[MyAppleMenu] Apr 1, 2010

[applesurf at myapplemenu.com]

MyAppleMenu
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**** iTunes 9.1: What's Changed <http://www.macworld.com/article/150193/2010/03/inside_itunes91.html?lsrc=rss_main>
Christopher Breen, Macworld

Although the primary purpose of the update was to bring iPad compatibility to Apple’s jukebox-and-more media application, other changes—both significant and not-so—came along for the ride. Here’s what’s new and changed.

**** Apple Updates AirPort Utility, Base Station Firmware <http://www.macworld.com/article/150198/2010/03/airport_updates.html?lsrc=rss_main>
Dan Moren, Macworld

The new version of AirPort Utility fixes a couple general bugs along with two specific issues: one where it won’t import all settings when importing a configuration, and one where it won’t correctly propagate MAC address control lists when using an extended network. The latter issue also led to a potential security problem where unauthorized computers could join a locked network via a network extender.

**** Apple On Your Eyes <http://www.slate.com/id/2249406/?from=rss>
Jeremy Singer-Vine, Slate Magazine

Can staring at an iPad hurt your vision?

**** Apple iPad Review: Laptop Killer? Pretty Close <http://ptech.allthingsd.com/20100331/apple-ipad-review/>
Walter S. Mossberg, Wall Street Journal

My verdict is that, while it has compromises and drawbacks, the iPad can indeed replace a laptop for most data communication, content consumption and even limited content creation, a lot of the time. But it all depends on how you use your computer.

**** Apple's iPad Is A Touch Of Genius <http://www.boingboing.net/2010/03/31/a-first-look-at-ipad.html>
Xeni Jardin, Boing Boing

Just as the iPhone, Palm Pré and Android phones scratched an itch we didn't know we had, somewhere between cellphone and notebook, the iPad hits a completely new pleasure spot. The display is large enough to make the experience of apps and games on smaller screens stale. Typography is crisp, images gem-like, and the speed brisk thanks to Apple's A4 chip and solid state storage. As I browse early release iPad apps, web pages, and flip through the iBook store and books, the thought hits that this is a greater leap into a new user experience than the sum of its parts suggests.

**** Reviews: Love It Or Not? Looking At iPad From 2 Angles <http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/01/technology/personaltech/01pogue.html>
David Pogue, New York Times

The bottom line is that the iPad has been designed and built by a bunch of perfectionists. If you like the concept, you’ll love the machine.

**** Unboxing The Apple iPad: The Photos <http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2362093,00.asp>
Tim Gideon and Wendy Sheehan Donnell, PC Magazine

**** Apple's iPad Is Better Than Expected <http://blogs.chron.com/techblog/archives/2010/03/dr_mac_apples_ipad_is_better_than_expected.html>
Bob "Dr. Mac" LeVitus, Houston Chronicle

I had high expectations for the iPad, and it has met or exceeded most of them.

**** Verdict Is In On Apple iPad: It's A Winner <http://www.usatoday.com/tech/columnist/edwardbaig/2010-03-31-apple-ipad-review_N.htm>
Edward C. Baig, USA Today

Apple has pretty much nailed it with this first iPad, though there's certainly room for improvement. Nearly three years after making a splash with the iPhone, Apple has delivered another impressive product that largely lives up to the hype.

**** Review: iPad Is Pure Innovation - One Of Best Computers Ever <http://www.suntimes.com/technology/ihnatko/2134139,ihnatko-ipad-apple-review-033110.article>
Andy Ihnatko, Chicago Sun-Times

The most compelling sign that Apple got this right is the fact that despite the novelty of the iPad, the excitement slips away after about ten seconds and you’re completely focused on the task at hand ... whether it’s reading a book, writing a report, or working on clearing your Inbox. Second most compelling: in situation after situation, I find that the iPad is the best computer in my household and office menagerie. It’s not a replacement for my notebook, mind you. It feels more as if the iPad is filling a gap that’s existed for quite some time.

