[MyAppleMenu] May 3, 2010

[applesurf at myapplemenu.com]

MyAppleMenu
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**** New iPad 3G Sells Briskly In Debut <http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703969204575220520801343634.html?mod=WSJ_latestheadlines>
Yukari Iwatani Kane And Geoffrey A. Fowler, Wall Street Journal

Apple stores reached in San Francisco, New York, Boston and Houston said they didn't have any iPad 3G models left by Sunday. A spokeswoman for Best Buy Co. Inc. said it had "very limited inventory" for sale on Friday afternoon. She said some of its stores were sold out as of Sunday, but couldn't provide details. A spokeswoman for Apple declined to comment.

**** A Lost iPhone Shows Apple's Churlish Side <http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/03/business/media/03carr.html?src=busln>
David Carr, New York Times

Apple has an admirable history of innovation and marketplace performance, but this time the company and Mr. Jobs are drawing attention for all the wrong reasons. Everyone knows that it is his show, his call. But in engaging the long arm of the law on behalf of his corporate interests, Mr. Jobs may lead us to think, um, differently about Apple’s growing cultural dominance.

**** Apple Announces iPad Sales Top 1 Million In Less Than A Month <http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/10/05/03/apple_announces_ipad_sales_top_1_million.html>
AppleInsider

"One million iPads in 28 days -- that's less than half of the 74 days it took to achieve this milestone with iPhone," said Steve Jobs, Apple's CEO, in a statement released Monday. "Demand continues to exceed supply and we're working hard to get this magical product into the hands of even more customers."

**** Apple: From Beleaguered To Successful To Sheriff <http://www.macobserver.com/tmo/article/apple_from_beleaguered_to_successful_to_sheriff/>
John Martellaro, The Mac Observer

Adobe’s Flash is cooked, done for. This is a minor scuffle. In the grand scheme of things, no one will miss it by 2015. Apple’s competitors will still be playing catchup then because they have no strength of vision, no real goal other than to pad their own pockets and no genuine, self-tested belief in their authority. Meanwhile, the Sheriff will live on to fight the good battle.



The Tomorrow Weblog
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**** In New York, A Tech Incubator Becomes A Hub Of Collaboration <http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/03/technology/start-ups/03betaworks.html?partner=rss&emc=rss>
Jenna Wortham, New York Times

Betaworks has become prominent in New York technology circles for helping entrepreneurs fine-tune and expand their companies. The company has guided some entrepreneurs to lucrative sales and helped others raise cash from notable New York and Silicon Valley investment firms.



MyAppleMenu Reader
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**** In Pursuit Of Prey, Carrying Philosophy <http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/03/books/03book.html?partner=rss&emc=rss>
Dwight Garner, New York Times

Paul Berman’s new book, “The Flight of the Intellectuals,” plural, might as easily have been titled “The Flight of the Intellectual,” singular. It is essentially a booklong polemic against one magazine article: a profile of the Islamic philosopher Tariq Ramadan, written by Ian Buruma, the Dutch academic and journalist, and published in The New York Times Magazine in 2007.

**** Toadstools <http://www.newyorker.com/fiction/poetry/2010/05/10/100510po_poem_wright>
Charles Wright, New Yorker

**** Uncle Rock <http://www.newyorker.com/fiction/features/2010/05/10/100510fi_fiction_gilb>
Dagoberto Gilb, New Yorker

**** This Red T-Shirt <http://www.newyorker.com/fiction/poetry/2010/05/10/100510po_poem_perillo>
Lucia Perillo, New Yorker



SingaporeSurf
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**** Data To Be Improved <http://www.todayonline.com/Voices/EDC100503-0000044/Data-to-be-improved>
Ignatius Lourdesamy, Housing & Development Board, Today

HDB is currently looking into how to further improve on the data we provide and will take Dr Thomas Sim Wai Tat's view into account. We thank him for his suggestion.

**** Flat Can Be Monetised <http://www.todayonline.com/Voices/EDC100503-0000045/Flat-can-be-monetised>
Jee Choo Lily Chan-wong, Housing & Development Board, Today

In making her calculations and concluding that HDB flats are not so, Ms Tong may have overlooked the fact that if she did not own her flat, she would have to pay rents for over 26 years. She would also have to face uncertainty in tenancy renewals and volatile rental rates.

**** Bad Service? Beware Blogger Backlash <http://www.todayonline.com/Singapore/Singaporeinbrief/EDC100503-0000035/Bad-service?-Beware-blogger-backlash>
Conrad Raj, Today

Fed up with bad service at restaurants, department stores and service centres, the former newspaper associate editor decided to do something about it by setting up the blog. It logs anecdotes and stories of actual events of bad or good service, experienced by himself, friends or readers of the blog.

See Also: Boo-n-bouquet [http://boo-n-bouquet.blogspot.com/].

