[MyAppleMenu] Dec 31, 2010

[applesurf at myapplemenu.com]

MyAppleMenu
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**** Addressing Failing Software Installations In OS X <http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-13727_7-20026848-263.html>
Topher Kessler, CNET

The first thing to do is to double-check the system requirements for the software. While many installers will run a program that ensures the hardware and OS version meet the minimum requirements, others may not have this feature and will rely on you to have the supported system requirements.

**** How To Cut The Cord Apple-Style In 2011 <http://gigaom.com/apple/how-to-cut-the-cord-apple-style-in-2011/?utm_source=gigaom&utm_medium=specialtopics>
Darrell Etherington, GigaOM

As if you needed another reason to ditch cable in 2011, it looks like prices are going up at some of the biggest providers. So if you’re finally tired of getting fleeced, here’s how to cut the cord and go cable-free the Apple way. You even have more options than you did the same time last year, too.

**** If An App Is Your Content Strategy, You Are Doomed <http://gigaom.com/2010/12/30/if-an-app-is-your-content-strategy-you-are-doomed/>
Mathew Ingram, GigaOM

Better to focus, as Wilson suggests, on helping your readers by filtering and curating and making sense of things for them (and giving them tools to do that themselves), and building a relationship with them based on that, rather than nickel-and-dime-ing them for every little thing and forcing them to stay inside your walled garden. Then maybe when you offer ways they can contribute monetarily, they will actually take you up on it.

**** Should Apple Stop Selling Software In Its Retail Stores? <http://www.betanews.com/joewilcox/article/Should-Apple-stop-selling-software-in-its-retail-stores/1293733370>
Joe Wilcox, Betanews

**** Mac And iPhone-friendly Alternatives To Delicious <http://www.macworld.com/article/156627/2010/12/delicious_alternatives.html?lsrc=rss_main>
David Chartier, Macworld

**** Why iPad Magazines Are Failing <http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2374920,00.asp>
Leslie Horn, PC Magazine

**** Undesigned: The Symbiotic Relationship Of Steve Jobs And Jonathan Ive <http://www.npr.org/blogs/alltechconsidered/2010/12/30/132477388/undesigned-the-symbiotic-relationship-of-steve-jobs-and-jonathan-ive>
Laura Sydell, NPR

The two men seemed to agree on a basic philosophy about design and products: Make the designs and the software simple and and easy to use.

Both Ive and Jobs believe that the hardware must work together seamlessly with the software.

**** BarMax, The $1,000 App (That’s Actually Worth It), Hits The iPad <http://techcrunch.com/2010/12/30/barmax-thousand-dollar-ipad-app/>
MG Siegler, TechCrunch

**** App Management And Sync <http://speirs.org/blog/2010/12/31/app-management-and-sync.html>
Fraser Speirs

I have no problem paying for software. I have no problem living within the rules of licensing. What does annoy, though, is that there are no tools to make this easy and that the tools we have are quite opaque in their operation.

**** For Apps, Profit Picture Is Blurry <http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703909904576051611712831244.html?mod=WSJ_Tech_LEFTTopNews>
Dana Mattioli, Wall Street Journal

Companies in recent months have launched a slew of photography applications for the iPhone and other smartphones, but many of these start-ups are still trying to figure out the best way to profit from their software programs.

**** Handwriting Fonts Resurrect A Lost Cursive Art <http://www.macworld.com/article/156402/2010/12/handwriting.html?lsrc=rss_main>
Jay J. Nelson, Macworld

**** Fix iTunes And Other Slowdowns By Ditching Third-Party DNS Servers <http://lifehacker.com/5721591/fix-itunes-and-other-slowdowns-by-ditching-third+party-dns-servers>
Whitson Gordon, Lifehacker

A lot of anecdotes regarding slow iTunes and Apple TV downloads are spreading around the internet, and it turns out third party DNS—like previously mentioned OpenDNS or previously mentioned Google DNS—might be the problem.

**** Happy 2011! <http://www.myapplemenu.com/2010/12/31/IM182414608/>
Heng-Cheong Leong, MyAppleMenu

Here's a little fireworks video I've shot to usher in the new year.





The Tomorrow Weblog
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**** Puzzle-Like Game Helps Solve Complex Genetic Problems Around Disease <http://www.psfk.com/2010/12/puzzle-like-game-helps-solve-complex-genetic-problems-around-disease.html>
PSFK

Researchers at McGill University in Canada have developed a puzzle-like online game called Phylo, the goal of which is to create a “human computing framework for comparative genomics.”



MyAppleMenu Reader
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**** Weak-Kneed Willpower Faces Temptation’s Lure <http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/31/books/31book.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss>
Patricia Cohen, New York Times

In the end Mr. Akst makes the case for taking responsibility despite the forces that may conspire against free will. At the very least, he points out, we have what the neurophysiologist Benjamin Libet labeled “free won’t,” the ability to exercise veto power, particularly in response to incentives.

**** Primero Hay Que Aprender Español. Ranhou Zai Xue Zhongwen. <http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/30/opinion/30kristof.html?ref=opinion>
Nicholas D. Kristof, New York Times

So, by all means, have your kids dive into the glamorous world of Mandarin. But don’t forget the language that will likely be far more important in their lives: el idioma más importante es Español!

