[MyAppleMenu] Feb 17, 2009

[applesurf at myapplemenu.com]

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

**** VMware vCenter Converter Version 4.0 Released <http://arstechnica.com/apple/news/2009/02/vmware-vcenter-converter-version-40-released.ars>
by Justin Berka, Ars Technica

VMware has released version 4.0 of its vCenter Converter software, which allows VMware virtual machines to be created from physical sources as well as other virtual machines. The software now supports Windows Server 2008 and Linux physical machines, as well as a variety of third-party image formats.

**** Apple Takes Biggest Bite Of U.S. Wi-Fi Usage <http://www.internetnews.com/mobility/article.php/3803046/Apple+Takes+Biggest+Bite+of+US+WiFi+Usage.htm>
by Judy Mottl, Internet News

Apple's iPhone and iPod lead the pack mobile handset Wi-Fi in the U.S. use while Nokia's handsets are dominant worldwide and the Symbian platform is tops in global Wi-Fi activity, according to a just-published report.

**** Apple's Mac OS X Update Breaks Perl <http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/02/16/apple_update_perl_breakage/>
by Cade Metz, The Register

According to blogger Tatsuhiko Miyagawa, Perl breakage only occurs if you're running Leopard (Mac OS X 10.5), you're using the Perl distro baked into the OS, and you've updated the distro via CPAN (Comprehensive Perl Archive Network), a widely-used collection of existing Perl modules.

**** Mac 101: Using Spotlight To Start Applications <http://www.examiner.com/x-3701-LA-Apple-Gear-Examiner~y2009m2d15-Mac-101-Using-Spotlight-to-start-applications>
by Tyler Regas, Examiner.com

Apple is all about convenience and ease of use, and Apple's Spotlight technology, introduced in Mac OS X 10.4 "Tiger" as a replacement for Sherlock and improved in Mac OS X 10.5 "Leopard", is a big part of that ethic.

**** 69 Really Useful OS X Timesavers <http://www.techradar.com/news/computing/apple/69-really-useful-os-x-time-savers-525724>
by TechRadar

There are also a number of third-party applications that can help you to save time when performing any number of tasks. These range from simple solutions, like speeding up searching for files or connecting to other Macs, to more advanced features like remote controlling Macs without leaving your seat and understanding iMovie's export options to minimise render times.

**** Living With The MacBook Air <http://www.businessspectator.com.au/bs.nsf/Article/Living-with-the-MacBook-Air-$pd20090217-PBUDB?OpenDocument>
by Simon Hackett, Business Spectator

It's easily the best laptop I have ever owned.

**** Beef Up Apple's Spaces With Hyperspaces <http://www.appscout.com/2009/02/beef_up_apples_spaces_with_hyp.php>
by AppScout

Hyperspaces doesn't do anything drastically different with Apple's Spaces, but it does completely transform the way you use them. Some of Hyperspaces' features are so strong, I expect Apple to incorporate them in future versions of Mac OS.

**** Is Windows-To-Mac Tide Turning? <http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/silverman/6266339.html>
by Dwight Silverman, Houston Chronicle

For a variety of reasons, the pace and intensity of Windows-to-Mac switching may be starting to ebb.

**** Mobile Web 2009 = Desktop Web 1998 <http://www.useit.com/alertbox/mobile-usability.html>
by Jakob Nielsen, UseIt.com

We're turning a corner in mobile Web usability. Just as Apple's Macintosh heralded a breakthrough in personal computer usability 25 years ago, its iPhone is pioneering a similar breakthrough in mobile usability today.

**** Review: Suitcase Fusion 2 <http://www.macworld.com/article/138783/2009/02/fusionfont2.html?lsrc=rss_main>
by Jay Nelson, Macworld

Fusion 2 has plenty of unique features to get excited about. It adds and activates fonts in a snap and you can preview your fonts on your actual layout. Its Glyph View palette helps you explore your fonts, and Smart Sets make it easy to organize fonts by any criteria you like.

**** Aspire Life-Goal Planning Software Released <http://www.macworld.com/article/138855/2009/02/aspire.html?lsrc=rss_main>
by Peter Cohen, Macworld

**** Understudy Brings Hulu, Netflix To Front Row <http://www.macworld.com/article/138862/2009/02/understudy.html?lsrc=rss_main>
by Dan Moren, Macworld

This free little software package hooks into Front Row and adds the ability to stream video content from both Hulu and Netflix. Understudy allows you to add a variety of feeds from the two services, and even integrates with your own accounts so you can browse your Netflix Instant Queue or your Hulu subscriptions.

**** Apple Settles San Francisco Store Disability Lawsuit <http://www.macworld.com/article/138865/2009/02/disability_suit.html?lsrc=rss_main>
by Dan Moren, Macworld

**** HIdden Mysteries: Buckingham Palace <http://www.insidemacgames.com/reviews/view.php?ID=1022>
by Michael Scarpelli, Inside Mac Games

Hidden Mysteries: Buckingham Palace is a competent hidden object game, but it’s simply not challenging enough to support the price tag.