**** Apple Clamps Down On Non-US iPad Orders <http://news.google.com/news/url?fd=R&sa=T&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.macobserver.com%2Ftmo%2Farticle%2Fapple_clamps_down_on_non-u.s._ipad_orders%2F&usg=AFQjCNFLdKtd-wmoeuuS5oeaEy6wMfzuSQ>
The Mac Observer

Apple has clamped down on third party companies offering non-U.S. customers iPad delivery, according to MobileGamesBlog. Customers that had ordered iPads through these companies began receiving e-mails letting them know that Apple had canceled their orders, and that they would receive refunds.

**** Apple Refunds Expedited Shipping Charges For iPads <http://rss.macworld.com/click.phdo?i=642acdff83deccef3d98eafc6ab91164>
Scott McNulty, Macworld

Apple goofed by giving people an option for expedited shipping option for a product slated to arrive on a certain date.

**** IBooks Is Worth The Price Alone For iPad As Ebook Reader <http://news.google.com/news/url?fd=R&sa=T&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.suntimes.com%2Ftechnology%2Fihnatko%2F2134130%2Cipad-ihnatko-ebook-ibook-033110.article&usg=AFQjCNFUYoRRZY2hG2i4wonfSqwJLQs6Nw>
Andy Ihnatko, Chicago Sun-Times

If the price and the size aren’t obstacles to you, then it’s the clear winner.

**** iPad Mania: Sneak Peek At Apple's Latest Creation <http://abcnews.go.com/WN/apple-ipad-invasion-include-app-army/story?id=10249840>
Neal Karlinsky, Eloise Harper and Hanna Siegel, ABC News

It's early morning and Apple has invited us behind locked doors inside a store that hasn't opened for a private showing of the much-anticipated iPad.

Our sneak peak included a look at applications, better known as apps, from developers in Los Angeles and Seattle.

**** Screens And Eyestrain <http://news.google.com/news/url?fd=R&sa=T&url=http%3A%2F%2Fonline.wsj.com%2Farticle%2FSB10001424052702303338304575155891445033542.html%3Fmod%3DWSJ_LifeStyle_LeadStoryNA&usg=AFQjCNEl6932IjWO-9u13wMo45W29ZfDVQ>
Wall Street Journal

The launch of Apple Inc.'s iPad is fueling an ocular debate: What type of e-reader is easiest on the eyes: the black-and-white screens that simulate ink on a printed page or the back-lit color screens used by computers and the iPad?

**** Apple's iPad Is For Moms Now, Techies Later <http://news.google.com/news/url?fd=R&sa=T&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffingtonpost.com%2Fnoah-kravitz%2Fapples-ipad-is-for-moms-n_b_521078.html&usg=AFQjCNFqk45Y9fda0G7y6WWVpbjtuWHojQ>
Noah Kravitz, Huffington Post

Apple knows how to capture consumer imagination, and they know how to make technology simple. For all the high-end geeks crying foul over what iPad can't do -- no multitasking, no user installation of apps beyond the Apple-controlled store, no Flash content in the Web browser, and so on -- millions of average consumers are much more interested in what this thing can do.

And what's that? What can the iPad do? In a word, it can simplify computing.

**** ITC To Investigate HTC Phones After Apple Complaint <http://rss.macworld.com/click.phdo?i=830b6cf9cfb0ade47410a9999d7aa183>
Nancy Gohring, Macworld

On Wednesday, the ITC said that one of its administrative law judges will hold an evidentiary hearing to look into Apple’s complaint. The ITC now has 45 days to set a target date for completing the investigation.

**** iPad Springboard Breaks Spatiality <http://ignorethecode.net/blog/2010/04/01/ipad_springboard_breaks_spatiality/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+IgnoreTheCode+%28ignore+the+code%29>
Lukas Mathis, Ingore The Code

Let’s say you want to open the App Store on your iPad, and you know that you’ve put this icon at the bottom right of your apps. Turning the iPad shuffles the positions of your icons. The App Store now suddenly jumps to the middle of the second row.