**** Two Cheers For Anonymity <http://www.laweekly.com/2010-12-30/eat-drink/two-cheers-for-anonymity/>
Jonathan Gold, LA Weekly

Anonymity is one of the first things people tend to wonder about restaurant critics, along with the question of who pays for the meals (the newspaper), how many times they return to restaurants before a review (at least three), and how they remain thin in the face of so many rich meals (I don't tend to be asked that one very often). And it's fun to unmask critics, in the same sense that it's fun to discover the first name of one's sixth-grade teacher. There is a thrill, and a cheap sense of power.

**** Old Slang’s Time <http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/81c14682-0ee5-11e0-9ec3-00144feabdc0.html>
Henry Hitchings, Financial Times

This is the sort of book that, even when examined for a specific purpose, invites sustained perusal. Its existence urges the fundamental question: what is slang?

**** Can You Live Forever? Maybe Not--But You Can Have Fun Trying <http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=e-zimmer-can-you-live-forever>
Carl Zimmer, Scientific American

Let's say you transfer your mind into a computer—not all at once but gradually, having electrodes inserted into your brain and then wirelessly outsourcing your faculties. Someone reroutes your vision through cameras. Someone stores your memories on a net of microprocessors. Step by step your metamorphosis continues until at last the transfer is complete. As engineers get to work boosting the performance of your electronic mind so you can now think as a god, a nurse heaves your fleshy brain into a bag of medical waste. As you—for now let's just call it "you"—start a new chapter of existence exclusively within a machine, an existence that will last as long as there are server farms and hard-disk space and the solar power to run them, are "you" still actually you?



SingaporeSurf
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**** Singapore Economy Probably Expanded On Manufacturing, Capping Record Year <http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-12-30/singapore-s-economy-probably-expanded-on-manufacturing-rebound.html>
Shamim Adam And Jay Wang, Bloomberg

Singapore’s economy probably returned to growth this quarter as manufacturing rebounded, putting the nation on course to surpass Malaysia’s output with the world’s second-fastest growth rate this year.

**** Appeal Fee To Be Raised To $50 From The Current $5 <http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1101984/1/.html>
Leong Wee Keat, Today

Accused persons who are unrepresented and serving sentence will continue to enjoy the fee's waiver. Pro bono cases will also continue to enjoy the waiver.

When asked about the increase, a Subordinate Courts spokesperson told MediaCorp that they are "mindful of maintaining our court fees at an affordable rate".  "The current fee of $5 is also disproportionately low, in this day and age ... The proposed $50 fee is a reasonable one but does not serve to recover full costs. However, it should not be an impediment for those who genuinely wish to appeal," the spokesperson said.

**** Chin Siong Story In Book Was Admitted To Be False In 1966 <http://www.straitstimes.com/STForum/Story/STIStory_619154.html>
Lim Chin Joo, Straits Times

My brother had sued the paper for libel and the lawyer for Straits Times Press (Malaya) had acknowledged that 'there is in fact no truth' in the allegations made against my brother in the report .

As a key custodian of published national history, the National Library Board owes members of the public a duty not to let falsehoods be perpetuated as part of history.

**** More Part-time Work Options Now <http://news.asiaone.com/News/AsiaOne%2BNews/Singapore/Story/A1Story20101231-255674.html>
My Paper

A recent survey conducted by the Ministry of Manpower found that 35 per cent of establishments offered at least one form of work-life arrangement to their employees this year, up from 25 per cent in 2007.

Part-time work was the most common offered this year, with close to three in 10 establishments offering it. Less common were options for staggered hours, flexi-time, tele-working, working at home and job sharing.

**** Double-barrelled Racial Classification Irrelevant For Singapore <http://sfd.sg/content/double-barrelled-racial-classification-irrelevant-singapore>
James Gomez, Singaporeans For Democracy

This new racial classification will have no impact on current racially based policies surrounding mother tongue education, self-help groups, public housing and general elections (GRC minority candidate).

The changing racial demographics and rise in inter-ethnic marriages clearly point to the need to remove “race” classification altogether and mover to a Singaporean Singapore where policy making is not race based.

**** Singapore Group Offers 'Liberty' From Same-sex Attraction <http://news.ph.msn.com/regional/article.aspx?cp-documentid=4551550>
AFP

**** Singapore Economy Grew 14.7% In 2010 <http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporebusinessnews/view/1102052/1/.html>
Imelda Saad, Channel NewsAsia

In his New Year's Message, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong described the growth as "a dramatic rebound from negative growth last year".

But he also tempered expectations, saying the results are because of "special circumstances" and are "unlikely to be repeated soon".

**** The New Year That I Would Like To See <http://www.sgpolitics.net/?p=4466>
Wong Wee Nam, Sgpolitics.net

**** Singapore Records Strong Year Of Growth <http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704543604576053312819432084.html?mod=googlenews_wsj>
Gaurav Raghuvanshi And P.R. Venkat, Wall Street Journal

**** Happy 2011! <http://www.myapplemenu.com/singapore/2010/12/31/IM182644372/>
Heng-Cheong Leong, MyAppleMenu

Here's a little fireworks video I've shot to usher in the new year.