[MyAppleMenu] Feb 13, 2010

[applesurf at myapplemenu.com]

MyAppleMenu
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**** Boinx Releases PhotoPresenter 4 <http://rss.macworld.com/click.phdo?i=3ea1558673bc7e0b7e76f9fcf341586f>
Jackie Dove, Macworld

Boinx Software has released PhotoPresenter 4, an upgrade to its presentation tool for digital photographers. PhotoPresenter 4 is a theme-based photo viewer for creating animated slideshows with photos, movies, and music.

**** Apple Putting The Kibosh On Soft-core Porn App Screenshots <http://feeds.arstechnica.com/~r/arstechnica/apple/~3/zGkJuCnVGzI/apple-putting-the-kibosh-on-soft-core-porn-app-screenshots.ars>
Chris Foresman, Ars Technica

Developer and grade school IT admin Fraser Speirs discovered a loophole in Apple's Parental Controls that allows young children to browse racy text descriptions and screenshots in the App Store, even if they can't actually download the apps they describe. Apple has begun plugging that hole, but instead of keeping those apps out of view based on age ratings, Apple is rejecting apps until the screenshots are "kid-friendly."

**** No Apple? No Problem! New Toys Take Center Stage At Macworld Expo <http://www.pcworld.com/article/189229/no_apple_no_problem_new_toys_take_center_stage_at_macworld_expo.html>
Nick Mediati, PC World

Macworld Expo without Apple is a smaller, lower-key affair, but that hasn't kept Apple enthusiasts from attending the show. The show floor is as packed with attendees as ever, despite Apple's absence. And in a sense, the lack of Apple isn't such a bad thing, as it lets the show's focus shift from the giant Apple booth to smaller vendors, some of which had impressive wares.

**** Apple Should Open Its Kimono — Pronto <http://gigaom.com/2010/02/12/why-apple-should-open-its-kimono-pronto/?utm_source=gigaom&utm_medium=navigation>
Sebastian Rupley, GigaOm

Proprietary strategies have paid off big time for Apple. Its revenues exploded and its stock soared even as many people questioned its closed practices with the iPod, iTunes and the iPhone. But I predict that the iPad, aggressively closed as it is, will illustrate the folly of remaining strictly closed over the long run.

**** Report: Surge In iPhone App Development Due To iPad <http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-10452700-37.html?part=rss&amp;subj=news&amp;tag=2547-1_3-0-20>
Jim Dalrymple, CNET News

If the iPad's early success could be measured by the number of new applications that will support the platform, it should do just fine, according to a new report from research company Flurry.

**** Three Industries Apple iPad Will Disrupt <http://business.theatlantic.com/2010/02/three_industries_the_apple_ipad_is_trying_to_disrupt.php>
Derek Thompson, The Atlantic

Apple is starting a small revolution in three big categories.

**** Engineering: The Mac Is Coming Back <http://blogs.zdnet.com/Apple/?p=6019&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+zdnet%2FApple+%28ZDNet+The+Apple+Core%29>
David Morgenstern, ZDNet

Most attendees at the Macworld Expo in San Francisco this week — distracted by plentiful iPhone apps, whispered tales of the forthcoming Apple iPad, and the sight of dancing booth workers with their faces covered by unfortunate costumes of gigantic Microsoft Office for Mac icons — may have overlooked a trend: The Macintosh is back in the engineering segment.

**** MacSpeech's New Speech-to-text Solution: Transcription <http://blogs.zdnet.com/Apple/?p=6026&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+zdnet%2FApple+%28ZDNet+The+Apple+Core%29>
David Morgenstern, ZDNet

MacSpeech this week at Macworld Expo San Francisco launched its latest speech-to-text software, Scribe. Instead of the real-time recording and translation in its Dictate packages, Scribe handles recorded audio files.

**** Basic Business Tools Stand In For Missing Apple Hype At Macworld <http://www.eweek.com/c/a/IT-Infrastructure/Basic-Business-Tools-Stand-in-for-Missing-Apple-Hype-at-MacWorld-423403/>
Cameron Sturdevant, eWeek

The dearth of Apple hardware and creative application announcements at Macworld, held here Feb. 9 to 13, was strangely filled in by a growing number of bread-and-butter business tools designed to help IT managers corral the Macs that make it into the enterprise.

**** Apple's iPad Could Be Game-Changer In Digital-Media Censorship <http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/13/AR2010021300014.html?wprss=rss_nation>
Frédéric Filloux, Washington Post

With the iPad structure, Apple is creating absolute control for product, delivery and even ownership that can be revoked at will.

**** Guber Grills Apple On Its Top 10 Issues <http://rss.macworld.com/click.phdo?i=a2c85f615660060ebb8af3f33db7ccce>
David Chartier, Macworld

John Gruber, the Daring Fireball himself, stowed his keyboard and took a Macworld Expo stage on Friday evening to spell out the top 10 problems plaguing Apple. Gruber’s gripes ranged from competition, to Steve Jobs, and even software about boxes.

