[MyAppleMenu] Jul 16, 2010

[applesurf at myapplemenu.com]

MyAppleMenu
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**** Apps And Docs On iPhone OS <http://db.tidbits.com/article/11430?rss&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+tidbits_main+%28TidBITS%3A+Mac+News+for+the+Rest+of+Us%29>
Matt Neuburg, TidBITS

Until Apple makes the whole business of docs and apps more rational and open on the iPhone, it seems that every device and every document will have to be dealt with individually, on a case-by-case basis, with a lot of head-scratching and frustration on the part of the user. Document types are a good idea, obviously, but Apple needs to take the wraps off a little and make this a more pleasant and tractable experience for users and developers alike. Otherwise, while I don't want to say that what Apple has provided is worse than nothing, it's darned close.

**** Great Tech Recalls Of The 20th Century <http://scripting.com/stories/2010/07/15/greatTechRecallsOfThe20thC.html>
Dave Winer, Scripting News

Engineers look at their own products differently than users do.

**** Apple Tried To Buy Palm Before HP Won The Bidding War -- And RIM Completely Blew The Deal <http://www.businessinsider.com/apple-rim-google-hp-palm-2010-7>
Dan Frommer, Business Insider

Apple was mostly interested in Palm's huge library of intellectual property and patents (450+ patents on file, another 400+ applications on file). And unlike some other bidders, Apple even seemed committed to funding Palm's operations, perhaps to challenge RIM's dominance in the keyboarded segment of the smartphone industry, our source says.

**** The iPhone 4 Redux: Analyzing Apple's iOS 4.0.1 Signal Fix & Antenna Issue <http://www.anandtech.com/show/3821/iphone-4-redux-analyzing-apples-ios-41-signal-fix>
Brian Klug & Anand Lal Shimpi, AnandTech

While the software update obviously does not and cannot address the design of the antenna itself - or make the drop from holding the phone any less - it does change the way the issue is perceived among users. The result is that most iPhone users will see fewer bars disappear when they hold the iPhone 4 in a bare hand. The side effect is that the iPhone now displays fewer bars in most places, and users that haven’t been reporting signal in dBm will time see the - perhaps a bit shocking - reality of locations previously denoted as having excellent signal.

Interestingly enough, Apple has indeed changed the heights of bars 1, 2, and 3. They’re taller, and the result is that the relative heights are no longer linear, but rather a tad exponential looking. It’s a mind trick that Apple no doubt hopes will make the signal look better. If the bars are taller, they must denote stronger signal, right?

**** Save Space In Safari With Hotkeys <http://www.macworld.com/article/152716/2010/07/bookmarkhotkeys.html?lsrc=rss_main>
Whitson Gordon, Macworld

**** Apple Releases iOS 4.0.1 With New iPhone Signal Formula <http://www.macworld.com/article/152733/2010/07/ios4_0_1.html?lsrc=rss_main>
David Chartier, Macworld

iOS 4.0.1 “improves the formula to determine how many bars of signal strength to display.” According to a letter Apple published earlier this month, the company has been using a “totally wrong” formula for calculating signal strength.

**** Audible Releases iPhone App <http://www.macworld.com/article/152735/2010/07/audiblecom_releases_app_for_iphone_and_ipad.html?lsrc=rss_main>
David Dahlquist, Macworld

Audible includes the basic features one would expect out of an audiobook app, like chapter navigation, bookmarking, and listening and viewing controls, as well as some high end features that should please audiobook enthusiasts—including the ability to transfer books from your Audible library to your iPhone or iPad over Wi-Fi, and a button-free mode that lets you control audio playback using gestures.

**** Apple Knew Of iPhone Antenna Risks <http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704682604575369311876558240.html?mod=djemalertTECH>
Yukari Iwatani Kane and Niraj Sheth, Wall Street Journal

On Thursday, Bloomberg News reported that Mr. Caballero had raised concerns about the antenna to Mr. Jobs. In response to the article, an Apple spokesman said, "We challenge Bloomberg BusinessWeek to produce anything beyond rumors to back this up. It's simply not true." A spokesman for Bloomberg News said it stands by its story.

