[MyAppleMenu] Aug 17, 2010

applesurf at myapplemenu.com applesurf at myapplemenu.com
Tue Aug 17 18:59:00 EDT 2010

MyAppleMenu
====================================

**** Tired Of Mail? Try GyazMail To Be Cool And Chic <http://mac360.com/index.php/mac360/comments/tired-of-mail-try-gyazmail-to-be-cool-and-chic/>
Jeffrey Mincey, Mac 360

GyazMail probably balances simplicity (truly easy to set up and use) with basic features we need, but with a slightly different look and feel. It’s not that there’s anything wrong with Apple’s Mail, but sometimes we have a need-to-be-different itch that needs scratching.

**** Apple Hires Expert On Mobile Payments <http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/08/16/apple-hires-mobile-payment-expert/>
Nick Bilton, New York Times

Apple recently hired Benjamin Vigier, an expert in the mobile payments industry who works with a technology called near field communication.

**** Adobe To Apple: "We've Moved On" <http://www.slashgear.com/adobe-ceo-on-apple-flash-argument-weve-moved-on-1697838/>
Satsuki Then, Slashgear

Apple and Adobe may not be the best of friends right now, but Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen doesn’t seem too worried. Describing the Cupertino company’s aversion to Flash on iOS devices like the iPhone and iPad as Apple “wanting to control the environment”, Narayen says his company would “rather work with partners who are interested in working with us” and that “they’ve made their choice. We’ve made ours and we’ve moved on.”

**** Scrivener Writing Software <http://it-enquirer.com/2010/08/16/scrivener-writing-software/>
IT.Enquirer

**** Review: Ecto 3.0.2 <http://rss.macworld.com/click.phdo?i=0fc55d000915efb0b04ea0a31e7e461a>
Jeffery Battersby, Macworld

Ecto 3.0.2 is an great blog editing application and one that in many ways is more convenient than the Web-interface for your blog. While the program's missing Tumblr support is a disappointment, it’s not an uncommon problem—only Blogo and MarsEdit handle Tumblr well—and with more than 25 blogging platforms to choose from, ecto is likely to support the platform that you’re using.

**** Opinion: App Makers Should Get Some Volume Button Access <http://rss.macworld.com/click.phdo?i=31426f84e541beb551e5ae6bbf206140>
Lex Friedman, Macworld

In general, if users press the volume button, they should know just what’s going to happen. So I don’t think Apple should simply allow developers to repurpose the button at whim. Rather, I think that the rule should be this: To repurpose the volume button, an app must get opt-in permission from the user. In Camera+, that might come in the form of a setting phrased thusly: “Use the volume buttons to snap photos.”

**** Opinion: Don't Blame Apple For Enforcing Its Own Rules <http://rss.macworld.com/click.phdo?i=73b07c50ea355de75dcb72a9cd3d6ca3>
Marco Tabini, Macworld

Within the isolated context of the app, the feature may well make sense and be a great addition—but, then again, the app doesn’t run in isolation. At any given moment, the user might be playing music or be on a phone call, in which case pushing the volume button will affect something other than Camera+. Chances are that, even if the function is off by default and must be activated by the user, most people will eventually forget that they have enabled it, and blame the resulting odd behavior on their device.

**** Mac Gems: Share Files On The Internet With CloudApp <http://rss.macworld.com/click.phdo?i=e5b2e47c1b2b7f51bcbf4efd2324a1ec>
Derik DeLong, Macworld

CloudApp is both a Web service and a small application with a single minded goal: share your files with others with shortened URLs (in the form of http://cl.ly/xxxxxx). Any types of file can be uploaded, up to 50MB (making this service restrictive in regards to sharing video and podcasts).

**** Tricks For Importing Photos From Your iPhone <http://www.zdnet.com/blog/apple/tricks-for-importing-photos-from-your-iphone/7964?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+zdnet%2FApple+%28ZDNet+The+Apple+Core%29>
Jason D. O'Grady, ZDNet

Many people choose to launch iPhoto or Aperture when connecting the iPhones to Macs for the ritualistic “sync” operation — but if you don’t actually do it, or worse, disable the launch of a photo app you can leave your iPhone’s photos in great peril.