**** Apple's Late To The Core i5 Laptop Party <http://news.cnet.com/8301-13924_3-10452437-64.html?part=rss&amp;subj=news&amp;tag=2547-1_3-0-20>
Brooke Crothers, CNET News

Performance laptops based on Intel's Core i5 processor are pushing out the older Core 2 laptops.  Meanwhile, the Mac maker sticks to its Core 2 guns.

**** MixMeister Express 7 Released For Mac <http://rss.macworld.com/click.phdo?i=e3ba7fa445ddc8fdb7ae07a165b58606>
Roman Loyola, Macworld

MixMeister Technology has released MixMeister Express 7. The audio program is designed for the inexperienced who want to make professional-sounding music mixes with your song library.

**** Is Apple Itself Steve Jobs' Greatest Creation? <http://blogs.forbes.com/velocity/2010/02/13/is-apple-itself-steve-jobs-greatest-creation/>
Brian Caulfield, Forbes

**** Apple Declines Valentine Messages <http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2010/0213/1224264353256.html>
Ciara O'Brien, Irish Times

Tech giant Apple has thwarted plans to bring romance into the lives of the shyest iPhone owners by rejecting an application that allowed them to send anonymous e-cards to potential Valentines. The Secret Valentine programme, developed by Irish firm Appsie, was given the elbow by the App Store because the software would allow users to disguise their true identity.



MyAppleMenu Reader
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**** The End Of The Beijing Consensus <http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/65947/the-end-of-the-beijing-consensus?page=show>
Yang Yao, Foreign Affairs

Can China's model of authoritarian growth survive?

**** Just Kids By Patti Smith <http://feeds.guardian.co.uk/~r/theguardian/books/rss/~3/xxrcvtpT5wE/just-kids-patti-smith-biography>
Edmund White, The Guardian

This book brings together all the elements that made New York so exciting in the 1970s – the danger and poverty, the artistic seriousness and optimism, the sense that one was still connected to a whole history of great artists in the past.

**** Why Orwell Endures <http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=076be97c69ed789f0c0ed0582e9f5fe8>
Geoffrey Wheatcroft, New York Times

Sad as George Orwell’s early death was, one can’t escape a sense that in some way it was providential.

**** Freedom’s Laboratory <http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/14/books/review/Rosen-t.html?partner=rss&emc=rss>
Gary Rosen, New York Times

Timothy Ferris argues that the scientific frame of mind played a leading role in the emergence of democratic governance and individual rights.



SingaporeSurf
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**** Fixing COV Not The Solution: Minister <http://www.todayonline.com/Singapore/EDC100213-0000088/Fixing-COV-not-the-solution--Minister>
Leong Wee Keat, Today

High cash-over-valuation (COV) prices paid by Housing and Development Board flat buyers are a concern, acknowledged national development minister Mah Bow Tan, as they make resale flats less accessible to buyers who need flats urgently. But the way to deal with the situation "is not to manage or fix COVs", he feels, as "the underlying cause is high demand, caused by excess liquidity and market sentiments, and low supply".

It's time for HDB to stop building grand projects with sky roof that needs entrance fees to regulate visits, and concentrate on meeting demands of the people, and build housings for the people.

**** Take A Stand For Moderation, Liberty, And Genuine Understanding <http://theonlinecitizen.com/2010/02/take-a-stand-for-moderation-liberty-and-genuine-understanding/>
Choo Zheng Xi,, The Online Citizen

Strong communities aren’t built on strong prisons.

**** What The Religious Harmony Debate Has Missed Out Thus Far <http://www.sgpolitics.net/?p=3828>
Ng E-Jay, Sgpolitics.net

Unfortunately, the current debate surrounding racial and religious harmony in Singapore has focused exclusively on preventing one religion or one race from insulting another religion or race, but has totally neglected the rights of minority groups like sexual minorities to be free from persecution.

**** Why Minimum Wage System Won't Work <http://www.straitstimes.com/STForum/Story/STIStory_490055.html>
Sanjay Perera, Straits Times

Businesses will likely transfer any increase in wages to the consumer via higher prices of products. This in turn will lead to another round of higher minimum wages. Forced higher wages all round will lead to increased liquidity and inflationary pressure on prices.

So either you don't get to buy things because your minimum wages pushed the price too high, or you don't get to buy things because you are earning way below minimum wages to afford to buy anything decent.

It will be manipulated to hire fewer people so a company's wage costs do not rise. And it will mean inflated prices for everyone.

Fewer people to produce the same amount of goods? That is called increased productivity, which, the last I checked with NTUC, is a good thing.

A minimum wage system will not solve all problems -- it is not a silver bullet. But it is definitely a better system than what we have today.

**** 'Software' Areas Hurt S'pore <http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_490202.html>
Jessica Lim, Straits Times

Singapore scores highly in areas like infrastructure and stability, but does poorly when it comes to culture and living environment. That, at least, is the conclusion of a recent study by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), which ranked Singapore 53rd on a list of 140 cities worldwide for liveability.

