[MyAppleMenu] May 15, 2009

[applesurf at myapplemenu.com]

MyAppleMenu
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**** How Apple Profits From The App Store <http://apple20.blogs.fortune.cnn.com/2009/05/14/how-apple-profits-from-the-app-store/>
by Philip Elmer-DeWitt, Fortune

Steve Jobs said when he opened the App Store that it was designed to merely break even — and he probably meant it. The apps, which can increase the utility of a mobile device exponentially, are there to bring in users. The profit for Apple — as usual — is in the high-margin hardware.

**** MacSpeech Dictate Gets 20% More Accurate With Paid Upgrade <http://arstechnica.com/apple/news/2009/05/macspeech-dictate-gets-20-more-accurate-with-paid-upgrade.ars>
by Nate Anderson, Ars Technica

MacSpeech Dictate has received a new vocabulary editor, new voice profiles, better accuracy—and a $54.95 upgrade price. Still, with Dictate being the only game in town, it could be worth the price tag.

**** Imeem: Store Music In The Cloud, Access It On The iPhone <http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2009/05/imeem-store-music-in-the-cloud-access-it-on-the-iphone/>
by Eliot Van Buskirk, Wired

The iPhone can’t compare to the iPod when it comes to storing all your music, but imeem’s new streaming music app could change that by turning the smartphone into a quasi-iPod. How? By letting paid users store 80 GB of music on its servers.

**** Is Apple Barking Up The Wrong Tree With Grand Central? <http://www.macworld.com/article/140619/2009/05/grandcentral.html?lsrc=rss_main>
by Neil McAllister, InfoWorld

Despite years of research into grid processing and HPC (high-performance computing), efficient parallelization remains a tough nut to crack. The systems that do it well are mainly purpose-built environments that are poorly suited to the needs of your average PC user. So why not just have those systems do what they do best and leave our PCs to handle user experience and interactivity? In other words, why are we trying to re-create Google-style parallelism on our desktops when we could just have Google handle the heavy lifting for us?

**** Restoring Mac OS 9 Desktop Click Behavior <http://db.tidbits.com/article/10279>
by Adam C. Engst, TidBITS

Although I understand and usually appreciate the way Mac OS X interleaves windows from different applications, the one application where that behavior bugs me is the Finder. Specifically, I want to be able to click on any visible part of the Desktop and have all Finder windows appear.

**** Apple, AT&T Named In Music Recognition Lawsuit <http://www.electronista.com/articles/09/05/14/apple.in.shazam.lawsuit/>
by Electronista

Apple and AT&T are two of several companies being targeted in a new patent infringement lawsuit, court documents show. The case was initiated by Tune Hunter, a company which owns a patent titled Music identification system, granted in September of 2005.

Are we at the point where the only software that won't get sued are some form-filling Visual-Basic application?

**** Mariner Releases Paperless File-Management App <http://www.macnn.com/articles/09/05/14/mariner.paperless.app/>
by MacNN

**** Mophie Juice Pack Air Packs More Power For Your iPhone <http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/bus/industries/techtelecom/stories/051509dnbustechreview.3cc88f0.html>
by Jim Rossman, The Dallas Morning News

If you're looking for an external battery that works as advertised and doesn't look awful, especially during use, go to the Apple store and look at the Juice Pack Air.

**** 10.5.7 Increases Hackintosh Battery Life <http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/zdnet/Apple/~3/ax0c3A3dpIQ/>
by Jason D. O'Grady, ZDnet

**** Twin 1.0 Backup App Debuts <http://www.macworld.com/article/140632/2009/05/twin.html?lsrc=rss_main>
by Peter Cohen, Macworld

Twin helps you back up and archive files to a variety of Internet based servers - FTP, FTP and SFTP, WebDAV, Amazon S3 and MobileMe. It also lets you backup files to external drives.

**** Cleopatra Adventure Game Released For Mac <http://www.macworld.com/article/140634/2009/05/cleopatra.html?lsrc=rss_main>
by Peter Cohen, Macworld



The Tomorrow Weblog
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**** A Blueprint To Stop Browser Attacks <http://www.technologyreview.com/computing/22652/>
by Erica Naone, MIT Technology Review



MyAppleMenu Reader
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**** Incarnations Of Burned Children <http://www.esquire.com/fiction/fiction/incarnations-burned-children-david-foster-wallace-0900>
by David Foster Wallace, Esquire

**** Screw U. <http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/display.php?id=37178>
by Amanda Hess, Washington City Paper

How can a university that can barely even acknowledge sex enforce a sex policy?

By policing everything but.

**** True Grits <http://www.theroot.com/views/true-grits>
by Bryant Terry, The Root

Why soul food is actually good for you.



SingaporeSurf
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**** Table Tennis Saga Continues With Coach Liu Getting More Support <http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/429284/1/.html>
by Patwant Singh, Channel NewsAsia

Singapore's chef-de-mission for the 2008 Olympic is the latest to join the table tennis coach saga.

