[MyAppleMenu] Dec 8, 2010

[applesurf at myapplemenu.com]

MyAppleMenu
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**** Apple's Communication Gap Irks Business Buyers <http://money.cnn.com/2010/12/07/technology/apple_xserve/index.htm?hpt=C2>
David Goldman, CNNMoney

When you think about Apple, you think about stylish consumer gadgets like iPads, iPhones, iPods and Macs -- but you don't necessarily think of a business IT company.

Apparently, Apple doesn't either.

**** QuickTime 7.6.9 Out Now, Fixes A Number Of Security Issues <http://www.tuaw.com/2010/12/07/quicktime-7-6-9-out-now-fixes-a-number-of-security-issues/>
Mike Schramm, TUAW

Apple has updated QuickTime to version 7.6.9, bringing out a whole slew of security fixes protecting against various "maliciously crafted" file formats.

**** How To Backup And Sync Folders Mac To Mac <http://mac360.com/index.php/mac360/comments/how-to-backup-and-sync-folders-mac-to-mac/>
Wil Gomez, Mac360

**** Question Marks In OS X And What To Do About Them <http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-13727_7-20024881-263.html?part=rss&tag=feed&subj=MacFixIt>
Topher Kessler, CNET

In several situations when running OS X you may encounter question marks. Of course there should definitely be one somewhere on your keyboard (likely next to the right Shift key), but there are other instances where question marks may appear in the system where there shouldn't be one. Usually these indicate an instance in which the system cannot locate a specified file, location, or other resource and in its confusion shows a question mark.

**** Review: AmpliTube 2 <http://www.macnn.com/reviews/amplitube-2.html>
MacNN

You can create a host of sounds to use in various music styles. AmpliTube 2 adds a 4-track recorder, additional stompbox effects, and enhanced sound effects.

**** Apple Updates VoiceOver Kit For Shuffle, 5Th-gen Nanos <http://www.macnn.com/articles/10/12/07/v14.features.improved.pronunciations.languages/>
MacNN

The new version improves pronunciations for artists and song names; improves voices in Korean, German and Russian, and adds Hungarian, Romanian, Slovak and Thai language support to the fourth-generation iPod Shuffle.

**** CrashPlan+ 3.0 Adds Features, Changes Pricing <http://db.tidbits.com/article/11805?rss&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+tidbits_main+%28TidBITS%3A+Mac+News+for+the+Rest+of+Us%29>
Joe Kissell, TidBITS

**** Apple, Google Asked To Pay Up As European Operators Inundated By Data <http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-12-07/apple-google-asked-to-pay-up-as-europeean-operators-inundated-by-data.html>
Matthew Campbell And Jonathan Browning, Bloomberg

Google Inc., Apple Inc., and Facebook Inc. need to pitch in to help pay for the billions of dollars of network investments needed for their bandwidth-hogging services, European phone operators say.

As mobile and Web companies add videos, music and games, operators including France Telecom SA, Telecom Italia SpA and Vodafone Group Plc want a new deal that would require content providers like Apple and Google to pay fees linked to usage.



MyAppleMenu Reader
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**** Sad As Hell <http://nplusonemag.com/sad-as-hell>
Alice Gregory, N+1

In the past year, I graduated from college, got a desk job, and bought an iPhone: the three vertices of the Bermuda Triangle into which my ability to think in the ways that matter most to me has disappeared. My mental landscape is now so altered that its very appearance must be different than it was at this time last year. I imagine my brain as a newly wretched terrain, littered with gaping chasms (What’s my social security number, again?), expansive lacunae (For the thousandth time, the difference between “synecdoche” and “metonymy,” please?), and recently formed fissures (How the fuck do you spell “Gyllenhaal?”). This is your brain on technology.

**** Laughing Matters: Discuss <http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/08/books/08book.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss>
Dwight Garner, New York Times

Reading “Humorists” is not itself quite a perfect and supreme experience, but it’s a pleasure to sit around the gently crackling fire that is Mr. Johnson’s mind.

