[MyAppleMenu] Oct 19, 2009

applesurf at myapplemenu.com applesurf at myapplemenu.com
Mon Oct 19 18:59:00 EDT 2009

MyAppleMenu
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**** Who Needs An iPhone FM Radio Anyway? <http://news.google.com/news/url?fd=R&sa=T&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.daniweb.com%2Fnews%2Fstory231232.html&usg=AFQjCNHnBPIp6-xRYqmpD0jGQh1xAv6-hQ>
Bill Andad, DaniWeb

I'm just not convinced that there is any real need for old technology such as FM radio on a next-generation device like the iPhone.

**** Wolfram Alpha Launches $50 iPhone App <http://mashable.com/2009/10/18/wolfram-alpha-iphone-app/>
Christina Warren, Masbable

The application is pretty advanced, as its $49.99 price-tag suggests. Before your jaw drops over the price, keep in mind that this is much more than just a mobile version of the website. It’s a high end graphing calculator (that supports discrete number theory, Calculus derivative and plotting of functions), an almanac, a currency/unit converter and a pretty sophisticated stock analysis tool. And that’s just the beginning.

**** Apple's Profit Burden: Great Expectations <http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125590493348892957.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_sections_markets>
Wall Street Journal

Wall Street has worried recently that expectations for Apple could be too high.

**** New Droid TV Spot Happily Rips Apple <http://news.cnet.com/8301-17852_3-10377425-71.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20>
Chris Matyszczyk, CNET News

**** Wolfram Alpha Miscalculates What Its iPhone App Should Cost <http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/10/18/wolfram-alpha-miscalculates-what-its-iphone-app-should-cost/>
MG Siegler, TechCrunch

The iPhone app is the first example of Wolfram Alpha’s new APIs that they hope will extend their most valuable asset: Their data. But if you’re trying to get more people to use access your data, charging $50 is not a great play. A better one may be to get people hooked on your data, then charge down the road when they realize how valuable it is — if they ever do, which is still far from certain with Wolfram Alpha.

**** Don’t Use Just Any Wireless While Using Your iPhone - Unless You Want To Put Yourself At Risk <http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/AppAdvice/~3/2XCaP2afeP4/>
App Advice

**** Apple, RIM Wage App Wars <http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/apple-rim-wage-app-wars/article1328535/>
Omar El Akkad, Globe And Mail

For smart phone makers – and, indeed, for an increasing number of electronics makers designing everything from radios to televisions – the emphasis is quickly shifting away from hardware design and toward the type and variety of applications that users can download and run.

**** Take Your Show On The Road With 'Rock Band' <http://toucharcade.com/2009/10/19/take-your-show-on-the-road-with-rock-band/>
Eli Hodapp, Touch Arcade

On the iPhone and iPod Touch, each of these instruments are played by tapping four areas on the screen to match up with the musical notes coming down the screen.

**** In-App Feature Could Keep More Apps On iPhone <http://rss.macworld.com/click.phdo?i=4f591053b75097026f19f2230b2b5d0b>
Jacqueline Emigh, PC World

While Apple's new in-app purchase feature for iPhones is being widely touted as an antipiracy measure, Apple's more overarching motive seems to be that of keeping the iPhone at the development forefront for the coolest new apps for mobile users.

**** Apple Approves Another VoIP App, Rebtel <http://gigaom.com/2009/10/19/rebtel-iphone/>
Om Malik, GigaOM

**** After New Ads, Doubts Grow About A Verizon iPhone <http://news.google.com/news/url?fd=R&sa=T&url=http%3A%2F%2Fbits.blogs.nytimes.com%2F2009%2F10%2F19%2Fafter-new-ads-idoubts-grow-about-an-verizon-iphone%2F%3Fhp&usg=AFQjCNEbx5A-EMcoVeB_j39ZakL1KOpaRQ>
Brad Stone, New York Times

This nasty name-calling does not bode well for the prospects of the iPhone joining Verizon in 2010, talks for which were said to have begun earlier this year.

**** Facebook 3.1 With Notifications Should Soon Highlight The iPhone Push Problem <http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/10/19/facebook-3-1-with-notifications-may-highlight-the-iphone-push-problem/>
MG Siegler, TechCrunch

**** Review: Acorn 2.0 By Flying Meat <http://digitalapplejuice.com/review-acorn-2-flying-meat/>
Michael N. Roach, DigitalAppleJuice.com

**** What Lit Mag Mcsweeney's Could Teach News Orgs About The iPhone <http://news.google.com/news/url?fd=R&sa=T&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.niemanlab.org%2F2009%2F10%2Fwhat-lit-mag-mcsweeneys-could-teach-news-orgs-about-the-iphone%2F&usg=AFQjCNFDliCXVTt7s0DNuLENfyL56VJRpg>
Mac Slocum, Nieman Journalism Lab At Harvard

You’d think selling subscriptions within iPhone applications would appeal to media companies.