**** Get A Free E-copy Of Guy Kawasaki's Book The Macintosh Way <http://www.tuaw.com/2010/08/16/get-a-free-e-copy-of-guy-kawasakis-book-the-macintosh-way/>
Steven Sande, TUAW

For those of us who were followers of Apple back in the 80s and 90s, there was no single person who defined the enthusiasm and overall attitude of the company more than Guy Kawasaki. Guy was part of the team responsible for the original marketing of the Mac, and is credited with the use of evangelism in tech marketing to create a passionate following for a product.

**** Could An iPad Newspaper From News Corp. Succeed? <http://rss.macworld.com/click.phdo?i=37cd1d26a1a61beaa78159b9275410d5>
Ian Paul, PC World

**** Apple Rejiggering Support Forums With Social Network Bent <http://feeds.arstechnica.com/~r/arstechnica/apple/~3/II_dQdcOLVw/apple-rejiggering-support-forums-with-social-network-bent.ars>
Chris Foresman, Ars Technica

Apple is planning to change its current Apple Discussions support forums to adopt more of a social network vibe, according to several recent posts by Apple staff. The new service will be called Apple Support Communities and will include new options for custom landing pages, new profiles, and a focus on building a "reputation" for offering the best advice on solving support issues.

**** Code Shows Future IOS Devices Currently In Testing <http://www.tuaw.com/2010/08/16/code-shows-future-ios-devices-currently-in-testing/>
Mike Schramm, TUAW

Code in the latest iOS release shows that Apple is currently working on "unreleased hardware."

**** Apple Manager Pleads Not Guilty In Kickbacks Case <http://www.reuters.com/article/idCNN1627587820100816>
Dan Levine and Gabriel Madway, Reuters

**** Apple Supplier Paid Commission To Broker <http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704868604575433682036428408.html>
Ting-I Tsai, Wall Street Journal

The parent of Kaedar Electronics Co., one of the six companies named in an indictment of an Apple Inc. employee as having paid kickbacks to land Apple orders, acknowledged Monday that Kaedar did pay brokerage commission to an intermediate trading company for its business with Apple between 2005 and 2008. But it said it is not sure if the arrested Apple employee is behind the intermediate trading company.

**** Latest Version Of Photoshop Works Like Magic <http://feeds.chron.com/~r/houstonchronicle/techdrmac/~3/kWWKyrZHF7o/7156175.html>
Bob LeVitus, Houston Chronicle

At $699, Photoshop CS5 is expensive and not for everyone. But if you need to perform magic on digital images, nothing else even comes close.

**** Computing: Apple's Newest 27-inch iMac Excels <http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headline/biz/7156270.html>
Dwight Silverman, Houston Chronicle

**** Symbolic Links Made Simple <http://rss.macworld.com/click.phdo?i=13cd6ce6c397c31ec0188d4a7aa8e533>
Whitson Gordon, Macworld

Symbolic links are similar to aliases, in the sense that they are shortcuts that link to a specific file or folder. But symbolic links are often more useful than aliases: For example, if you put an alias in your Dropbox folder, it will sync just the alias file; put a sym link in that folder, and Dropbox will sync the original file that link points to. And aliases won't work in OS X's Unix-based tools, including Terminal; sym links will.

**** China Unicom To Launch Apple iPhone 4 Next Month <http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jDDpI_6j1Di0OrUQZBscJNg4gHtQ>
AFP

China Unicom plans to launch Apple's latest iPhone next month in the world's largest mobile market, state-run media said Tuesday.



The Tomorrow Weblog
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**** Web Video Plays Up Its Social Side <http://feeds.technologyreview.com/click.phdo?i=304ddb78b6b9d51c00601f760289984c>
Erica Naone, Technology Review

Watching TV has always been a social experience, although today's users are more likely to post about the big game on Twitter than to gather with family on the couch. Startups and established companies alike are developing new ways to take advantage of this social side to watching video.

**** A New Kind Of Logic Chip <http://feeds.technologyreview.com/click.phdo?i=cc986fcc091084f3dd42c2580486a65e>
Tom Simonite, Technology Review

A computer chip that performs calculations using probabilities, instead of binary logic, could accelerate everything from online banking systems to the flash memory in smart phones and other gadgets.



MyAppleMenu Reader
====================================

**** Letting A Flying Hairy Arm Take It Away <http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=66ac6f59572dbf62d63289706629dfb8>
Troy Patterson, New York Times

Following a dedication page that offers his fifth novel to the memory of Kurt Vonnegut — implicitly announcing as his goal to employ Vonnegut’s shades of dark comedy and fluorescent farce — Rick Moody turns things over in “The Four Fingers of Death” to one Montese Crandall. This character is not the narrator of the novel but the “author” of a slab of sci-fi horror hack work coextensive with it. This is to say that Mr. Moody here undertakes an extended impersonation of a long-winded ham, convincingly so.