**** Big Brother To Drive Away Cars <http://www.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/2/13/focus/5662930&sec=focus>
Seah Chiang Nee, The Star

The Singaporean’s love affair with the car remains strong, but the authorities seem determined to break up the relationship with a plethora of taxes designed to make owning one as stressful as possible.

**** Singapore Cabbies Reach Out Via Mobile <http://www.zdnetasia.com/news/communications/0,39044192,62061188,00.htm?scid=rss_z_nw>
Victoria Ho, ZDNet Asia

In a bid to compete for passengers, one local taxi company is turning to the mobile platform to augment its presence in the island state.

**** A 'Stall Crawl' Of Singapore <http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/5eada934-175f-11df-87f6-00144feab49a.html?nclick_check=1>
Fuchsia Dunlop, Financial Times

As we pass the first durian stalls by the side of the road, Seetoh winds down the car windows and we are hit by warm gusts of their infamous aroma – sweet, wild and suffocating, the kind of smell that makes you toss and turn in a fever of desire and revulsion. The spiked fruit are piled up all along this stretch of Changi Road, just beyond the Geylang red light district. It is past 10pm and I’ve been in Seetoh’s hands since breakfast for this crash course in grazing, Singapore-style.

**** Singapore Accused Of Launching 'Sand Wars' <http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/singapore/7221987/Singapore-accused-of-launching-Sand-Wars.html>
Barney Henderson, Telegraph

Singapore's land developers are now pitted against environmental groups, who claim several of the 83 border islands off the north coast of Indonesia could disappear into the sea in the next decade unless the smugglers are stopped.

"The smugglers have no problem getting it into Singapore and these boats are rarely intercepted by customs boats or the navy," said Nur Hidayati, Greenpeace Indonesia spokesman. "The supply is constant."

**** Anger Over 'Tiger Skin' Shots <http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_489974.html>
Victoria Vaughan, Straits Times

Animal conservation groups and others are up in arms after pictures featuring Singapore actress Wong Li-Lin draped in a tiger pelt appeared in the weekly celebrity magazine 8 Days.

**** Increased Focus On Recruiting Matured Applicants Into Civil Service In A Move Away From A Scholarship Focus? <http://kelvinteowrites.wordpress.com/2010/02/12/increased-focus-on-recruiting-matured-applicants-into-civil-service-in-a-move-away-from-a-scholarship-focus/>
Kelvin Teo Writes

**** Strangelets In Singapore <http://travel.nytimes.com/2010/02/14/travel/14foraging.html>
Christine Chow, New York Times

**** Place Your Bets <http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2010/02/13/place-your-bets.html>
Julie Shingleton, The Jakarta Post

So, how might Indonesians feel about this? Ecstatic to be able to place bets in their shopping playground? Annoyed the country is not getting a share of the income wealthy Indonesians are generating across the Straits of Singapore by gambling? Or thankful they have other cards in their hands they can play to foster economic growth in their country? Or maybe they are just looking forward to a little bit of fun on a rollercoaster in Singapore.

**** Singapore PM Fears Eurozone Backlash <http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703525704575062443825513232.html?mod=WSJ_latestheadlines>
Sam Holmes, Wall Street Journal

Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong Saturday said financial distress in parts of the eurozone and Dubai can hurt Singapore and that Singapore needs to be prepared to deal with the effects of such events.

**** Singapore Police Sends Veiled Threat To Anonymous Netizens Posting On The Internet <http://www.temasekreview.com/2010/02/13/singapore-police-sends-veiled-threat-to-anonymous-netizens-posting-on-the-internet/>
The Temasek Review

With due respect to ACP Teo, the greatest threat to social harmony in Singapore does not come from anonymous netizens who have little credibility or influence, but from religious leaders like Pastor Tan who commands a loyal following.

**** Romania Dismisses Envoy's Allegations Against Singapore Government <http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/309022,romania-dismisses-envoys-allegations-against-singapore-government.html>
DPA

Romania distanced itself Saturday from remarks of a former envoy in Singapore over his suspected involvement in two hit-and-run accidents in December. Silviu Ionescu, 49, then the highest-ranking Romanian diplomat posted in the city-state, claimed he had been set up by Singapore authorities in the accidents which killed a Malaysian man and injured two other people December 15. "He is suspended, so all his declarations must be regarded as personal declarations," said Alexander Nicolae Coseru, economic counsellor at the Romanian embassy.

**** Welfare In Singapore: The Stingy Nanny <http://www.economist.com/displayStory.cfm?story_id=15524092&source=hptextfeature>
Economist

Fond of having the last word, Singapore's government can nevertheless be flexible. Who would have thought it would be building casinos? But one policy that shows no sign of reversing is Singapore’s antipathy towards public welfare. The state’s attitude can be simply put: being poor here is your own fault. Citizens are obliged to save for the future, rely on their families and not expect any handouts from the government unless they hit rock bottom. The emphasis on family extends into old age: retired parents can sue children who fail to support them. In government circles “welfare” remains a dirty word, cousin to sloth and waste. Singapore may be a nanny state, but it is by no means an indulgent nanny.