**** Could Apple's iPhone 4 Be Cursed? <http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-iphone-jinx-20100716,0,186165.story>
David Sarno and Tiffany Hsu, Los Angeles Times

In China, where the iPhone is manufactured, four is considered to be bad luck. That's largely because the word for four is nearly identical to the word for death. Many buildings in Hong Kong do not have a fourth floor, and people try to avoid phone numbers and license plates with "4" in them.

Device manufacturers such as Canon Inc. and Nokia Corp., wary of the digit's ominous significance, have been known to skip from 3 to 5 when assigning model numbers to their products. Apple, though, seemed uncowed by the superstition.

**** iPhone Owners Report IOS 4.0.1 Installation Errors <http://news.cnet.com/8301-31021_3-20010737-260.html?part=rss&amp;subj=news&amp;tag=2547-1_3-0-20>
Erica Ogg, CNET

iPhone owners attempting to install the latest software update from Apple Thursday afternoon say that the process repeatedly fails. The reports cropped up on Apple's own support forums.

**** MobileMe E-mail: Junk Filter Can’t Be Turned Off <http://www.mcelhearn.com/2010/07/16/mobileme-e-mail-junk-filter-cant-be-turned-off/>
Kirk McElhearn, Kirkville

If you use a MobileMe account and access your mail via POP, you should check regularly to see what’s been blocked.

**** Foxconn Denies Receiving Apple Labor Cost Subsidy, Says Report <http://www.digitimes.com/NewsShow/NewsSearch.asp?DocID=PB000000000000000000000000005055&query=APPLE>
DigiTimes

**** iPhone 4 Proximity Sensor Bug To Get A Fix Soon <http://appadvice.com/appnn/2010/07/iphone-4-proximity-sensor-bug-fix/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+AppAdvice+%28AppAdvice%29>
Alexander Vaughn, App Advice

Good news for all of you who have been having issues with the iPhone 4 new proximity sensor. Steve Jobs just announced today at the special iPhone 4 event that a fix is coming up and it should clear the problem once and for all.

**** Apple `Working Our Butts Off' To Solve iPhone Problem, Jobs Says <http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-07-16/jobs-says-apple-learned-of-antennagate-22-days-ago-working-to-fix-flaw.html>
Connie Guglielmo, Bloomberg

Chief executive officer Steve Jobs says the company learned of iPhone 4’s reception glitch complaints 22 days ago and is “working our butts off” to figure out the problem, which he called “Antennagate.”

**** Apple Admits iPhone 4 Drops More Calls Than iPhone 3GS <http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/10/07/16/apple_admits_iphone_4_drops_more_calls_per_100_than_iphone_3gs.html>
AppleInsider

Apple on Friday shared a summary of dropped call data it received from wireless partner AT&T, which revealed that the iPhone 4 experiences more dropped calls than the iPhone 3GS, but at a rate less than one call per 100.

**** Apple Offers Free Case As iPhone 4 Fix <http://www.tuaw.com/2010/07/16/apple-offers-free-case-as-iphone-4-fix/>
Megan Lavey, TUAW

Steve Jobs just announced today that the company will issue a free case to every iPhone 4 customer. If you've already purchased a bumper case for your iPhone 4, you are entitled to a refund.

You can apply for the free case through Apple's web site starting later this week. The company plans to source cases from third parties due to a shortage in bumper cases, so iPhone 4 customers will have a choice of a few different cases.



The Tomorrow Weblog
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**** Talking To Your Phone <http://www.technologyreview.com/communications/25816/?ref=rss>
Erica Naone, Technology Review

The SuperDialer is the first of a series of releases planned by Vlingo. All are intended to add a stronger artificial intelligence backbone to the company's speech recognition software.



MyAppleMenu Reader
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**** Facial Profiling <http://www.sfweekly.com/2010-07-14/news/facial-profiling/>
Peter Jamison, SF Weekly

In what legal and scientific experts say is a groundbreaking case, a San Francisco Superior Court judge allowed biometric facial-identification technology, along with accompanying testimony from an expert witness, to be admitted as evidence in a high-profile criminal trial.

