[MyAppleMenu] Jun 30, 2010

[applesurf at myapplemenu.com]

MyAppleMenu
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**** Apple, Dell Luxury Laptops: Once Cool, Now Old <http://news.cnet.com/8301-13924_3-20009102-64.html?part=rss&tag=feed&subj=News-Apple>
Brooke Crothers, CNET News

Luxury ultrathin laptops from Apple and Dell were once ultra-hip. Now they quietly age at Apple and Dell online stores.

**** Leaked: Apple’s Internal iPhone 4 Antenna Troubleshooting Procedures <http://www.boygeniusreport.com/2010/06/29/leaked-apples-internal-iphone-4-antenna-troubleshooting-procedures/>
BGR

Clearly Apple is taking the position that nothing is wrong with the antenna, although that’s not surprising since most companies will never willingly admit their flagship product is potentially suffering from an unfixable flaw.

**** More On The iPhone 4 Signal Issue <http://fscked.co.uk/post/751030001/more-on-the-iphone-4-signal-issue>
Richard Gaywood, Fscked.co.uk

If you’re in a strong signal area, you may not ever see the effect, because even with the attenuation from holding the phone you’ll still have plenty of signal left over. But that doesn’t mean you aren’t going to be affected by the issue unless you are never, ever in a weaker signal area — and the second test above suggests that 3G data transfer rates are still going to be slower anyway.

It might (might) be fixable in software. People are talking about things like calibration faults in the signal strength meter, or some sort of dynamic frequency allocation that doesn’t square with any bit of the GSM spec I’ve ever been exposed too. I’m uncertain about this. It doesn’t feel like a software fault to me.

**** 4 <http://daringfireball.net/2010/06/4>
John Gruber, Daring Fireball

The first thing you notice is that the iPhone 4 feels smaller in hand — the decrease in width, even more so than thickness, is quite noticeable. It feels tight.

Then you turn it on, and you see the screen.

**** Users: iPhone 4 Proximity Sensor Causes Issues <http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-19512_7-20009103-233.html?part=rss&tag=feed&subj=News-Apple>
Joe Aimonetti, CNET News

Details of the issue vary throughout the forum posts, but essentially, the proximity sensor (the one that shuts down the screen functionality when your iPhone is close to your face or in your pocket) seems to be malfunctioning.

**** Hulu Plus Announced For iPhone And iPad <http://www.tuaw.com/2010/06/29/hulu-plus-announced-for-iphone-and-ipad/>
Mike Schramm, TUAW

For US$9.99 per month, you'll get you ad-supported access to the full current seasons of most shows and full back seasons of select shows. Plus, brand new Hulu Plus apps for the iPhone and the iPad will bring the television to you.

**** We Use iPhone 4's FaceTime Over 3G (Sorta) <http://blog.laptopmag.com/we-use-iphone-4s-facetime-over-3g-sorta?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+LaptopMagazineNews+%28LAPTOP+Magazine+-+The+Pulse+of+Mobile+Technology%29>
Mike Prospero, Laptop Magazine

Steve Jobs was right to limit Facetime to Wi-Fi connections. Audio came through only in patches, and video was like a slideshow at best.

**** Apple's iPhone 4 On Sale In China's Grey Market <http://nz.news.yahoo.com/a/-/technology/7486197/apples-iphone-4-on-sale-in-chinas-grey-market/>
AFP

The latest version of Apple's iPhone is on sale in Beijing's electronic stores and luxury hotels, months before the official launch of the trendy smartphone in China, state media said Tuesday.

**** Apple Facing Possible Lawsuit Over iPhone 4 Antenna <http://technologizer.com/2010/06/29/apple-facing-possible-lawsuit-over-iphone-4-antenna/>
Ed Oswald, Technologizer

California-based law firm Kershaw, Cuttiner, and Ratinoff is asking for customers with iPhone 4 signal reception issues to contact it, likely signaling the beginnings of a class-action suit against Apple over the issues.

