[MyAppleMenu] Apr 19, 2010

[applesurf at myapplemenu.com]

MyAppleMenu
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**** Data Schizophrenia <http://www.mondaynote.com/2010/04/18/data-schizophrenia/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+monday-note+%28Monday+Note%29>
Frédéric Filloux, Monday Note

We now face a small club of high tech giants — Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Yahoo and Apple — who, over the years, acquired an unprecedented ability to gather and process data. As competition is heating up among them, the data they’ll be able to get will continue to increase in tactical and strategical value. As a corollary, they are increasingly inclined to keep such data close to the vest.

**** Why The 13" MacBook Pro Didn't Get A Core I5 Upgrade <http://arstechnica.com/apple/news/2010/04/why-the-13-macbook-pro-didnt-get-a-core-i5-upgrade.ars>
Chris Foresman, Ars Technica

It turns out that there are several reasons that factored into Apple's decision, including cost, graphics performance, battery life—and the laws of physics.

**** Rising iSun: Thoughts On The iPad's Prospects In Japan <http://www.tuaw.com/2010/04/18/rising-isun-thoughts-on-the-ipads-prospects-in-japan/>
Peter Payne, TUAW

In a place that's as resistant to change as Japan is, doing what Apple is trying to do is going to be an uphill battle. I certainly wish the Apple team well.

**** An Open Letter To Apple Regarding The Company's Approach To Conversation With Its Peers And Community <http://battellemedia.com/#ixzz0lSDrdKMC>
John Battelle

espite the gorgeous products and services you’ve created, we worry that you’re headed down a road that may lead to your own demise.

**** New Potential Malware Could Open A Back Door To Your Mac <http://arstechnica.com/apple/news/2010/04/new-potential-malware-could-open-a-back-door-to-your-mac.ars?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss>
Chris Foresman, Ars Technica

Computer anti-malware firm Intego has identified a new variant of malware for Mac OS X, dubbed HellRTS.D. When installed on your machine, it opens a backdoor that lets hackers take control of your machine without your knowledge.

**** Can Apple's iPad Really Take You To New Places? <http://www.wusa9.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=99787&catid=252>
Jillian Coyle, WUSA

Less than a week after the feverishly hyped launch of Apple's iPad, the touch-based multimedia tablet has been praised as one of the most revolutionary tools for travelers since the airport kiosk - and panned as a cumbersome, underwhelming gadget whose most notable application is that it tags its spendthrift owners as technology lemmings.

**** Two iPads Per Person, Per Lifetime? <http://techland.com/2010/04/18/two-ipads-per-person-per-lifetime/>
Peter Ha, Techland

“You're only allowed to purchase two iPads in your lifetime, ma'am.”

**** It’s Time For The Press To Push Back Against Apple <http://www.cjr.org/the_audit/its_time_for_the_press_to_push.php?page=all>
Ryan Chittum, Columbia Journalism Review

Look, let’s face it. The iPad is the most exciting opportunity for the media in many years. But if the press is ceding gatekeeper status, even if it’s only nominally, over its speech, then it is making a dangerous mistake. Unless Apple explicitly gives the press complete control over its ability to publish what it sees fit, the news media needs to yank its apps in protest.

**** Ars Reviews Adobe Photoshop CS5 Extended <http://arstechnica.com/apple/reviews/2010/04/photoshop-cs5-extended---the-ars-technica-review.ars?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rs>
Dave Girard, Ars Technica

It's truly impressive that Photoshop CS5 is successful at adding a lot of useful, engineering-heavy features in CS5, all while porting over to a new and stable Cocoa 64-bit code-base on OS X. And it's encouraging to see that a program that has no real competitors isn't just being phoned in. Against the on-going daytime drama of "Apple vs. Flash," Photoshop is still just a great program and CS5 is a worthwhile update for a broad cross-section of users. My complaints are about minor issues—things like the low-res preview in HDR Merge Pro or window layering with AIR filters—can be addressed in a x.1 update without really slowing people down in the meantime.

