[MyAppleMenu] Mar 27, 2009

[applesurf at myapplemenu.com]

MyAppleMenu
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**** Apple iPhone 3G Review <http://www.kennysia.com/archives/2009/03/apple-iphone-3g.php>
by Kenny Sia

When’s the last time you see a telco company hiring out an entire convention centre just to sell one phone?

**** App Store Refunds: Much Ado About Nothing <http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-10205293-37.html?part=rss&tag=feed&subj=News-Apple>
by Tom Krazit, CNET

The section in the SDK agreement that mentions 90-day refunds seem to apply only if a purchaser brings a "notice or claim" against Apple in the process of trying to return the application. That's a legal term, not a request for a refund because you thought the fart application, for example, delivered six sounds when it has only five.

**** FishCo <http://www.insidemacgames.com/reviews/view.php?ID=1032>
by Jack Shiels, Inside Mac Games

FishCo has plenty to do, but unfortunately it doesn’t attempt to break the mould.

**** The iPhone 3.0 OS Is Not Ready for Everyday Use; Here's How To Downgrade <http://i.gizmodo.com/5184313/the-iphone-30-os-is-not-ready-for-everyday-use-heres-how-to-downgrade>
by John mahoney, Gizmodo

Here's how to downgrade back to 2.2.1.

**** Pwn2Own Contest Winner: Macs Are Safer Than Windows <http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/09/03/26/pwn2own_contest_winner_macs_are_safer_than_windows.html>
by Prince McLean, AppleInsider

Charlie Miller, the security expert who won both this and last year's CanSecWest Pwn2Own security contests by exploiting Macs running Safari, repeated in an interview that he'd recommend Macs to typical users as a safer alternative to Windows PCs.

**** Tips For Importing Existing Photos Into iPhoto <http://www.macworld.com/article/139658/2009/03/iphotoimport.html?lsrc=rss_main>
by Rob Griffiths, Macworld

If you do a lot of importing into iPhoto using photos that are already on your Mac—perhaps you’re migrating from another photo management tool, or you just downloaded all 1,500 pictures taken by relatives at the last family reunion—here are a couple of tricks that you can use to control and ease the import process.

**** Apple Announces WWDC 2009 Dates <http://www.macworld.com/article/139656/2009/03/wwdc2009.html?lsrc=rss_main>
by Dan Moren, Macworld

This year’s program is likely to be a double threat for many programmers, as sessions will include information about both the forthcoming iPhone OS 3.0 update as well as the forthcoming Snow Leopard revision of Mac OS X.

**** Apple Updates iLife '09, iWork '09 <http://www.macworld.com/article/139667/2009/03/ilife_updates.html?lsrc=rss_main>
by Jonathan Seff, Macworld

**** MarsEdit 2.3 Ties The Knot With Tumblr Support <http://arstechnica.com/apple/news/2009/03/marsedit-23-ties-the-knot-with-tumblr-support.ars>
by David Chartier, Ars Technica

Mac blogging client MarsEdit has emerged from beta with official support for Tumblr, a streamlined blogging service with ample style. Nearly all of Tumblr's features are available in the new version of MarsEdit, making it a solid option for those who cannot blog by bookmarklet alone.

**** Apple Stores Now Selling iPhone 3G Without A Contract <http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/09/03/26/apple_stores_now_selling_iphone_3g_without_a_contract.html>
by Prince McLean, AppleInsider

Apple retail stores are now selling unrestricted quantities of the iPhone 3G at the full, non-subsidized price of $599 for the 8GB version and $699 for the 16GB models.

**** Ten iPhone Apps To Manage Your Job Search On The Go <http://mashable.com/2009/03/26/iphone-job-search-apps/>
by Dan Schawbel, Mashable

Here are ten apps that will help you own your online identity, build a strong database of professional contacts, and locate a job in your area in a flash.

**** AccountEdge 2009 <http://www.macworld.com/article/139661/2009/03/accountedge09.html?lsrc=rss_main>
by Jefery Battersby, Macworld

AccountEdge has long been the best and most versatile business accounting package available for the Mac. While I’d still like to see better form customization tools, AccountEdge 2009 offers excellent new features for current users who are looking to upgrade, and a solid foundation for anyone who needs a business accounting app.

**** How Science Fiction Found Religion <http://www.city-journal.org/2009/19_1_urb-science-fiction.html>
by Benjamin A. Plotinsky, City Journal

Once overtly political, the genre increasingly employs Christian allegory.