**** Is Apple A Victim Of Its Own Success? <http://www.tgdaily.com/hardware-features/50408-is-apple-a-victim-of-its-own-success>
Aharon Etengoff, TG Daily

Apple's difficulty in satisfying the massive demand for its iPhone 4 has reportedly prompted frustrated consumers to consider purchasing alternative smartphone models.

**** The iPad's Chicken-or-egg Developer Problem <http://news.cnet.com/8301-27076_3-20009109-248.html>
Josh Lowensohn, CNET News

Developing apps, and games in particular, for the iPad, is very different than it is on the iPhone. Not in the software or familiarity when coming from the iPhone, but in how the game ends up playing on a bigger screen.

**** Apple No Longer Supports IOS 2.0 Apps <http://news.softpedia.com/news/Apple-No-Longer-Supports-iOS-2-0-Apps-145770.shtml>
Softpedia

iPhone developers are being encouraged to go over the iOS 4 Readiness Checklist in what is Apple’s way of transitioning everyone (from programmers to consumers) to the next-generation of iPhone software. Developers are being told that all new apps and updates must be built with SDK 4 starting now, and that iOS 2.0 software is no longer supported in the App Store.



The Tomorrow Weblog
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**** PCs That Work While They Sleep <http://www.technologyreview.com/computing/25677/?ref=rss&a=f>
Duncan Graham-Rowe, Technology Review

Software running on a remote server maintains a version of a PC's operating systems and applications. The software, called SleepServer, carries on tasks on behalf of the desktop machine while it is put into a low-energy sleep mode.

This lets SleepServer perform basic tasks on behalf of the PC, such as downloading files or staying logged into voice communications or instant-messaging software. When more complex activity is required, the software wakes up the computer, says Agarwal, a process that typically takes less than 10 seconds.



MyAppleMenu Reader
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**** Independent Streak <http://www.thesmartset.com/article/article06291001.aspx>
Morgan Meis, The Smart Set

We have a right to abolish any government and to establish a new one under any principles we fancy, but it is a right that only a fool would actually exercise.

**** Does A Lover Really Have First Claim On Breasts? <http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/women_shealth/7860205/Does-a-lover-really-have-first-claim-on-breasts.html>
Rowan Pelling, Telegraph

Women's bodies have become so associated with sex that now a mothers' magazine has called breast-feeding 'creepy'. 

**** Is English Special Because It's "Globish"? <http://www.tnr.com/blog/john-mcwhorter/75710/english-special-because-its-globish>
John McWhorter, The New Republic

Between the fostering of the myth that a language can make a people imaginative, the encouragement of a sense that English is a “realer” language than others, and the endless booboos, Globish is inaccurately covered where the implication is that it is a legitimate argument shakily rendered. It is as authoritative an argument as a book I could write on how squid are the world’s coolest animals. It is, despite innocent intentions, a jolly misfire – and for reasons far beyond mere ones of form.



SingaporeSurf
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**** SMRT’s To-Do List <http://guanyinmiao.wordpress.com/2010/06/30/smrt’s-to-do-list/>
Guanyinmiao's Musings

**** Kami Tak Kow Tow, Kau Tau? <http://art-harun.blogspot.com/2010/06/kami-tak-kow-tow-kau-tau.html>
ARTiculations

To all Singapore Malays, I am writing this to tell you how lucky we all are in Malaysia. You think you all are so great, you sure have not seen how greater we, Malaysian Malays, are.

**** The Joy Of Being Caged In The Courthouse <http://thelongnwindingroad.wordpress.com/2010/06/30/the-joy-of-being-caged-in-the-courthouse/>
The Long and Winding Road

There was a time when I would always look forward to a visit to the old Supreme Court building that stands majestically on St. Andrew’s Road. Together with the former City Hall, the imposing grey stone buildings that face the Padang are very much what we have always seemed to identify immediately with Singapore and the heart of Singapore, and had been among the buildings that were my favourites when I was growing up.