**** 'It Bothers Me To Be Singled Out For Organised Campaign' <http://tnp.sg/news/story/0,4136,201961,00.html?>
by Liew Hanqing, New Paper

In his own words, nominated member of parliament (NMP) Siew Kum Hong describes himself as an 'advocate of active citizenry'.

Ironically, the corporate lawyer now finds himself at the receiving end of online attacks by 'active citizens' who are vociferously opposing his re-nomination as an NMP.

**** Media Coverage 'Not Suffient Balanced' At Times <http://www.todayonline.com/Singapore/EDC090515-0000084/Media-coverage-‘not-sufficiently-balanced’-at-times>
by Zul Othman, Today

Mr Wong Kan Seng said the Ministry of Information, Communication and the Arts had analysed the objectivity of the coverage of the Aware episode and “found it wanting in some respects”. Mica has given its feedback to the relevant editors.

The solution to a more balanced coverage is to have more publishers, more reporters. All reporters and all publishers are going to be biased in one way or other, and there is no way one can demand 'balance' out of a single source.

**** Sand Export Ban Will Not Adversely Affect Singapore <http://www.todayonline.com/Singapore/EDC090515-0000057/Sand-export-ban-will-not-adversely-affect-Singapore>
by Today

Singapore does not expect Cambodia’s fresh ban on the export of sand to have a major impact on existing projects in the Republic.

But it is undeniable that all of our construction businesses &mdash; en-bloc, IRs &mdash; is having far reaching environmental impact.

**** Questions Over His Role As Aware 'Adviser' <http://www.todayonline.com/Singapore/EDC090515-0000080/Questions-over-his-role-as-Aware-‘adviser’>
by Loh Chee Kong, Today

After being accused on the Internet of pushing the gay agenda, Nominated Member of Parliament (NMP) Siew Kum Hong now finds himself defending his professional conduct following his active role in the recent Association of Women for Action and Research (Aware) saga.

**** Beatrice Chia: Dangerous? I'm Flattered <http://www.todayonline.com/Singapore/EDC090515-0000088/Beatrice-Chia--Dangerous?-I’m-flattered>
by Neo Chai Chin, Today

She says she is flattered to be considered “more dangerous than Siew Kum Hong”, after submitting her application for the post of a Nominated Member of Parliament (NMP).

And theatre practitioner Beatrice Chia-Richmond has “absolutely no issue with netizens voicing their opinions, approvals or disapprovals”, even after reading the scorching comments on the Government’s Reach website last night.

**** No Apology Owed? STTA And President Answerable To Public <http://www.straitstimes.com/ST%2BForum/Online%2BStory/STIStory_376762.html>
by Patrick Fairley Scully, Straits Times

If the Singapore Table Tennis Association (STTA) is accountable to no one, it should reject the grants ($2.7 million in 2007 and $3.4 million last year) it receives annually from the Singapore Sports Council, other government agencies and government-linked companies.

**** SingTel: Apple Sets Terms For Replacing iPhones <http://www.straitstimes.com/ST%2BForum/Story/STIStory_376897.html>
by Cheam Tze Hui, SingTel, Straits Times

Apple's one-year 'limited warranty' does not cover repair for phones damaged by liquid. We also inform our customers about this by giving them a copy of the advisory available at support.apple.com/kb/HT3302 when they pick up their iPhone from our stores.

**** DPM's Comments Welcomed <http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking+News/Singapore/Story/STIStory_377077.html>
by Zakir Hussain, Straits Times

Religious leaders have welcomed comments by deputy prime minister Wong Kan Seng on the role of religious groups in the public sphere, and on the issue of homosexuality.

**** Comments By DPM And Minister For Minister For Home Affairs Wong Kan Seng In Response To Media Queries Related To AWARE <http://www.mha.gov.sg/news_details.aspx?nid=MTQ0MA%3d%3d-H1aIkdI4Ksw%3d>
by Ministry Of Home Affairs, Singapore Government

The government was not going to be pressured into changing its position on homosexuality before the takeover of AWARE. Nor does the government intend to change its position now that the old guard has recaptured AWARE.

**** Wong Kan Seng Sends A Stark Warning To Religious Fundamentalists: Don't Mix Religion With Politics <http://wayangparty.com/?p=9337>
by Eugene Yeo, The Wayang Party Club

However, it does not appear that the perpetuators have learnt a lesson from their failure to steeplejack Aware.