**** Apple Absent From Universal Phone Charger Push <http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/09/02/17/apple_absent_from_universal_phone_charger_push.html>
by Zach Spear, AppleInsider

Although AT&T and several other iPhone partners joined an industry initiative to standardize mobile phone chargers over the next few years, Apple has yet to follow suit and may remain committed to its proprietary dock-connector interface.



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

**** Has Nintendo Changed The Definition Of 'Gamer'? <http://news.cnet.com/8301-13506_3-10164895-17.html?tag=mncol>
by Don Reisinger, CNET

Today's new gamer doesn't want to waste their time playing through an epic adventure; they want to jump on a plastic board that's connected to the Wii.

**** The Cellphone, Navigating Our Lives <http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/17/science/17map.html?ref=todayspaper>
by John Markoff, New York Times

The cellphone is the world’s most ubiquitous computer. The four billion cellphones in use around the globe carry personal information, provide access to the Web and are being used more and more to navigate the real world. And as cellphones change how we live, computer scientists say, they are also changing how we think about information.



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

**** The Long Goodbye <http://www.slate.com/id/2211257/entry/0/?from=rss>
by Meghan O'Rourke, Slate

The other morning I looked at my BlackBerry and saw an e-mail from my mother. At last! I've missed her so much. Then I caught myself. The e-mail couldn't be from my mother. My mother died a month ago.

**** The Masterly Blasphemer <http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,25035626-16947,00.html>
by Ian McEwan, The Australian

Many years later the older Updike, now giving up on alcohol, coffee and salt, put into the mouth of that God the words of Frederick the Great excoriating his battle-shy soldiers -- "Dogs, would you live forever?" But all the life-enhancing substances were set aside, and writing became Updike's "sole remaining vice. It is an addiction, an illusory release, a presumptuous taming of reality." In the mornings, he could write "breezily" of what he could not contemplate in the dark without "turning in panic to God". The plain facts of life were "unbearably heavy, weighted as they are with our personal death. Writing, in making the world light -- in codifying, distorting, prettifying, verbalising it -- approaches blasphemy."

**** The Sound That Wakes Me At Night, Thinking Of It <http://www.slate.com/id/2211421/?from=rss>
by Charles Harper Webb, Slate

**** Great Book, Bad Movie <http://www.slate.com/id/2211410/?from=rss>
by WIlling Davidson, Slate

How Hollywood ruins novels.

**** Goodbye To The Age Of Newspapers (Hello To A New Era Of Corruption) <http://www.tnr.com/politics/story.html?id=a4e2aafc-cc92-4e79-90d1-db3946a6d119>
by Paul Starr, The New Republic

Why American politics and society are about to be changed for the worse.



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

**** Lessons From Singapore <http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2009/feb/17/teaching-awards-schools-singapore>
by Mike Baker, The Guardian

How do you achieve a school system consistently in the top three in the world for maths and science, fourth for literacy, and described by experts as leading the world in teaching quality? Moreover, how do you manage to get 80% of pupils to pass five or more O-levels when they are taught in their second language in classes of 35? The answers are found in Singapore.

**** 淡馬錫巨虧390億 建行中行面臨760億被拋售風險 <http://big5.xinhuanet.com/gate/big5/news.xinhuanet.com/finance/2009-02/16/content_10826926.htm>
by 張偉湘, ç†è²¡å‘¨å ±

**** Mr Lee And The Conflict Of Interest <http://yoursdp.org/index.php/news/singapore/1932-mr-lee-and-the-conflict-of-interest>
by Singapore Democrats

Did Citi seek its special advisor's advice before it approached the GIC for funds? If it did, what was the advise given? When the GIC received the invitation from Citi, what went into the decision to go ahead with the investment? Did Mr Lee's position in one organisation affect the decision made in the other?

The conflict of interest is too jarring to even contemplate. 

**** MPs Hope For 3 To 10 Cent Cuts For Bus &amp; Train Fare Adjustments <http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/409507/1/.html>
by Neo Chai Chin, Today

One Parliamentarian thinks the cut in EZ Link card fares could be as large as 10 cents, while another is hoping for a three- to five-cent reduction.

In the days running up to formal bus and train fare adjustments by the Public Transport Council (PTC), likely by the end of this week, it is anyone’s guess how dramatic the fare cuts will be.

**** They Blog, We Believe <http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking%2BNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_339406.html>
by My Paper

In a recent study conducted by marketing agency OgilvyOne Asia Pacific, more than one in two Singaporeans said they trust blogs as much as newspapers or TV news bulletins.

It also helps that bloggers here are seen to have integrity.

**** Singapore Mobile Players Target Region <http://www.zdnetasia.com/news/communications/0,39044192,62051144,00.htm>
by Victoria Ho, ZDNet Asia

A group of Singapore-based mobile services providers are targeting Asia-Pacific developing markets by bridging the gap between high- and low-end devices.