**** Apple's Bet On iPad Requires Buyers To Take 'Leap Of Faith' <http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-04-01/apple-s-bet-on-ipad-requires-buyers-to-take-leap-of-faith-.html>
Connie Guglielmo, Bloomberg

Apple Inc., looking to succeed where rivals like Microsoft Corp. failed, is betting that consumers are finally ready for tablet computers, even if they have to do without some features.

**** Apple's iPad: The Mothership Prepares For Launch <http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1976935-1,00.html>
Stephen Fry, Time

I am here at Apple's invitation to try out the iPad, and later in my visit I will spend an hour with the company's boss, Steve Jobs — the first time I've ever spent any real time with him. But as I meet with Schiller and Cue, I feel it only fair to reel off the list of negatives the iPad will meet on its release. It falls between two stools — neither small enough to be truly portable nor big enough to be called a proper computer. Everything, I point out, is under Apple's control, as usual. No Adobe Flash capability, no multitasking, no camera. It's just a scaled-up iPhone or iPod Touch.

"There's a negative way of saying that," says Schiller, "and a positive. 'Oh, it's just a big iPhone ... boo!' or 'Hey, it's like a big iPhone ... cool!' Luckily, millions of people have those, so there is an instant ease and familiarity when they first encounter the iPad. As for everything else, it's not about the features — it's about the experience. You just have to try it to see what I mean."

**** Twitter! Curse Your Sudden But Inevitable Betrayal! <http://www.ericsink.com/entries/dual_class_computing.html>
Eric Sink

Your Mom wants a computer she doesn't have to ask you to fix.  She is willing to trade power and flexibility to get simplicity.  The iPad is another major step.

**** Living With Windows: Security <http://www.macworld.com/article/147103/2010/04/livingwithwindowssecurity.html?lsrc=rss_main>
Rich Mogull, Macworld

What you do and don't have to worry about Macs and PCs connect.

**** Limits Of The First New iPad Apps <http://www.macworld.com/article/150208/2010/04/ihnatko_ipad.html?lsrc=rss_main>
Andy Ihnatko, Macworld

I fear that hundreds of thousands of early-adopters will buy these first-generation apps and suffer a serious letdown. I’m betting that the iPad won’t show its true strength until a couple of weeks later, after thousands of developers have finally been able to run their apps on a live iPad. They will slap their heads, have one last night of intimacy with their significant others, and then sleep in their offices until they’ve completed and released a totally-revamped edition.

But the initial damage will have been done.



The Tomorrow Weblog
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**** Integration Is The New Innovation <http://news.cnet.com/8301-13505_3-10471845-16.html?part=rss&amp;subj=news&amp;tag=2547-1_3-0-20>
Matt Asay, CNET News



MyAppleMenu Reader
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**** For A Look Outside Presidential Bubble, Obama Reads 10 Personal Letters Each Day <http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2010/03/30/ST2010033004292.html>
Eli Saslow, Washington Post

Each day, 20,000 letters and e-mails addressed to Obama are screened for threats and then sent to a nondescript office building in downtown Washington. Hundreds of volunteers and staff members sort the mail into categories before a senior aide picks the 10 destined to provide Obama with his daily glimpse beyond what he calls "the presidential bubble."

**** Next Big Thing in English: Knowing They Know That You Know <http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/01/books/01lit.html>
Patricia Cohen, New York Times

To illustrate what a growing number of literary scholars consider the most exciting area of new research, Lisa Zunshine, a professor of English at Kentucky University, refers to an episode from the TV series “Friends.”

**** The Bright Side Of Science Fiction <http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/booksblog/2010/apr/01/science-fiction?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+theguardian%2Fbooks%2Frss+%28Books%29>
Damien G Walter, The Guardian

If we are to have some some influence over how that change unfolds, isn't it important that our stories, whether they be in the news, on television screens or in the pages of science fiction novels, fully explore the optimistic possibilities that technology represents?



SingaporeSurf
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**** No Late Disclosure: Temasek <http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_509256.html>
Straits Times

Temasek Holdings yesterday clarified that there was no late disclosure of the fact that it is no longer a substantial shareholder of China-based shipbuilder Cosco Corp (Singapore).