**** Press Freedoms Lag In Singapore <http://www.cjr.org/behind_the_news/press_freedoms_lag_in_singapor.php>
Justin D. Martin, Columbia Journalism Review

Singapore’s leaders fit the quintessential description of benevolent dictators, as they support economic policies that clearly benefit their people, but are sternly intolerant of criticism. In March 2010, the International Herald Tribune paid $114,000 for suggesting that Singapore’s longtime rulers, previously Lee Kuan Yew and currently his son Lee Hsien Loong, were a dynasty that had maintained power by means other than merit and the people’s blessing. (The toothless obedience of the New York Times-owned Herald Tribune, which dutifully shelled out a hundred grand before it was even formally sued, deserves a case study all its own).

What Singapore’s overseers don’t seem to grasp is that without a press free to monitor power and challenge wrongdoing, even otherwise “developed” countries suffer greatly. One need look no farther east than Dubai for an example of a locale which, in the absence of an unencumbered press able to expose profligacy and corruption, is now bearing a debt crisis for which its rulers and citizens were pitifully unprepared.

**** A Twin City, And Rival, To Singapore Rises In Malaysia <http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/30/business/global/30rdbseamal.html?src=busln>
Sonia Kolesnikov-Jessop, New York Times

At the southern tip of Malaysia, a new metropolis is slowly taking shape. When completed in 2025, Iskandar Malaysia will spread across 2,217 square kilometers or 547,830 acres, approximately three times the area of Singapore, the island state on the other side of a narrow strait.

**** Economies Of Southeast Asia Look Solid <http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/30/business/global/30rdbseaover.html?src=busln>
Sonia Kolesnikov-Jessop, New York Times

Southeast Asia recovered swiftly from the global financial crisis that started in 2008, helped by large monetary and fiscal stimulus packages quickly adopted by governments to support domestic demand. Strong economic growth data surprised analysts in the first quarter, pointing to a sharp “V-shaped” recovery.

**** SMRT Chief Is Misleading! <http://singaporealternatives.blogspot.com/2010/06/smrt-chief-is-misleading.html>
Goh Meng Seng, Singapore Alternatives

SMRT chief executive officer and president Saw Phaik Hwa in Sunday ST report "SMRT: Tighter security will not mean higher fare" has claimed that while trains may be crowded, they are not at 'crush load' and 'people can board the train - it is whether they choose to'. She used the example of Hong Kong MTR trains' ability to take in 2000 people during peak hours as compared to singapore's MRT train of 1400 people during peak hours to support her view.

Ms Saw is either misleading or ignorant. HK MTR trains have EIGHT cabins. Singapore's trains have only six cabins! How could she use it as a comparison to Singapore's train system is really beyond my comprehension!

**** S'pore 11th Most Costly Place To Live For Expats <http://www.todayonline.com/Singapore/EDC100630-0000088/Spore-11th-most-costly-place-to-live-for-expats>
Today

According to Mercer's Worldwide Cost of Living Survey 2010, released yesterday, Tokyo, Osaka and Hong Kong were ranked second, third and eighth, respectively. Singapore fell by a notch, from 10th place last year to 11th.

**** S'pore Is Most Liveable City In Asia <http://www.todayonline.com/Singapore/EDC100630-0000103/Spore-is-most-liveable-city-in-Asia>
Joanne Chan, Today

Singapore has emerged as the most liveable Asian city in a new index. It was ranked third worldwide, coming in behind Geneva and Zurich in the Global Liveable Cities Index. Published by Singapore's Centre for Liveable Cities, the index looked at 64 cities including 36 from Asia.

**** It Is Now A Job-Seekers' Market ... <http://www.todayonline.com/Singapore/EDC100630-0000114/It-is-now-a-job-seekers-market-,,,>
Esther Ng, Today

More people are turning down job offers as employers set their highest hiring projections in more than nine years. Four in 10 employers told recruitment firm, Hudson, that they had had candidates decline their job offers in the last six months. This was evident across all major sectors except the media, public relations and advertising industry.