**** Ian Rankin On The Strange Case Of Dr Jekyll And Mr Hyde <http://feeds.guardian.co.uk/~r/theguardian/books/rss/~3/rTewCerAYnw/ian-rankin-dr-jekyll-mr-hyde>
Ian Rankin, The Guardian

The notion of a "Jekyll-and-Hyde" character has become a lazy way of describing someone when they do something contrary to their normal nature. But that's not quite what Dr Henry Jekyll does. Rather, he consciously searches for a chemical that will allow him to separate out the two sides to his nature.

**** Fraser Island <http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2010/09/fraser-island/smith-text>
Roff Smith, Photograph by Peter Essick, National Geographic Magazine

Aboriginal gods wanted a paradise on Earth. So they created Fraser Island.

**** Step 1: Post Elusive Proof. Step 2: Watch Fireworks. <http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=14fa4d121a79b7e8f4b28d5c8e9ff575>
John Markoff, New York Times

The potential of Internet-based collaboration was vividly demonstrated this month when complexity theorists used blogs and wikis to pounce on a claimed proof for one of the most profound and difficult problems facing mathematicians and computer scientists.

**** Coping With Crises Close To Someone Else’s Heart <http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=fc80cef846253c0426490b57d6cb58a2>
Harriet Brown, New York Times

In the wake of 9/11, two wars and the seemingly ever-rising tide of natural disasters, we’ve come to understand the various ways in which people cope with crisis when it happens to them. But psychologists are just beginning to explore the ways we respond to other people’s traumas.

**** Numberplay: The Relativity Of Probability <http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=2cc8c6639d5bd5972b3c26fbf6961bf5>
Pradeep Mutalik, New York Times

The determination of probabilities is a well-established branch of mathematics. Very often probability calculations are simple and yield exact values that seem absolute and objective. Not so! Today I give you three scenarios with questions whose calculations are mostly simple. They are meant to show two things: first, that probability is relative – the probability of something may be very different depending on the way it is measured; and second, that probability is a measure of our ignorance. Any piece of knowledge, no matter how seemingly irrelevant, can change the probability for us.

**** A Not-So-Secret Guide To Our Lost Language <http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/7942883/A-not-so-secret-guide-to-our-lost-language.html>
Christopher Howse, Telegraph

Lexicographers are hoarders, and they still have 6×4in cards with words, written in ink with dip-pens, dating back to the days before Tolkien invented Middle Earth and was shovelling away at drifts of lexical items in the corrugated-iron shed that once sheltered the OED.



SingaporeSurf
====================================

**** HDB To Monitor Resale Market To Ensure Property Market Stability <http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1075515/1/.html>
S Ramesh, Channel NewsAsia

National development minister Mah Bow Tan has assured Singaporeans the Housing and Development Board (HDB) will continue to monitor the resale flat market closely. This is to see if additional measures are needed to maintain a healthy and stable property market.

**** Govt Concedes Breach Of Contract In Dismissing Civil Servant <http://www.todayonline.com/Singapore/EDC100816-0000232/Online-Only---Govt-concedes-breach-of-contract-in-dismissing-civil-servant>
Ng Jing Yng, Today

The government has conceded that there has been a breach of employment contract in the case of former civil servant Linda Lai Swee Lin who has been fighting for than more a decade to get her job back.

**** CASE Test Finds Harmful Chemicals In Toys <http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1075537/1/.html>
Zhao Quan Yin and Sharon See, Channel NewsAsia

Nearly half of the toys tested by the Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE) were found to contain harmful chemicals.

Some of the toys which were tested looked relatively harmless. But some are said to contain 5,000 times more phthalates - a chemical used to soften plastics - than acceptable levels based on international standards. And this could lead to cancer.

**** Staff Promotion 'Not Based On Body Shape Or Size': Health Minister <http://www.todayonline.com/Singapore/EDC100817-0000008/Online-Only---Staff-promotion-not-based-on-body-shape-or-size--Health-Minister>
Alicia Wong, Today

Staff promotion is "not based on body shape or size", said health minister Khaw Boon Wan yesterday, in a written response to Parliamentary questions filed.

Mr Khaw noted that "a media report had not correctly conveyed a hospital chief executive's views on the subject".