**** How To: Turn Your iPhone Into A Remote Speaker For Your Mac Or Windows <http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/AppAdvice/~3/WAVIrtJ98b0/>
App Advice

**** Apple, Others Hit With Lawsuit Over '90s Ethernet Patents <http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/09/10/19/apple_others_hit_with_lawsuit_over_90s_ethernet_patents.html>
AppleInsider

A Texas company has targeted Apple and a number of other technology companies in a new lawsuit regarding a handful of computer networking patents issued in the 1990s.

**** Apple Discriminating Against Non-YouTube Video Services? <http://feeds.macnn.com/click.phdo?i=b8255032a31581ea8193464878891ca1>
MacNN

Apple is not playing fair in terms of supporting video hosting services beyond YouTube, claims the chief technical officer of Dailymotion. Olivier Poitrey comments that the iPhone edition of Safari relies on a special plug-in for YouTube videos, allowing it to jump straight to H.264-encoded copies.



The Tomorrow Weblog
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**** The Song Decoders <http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=d2479e68366d91c0b1cff8c2c53455b5>
Rob Walker, New York Times

On first listen, some things grab you for their off-kilter novelty. Like the story of a company that has hired a bunch of “musicologists,” who sit at computers and listen to songs, one at a time, rating them element by element, separating out what sometimes comes to hundreds of data points for a three-minute tune. The company, an Internet radio service called Pandora, is convinced that by pouring this information through a computer into an algorithm, it can guide you, the listener, to music that you like. The premise is that your favorite songs can be stripped to parts and reverse-engineered.



MyAppleMenu Reader
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**** Procedure In Plain Air <http://www.newyorker.com/fiction/features/2009/10/26/091026fi_fiction_lethem>
Jonathan Lethem, New Yorker

**** Au Revoir <http://www.newyorker.com/fiction/poetry/2009/10/26/091026po_poem_mclane>
Maureen N. McLane, New Yorker

**** Gardening In Cardoso <http://www.newyorker.com/fiction/poetry/2009/10/26/091026po_poem_longley>
Michael Longley, New Yorker

**** Man Of Extremes: The Return Of James Cameron. <http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/10/26/091026fa_fact_goodyear>
Dana Goodyear, New Yorker

Cameron is fifty-five. It has been twelve years since he has made a feature film; “Avatar,” his new movie, comes out on December 18th and will have cost more than two hundred and thirty million dollars by the time it’s done. He started working on it full time four years ago, from a script he wrote in 1994. “Avatar” will be the first big-budget action blockbuster in 3-D; Cameron shot it using camera systems that he developed himself. He is a pioneer of special effects: the undulating water column of “The Abyss” and the liquid-silver man of “Terminator 2” helped to inspire the digital revolution that has transformed moviemaking in the past two decades. The digital elements of “Avatar,” he claims, are so believable that, even when they exist alongside human actors, the audience will lose track of what is real and what is not. “This film integrates my life’s achievements,” he told me. “It’s the most complicated stuff anyone’s ever done.” Another time, he said, “If you set your goals ridiculously high and it’s a failure, you will fail above everyone else’s success.”

**** Look At The Birdie <http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/arts/la-ca-kurt-vonnegut18-2009oct18,0,4530239.story>
Kurt Vonnegut, Los Angeles Times

**** Leap Into Light <http://bostonreview.net/BR34.5/huddleston.php>
Robert Huddleston, Boston Review

Perhaps it is because, as Bedient acknowledges, W. B. Yeats discovered a tragic realism in the quarrel of antinomies while “Jack willingly sacrificed much of the outline of the ‘simple Unchangeable’ to the ‘protean Changeable,’” that Yeats the poet was the greater artist.



SingaporeSurf
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**** Review Is Timely <http://www.todayonline.com/Voices/EDC091019-0000020/Review-is-timely>
Rick Lim Say Kiong, Today

Lessons have to be learned here that senior workers are assets in any company but employers who are concerned about their bottom line do not seem to recognise this fact.

**** Ending Pay Cuts At 60: Govt-linked Firms Should Take Lead <http://www.straitstimes.com/ST%2BForum/Online%2BStory/STIStory_443719.html>
Perinpanayagam James, Straits Times

It is a shame that an employee, in the last years of his employ, instead of being respected for his experience and contributions to the organisation, faces a wage cut for doing the same job.

**** Working To Improve Services For Viewers <http://www.straitstimes.com/ST%2BForum/Story/STIStory_443781.html>
Cassandra Tay, Media Development Authority, Ng Sook Fun, Infocomm Development Authority, Straits Times

The Media Development Authority and Infocomm Development Authority are working with the industry on the Next Generation Interactive Multimedia, Applications and Services initiative. Potentially, this could allow more seamless inter-operability between multiple service providers, as well as interactive applications and services such as IPTV to be more easily deployed across different service providers' platforms.

