[MyAppleMenu] Dec 10, 2010

[applesurf at myapplemenu.com]

MyAppleMenu
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**** Bejeweled 3 Out Now For Mac <http://www.tuaw.com/2010/12/09/bejeweled-3-out-now-for-mac/>
David Quilty, TUAW

This new version has 8 different game modes, including Classic Bejeweled, non-stop Lightning, and Zen mode, and also allows players to collect up to 65 achievement badges and unlock 4 new games as they play.

**** Aperture 3.1.1 Update Squashes More Bugs <http://www.macworld.com/article/156315/2010/12/aperture_311.html?lsrc=rss_main>
Jonathan Seff, Macworld

Aperture 3.1.1 addresses problems with iLife ’11 compatibility, importing, upgrading, adjustments, publishing to the Web, slideshows, and vaults.

**** Apple Customers Wince As Kids Rack Up iTunes Bills <http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/Canada/20101209/itunes-bills-101209/>
Associated Press

Rummelhart joins a number of parents who have been horrified by purchases of Smurfberries and other virtual items in top App Store games. The 17 highest-rated comments on "The Smurfs' Village" in the App Store all complain about the high cost of the Smurfberries, and two commenters call it a "scam."

**** How To Control iTunes From Your Mac’s Menubar <http://mac360.com/index.php/mac360/comments/how-to-control-itunes-from-your-macs-menubar/>
Alexis Kayhill, Mac360

**** The Meandering Me.com <http://kensegall.com/blog/2010/12/the-meandering-me-com/>
Ken Segall

So here we go again. MobileMe will “get a lot better” in 2011. Forgive me if I hold back emotionally on this one. This product and I have had relationship issues, and I want to be sure before I get involved again.

**** Donations Ban On iPhone Apps Irritates Nonprofits <http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/09/technology/09charity.html?_r=2&ref=technology>
Stephanie Strom, New York Times

No one, including Apple, has data on how many nonprofits have created apps for the iPhone. Organizations like the Monterey Bay Aquarium and American Cancer Society have them, but none can be used to make gifts. Prospective donors instead are directed out of a nonprofit’s app and to its Web site, which the organizations say makes the process of contributing more cumbersome.

**** Mac App Store: No In-app Purchases, No Game Center <http://www.macnn.com/articles/10/12/09/new.store.may.add.features.later/>
MacNN

At least for the time being, Apple is forbidding the use of in-app purchases in Mac apps hosted on the store, and has informed developers that Game Center will not be a part of it as well.

**** Apple Blames China's User Environment For Dusty iMac Screens <http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90782/90872/7227167.html>
Wang Hanlu, People's Daily

Apple's official maintenance point said the dust accumulation inside the screens cannot be cleared, and users should change screens to get rid of the dust. And an Apple technician in Singapore said the dust accumulation was the result of the computers being used in a bad environment, such as one in which people are smoking, in China. 

**** Comic Life 2 For Mac Delivers More Thought-balloon Fun <http://www.tuaw.com/2010/12/10/comic-life-2-for-mac-delivers-more-thought-balloon-fun/>
Michael Rose, TUAW

Plasq released version 2.0 of Comic Life, which adds template support, Facebook integration, advanced word-balloon controls, and more.

**** Create And Print Great Holiday Cards Using iPhoto '11 <http://www.macworld.com/article/156256/2010/12/holiday_2010_iphoto_cards.html?lsrc=rss_main>
Serenity Caldwell, Macworld

Chances are, if you're a holiday card-making aficionado, you've had them printed, labeled, and prepped since Thanksgiving. However, for the rest of us, iPhoto ’11 can help even the most craft-illiterate put together something special—without needing to put in hours of work. To get you started, here are a couple of tips to streamline the card-making process.

**** Mozilla Patches 13 Firefox Security Bugs <http://www.macworld.com/article/156328/2010/12/mozilla.html?lsrc=rss_main>
Gregg Keizer, Computerworld

Mozilla on Thursday patched 13 vulnerabilities in Firefox, including a re-patch for a bug that was thought quashed in March 2010.

**** Cancel Print Jobs Without Wasting Paper <http://www.macworld.com/article/155469/2010/12/printcancel.html?lsrc=rss_main>
IDG News Service

**** Herald 1.2.3 <http://www.macworld.com/reviews/product/746001/review/herald_123.html?expand=true&lsrc=rss_main>
Dan Frakes, Macworld



The Tomorrow Weblog
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**** The Browser Takes All <http://www.technologyreview.com/web/26882/?ref=rss&a=f>
Tom Simonite, Technology Review

Google's new computer throws out everything but the web.