**** Has Apple Begun Clearing iPhone 3G Inventory? <http://apple20.blogs.fortune.cnn.com/2009/03/27/has-apple-begun-clearing-iphone-3g-inventory/>
by Philip Elmer-DeWitt, Fortune



MyAppleMenu Reader
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**** Monsters Vs. Aliens <http://www.slate.com/id/2214715/?from=rss>
by Jessica Winter, Slate

Not to let any unnecessary ideology creep into a review of a fun animated movie, but let's get this out of the way up front: Monsters vs. Aliens (DreamWorks Animation) is a film for children with a female lead. She is not the love interest, or the helpmate, or the mom. Nor is she a princess, or princesslike.

**** The Quiet Coup <http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200905/imf-advice>
by Simon Johnson, The Atlantic

The crash has laid bare many unpleasant truths about the United States. One of the most alarming, says a former chief economist of the International Monetary Fund, is that the finance industry has effectively captured our government—a state of affairs that more typically describes emerging markets, and is at the center of many emerging-market crises. If the IMF’s staff could speak freely about the U.S., it would tell us what it tells all countries in this situation: recovery will fail unless we break the financial oligarchy that is blocking essential reform. And if we are to prevent a true depression, we’re running out of time.

**** Eat Your Saints, Purge Your Demons <http://www.salon.com/books/review/2009/03/27/relics_exorcists/index.html>
by Laura Miller, Salon

Why do people worship religious relics, and why is the number of trainee exorcists rising? Two new books suggest that our desire to believe in magical forces remains irresistible.



SingaporeSurf
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**** Who Wants A Densely Packed Singapore? <http://www.straitstimes.com/ST%2BForum/Story/STIStory_355094.html>
by Robin Chee, Straits Times

I am both shocked and dismayed by Professor Edward Glaeser's short-sighted and highly flawed opinion that a population of 6.5 million would be essentially beneficial for Singapore. His notion that there is nothing unhealthy about living in skyscrapers does not take into consideration the many Singaporeans who wish Singapore would lose its tag as a concrete jungle and focus on creating a city with more 'green spaces'.

**** Broken Promise, And An Imperfect 10 Now <http://www.straitstimes.com/ST%2BForum/Online%2BStory/STIStory_355035.html>
by Nurliyana Abdul Malek, Straits Times

**** No Duplication In Proposed Public Order Law <http://www.straitstimes.com/ST%2BForum/Online%2BStory/STIStory_355038.html>
by Toh Yong Chuan, Ministry Of Home Affairs, Straits Times

The existing Public Order (Preservation) Act was enacted in the years of our independence to provide for the possibility of curfews and other measures necessary to preserve public order in emergency situations. The proposed Public Order Act is intended to apply to non-emergency situations.

**** Public Opinion Should Not Lead <http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking%2BNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_355079.html>
by K C Vijayan, Straits Times

While courts here have to heed public opinion, they cannot be led by it, says Chief Justice Chan Sek Keong.

He wants judges, given their experience and understanding of the core values of society, to guide public opinion where there is none or when public opinion is divided over sentences meted out.

**** Survey Shows 90% Of Start-Ups Are Seeing Slower Sales This Year <http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporebusinessnews/view/417990/1/.html>
by Yasmine Yahya, Channel NewsAsia

Ninety per cent of start-ups are seeing slower sales this year and 10 per cent have experienced order cancellations as the economic downturn bites into their business. These were the key findings of the latest start-up enterprise survey conducted by the DP Information Group.

**** Kids Can Easily Get Hold Of Sexy Magazine <http://tnp.sg/news/story/0,4136,197017,00.html?>
by New Paper

Adult-lifestyle magazine Show East, which was sold at some neighbourhood convenience stores, has now been ordered off the shelves by the Media Development Authority (MDA).

**** NParks Offers 15% Rental Rebate <http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking%2BNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_355068.html>
by Jessica Lim, Straits Times

**** SM Goh's Misdirected Attack On The Press <http://theonlinecitizen.com/2009/03/sm-gohs-misdirected-attack-on-the-press/>
by Choo Zheng Xi, The Online Citizen

SM Goh’s ire would be more constructively directed at the backbiting occurring in his grassroots organizations. The mischief he is imputing to the comment is no fault of the reporter: it was a quote sourced from a party cadre in his grassroots organization.

**** PAP Or SDP? The Future According To LKY <http://yoursdp.org/index.php/news/singapore/2122-pap-or-sdp-the-future-according-to-lky>
by Singapore Democrats

While minister mentor Lee Kuan Yew acknowledges that such leaders can come from his own party or from the Singapore Democrats, he continues to ensure that only those in the PAP are presented to the Singaporean public.