**** 后港巴刹不到十年又翻新 公众反对，小贩称有必要 <http://www.zaobao.com/sp/sp100401_005.shtml>
蔡慧玲, 联合早报

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**** Breaking News: High Court Judge Overturns John Ng's Decision <http://yoursdp.org/index.php/news/singapore/3559-breaking-news-high-court-judge-overturns-john-ngs-decision>
Singapore Democrat Party

High Court Judge Choo Han Teck has overturned District Judge John Ng's decision to acquit five activists for conducting a procession in 2007. Mr Choo ordered that the matter return to DJ Ng for conviction and sentencing.

**** New Political Party Formed <http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_509263.html>
Sue-Ann Chia, Straits Times

A new political party - the United Singapore Democrats (USD) - has just been registered last week. At least four of its leaders have links to the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP), with one of them contesting the 2006 General Election as part of the SDP's six-man team in Sembawang GRC.

**** Times Co. Settles Claim In Singapore <http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/25/business/media/25times.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss>
Richard Perez-Pena, New York Times

“Nobody in most of the world would bat an eye about” such a piece, said Stuart D. Karle, a former general counsel of The Wall Street Journal, who has handled disputes with Singapore’s leadership but was not involved in this case. But in that country, he said, there is often “the presumption that there’s a hidden message” about nepotism or corruption in news coverage, and if that turns into a libel case, a news organization faces “a near-certainty of losing."

**** Singapore Court Overturns Acquittal Of Activists <http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gh5qnCnVhGJxgT5Sm_7vXj7_-Ryg>
AFP

Singapore's High Court on Thursday overturned a ruling acquitting a group of pro-democracy activists of taking part in an illegal march. The five, who include members of the opposition Singapore Democratic Party (SDP), were cleared last year of taking part in the September 2007 protest.

But the High Court accepted an appeal by the public prosecutor and ordered the court which made the original ruling to sentence the group.

**** Pixar Animation Comes To Life At Science Centre Exhibition <http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1047310/1/.html>
Wang Eng Eng, Channel NewsAsia

Fans of animation are in for a treat when the best of Pixar over 20 years comes to the Singapore Science Centre. The exhibition, costing S$1.5 million, is making Singapore its only stop in Southeast Asia. 

**** Death Penalty In Singapore (2009) <http://aussgworldpolitics.wordpress.com/2010/04/01/death-penalty-in-singapore-2009/>
Readings From A Political Duo-ble

While it appears that the Singapore government has reduced the number of capital punishment cases, there is much work to be done. From an abolitionist point of view, a single state execution is one too many. The decreasing number of public death sentences and executions is possibly a sign of the political elites being increasingly embarrassed by such negative publicity.

**** MFA Spokesman's Comments In Response To Media Queries On Developments In The Two Hit-and-run Traffic Accidents On 15 December 2009 That Involved The Romanian Embassy Vehicle S3401CD, And Comments To The Media By The Romanian Ambassador And Dr Ionescu On The Coroner's Verdict <http://app.mfa.gov.sg/2006/press/view_press_email.asp?post_id=5912>
Singapore Government

"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) has summoned HE Aurelian Neagu, the Romanian Ambassador to Singapore (who is based in Tokyo), to a meeting in MFA next week to discuss the charges preferred by the Attorney-General's Chambers against Dr Ionescu after the Coroner had delivered his verdict. A summary of the charges is attached."

"Dr Silviu Ionescu's comments carried in the media are outrageous and cast aspersions on the integrity of Singapore's judicial system which are entirely without basis."

**** Some Stalls At Sheng Siong's Wet Markets Quit Due To Rent Hike <http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1047331/1/.html>
Sharon See, Channel NewsAsia

Some stallholders at the wet markets operated by Sheng Siong have decided to call it quits, now that they have to pay 30 per cent more in rent. About 10 per cent, or 14 stalls, told MediaCorp they have decided not to carry on at the wet markets, which are in Choa Chu Kang, Bukit Batok and Serangoon.