**** Singapore Airlines Declines After Passenger Traffic Tumbles <http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aTu1EjOUsgzA&refer=home>
by Anand Krishnamoorthy, Bloomberg

Singapore Airlines Ltd., the world’s largest carrier by market value, slumped to a two-month low on the city-state’s stock exchange after passenger traffic tumbled the most in more than five years.

**** Providing Affordable Housing - HDB Should Re-Look Policies <http://theonlinecitizen.com/2009/02/providing-affordable-housing-–-hdb-should-re-look-policies/>
by Leong Sze Hian, The Online Citizen

Instead of policies to try to dampen demand for rental or smaller flats, like the new additional eligibility criteria or the second loan for upgraders only, the HDB should re-focus on its mission to provide affordable housing for Singaporeans, especially now that Singapore is in its worse recession.

**** Television, Radio, Newspapers... And Blogs <http://mrwangsaysso.blogspot.com/2009/02/television-radio-newspapers-and-blogs.html>
by Mr Wang Says So

**** Singapore Exports In Biggest Fall On Record: Government <http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hEP2DT5R4sxs42Qiew0xwHJc9k1Q>
by AFP

Singapore's key exports in January fell by the largest amount on record, the government said Tuesday, releasing data showing further evidence of the city-state's deepening recession. It is the biggest fall since the government began year-on-year comparisons in 1977 and exceeds the previous record of a 30.7 percent drop in September 2001, after Al-Qaeda's attacks on the United States.

**** January Port Of Singapore Container Traffic <http://paul.kedrosky.com/archives/2009/02/17/january_port_of.html>
by Paul Kedrosky, Infectious Greed

The January 2009 container traffic data is out for the Port of Singapore, and it's about as bad as expected.

**** StarHub TV To Go Fully Digital By End Of June <http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporebusinessnews/view/409584/1/.html>
by Desmond Wong, Channel NewsAsia

StarHub will cease all analogue transmissions on June 30 when it switches over to a fully digital service.

**** Singapore Must Think That Badminton Players Are Very Stupid <http://mrwangsaysso.blogspot.com/2009/02/singapore-must-think-that-badminton.html>
by Mr Wang Says So

So of course his family advised Riky to wait a year or two. He needs to avoid the NS liability that kicks in, when he turns eighteen.

**** Are Singapore Bloggers More "Unthinking" Than Their Malaysian Counterparts? <http://wayangparty.com/?p=5290>
by Eugene Yeo, The Wayang Party Club

This is where politically active netizens will play a pivotal role in influencing their peers by word of mouth: get our message out, publicize the alternative news blogs and win new converts to our side in our protracted struggle against the entire propaganda machinery of the state.

**** Elections Department To Update Register Of Elgible Voters <http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/409613/1/.html>
by Hoe Yeen Nie, Channel NewsAsia

Prime minister Lee Hsien Loong has asked the Elections Department to revise the registers of electors by April 30.

The Elections Department said this is a routine update, as the law requires the registers to be revised within three years of a general election.

**** Use Of Reserves Gives Confidence To Budget Measures, Says President Nathan <http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/409617/1/.html>
by S Ramesh, Channel NewsAsia

Speaking in detail for the first time on Tuesday about his decision to give in-principle approval for the government to tap into past reserves, Mr Nathan said he and the Council of Presidential Advisers recognised the importance of giving full confidence and backing to the budget measures as a speedy decision was needed to stem the tide of the economic downturn.

**** Singapore Arts Festival To Lower Ticket Prices This Year <http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/409633/1/.html>
by Valarie Tan, Channel NewsAsia

**** Singapore's GIC Losses $33 Billion As Assets Tumble, WSJ Says <http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601080&sid=adldZ5kLXljw&refer=asia>
by Andrea Tan and Chris Peterson, Bloomberg

Government of Singapore Investment Corp., one of two sovereign wealth funds owned by the island, lost as much as S$50 billion in 2008, the Wall Street Journal said, citing two people familiar with the matter.

GIC’s losses are similar to those at Temasek Holdings Pte, the city-state’s other sovereign wealth fund, according to the Journal. “GIC does not comment on speculative reports,” Singapore-based spokeswoman Jennifer Lewis said today by phone.

**** Beauty And Recession Only Skin Deep In Singapore: Poll <http://www.reuters.com/article/lifestyleMolt/idUSTRE51G1L320090217>
by Reuters

Despite the threat of job losses and the country's deepest economic recession, seven in 10 Singaporeans will continue to spend on beauty products and services, a small industry survey showed.

**** Malaysians Last To Be Retrenched In Singapore <http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v5/newsgeneral.php?id=390409>
by Bernama

Malaysians would be the last workers to be retrenched in Singapore during the global economic slump, said the minister of human resources, Datuk Dr. S. Subramaniam. He said this was because Malaysian workers had more skills and abilities as required by Singaporean industry compared to other foreign workers in the island republic.