**** Libel Laws Apply To All: Ministry Of Law <http://www.todayonline.com/Voices/EDC100630-0000045/Libel-laws-apply-to-all--Ministry-of-Law>
Chong Wan Yieng, Ministry of Law, Today

There is no merit to the suggestion that Singapore has "weak" libel laws. Our libel laws are intended to provide for the protection of personal reputation from false attacks. Writers are allowed to criticise anybody in Singapore, including the Government. They have always been free to do so and Singapore law does not seek to proscribe that. This, together with the right of response, allows an informed debate to take place in the media.

**** Why Course Subsidies Are A Really Bad Idea <http://theonlinecitizen.com/2010/06/why-course-subsidies-are-a-really-bad-idea/>
Tony Sealy, The Online Citizen

The present system for providing grants is misguided. It’s wrong for the students, the schools and the industry. By all means provide a grant. But not for schools or courses, but for employers who take the commercial risk of hiring rookies.

**** Considering Water Diplomacy <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/philip-seib/considering-water-diploma_b_629487.html>
Philip Seib, Huffington Post

**** 李资政：我国已可输出开拓水资源经验 <http://www.zaobao.com/sp/sp100630_002.shtml>
郭丽娟, 联合早报

å†…é˜èµ„æ”¿æŽå…‰è€€æ˜¨æ™šåœ¨æ–°åŠ å¡å›½é™…æ°´èµ„æºå‘¨åŠä¸–ç•ŒåŸŽå¸‚å³°ä¼šçš„ä¸€åœºå¯¹è¯ä¼šä¸Šï¼ŒåŒä¸Žä¼šè€…åˆ†äº«æ–°åŠ å¡èµ°å‘æ°´ä¾›è‡ªç»™è‡ªè¶³çš„ç»éªŒæ—¶æŒ‡å‡ºï¼Œæˆ‘å›½åœ¨å¼€å§‹ä¸ºæ°´èµ„æºå†å¾ªçŽ¯åˆ›é€ æ¡ä»¶åˆæœŸï¼Œæ°´åŠ¡å·¥ç¨‹å¸ˆæ›¾ç»å‘ä»–æŠ¥å‘Šç”±äºŽå¸‚åŒºå†…çš„åºŸæ°´æ¯’ç´ è¿‡é«˜ï¼Œä¸å¯èƒ½å†å¾ªçŽ¯ä½¿ç”¨ã€‚ç„¶è€Œï¼Œä»–å´è®¤ä¸ºæˆ‘å›½å¿…é¡»æœªé›¨ç»¸ç¼ªï¼Œå…ˆä¸ºç§‘æŠ€å¯èƒ½æˆç†Ÿçš„ä¸€å¤©åšå¥½å……åˆ†å‡†å¤‡ï¼Œä¸€æœ‰æ¡ä»¶å°±èƒ½å¤Ÿç«‹å³è¿›è¡Œæ°´èµ„æºå†å¾ªçŽ¯è®¡åˆ’ã€‚

**** Get Real, Not Hysterical : Thoughts On Singapore’s Flashfloods <http://thegreenbush.wordpress.com/2010/06/30/singapore_floods/>
The Green Bush

Whatever the case maybe, it is important that the people of Singapore realise that our disasters are merely a tip of the iceberg of what the “real world” across the seas are facing.

**** Paranoid, Vindictive Bastards. <http://jacob69.wordpress.com/2010/06/30/paranoid-vindictive-bastards/>
Jacob 69er

What else can you call buggers who hide behind and use State powers to bring misery and pain to others for the sole reason of maintaining a stranglehold on power. Equally bad are those bastards who say they were just doing their jobs. Its no different from prostitution.

**** Split Issues <http://rights2write.wordpress.com/2010/06/29/split-issues/>
Rights2Write

The rail line is so strategic that it divides Singapore into 2 halves. It is not only a psychological barrier to Singapore government leaders but a physical barrier as well in developing any land along the tracks.

**** Slide In Changi Airport <http://i.justrealized.com/2010/06/30/slide-in-changi-airport/>
I.justrealized

**** SMRT “Fail” Bus/Train A Joke In Twitter-Verse <http://socialpr.blogspot.com/2010/06/smrt-fail-bustrain-joke-in-twitter.html>
Small steps for Social PR

The “failure” references do not bode well for SMRT in social media or the brand as the public transport provider was recently under fire for their lapse of security that resulted in the vandalism of their trains and increase complains about the over-capacity of SMRT public transports, especially the trains.