And in a curious turn, biometrics — the science popularized for its use in attempts to catch terrorists — was being used in San Francisco to try to exonerate an accused gang member and murderer.

**** What Took You So Long? <http://www.slate.com/id/2260395/?from=rss>
Susanna Daniel, Slate Magazine

There is surely a word—in German, most likely—that means the state of active non-accomplishment. Not just the failure to reach a specific goal, but ongoing, daily failure with no end in sight. Stunted ambition. Disappointed potential. Frustrated and sad and lonely and hopeless and sick to death of one's self.

Whatever it's called, this is what leads people to abandon their goals—people do it every day. And I understand that decision, because I lived in this state of active non-accomplishment for many years.



SingaporeSurf
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**** Will Singapore Grow Faster Than China? <http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/10_30/b4188015352556.htm>
Shamim Adam, BusinessWeek

The bigger risk is how Singapore handles a global slowdown in the second half. Casinos can empty out pretty fast if people feel poor. Whatever happens, growth feels better than the opposite: Singapore's economy contracted last year.

**** Singapore On A Record High, Here Come The Foreigners! <http://www.pressrun.net/weblog/2010/07/singapore-on-a-record-high-here-come-the-foreigners.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rana+%28Blowin%27+In+The+Wind%29>
Blowin' In The Wind

Read that as "Your wages will soar and property prices skyrocket until employers decide it is better to do business elsewhere." So foreign workers do depress wages while making the economy more competitive, right?

**** Lack Of Funds Threaten Food Aid Project For Migrant Workers <http://theonlinecitizen.com/2010/07/lack-of-funds-threaten-food-aid-project-for-migrant-workers/>
Wong Chun Han, The Online Citizen

Hundreds of jobless migrant workers may go hungry as the food aid programme they depend upon could fold due to a lack of funds.

Some 450 men, forced out of work by injuries or non-payment of wages, are receiving free meals everyday from The Cuff Road Project to help them get by while they recover or seek legal redress. But the progamme, which runs in Little India, could run out of money in a month’s time, forcing its closure.

**** Safety First For Army Trucks <http://www.straitstimes.com/STForum/OnlineStory/STIStory_553879.html>
Shaun Teo, Straits Times

I used to work in a transport unit in the army and there are many safety considerations when it comes to putting soldiers on the trucks and even smaller jeeps.

For instance, all trucks are fitted with seat belts and proper secured benches. They are also covered with a steel superstructure and canvas, which protect passengers against the elements and also minimise the danger of passengers tumbling out in the event that the truck tips over.

**** Ferrying Workers: Smokescreen Regulations Won't Work <http://www.straitstimes.com/STForum/Story/STIStory_554148.html>
Robert J. Cochrane, Straits Times

Instead of designing smokescreen regulations, like the proposed rule to increase space per worker in the back of open-top vehicles, which has no real major impact on safety, the government should simply make construction companies pay for foreign workers to be transported on buses.

**** Foreign Hirings: Tag Quota To Older Workers <http://www.straitstimes.com/STForum/Story/STIStory_554144.html>
Aries Tan, Straits Times

**** Find Ways To Let S'poreans Reap Temasek's Excess Gains <http://www.straitstimes.com/STForum/Story/STIStory_554147.html>
Imran Ahmed, Straits Times

The government should explore alternative mechanisms to share Temasek's investment successes with the population at large.

**** Dataset Error Led To Wrong Charges: LTA <http://www.todayonline.com/Singapore/EDC100716-0000123/Dataset-error-led-to-wrong-charges--LTA>
Neo Chai Chin, Today

If not for an alert Today reader, bus commuters travelling along a stretch at Buona Vista may well still be over-charged for their rides. And the question now is if the error he uncovered is happening elsewhere.

**** Hong Kong To Introduce Minimum Wage. Singapore? <http://www.yoursdp.org/index.php/news/singapore/3911-hong-kong-to-introduce-minimum-wage-singapore>
Singapore Democrat Party

**** The “Chinese” Republic Of Singapore <http://yawningbread.wordpress.com/2010/07/16/the-chinese-republic-of-singapore/>
Yawning Bread

As history proved, our societies were so dissimilar, it was an unhappy marriage and we had to separate within two years. The last few decades has seen Singapore reverting to type, rebuilding our relationships with Indonesia, China, India and farther afield. We are not drifting away from our Malayan template. We’ve always been different; we were never really Malayan.