**** The US iPad 3G Ships By May 7th <http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/AppAdvice/~3/fpS40OhEKyc/>
Alexander Vaughn, App Advice

Apple just updated its online store and now finally displays a shipping date for the iPad 3G in the US.

**** New MacBook Pro May Not Matter <http://www.beatweek.com/blog/4366-new-macbook-pro-may-not-matter/>
Beatweek

I suddenly can’t get myself excited about Apple’s laptop lineup even though I’ve spent a decade partaking in it.

**** Five Reasons Why I Still Like The iMac <http://www.tuaw.com/2010/04/19/five-reasons-why-i-still-like-the-imac/>
Steven Sande, TUAW

**** This Is Apple's Next iPhone <http://gizmodo.com/5520164/this-is-apples-next-iphone>
Jason Chen, Gizmodo

You are looking at Apple's next iPhone. It was found lost in a bar in Redwood City, camouflaged to look like an iPhone 3GS. We got it. We disassembled it. It's the real thing, and here are all the details.



MyAppleMenu Reader
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**** Denying Shakespeare <http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304510004575186182448069168.html?mod=WSJ_ArtsEnt_LifestyleArtEnt_4>
Terry Teachout, Wall Street Journal

To deny that Shakespeare's plays could have been written by a man of relatively humble background is, after all, to deny the very possibility of genius itself—a sentiment increasingly attractive in a democratic culture where few harsh realities are so unpalatable as that of human inequality. The mere existence of a Shakespeare is a mortal blow to the pride of those who prefer to suppose that everybody is just as good as everybody else. But just as some people are prettier than others, so are some people smarter than others, and no matter who you are or how hard you try, I can absolutely guarantee that you're not as smart as Shakespeare.

**** Following A Stream <http://www.newyorker.com/fiction/poetry/2010/04/26/100426po_poem_wagoner>
David Wagoner, New Yorker

**** Edgemont Drive <http://www.newyorker.com/fiction/features/2010/04/26/100426fi_fiction_doctorow>
E. L. Doctorow, New Yorker



SingaporeSurf
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**** Nuts To Promise Affordable Homes For All <http://singaporegirl.wordpress.com/2010/04/18/nuts-to-promise-affordable-homes-for-all/>
Food Fuels Me To Talk...

Globalisation ensures that a small, well-run place like Singapore will have high demand for property, internally and externally. You just figure the sums.

**** SDP Meets Teo; MP Rejects Call To Stop Sheng Siong <http://yoursdp.org/index.php/news/singapore/3607-sdp-meets-teo-mp-rejects-call-to-stop-sheng-siong->
Singapore Democrat Party

The PAP MP obviously doesn't know what he is talking about. Sheng Siong is taking over the only wet market in the area. The company is increasing rents leaving stallholders without a choice but to move out of the property.

Dr Teo seems clueless that there is not another wet market in the estate. Without another wet market to offer competition to Sheng Siong, how can there be market forces?

**** Old Geezers, Young Hopefuls And Dream Homes <http://www.pressrun.net/weblog/2010/04/old-geezers-young-hopefuls-and-dream-homes.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rana+%28Blowin%27+In+The+Wind%29>
Blowin' In The Wind

For, in a country with nearly 90 per cent home ownership, how many people will gain from falling property prices?

**** A Plausible Revelation <http://singaporerecalcitrant.blogspot.com/2010/04/plausible-revelation.html>
Singapore Recalcitrant

So in the world of politics, you can plead being above board in nepotism and corruption but you cannot completely eradicate cynicism shown by some of the sceptical citizens. And this can have a multiplying effect in certain circumstances.

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**** White In America – The New Minority? <http://erpz.net/2010/04/18/white-in-america-the-new-minority/>
ERPZ

**** Setting The Record Straight <http://www.todayonline.com/Voices/EDC100419-0000042/Setting-the-record-straight>
Ng Teck Siong and Gopal Prabha, Today

**** An Opportunity Missed? <http://www.todayonline.com/Singapore/EDC100419-0000061/An-opportunity-missed?>
P N Balji, Today

Like in the case of Mr Chip Goodyear, who quit even before he took up his CEO post at Temasek Holdings, somebody forgot to tell Mr Woon that the Singapore culture of top officials articulating their points of view in public is still a no-go.