**** Singapore's Uncoordinated Initiatives For Entrepreneurs <http://www.motochan.com/2009/05/15/sg-uncoordinated-initiatives-for-entrepreneurs/>
by James Chan, Master Of The Obvious

As confusing as some of these schemes and roles of these entities may be, one thing is clear - there are too many cooks that are spoiling the broth! It takes more than a PhD degree to wade through the swaths of government incentives and schemes, each with its unique objectives that were probably designed to fulfil the nation’s overall KPIs (for growing our R&D).  Along the way, KPIs get innocently or intentionally misinterpreted, new schemes get designed and created by a whole host of civil sector officers of varying seniority, passion and zest who come and go. as often as Cassanova and his women.  The end result is a Singapore that has spent S$7.3 billion on R&D in 2006, and another S$9.14 billion in 2007, owns the bragging rights to a gross domestic expenditure on R&D (GERD) of 2.61% (vs USA’s GERD of 2.68%), but yet has absolutely nothing to show for its past 10 years of work, except for a confusing potpourri of government incentives and schemes.

**** Temasek May Sell More Bonds As It Eyes Asia, Russia <http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601080&sid=aczYS6PxzRJI&refer=asia>
by Netty Ismail, Bloomberg

Temasek Holdings Pte, Singapore’s state-owned investment firm, may sell more bonds with different maturities as it seeks to increase its investments in Asia and other emerging markets, chief executive officer Ho Ching said.

**** Singapore's Temasek Sells Stake In Bank Of America <http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aUY063JtjfFI&refer=home>
by Chen Shiyin, Bloomberg

A Form 13F filing to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission indicates that Temasek no longer held shares in Bank of America or Merrill Lynch as of March 31. Bank of America rose 2.7 percent to $11.31 in New York trading yesterday. The shares have tumbled 69 percent in the past year, outpacing the 36 percent decline in the Standard &amp; Poor’s 500 Index.

**** The Meainglessness Of Asian Values <http://mrwangsaysso.blogspot.com/2009/05/meaninglessness-of-asian-values.html>
by Mr Wang Says So

Most of the time, when someone is using that term, he's actually pushing his own secret agenda.

**** Recession-Hit Singapore Pours Billions Into Banking District <http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/StoryPage.aspx?sectionName=HomePage&id=66a56664-ef71-4fb7-b1a0-ef1b374e9367&Headline=Recession-hit+Singapore+pours+billions+into+banking+district>
by Bernice Han, AFP

Singapore is pouring billions of dollars into a new financial district in a bid to create an Asian version of Wall Street with a dash of Las Vegas thrown in &mdash; despite its worst ever recession.

**** Myanmar Democracy Activist Held In Prison <http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2009/05/15/ap6426131.html>
by Associated Press

The Singapore government said it "is dismayed" by the charges against Suu Kyi, one of the few criticisms to come from Myanmar's neighbors in Southeast Asia, who abide by a much-criticized policy of not interfering in each others affairs.

**** Singapore Retail Sales Fall A Sixth Month As Job Losses Climb <http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601080&sid=a2tSfhw4O3QI&refer=asia>
by Shamim Adam, Bloomberg

Singapore’s retail sales fell for a sixth month in March, extending the longest period of declines since 2002, as the nation’s worst recession and the loss of thousands of jobs depressed spending.

**** US Tax Rule Changes And Implications For Singapore: The Prisoner's Dilemma <http://theonlinecitizen.com/2009/05/us-tax-rule-changes-and-implications-for-singapore-the-prisoner’s-dilemma/>
by Kenneth Jeyaretnam, The Online Citizen

These new moves by the US only serve to reinforce the points I have made previously. Namely, that Singapore needs to develop alternative sources of growth. It may no longer be able to rely to the same extent on foreign investment by MNCs if one of the primary motivators, a low corporate tax rate, is negated.

**** Giving Up On NextBus <http://antrix.net/journal/techtalk/sbsnextbus4.html>
by Sounds From The Dungeon

**** Exposure To Virus 'a Bad Idea' <http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking+News/Singapore/Story/STIStory_377190.html>
by Straits Times

Health ministry's director of medical services K Satku dismissed theories that people should catch influenza A (H1N1) now while it is a relatively mild disease to build immunity if it returns in a more virulent form.

**** Temasek May Lost $4.26 Billion Dollars From Sale Of Stake In Bank Of America <http://wayangparty.com/?p=9351>
by The Wayang Party

**** Temasek Is Not Buying The 'Green Shoots' Story <http://ftalphaville.ft.com/blog/2009/05/15/55924/temasek-is-not-buying-the-green-shoots-story/>
by Gwen Robinson, Financial Times

Singapore’s acquisitive Temasek is up to its old tricks again, buying high and selling low, as it emerged on Friday that the state-backed investment agency sold its 3 per cent stake in Bank of America in the first quarter of this year, suffering an estimated $3bn loss in the process.

**** Opposition And Civil Society Must Come Together For Sake Of Democracy <http://www.yoursdp.org/index.php/component/content/article/2371-opposition-and-civil-society-must-come-together-for-sake-of-democracy>
by Chee Siok Chin, Singapore Democrats