**** PAP's Official Organ Wins Journalism Accolades <http://journalism.sg/2010/07/16/paps-official-organ-wins-journalism-accolades/>
Bhavan Jaipragas, journalism.sg

**** Staggering Growth For Singapore Economy, How Sustainable Could It Be? <http://business.globaltimes.cn/comment/2010-07/551842.html>
Xinhua

**** The PAP’s Obsession With GDP Growth <http://geraldgiam.sg/2010/07/the-pap’s-obsession-with-gdp-growth/>
Gerald Giam

Why does the PAP government have such an obsession for GDP growth? Don’t they realise that GDP growth does not necessarily indicate a healthy economy? Isn’t it more important to have equitable growth—where all citizens, especially the poor, benefit from growth?

**** 车资解说难以服众 <http://www.zaobao.com/yl/yl100716_010.shtml>
明应劭, 联合早报

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**** 如何转车以省车资 <http://www.zaobao.com/yl/yl100716_009.shtml>
黄罗林, 联合早报

车资上涨，长期累积，对日薪微薄的乐龄散工是一笔负担。当局说转车会享有低车资的好处，请问从43321车站上车到港湾，要如何转车才可以省钱，并且不会浪费时间？

**** é¦™æ¸¯è¢«æ–°åŠ å¡æ‰’å¤´ <http://finance.sina.com.cn/stock/hkstock/marketalerts/20100715/09528298398.shtml>
曾渊沧, 新浪财经

**** Singapore Favors Foreigners Over Its Own Talent <http://xinchaosaigon.blogspot.com/2010/07/singapore-favors-foreigners-over-its.html>
Xin Chao Saigon

**** Singapore Economy Is Booming But Guess Who Is Benefiting? Duh... Foreigners!!!! <http://utwt.blogspot.com/2010/07/singapore-economy-is-booming-but-guess.html>
Under The Willow Tree

The PAP will give themselves a pat on the back again and give themselves record pay rises and bonuses. All on the back of massive economic growth numbers based on foreign factor inputs, that does not benefit ordinary Singaporeans.

**** Should New Citizens Serve Compulsory Time At The Grassroots Level? <http://kentridgecommon.com/?p=7216>
Christopher Ong, Kent Ridge Common

**** Have You Said <i>No</i> To Censorship? <http://www.aware.org.sg/2010/07/have-you-said-no-to-censorship/>
Aware

**** Money Laundering Yet To Be Detected In S'pore Casinos <http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1069737/1/.html>
Saifulbahri Ismail, Channel NewsAsia

Singapore authorities said money laundering activities have yet to be detected in the casinos. This was said at a news conference at the end of the 13th Annual Meeting of the Asia Pacific Group (APG) on money laundering on Friday.

**** Floods And Internet Policing To Be Raised In Parliament <http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1069736/1/.html>
Channel NewsAsia

**** Views From Singapore: On A Houston Visit, Prosperous City-state's Prime Minister Shares Economic Insights <http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/editorial/7110613.html>
Houston Chronicle

When Lee talks, people listen. We did, attentively, during an informative hour the prime minister spent with the Chronicle editorial board on Tuesday.

**** Fastest Growing Economy? What About Jobs And Wages? <http://theonlinecitizen.com/2010/07/fastest-growing-economy-what-about-jobs-and-wages/>
Leong Sze Hian, The Online Citizen

**** Compulsive History <http://yawningbread.wordpress.com/2010/07/17/compulsive-history/>
Yawning Bread

No serious historian or intellectual in Singapore gives any credit to the government’s version of events. Under the circumstances, a smart politician would take whatever opportunities that arise to begin distancing himself from the indefensible. In other words, once again, the smart decision would be to let Martyn See’s video stand, so as not to call too much attention to it. The stupid decision would be to try (and fail) to ban it.