gamble <http://www.todayonline.com/Comment/EDC091218-0000046/Mr-Chiams-risky-gamble>
Loh Chee Kong, Today

Talk has been rife that in the upcoming General Election, due by 2012, Mr Chiam would contest in Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC - possibly in an alliance with Reform Party chief Kenneth Jeyaretnam - and step aside for his wife to defend his Potong Pasir seat.

But Mr Chiam's move comes 20 years too late - and staking his claim on a GRC that has been uncontested since its formation in 1997 is risky business. 

**** Netizens Say Bring It On <http://www.todayonline.com/Singapore/EDC091218-0000061/Netizens-say-bring-it-on>
Leong Wee Keat, Today

His initial worry about blogging and replying to Facebook posts was that it would take too much time. Three months after venturing online to talk policy, health minister Khaw Boon Wan's concerns have diminished.

**** Young Singaporeans Making Plans For Asian Climate Network <http://www.todayonline.com/Singapore/EDC091218-0000065/Young-Singaporeans-making-plans-for-Asian-climate-network>
May Wong, Today

For the past two weeks, 15 Singaporeans have been attending discussions in Copenhagen and making plans with their regional counterparts for after the landmark talks.

**** Chargeback Clause: Hope For Stranded Consumers? <http://www.todayonline.com/Singapore/EDC091218-0000122/Chargeback-clause--Hope-for-stranded-consumers?>
Teo Xuanwei, Today

According to the global operating regulations of card companies such as Visa and MasterCard, which MediaCorp obtained copies of, a process exists for consumers to reverse a credit card transaction if they do not receive goods or services that have been purchased from merchants.

**** Update: SingTel Says There Was Short Downtime, Affecting Only 'Some' Users <http://www.imerlion.com/2009/12/update-singtel-admits-small-downtime.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheSingaporeIphoneGuide+%28The+Singapore+iPhone+Guide%29>
Jimmy Yap, iMerlion

Is SingTel downplaying the problem? If so, why do it in a way that is so easy to disprove?

**** Shanmugam Does It Again! <http://seelanpalay.blogspot.com/2009/12/shanmugam-does-it-again.html>
Seelan Palay

I agree with the sentiment that Shanmugam is just trying to slow down what is inevitable, political change. So long, Shanmugam.

**** This Good English? <http://www.pressrun.net/weblog/2009/12/this-good-english.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rana+%28Blowin%27+In+The+Wind%29>
Blowin' In The Wind

But the language experts have spoken.

**** Have Wages Kept Up With Soaring HDB Flat Prices? <http://www.sgpolitics.net/?p=3693>
Ng E-Jay, Sgpolitics.net

As an example of how HDB flat prices have soared, a three-room flat in Queenstown in 1964 cost $6,200, but would fetch at least $200,000 today. This translates into a 32.3 times gain over a 45 year period, or around 8 percent compounded annually. But have wages risen 8 percent annually over the same period?

**** Judge To Decide If Distributing Flyers Is Illegal <http://yoursdp.org/index.php/news/singapore/3198-judge-to-decide-if-distributing-flyers-is-illegal>
Singapore Democrats

The police are making up the law to specifically target the political opposition. The subsidiary legislation of the  Miscellaneous Offences Act (MOA) under which the Defendants have been charged does not in any way specify that gatherings for commercial causes are exempt from police permission while political ones are not.

**** What Are We Doing To Prepare For The Elections? <http://ian.onthereddot.com/2009/12/17/what-are-we-doing-to-prepare-for-the-elections/>
Ian On The Red Dot

We need a, cue the buzzword, crowd-source way of pulling in every single coverage of our MPs and potential candidates leading up to and during the next elections.

**** Youth Olympics Can, SEA Games Cannot? <http://theonlinecitizen.com/2009/12/youth-olympics-can-sea-games-cannot/>
Kelvin Teo, The Online Citizen

**** SISTIC, Blogging And Delusions Of Grandeur <http://imranwrites.blogspot.com/2009/12/sistic-blogging-and-delusions-of.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+blogspot%2FZobK+%28The+Grand+Moofti+Speaks%29>
Imran Ahmed, The Grand Moofti Speaks

**** Singapore Government <i>Must</i> Act Against Climate Change <http://unfcccecosingapore.wordpress.com/2009/12/17/singapore-government-must-act-against-climate-change/>
ECO @ COP 15

While it has been argued that Singapore has low absolute emissions rate, our per capita emission is among the highest in the world. Though it is true that impacts of our reduction may not have much value on a global scale, we can lead the way by being an example of an economy and society that works on the values of sustainability.

**** Singapore's GIC To Keep Investments In Citigroup <http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gEF2S8fry6a8Sce49qYrhW_SC78w>
AFP

The Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC) said Friday it will keep its stake in Citigroup in a vote of confidence for the US banking giant, whose shares tumbled this week.