**** Are Women Paying For Sexism Laws? <http://news.google.com/news/url?fd=R&sa=T&url=http%3A%2F%2Fnews.bbc.co.uk%2F2%2Fhi%2Fbusiness%2F8309508.stm&usg=AFQjCNEd7DQ_o3ZyA-9dziEfM_FOXdD-ug>
Clare Matheson, BBC News

**** Singapore Hedge Funds Set To Be Licensed, AIMA's Coleman Says <http://news.google.com/news/url?fd=R&sa=T&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bloomberg.com%2Fapps%2Fnews%3Fpid%3D20601087%26sid%3DaWwApWa0oMbI&usg=AFQjCNHWtAc9LR4zQ9TId_jwQSvb6Py2-g>
Netty Ismail, Bloomberg

Hedge funds in Singapore will “almost certainly” need to be licensed as the central bank seeks to tighten regulation of the industry, according to the local chapter of the Alternative Investment Management Association, the largest trade group for hedge funds.

**** Temasek Said To Be Planning Sale Of 10-Year Bonds In Dollars <http://news.google.com/news/url?fd=R&sa=T&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bloomberg.com%2Fapps%2Fnews%3Fpid%3D20601087%26sid%3DagNRjjIMNR3s&usg=AFQjCNHOvBQVPYH6_1gljaRwTErRqFXtdg>
Shelley Smith, Bloomberg

Temasek Holdings Pte, Singapore’s government-owned investment company, hired a group of three banks to help it sell 10-year bonds denominated in U.S. dollars.

**** 游新加坡河遐想 <http://news.google.com/news/url?fd=R&sa=T&url=http%3A%2F%2Fnews.sina.com.cn%2Fo%2F2009-10-19%2F082416460994s.shtml&usg=AFQjCNEIwmRYSxxKTQWYoOFtB7FgPGmVGw>
长沙晚报

我们应学习借鉴新加坡河治理经验，把浏阳河的污染治理好，把流域的生态环境保护好，把区域的资源开发利用好。

**** Upturn Not Felt Yet <http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking+News/Singapore/Story/STIStory_443904.html>
Tessa Wong, Straits Times

The economy may be technically out of a recession, but there is no let up in the numbers of those looking for help. Deputy prime minister Teo Chee Hean said on Sunday that the effects of the upturn have yet to be felt on the ground.

**** 国庆受阅海归女民兵身份引争议 绿卡或被取消 <http://news.163.com/09/1019/14/5M0C240F00011229.html>
人民网

有关移民问题向来是极易引起争论的。一方面，作为移民本身，无论持有何国国籍，首先要解决的是如何融入当地社会，所谓入乡随俗。另一方面，作为本地公民，也应以宽容心态接纳外来移民，所谓海纳百川。这是一个硬币的两面，是互为因果的现实命题。

**** What Is The Value Of Citizenship In Singapore? <http://www.mrbiao.com/blog/value-of-citizenship-in-singapor.html>
This Lush Garden Within

I have already gave up hope on a better Singapore, or a better life for me and my future family in Singapore. My heart is elsewhere, and my mind is already focused on how to achieve a better future, somewhere else besides in “Uniquely Singapore”.

**** Singapore Urges Investors To Look At Sri Lanka <http://news.google.com/news/url?fd=R&sa=T&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2Fhostednews%2Fafp%2Farticle%2FALeqM5hwy5-03NrCIUi9ui_kamMrh7CJWQ&usg=AFQjCNF2w8PlpYB_WXb5J3n7NFZ29UvW_A>
AFP

Singapore is urging local businessmen to explore investment opportunities in Sri Lanka following the defeat of the Tamil separatist insurgency there, a report said here Monday.

**** Govenment Reviews Pay-TV Deals <http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking+News/Singapore/Story/STIStory_443990.html>
Chua Hian Hou and Terrence Voon, Straits Times

Acting minister for information communications and the arts Radm (NS) Lui Tuck Yew told Parliament on Monday that the Media Development Authority (MDA) is currently exploring various 'short and long term regulatory options'.

**** Written Reply To Parliamentary Question On A) How Many Cyclists Have Been Booked For Traffic Offences Over The Past 12 Months; (b) What Are The Common Offences; And (c) What Is The Rule For Vehicular Traffic When Cyclists Ride Their Bicycles Across Pedestrian Crossings, 19 October 2009 <http://app4.mha.gov.sg/news_details.aspx?nid=MTU5MA%3d%3d-FQsQbvrhWsU%3d>
Ministry Of Home Affairs, Singapore Government

1,312 summonses were issued to errant cyclists for cycling offences between July 2008 and June 2009. Of these, the largest number of 615 summonses were issued to cyclists for cycling on the footways of roads. Other common infringements include failing to ride in an orderly manner such as not keeping a proper lookout and not giving way to traffic with the right of way, riding on expressways and riding against the flow of traffic.