**** Access During NDP Can Be Improved <http://www.straitstimes.com/STForum/OnlineStory/STIStory_567035.html>
James J. Chang, Straits Times

It caused much embarrassment to our guests.

**** Cyclist In The Thick Of Accident Puzzled By Joint Reply <http://www.straitstimes.com/STForum/OnlineStory/STIStory_567034.html>
Roy Tan, Straits Times

I was also involved in the accident. While the joint reply was correct in stating that a call was placed to the Police Emergency Call Centre 999 at 6.30pm, the subsequent details were not quite so.

If the authorities deem that a 30-minute to 45-minute response time is appropriate given their resources and constraints, all we wanted was to be told as such.

**** TV Licence Fees And Promoting Racial Harmony: Connect The Dots <http://www.straitstimes.com/STForum/Story/STIStory_567176.html>
Manmohan Singh, Straits Times

This reason has been repeated often but what are the programmes that focus on promoting racial harmony for which the TV licence fees have been spent?

**** Authorities Reviewing Regulatory Regime For Amusement Rides: DPM <http://www.todayonline.com/Singapore/EDC100817-0000078/Authorities-reviewing-regulatory-regime-for-amusement-rides--DPM>
Leong Wee Keat, Today

**** Zero GST For Cruise Packages <http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_567094.html>
Janice Heng, Straits Times

The GST (Amendment) Bill, passed in Parliament on Monday, extends GST zero-rating to the transport of goods or passengers to or from international waters, even if the ship does not call at a port outside Singapore.

**** Lee Kuan Yew Says Rajapakse Extremism Cannot Be Changed <http://www.tamilnet.tv/news/2010/1231034/lee-kuan-yew-says-rajapakse-extremism-cannot-be-changed/>
Tamilnet

The minister mentor (whatever that means) of the totally liberal republic of Singapore has publicly denounced the devilishly evil Sinhala Overlord as an extremist Sinhala Buddhist chauvinist© in his recently released book.

**** 去新加坡拍中国电影 <http://finance.ifeng.com/news/hqcj/20100816/2518615.shtml>
侯隽, 中国经济周刊

中国和新加坡建交20周年之际，两国于7月23日签署了一份电影合作拍摄协议。根据协议，合作拍摄的电影在两国均能享受与国产电影同等的政府资助及鼓励政策。

**** Govts Biggest IT Drivers In Singapore And Globally: Research Firms <http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/sci/2010-08/16/c_13446997.htm>
Xinhua

The government is the biggest infotech spender, both in Singapore as well as in the major countries worldwide, two research firms have concluded.

In fact, the current uptick in the global information and communications technology (ICT) markets would not be sustainable without government ministries continuing to plonk big bucks to beef up their ICT infrastructures, local newspaper Business Times reported on Monday.

**** Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games: Singapore, What Do You Want? <http://litford.net/singularity/2010/08/16/singapore-2010-youth-olympic-games-singapore-what-do-you-want/>
Singularity Industries

**** 我国料不会出现双谷衰退 <http://www.zaobao.com/sp/sp100817_019.shtml>
联合早报

今年下半年的经济增长将放缓，不过双谷衰退的情况预计不会出现。贸工部长林勋强昨天在国会回答哈莉玛（裕廊集选区）的询问时指出这点。他说，不同区域所面临的经济情况不同。

**** 逐步提高最低法定退休年龄 林文兴：取消退休年龄不会提高就业率 <http://www.zaobao.com/sp/sp100817_017.shtml>
联合早报

林文兴说，劳资政三方携手推行重新雇用长者计划，这比直接立法提高法定退休年龄更为灵活。

**** 人民党中委会复选 詹时中妻子当选第二副主席 林睦荃放弃角逐助理秘书长 <http://www.zaobao.com/sp/sp100817_004.shtml>
郭丽娟, 联合早报

上个月在新加坡人民党举行新一届中委选举的干部大会上与詹时中妻子罗文丽公开对峙的原助理秘书长林睦荃（原名林目全），在昨晚的中央执行委员会复选会议上临时放弃角逐助理秘书长一职，让挺罗文丽派系的35岁原中委梁威立不战而胜。

詹时中夫妇昨晚受访时，都表示对复选结果感到满意。而昨晚的中委会职位复选，基本上也为革新党加入新加坡民主联盟一事铺平道路。人民党中委会已原则上同意邀请革新党加入民联。

**** Refund Process 'Not Onerous' <http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_567328.html>
Rachel Lin, Straits Times

Commuters who have been overcharged for their trips under the new distance-based fare system can get refunds easily, Transport minister Raymond Lim said in Parliament on Monday.