Mr Woon's appointment was a great opportunity to change all that - but it's now gone. That's a pity, really.

**** Astroturf In Singapore? No Biggie: Just Fight Fire With Fire <http://guanyinmiao.wordpress.com/2010/04/19/astroturf-in-singapore-no-biggie-just-fight-fire-with-fire>
Guanyinmiao's Musings

Perhaps it is high time for a more active engagement of political and socio-economic issues beyond the new media realm. Ultimately, it would prove to be a win-win situation, since the administration would enjoy the same liberty of refuting factually-false claims and defending its assortment of plans and policies.

**** Why Mah Bow Tan’s Policy Of High HDB Flat Prices Is Wrong <http://www.temasekreview.com/2010/04/19/mah-bow-tan’s-policy-of-high-hdb-flat-prices-is-wrong/>
Richard Lu, The Temasek Review

Mr. Mah Bow Tan and Miss Grace Fu should be reminded that wealth creation is not the function of the Ministry for National Development.  The writer of this article suspects that if Mr. Mah Bow Tan has his way, he would raffle or have Singaporeans bid for the apartments like the COE bidding system that he implemented for vehicles when he was Minister of Communications. He would also like to see the prices of HDB flats to be as high as private apartments in New York or Hong Kong or Paris or London.

**** Singapore's Political System A One-Legged Stool <http://www.yawningbread.org/arch_2010/yax-1100.htm>
Yawning Bread

We have hitched our political stability to never-ending economic progress. Why? Why are we like gamblers, hitching our overall well-being to the roll of the dice? Why can't we have a system that is stable in good times and bad?

**** 永久居民·公民 申请还是不申请？ <http://www.zaobao.com/fk/fk100419_001.shtml>
赵琬仪, 联合早报

虽然政府表示，永久公民少一点权益、多一点限制并不代表政府不欢迎外来人才，但是权益减少之后，一些永久居民坦然接受，但也有另一些感到失落不安，甚至担心下来还会有哪些更大的改变，“to be or not to be”成了一大难题。

**** Astroturfing – A Nuisance, Or A Brave New World Of Activism? <http://theonlinecitizen.com/2010/04/astroturfing-%e2%80%93-a-nuisance-or-a-brave-new-world-of-activism/>
Howard Lee, The Online Citizen

My suggestion to the authorities is: get used to it, get thicker skin, or get up and react positively. The astroturf is no longer as cleanly manicured as it used to be.

**** Worth Implementing Pre-Employment Grant <http://theonlinecitizen.com/2010/04/worth-implementing-pre-emp/>
Callan Tham, The Online Citizen

All things considered, while the healthcare system needs to be improved on several policy fronts, the PEG is one policy that is worth implementing. It provides an incentive for overseas-trained Singaporean doctors to return home to practice, while helping them cover a significant part of their fees. It will help cushion the need for doctors while local medical schools expandto fill the needs of Singaporeans, keeping up the quality of healthcare. Finally, it helps MOH to improve in areas they have identified to be”bugbears” in the healthcare delivery: shorter waiting times between appointments, short waiting times on the day of the appointment itself, and longer consultation times with their physicians.

**** Religion In The Public Sphere <http://groundnotes.wordpress.com/2010/04/19/religion-in-the-public-sphere/>
Groundnotes

Now, all this sounds rather reasonable. When in public it’s better to speak with a secular vocabulary than a religious one because you reach more people. However, this comes rather hollow when one recalls the 2007 debate of 377A.

**** Differentiating Between PRs And S’poreans? <http://theonlinecitizen.com/2010/04/differentiating-between-prs-and-sporeans/>
Leong Sze Hian, The Online Citizen

**** Intrusion Into Common Space, Tolerance And Respect <http://chemgen.wordpress.com/2010/04/19/intrusion-into-common-space-tolerance-and-respect/>
Chemical Generation Singapore