**** The Unimpeachable Court <http://theonlinecitizen.com/2009/03/the-unimpeachable-court/>
by The Online Citizen

By initiating cases in which the bench has little room for manoeuvre, and whose outcomes would also certainly bolster the critics’ claims about a politicised judiciary, the Chambers could inadvertently be bringing about the very outcome it had sought to prevent.

**** SM Goh Says Newspaper Report On MP Fatimah Lateef Inaccurate <http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/417995/1/.html>
by Pearl Forss, Channel NewsAsia

Mr Goh said: "I do not like the inaccuracy because it suggested that a minority community MP, a Malay MP, could not reach out to the Chinese temple people, (and) the hint that maybe, she, as a Muslim, did not want to reach out to these people. That is the implication."

Goh Chok Tong did not, at least from this report, justify his assertion that the report was inaccurate.

**** Organ-Trading Through The Back Door <http://nofearsingapore.blogspot.com/2009/03/organ-trading-through-back-door.html>
by Huang Shoou Chyuan, NoFearSingapore

It irks me that even when the details about the "hows" and "how much" of the compensation mechanisms are so sorely missing, an overshelming majority still voted for the law to be passed.

**** Secrets Of Success <http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/cd4ded70-1370-11de-a170-0000779fd2ac.html?nclick_check=1>
by John Burton, Financial Times

How far Singapore is willing to go to disclose information under the OECD rules will be important for the future of its private banking industry, which is a pillar of the financial services sector. An aggressive enforcement of the rules would probably drive away some private banks.

However, if the city-state is able to maintain some degree of bank secrecy, the crisis could prove beneficial in the years ahead. “Singapore is likely to see a bigger inflow of money as western countries raise taxes to finance the bail-out of their local banking systems,” says a Singapore-based private banker.

**** Singapore Among Nations On Tax Havens &quot;Blacklist&quot;? No Such List, Says OECD <http://theonlinecitizen.com/2009/03/singapore-among-nations-on-tax-havens-“blacklist”-no-such-list-says-oecd/>
by Darren Boon, The Online Citizen

Mr Nicolas Bray, Head of Media and Public Affairs &amp; Communications of the OECD, told The Online Citizen: “There is no new ‘OECD list’ of tax havens and we are not quoting any specific number of tax havens.”

**** IR Hotels To Charge More <http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking%2BNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_355285.html>
by Lim Wei Chean, Straits Times

Yesterday, the casino-resort's chief executive officer Tan Hee Teck said that hotels in theme parks overseas typically charge a higher rate than similar properties in the city.

**** 并非如《海峡时报》报道 吴资政：花蒂玛医生与华人庙宇人士关系良好 <http://www.zaobao.com/sp/sp090327_523.shtml>
by 杨永欣, 联合早报

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**** So, What Did Change? <http://singaporesocialactivist.blogspot.com/2009/03/so-what-did-change.html>
by Singapore Social Activist

Senior minister of state for finance Lim Hwee Hua in addressing this recently in parliament, remarked, "Temasek today is completely different from the Temasek at the time of Mr Dhanabalan's". What she failed to address was, "So, what did change?"

**** PSA International Sees 2008 Profits Down 46.2% On-Year <http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporebusinessnews/view/418239/1/.html>
by AFP / Channel NewsAsia

Port operator PSA International said Friday its 2008 net profit sank an annual 46 per cent as the worldwide economic slump sent trade volumes plunging in the last five months of the year.

**** Lone Dissenter Speaks To An Almost Empty ouse <http://singaporerebel.blogspot.com/2009/03/lone-dissenter-speaks-to-almost-empty.html>
by Only "Objective" And "Factual" Political Films Please, We're Singaporeans

The first five seconds of the clip speaks volume about the state of parliamentary debates in Singapore.

**** An Unnatural Order <http://theonlinecitizen.com/2009/03/an-unnatural-order/>
by The Online Citizen

It is instructive to note that the last time Singapore had a major demonstration was in 1988 when the country’s main trade union (which is practically run by the ruling party) organised one against alleged American interference in our domestic affairs; on the other hand, opposition parties have always been denied permission for similar acts.  Given this precedent, it is not surprising that many Singaporeans are understandably wary of the government’s actual motivations behind the new Public Order Act.

**** Cabinet Changes - What Does It Mean For Next General Elections? <http://theonlinecitizen.com/2009/03/cabinet-changes-what-does-it-mean-for-next-general-elections/>
by Melvin Tan, The Online Citizen

**** Singapore Says Must Keep Financial Markets Open <http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssFinancialServicesAndRealEstateNews/idUSLR69195620090327>
by Huw Jones, Reuters

Asia is still opening up its financial markets to foreign players and countries should not seek to insulate themselves, Singapore's finance minister, Tharman Shanmugaratnam said on Friday.