**** Singapore Passes Tax Law To Improve Transparency <http://www.bing.com:80/news/rssclick.aspx?redir=http%253a%252f%252fwww.forbes.com%252fafxnewslimited%252ffeeds%252fafx%252f2009%252f10%252f19%252fafx7014959.html>
Nopporn Wong-Anan, Forbes

Singapore, under pressure from the G20 to improve banking transparency, passed a bill in Parliament on Monday amending its income tax law to comply with OECD standards to fight cross border tax evasion.

The new bill enables the Singapore government to ask banks for client information in potential cases of foreign tax evasion, and not just for domestic tax cases as allowed by the previous law.

**** Singapore, Malaysia Expand Air Services Agreement <http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1012325/1/.html>
Jia Mei, Channel NewsAsia

Singapore and Malaysian carriers will soon be able to fly freely between Changi and six new destinations in Malaysia after both countries agreed to expand their air services agreement.

**** Expansionary Budget To Be Expected For 2010, Says Finance Minister <http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporebusinessnews/view/1012329/1/.html>
Desmond Wong, Channel NewsAsia

Finance minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam has hinted that next year's government budget is likely to be expansionary, with no major shift from the fiscal stance taken in Budget 2009.

**** Analysts Say Office Rental Slide A Necessary Correction <http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporebusinessnews/view/1012326/1/.html>
Desmond Wong, Channel NewsAsia

Prime office rents may be on a downward trend, but analysts say there is nothing much to worry about as the decline is a necessary correction.

**** Mas Selamat Still Defiant <http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking+News/Singapore/Story/STIStory_444018.html>
Cassandra Chew, Straits Times

'Malaysia authorities have given our security officers access to Mas Selamat. He was, however, uncooperative during the interview, and refused to talk. So at this point, the Internal Security Department's assessment is that he remains defiant,' senior ministertatertate (law and home affairs) Ho Peng Kee disclosed.

**** Boon Lay Ave Blk 216 - 220 <http://singapore-lighthouse.blogspot.com/2009/10/boon-lay-ave-blk-216-220.html>
Phare Anderson, Singapore Social and Political Thoughts

**** Asean Needs A Culture Shock <http://news.google.com/news/url?fd=R&sa=T&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.guardian.co.uk%2Fcommentisfree%2F2009%2Foct%2F19%2Fmalaysia-indonesia&usg=AFQjCNE01iCsUuBWRPmglSRN01zWhF56LA>
Nazry Bahrawi, Guardian

Asean countries need to instil a much-needed paradigm shift that will see its people define 'culture' beyond superficialities.

**** Singapore To Increase Budget Spending Next Year <http://news.google.com/news/url?fd=R&sa=T&url=http%3A%2F%2Fin.reuters.com%2Farticle%2FfundsNews%2FidINSP49229320091019&usg=AFQjCNE4M6B0m004oEFSxFZLnBmXrp0HKA>
Nopporn Wong-Anan, Reuters

Singapore will lift spending from infrastructure to education next year and maintain a similar budget deficit, a sign the export-dependent country fears an economic rebound may not hold without government support.

**** Government-run Markets Will Stay <http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking+News/Singapore/Story/STIStory_444084.html>
Jessica Lim, Straits Times

All 82 of the government-run wet markets in Singapore will remain in government hands, along 'with the smell, the sound and the sight', minister for environment and water resources Yaacob Ibrahim told Parliament on Monday.

As for the rest of the 19 wet markets run by private companies, he reiterated that approval from the Housing Board would be needed for their sale and any change of their uses.

**** Democrats Apply For Permit To Speak At Bukit Panjang <http://yoursdp.org/index.php/news/singapore/2939-democrats-apply-for-permit-to-speak-at-bukit-panjang>
Singapore Democrats

The SDP has applied for a permit to speak at Fajar Road over the wet market issue. Assistant Secretary-General John Tan put in an application for party leaders to address Bukit Panjang residents on Sunday, 25 Oct 09, from 9 am to 12 noon.

**** Don't Sign Away Too Much, Dr M Tells Developing Nations <http://news.google.com/news/url?fd=R&sa=T&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthestar.com.my%2Fnews%2Fstory.asp%3Ffile%3D%2F2009%2F10%2F19%2Fnation%2F20091019201932%26sec%3Dnation&usg=AFQjCNFlCiJVRVf_u5EFBQosWVxvUaASLw>
Sira Habibu, Malaysia Star




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