**** Desmond Lim Looses SPP ASG Position To Wilfred Leung <http://newasiarepublic.com/?p=20042>
Donaldson Tan, New Asia Republic

**** The Lost Idyllic Coastline Of Tanah Merah <http://thelongnwindingroad.wordpress.com/2010/08/16/the-lost-idyllic-coastline-of-tanah-merah/>
The Long And Winding Road

**** Kampong Buangkok <http://supermerlion.com/kampong-buangkok/>
Super Merlion

How much longer will Kampong Buangkok be around, that I am not sure. But I definitely recommend the place to anyone who is interested in embarking in a trip back to the past. Savor what this living piece of history can offer. Visit it soon.

**** What If It Was His Own Money? <http://yoursdp.org/index.php/news/singapore/4041-what-if-it-was-his-own-money>
Singapore Democrat Party

This is the problem when a government is left holding billions of dollars of public funds with no accountability.

Businesspeople invest their own money and if they make a mistake they pay for it with their own money. The ministers, on the other hand, spend the people's money and if the venture fails, they lose not a single cent from their own pockets.

**** 3 Babies Abandoned Each Year <http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_567368.html>
Amanda Lee, Straits Times

An average of three babies were abandoned alive each year, from 2005 to 2009. This number has not risen.

**** Shadrake Denies Intention To Scandalise Singapore Judiciary <http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1075624/1/.html>
Zul Othman, Channel NewsAsia

British writer Alan Shadrake, who is facing contempt of court charges over his book, Once a Jolly Hangman: Singapore Justice in the Dock, has denied any intention to scandalise the Singapore judiciary.

In his affidavit, the 75-year-old said the purpose of writing his book was to highlight the arbitrary manner in which prosecutors sought the death penalty. Mr Shadrake also said he wrote the book to show how the law passed by Parliament was unjust.

**** 'Buy A Flat You Can Afford' <http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_567361.html>
Straits Times

The HDB resale market operates on free market principles where prices are negotiated on a willing-buyer, willing-seller basis. As such, buyers should carefully consider what they can afford, including the cash-over-valuation.

National development minister Mah Bow Tan gave this advice when replying to a question from MP for West Coast GRC, Madam Ho Geok Choo.

**** Youth Olympics: The Abandoned Orphan <http://asiancorrespondent.com/39067/youth-olympics-the-abandoned-orphan/>
Liau Chuan Yi and Norvin Chan, Asian Correspondent

Amidst these reasons, there is one most disturbing with weighty troubling ramifications: That Singaporeans have disowned Singapore, or rather, PAP’s Singapore.

**** Singapore's Casinos Take Aim At The World's Major Players <http://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/singapores-casinos-take-aim-at-the-worldrsquos-major-players-2054688.html>
The Independent

Traditionally conservative Singapore now has two casinos - at Resorts World Sentosa and Marina Bay Sands - and the people behind RWS reported that guest numbers are now up to more than one million people per month.

Local analysts say it is only a matter of time before turnover in Singapore passed that of the traditional gaming champion, Las Vegas, which is now the second largest market, behind Macau.

**** Singapore Export Growth Eases In July <http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704554104575434761907576620.html?mod=googlenews_wsj>
Gaurav Raghuvanshi, Wall Street Journal

Singapore's exports grew less than expected in July on a contraction in pharmaceuticals shipments, and analysts say the slowdown will likely continue into the rest of the year as concerns over the global economy linger and the benefits of a favorable base of comparison wear off.

While the export figures were weaker than expected, many analysts say the trend was largely expected.

**** Singapore Air To Name New CEO By End-October <http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704554104575434671895524924.html>
Costas Paris, Wall Street Journal

Singapore Airlines Ltd. will name a new chief executive by the end of October, and the person will likely be a Singaporean from the carrier's senior management, a person familiar with the situation said Tuesday.

Current chief executive Chew Choon Seng has said he will step down in December when his contract ends, after seven years at the helm.

**** Singapore Volunteers Now Served Better Food After “Dog Food” Scandal <http://www.temasekreview.com/2010/08/17/singapore-volunteers-now-served-better-food-after-dog-food-scandal/>
The Temasek Review

“After the meal expose in the papers. This is the meal we have. Not fantastic, but it is better on the 1st day.”




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