MyAppleMenu Reader
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**** Ban The Benjamins! <http://www.slate.com/id/2277404/>
Timothy Noah, Slate

Hundred-dollar bills are for criminals and sociopaths. Why do we still print them?



SingaporeSurf
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**** Singapore Says ASX Tie-up Not 'Merger Of Losers' <http://www.businessspectator.com.au/bs.nsf/Article/Singapore-says-tie-up-with-ASX-not-merger-of-loser-pd20101209-BY3BE?opendocument&src=rss>
Business Spectator

Questioned on the failure of Australia and Singapore to become regional financial centres, Singapore Exchange chief Magnus Böcker said his exchange was a "reasonably international" exchange, serving as a proxy for India and "Asia-lite".

**** Why We Use Unconcealed Cables: OpenNet <http://www.todayonline.com/Voices/EDC101210-0000208/Why-we-use-unconcealed-cables--OpenNet>
Tiong Onn Seng, OpenNet, Today

We are mindful that the majority of home-owners do not wish to incur extra costs to have the cables installed and it is cheaper to lay unconcealed cables.

**** Gambling With Your House <http://singaporedesk.blogspot.com/2010/12/gambling-with-your-house.html>
Singapore Notes

Mah's pathetic defence of his Singapore Sales strategy (mark up first, then discount down) is his "basic principle" that the HDB flat is an asset that grows in value, to be realised in the future for resale in the open market. In other words, basic accommodation is not meant to be the roof over one's head, it is just another poker chip in their grand scheme of things.

**** 市镇会管理评估报告 波东巴西清洁度降级　居民看法不一 <http://www.zaobao.com.sg/sp/sp101210_013.shtml>
联合早报

**** 市镇会管理评估报告 反对党区市镇会议员 再次否定评估意义 <http://www.zaobao.com.sg/sp/sp101210_012.shtml>
联合早报

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**** 论政组织不获准证 取消人权日游行 <http://www.zaobao.com.sg/sp/sp101210_028.shtml>
联合早报

戈麦斯说，他们注意到警方发言人回答报界询问时以“法律和秩序的考虑”为理由，拒绝发出准证。警方也劝请主办者在芳林公园举办这项活动。戈麦斯表示，芳林公园不是一个游行的地方。这次游行带有象征性，所选择的地点也有其意义。

他认为警方应详细和尽快说明拒绝的理由，这也能方便主办者作出相应安排，以确保游行不会带来法律与秩序方面的问题。

**** The Ineffectiveness And Redundancy Of Online Government Portals <http://guanyinmiao.wordpress.com/2010/12/10/the-ineffectiveness-and-redundancy-of-online-government-portals/>
Guanyinmiao's Musings

Simply churning out sites after portals and vice versa would not be the panacea for the government’s lack of effective communication and engagement with its constituents through the Internet. If it is not serious about reviewing its failed attempts and genuinely comprehending what Singaporeans are looking for, then its future efforts would only be futile and overshadowed by individuals and groups who are more serious about empowering on-the-ground citizens with a more active and representative voice.

**** The Battle Of Tampines <http://singaporealternatives.blogspot.com/2010/12/battle-of-tampines.html>
Goh Meng Seng, Singapore Alternatives

**** Reform Party Names New Chairman <http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1098454/1/.html>
Imelda Saad, Channel NewsAsia

The Reform Party has a new chairman after the resignation of Edmund Ng, one of its founding members. In a statement on Friday, the party named Tan Tee Seng as its new chairman.

**** Singapore The Clear Winner In An Unfair Exchange <http://www.smh.com.au/business/singapore-the-clear-winner-in-an-unfair-exchange-20101210-18sta.html>
Ian Verrender, Sydney Morning Herald

The Australian exchange is far bigger. It runs more efficiently and at a lower cost. It generates far greater profits. And yet, bizarrely, Singapore's exchange is more highly valued than the local operation and, as a result, comes out on top.

Singapore needs Australia more than we need Singapore. No major companies, Asian or otherwise, flock for listing on the Singapore exchange. No Australian companies rush to Singapore to raise investor funds. The real action is in north Asia, in Hong Kong and Tokyo.

And about the only possible reason the Singapore exchange is more highly valued than the ASX is because of the controlling stake held by the Singapore government, which translates to control by the Lee dynasty.