**** The Man Tree <http://www.slate.com/id/2276984/>
Stanley Moss, Slate

**** Junk Food Is A Source Of Comfort On Capitol Hill <http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/08/dining/08junk.html?_r=1&ref=dining>
Jennifer Steinhauer, New York Times

Over at the White House, a farmers’ market has sprouted, a garden has been cultivated and holiday guests are being offered poached fruit. But the area surrounding the Capitol is awash in milkshakes, grilled cheese sandwiches and mildly baroque pizza.



SingaporeSurf
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**** Beware The Phantom Bus ... <http://www.todayonline.com/Voices/EDC101208-0000189/Beware-the-phantom-bus-,,,>
Danny Chua, Today

What sometimes happens is that, when a bus is running late, the bus driver removes the bus service number and does not pick up new passengers to get to the bus interchange in time to line up for the next on-time departure and avoid a fine.

**** A Christmas Tale Of A Sweeper And Bureaucracy <http://www.todayonline.com/Voices/EDC101208-0000190/A-Christmas-tale-of-a-sweeper-and-bureaucracy>
Sanjay Perera, Today

The HDB should also ensure that its ground staff are less laconic and more empathetic to members of the public who seek assistance. One can only imagine what other menial workers with basic education and limited command of English may be facing when making queries or seeking help. 

**** PM Lee On Income Inequality.... <http://singaporemind.blogspot.com/2010/12/pm-lee-on-income-inequality.html>
Diary Of A Singaporean Mind

**** “You’re Too Old, You Cannot Work!” <http://theonlinecitizen.com/2010/12/youre-too-old-you-cannot-work/>
Joshua Chiang, The Online Citizen

**** 白沙湿巴刹事件引发的思考 <http://www.zaobao.com.sg/yl/yl101208_002.shtml>
李顺福, 联合早报

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**** 冷静思考 谨慎投票 <http://www.zaobao.com.sg/yl/yl101208_007.shtml>
王琨, 联合早报

对人民行动党来说，游戏规则的改变是一种策略，回应了人民对选举缺乏公平的指责，同时，让本身的候选人更直接参与实战的经验，而不是在集选区的制度下受到庇护顺利过关。

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**** Singapore’s HIV Policy Neither Rational Nor Compassionate <http://yawningbread.wordpress.com/2010/12/08/singapores-hiv-policy-neither-rational-nor-compassionate/>
Yawning Bread

The call to people to get themselves tested early is so obviously contraindicated by other discouragements, it is mind-boggling that the government does not see the contradictions. Is the government so stupid they cannot see them? Have they no understanding of how human rationality operates? Or do they not want to see it, instead trying to pin the blame for the spread of HIV onto private choices (avoiding test), absolving themselves of responsibility for counter-productive public policy (disincentivising early testing)?

**** Plugging The Holes In Our “Comprehensive” Social Safety Net <http://guanyinmiao.wordpress.com/2010/12/08/plugging-the-holes-in-our-“comprehensive”-social-safety-net/>
Guanyinmiao's Musings

Self-reliance is a good ideal; yet the administration also has the responsibility to not only get individuals or families back on track, but also to facilitate their rehabilitation and sustainable recovery processes.

**** Clearer Calls, Faster Surfing <http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_611628.html>
Tham Yuen-C, Straits Times

The government is planning to put another batch of mobile phone airwaves on the auction block, a move that will hopefully lead to clearer mobile calls and faster Internet access.

**** Singapore Growth May Slow to 5.1% Next Year, MAS Survey Shows <http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-12-08/singapore-growth-may-slow-to-5-1-next-year-mas-survey-shows.html>
Shamim Adam, Bloomberg

Singapore’s economy will probably expand in 2011 at a third of this year’s pace as manufacturing and export growth slows, a central bank survey showed.

Singapore’s economic expansion this year has fueled inflation, prompting the central bank to allow faster currency gains and leading the government to implement measures to cool the property market. The island has remained vulnerable to fluctuations in overseas demand for manufactured goods even after the government boosted financial services and tourism.