[MyAppleMenu] Dec 31, 2009

[applesurf at myapplemenu.com]

MyAppleMenu
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**** My Year With Apple <http://www.myapplemenu.com/2009/12/31/IM000042/>
Heng-Cheong Leong, MyAppleMenu

The highlight of this year has to be: I bought an iPhone. I even switched telco, abandoning the phone number I've been using for more than one decade. And for the first time in many years, I can no longer remember own phone number. (I can still remember the telephone number I've had during the brief college years too.)

The low-light of the year? My MacBook broke. After my wonderful vacation with my family, I've returned home to a laptop that refuses to start up. And since this is right at the time after spending a ton of money on hotel and shopping and food and meeting Mickey Mouse, I went the 'practical' route and ordered a MacBook with a large hard disk, rather than the MacBook Air that I want but do not need.

But the biggest story of the year, at least for me, is that Apple is still the company with all the interesting stuff. (Google ranks up there too.) From the continuing improvement of Cocoa to the increasing support for HTML5, these interesting building blocks are what motivate me to learn and explore new things. I've also started a new hobby project just so I can say I am still a programmer. :-) All the way from, well, Mac Toolbox, OpenDoc, QuickTime, and Games Sporkets, Apple is one company to watch for cool new stuff. Some technologies have succeeded, some have not. But all are interesting.

Here's wishing Apple to continue to be interesting. Have a happy new year eve, and I hope to continue serve you, dear reader, well.

**** Radioshift 1.5 Adds More Stations, Better Streaming <http://www.macworld.com/article/145358/2009/12/radioshift.html?lsrc=rss_main>
Tony Craine, Macworld

If you weren’t already overwhelmed by the colossal array of choices available on Internet radio, maybe you will be soon. Rogue Amoeba has released Radioshift 1.5, an update to its Internet radio player/recorder software. Version 1.5 can pull in thousands more streams than its predecessor.

**** Nokia's Latest Patent Strike On Apple A Risk, But May Pay Off <http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE5BS2J820091230?type=technologyNews%3FfeedType%3DRSS&feedName=technologyNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2FtechnologyNews+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+Technology%29>
Reuters

Nokia's latest patent strike against Apple underscores the changing dynamics of the cell phone market, with the sector leader no longer holding the whip hand over rivals in terms of product development.

**** Apple Wins iPod Hearing Loss Lawsuit <http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20091230/ts_alt_afp/usitcompanyjusticeapple_20091230222940;_ylt=AlCnfX5D5ZWp1tvoYJ4xix6NOrgF;_ylu=X3oDMTJ1YW0xZnJ0BGFzc2V0A2FmcC8yMDA5MTIzMC91c2l0Y29tcGFueWp1c3RpY2VhcHBsZQRwb3MDNwRzZWMDeW5fcGFnaW5hdGVfc3VtbWFyeV9saXN0BHNsawNh>
AFP

A US appeals court on Wednesday upheld the dismissal of a class action lawsuit filed against Apple Inc. which claimed the iPod was defective and could cause hearing loss.

**** Cheap Comic Fonts On New Year's! <http://rss.macworld.com/click.phdo?i=c4a050493b3a208a1a7eabaf3b521c4b>
Andy Ihnatko, Macworld

Andy Ihnatko recommends you buy Comicraft fonts on New Year's Day, when they'll be only $20.10 each.

**** The Tablet <http://daringfireball.net/2009/12/the_tablet>
John Gruber, Daring Fireball

There’s one question at the top of the list, the answer to which is the key to answering every other question. That question is this: If you already have an iPhone and a MacBook; why would you want this?



The Tomorrow Weblog
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**** Internet Radio Stations Are The New Wave <http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/31/technology/personaltech/31basics.html?partner=rss&emc=rss>
Erica A. Taub, New York Times



SingaporeSurf
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**** Two Oppositions, And Why In The Long Run, They May Not Matter At All, Part 3 <http://www.yawningbread.org/arch_2009/yax-1092.htm>
Yawning Bread

**** Coffeeshop Merchants Concerned About NEA's Plans To Phase Out Smoking Corners <http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1027752/1/.html>
Ng Lian Cheong/Evelyn Choo, Channel NewsAsia

Members of coffee shop associations - the Foochow Coffee Restaurant and Bar Merchant Association and the Kheng Keow Coffee Merchants Restaurant and Bar-Owners Association - have expressed concern.

**** Affordable HDB Flats <http://tankinlian.blogspot.com/2009/12/affordable-hdb-flats.html>
Tan Kin Lian

**** Mah Bow Tan "Caught Off Guard"? <http://singaporealternatives.blogspot.com/2009/12/mah-bow-tan-caught-off-guard.html>
Goh Meng Seng, Singapore Alternatives

I am again bemused and frustrated at the same time when I read the article on Today newspaper.

**** Change To U-Save Rebates <http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_472217.html>
Straits Times

'HDB flats which are fully sublet to non-citizens will no longer be eligible for U-Save rebates. This is similar to HDB flats which are owned by non-citizens, which are currently already not eligible for the rebates,' said the Ministry of Finance.

**** Singapore's GDP Probably Shrank On Weak Manufacturing <http://www.businessweek.com/news/2009-12-30/singapore-s-gdp-probably-shrank-on-weak-manufacturing-update1-.html>
Stephanie Phang and Jay Wang, Bloomberg

Singapore’s economy probably shrank this quarter after six months of growth as weaker manufacturing output cooled the island’s recovery from the global recession.

**** GIC May Include China Inflation In Return Target <http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSSGE5BU00F20091231>
Saeed Azhar, Reuters

Singapore's GIC, the world's fourth-biggest sovereign wealth fund, is considering whether to include China's inflation rate in its benchmark for targeting returns, deputy chairman Tony Tan said in a magazine interview.

**** Singapore’s Economy Shrank 2.1% In 2009, Lee Says <http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601080&sid=aS0iKL6_yWko>
Shamim Adam, Bloomberg

Singapore’s economy is improving after a “volatile” year that saw it shrink for the first time since 2001, prime minister Lee Hsien Loong said.

**** Singapore GDP Jumps 3.5%, Still Finishes 2.1% Down <http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/rana/~3/eYE587pt3nA/singapore-gdp-jumps-35-still-finishes-21-down.html>
Blowin' In The Wind