**** 中国人教会了世界什么？ <http://lombardypoplar.blog.hexun.com/52550796_d.html>
青衣江中水

当国人每每义愤填膺地指责外国人如何鄙视中国人的时候，我们是否应该先检讨我们自己。政府不讲信用，百姓也不讲规制。中国的国际形象如此，政府不应该自省吗？

**** Total Private Sector Wages Fall 0.4% In 2009 <http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporebusinessnews/view/1066645/1/.html>
Channel NewsAsia

Total wages of private sector employees fell by 0.4 per cent last year.  According to the Ministry of Manpower's (MOM) latest publication "Report on Wages 2009," the decline followed a 4.2 per cent increase in wages in 2008. 

The decline was due to a drop of 14 per cent in bonus paid out. The bonus amount paid out fell to 1.99 months last year from 2.31 months in 2008.

**** A Glimmer Of Hope In The Political Darkness <http://yoursdp.org/index.php/news/singapore/3862-a-glimmer-of-hope-in-the-political-darkness>
Singapore Democrat Party

**** Electricity Tariffs To Go Up Again <http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1066693/1/.html>
Channel NewsAsia

SP Services says that the electricity tariffs for households will go up by 0.57 cents per Kilowatt-hour to 24.13 cents per kWh, an increase of 2.4 percent. 

It is the fifth consecutive quarter of increase.

**** Indonesia Not Seeking To Raise Prices Of Gas Sold To Singapore -Official <http://www.nasdaq.com/aspx/stock-market-news-story.aspx?storyid=201006300432dowjonesdjonline000203%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20&title=indonesia-not-seeking-to-raise-prices-of-gas-sold-to-singapore-official>
Dow Jones

Indonesia is not seeking to increase prices of natural gas exported to Singapore, despite its intention to reduce the volume delivered, a government official said Wednesday.

"The prices are already good, ranging between $11 and $12 per million British thermal unit," Hardiono, vice chairman of upstream oil and gas regulator BP Migas, told Dow Jones Newswires.

**** Dr Mahathir Renews Pressure On Najib To Revive Crooked Bridge <http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/dr-mahathir-renews-pressure-on-najib-to-revive-crooked-bridge/>
Boo Su-Lyn, The Malaysian Insider

Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad pressed Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak today to revive the crooked bridge he had proposed to replace the Johor Causeway connecting Malaysia and Singapore.

**** The Upside In A Slowdown For Singapore Developers <http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703426004575338321336943324.html?mod=googlenews_wsj>
Sam Holmes, Wall Street Journal

To be sure, backing a property developer in Singapore now is a bet that policy makers will successfully walk that fine line: slowing price appreciation down without, in the worst case, engineering a long-lasting slump in prices. But the government is pushing against strong forces, like low interest rates in the region and a strengthening macroeconomic backdrop. Prices, meanwhile, which jumped 25% on-year in the first quarter, remain high.

**** Singapore Wins, For Now <http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Southeast_Asia/LG01Ae02.html>
Muhammad Cohen, Asia Times

**** iPhone 4 Now Available At Sim Lim Square. Only Costs $4,000. <http://www.imerlion.com/2010/06/iphone-4-now-available-at-sim-lim.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheSingaporeIphoneGuide+%28The+Singapore+iPhone+Guide%29>
Jimmy Yap, iMerlion

While walking around Sim Lim Square today, some guy wanted to charge me 4,000 smackeroos for an iPhone 4.

**** MCA Urges Malaysia, Singapore Hold Further Talks On Bridge Project <http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v5/newsgeneral.php?id=510007>
Bernama

MCA on Wednesday urged the Malaysian and Singapore governments to hold further talks on the bridge project to replace the existing causeway in the Tebrau Strait as it was of the opinion both countries would benefit immensely if the bridge was built.