This whole TODAY article is about this one blog, and not a single link to this blog is in sight. Furthermore, the blog's name was spelled wrongly.

**** More Stenography From TODAY <http://callantham.org/blog/2010/5/3/more-stenography-from-today.html>
Callan Tham, Trapper's Swamp

For this story to be reported in the manner that it was, Today is the organisation who fail to grasp what professional journalism entails, not AJE. How AJE would respond to such an accusation is their decision; however, I expect both Today and Ms Ho Moon Shin, in the words of Dr Balakrishnan, to "have the courage and the honesty to set the record straight" for propagating this blatant falsehood.

**** Does My MP Live In Woodlands? <http://imranwrites.blogspot.com/2010/05/does-my-mp-live-in-woodlands.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+blogspot%2FZobK+%28The+Grand+Moofti+Speaks%29>
Imran Ahmed, The Grand Moofti Speaks

It is unlikely that an MP who lives in a landed property and only sees the road from her residence gate to her workplace will experience selfish cyclists on footpaths breaking the law or the crowded state of the trains during peak periods. Parliamentary secretaries and state bureaucrats may dutifully report statistics on the average daily number of train commuters or serious accidents involving bicycles but the impact of such numbers is impersonal.

**** The Al Jazeera Saga: Who’s Calling Who Out? <http://guanyinmiao.wordpress.com/2010/05/03/the-al-jazeera-saga-who’s-calling-who-out/>
Guanyinmiao's Musings

The safety net we have constructed may be a credible and reliable one; but it is inevitable that individuals and households might unfortunately fall right through the cracks. Right now, focus on helping the people who need assistance, and not waste precious time and resources revolving around fruitless confrontations.

**** Isn't GRC System Affirmative Action? <http://www.straitstimes.com/STForum/Story/STIStory_521826.html>
Png Eng Huat, Straits Times

If affirmative action is frowned on by minorities themselves, why does the Government insist on keeping the group representation constituency (GRC) system in the political landscape? The GRC system, as propagated by the Government, ensures minority representation. Thus it is an affirmative action policy.

Does it make sense that the minorities in Singapore need affirmative action only to protect their political rights and everything else can be based on meritocracy?

**** Election Debates On TV All Style And No Substance, So Not For Us <http://www.straitstimes.com/STForum/Story/STIStory_521822.html>
Dennis Tan, Straits Times

Far from being a 'resounding success', the consensus is that television debates have led to a greater emphasis on style over substance.

Isn't the discovery that all parties emphasised style over substance an interesting data point to decide during election? You mean you prefer that parties that have no substance is able to hide behind party mouthpiece disguised as mainstream media?

**** Public housing In Singapore <http://life-in-boston.blogspot.com/2010/05/public-housing-in-singapore.html>
Robin Low, Boston Experience

I don't really see the point of having "market price" and having public housing as an "appreciating asset" so much that the rich could speculate, only forcing a larger gap between the haves and have-nots.

**** 李玉云：上调公积金若拨入普通户头 将会推波助澜推高屋价 <http://www.zaobao.com/sp/sp100503_010.shtml>
林诗慧, 联合早报

**** Test Is 'Easy And Simple' <http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_521994.html>
Straits Times

The first batch of foreign workers who sat a new English literacy test on Monday said it was simple and easy to pass. Called the Service Literacy Test (SLT), it is an assessment administered by the Workforce Development Agency for work permit holders in the hotel, retail and F&B industries.

**** æ–°åŠ å¡æ—…æ¸¸å±€é©»å°æ¹¾åŠžäº‹å¤„å°†æ’¤ç¦» <http://news.google.com/news/url?fd=R&sa=T&url=http%3A%2F%2Frealtime.zaobao.com%2F2010%2F05%2F100503_27.shtml&usg=AFQjCNEjcBdcvrZQga_FtN4fbPFc0iJsuQ>
联合早报

**** We Need Leaders, Not Politicians <http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/index.php/opinion/jema-khan/61979-we-need-leaders-not-politicians>
Jema Khan, The Malaysian Insider

In Singapore, the ruling PAP, very much like Umno, feel that they are destined to rule in perpetuity. They too are rather intolerant of political challenges. The difference is that they are realistic and allow individuals to partake in all manner of delicious vices from table top dancing, to pubs and clubs that open to the wee hours of the morning, to the recently opened casinos and prostitutes masquerading as escorts.

The only thing Singapore wants is that these activities are constrained to certain areas or done behind closed doors. So long as you don’t disturb the peace, commit a crime or become an opposition politician, you can pretty much have a carefree existence regardless of race, creed or religion.

**** Asian Cities Put Up Welcome Signs For Big-Spending Business Meetings <http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/04/business/global/04biztravel.html?src=busln>
Sonia Kolesnikov-Jessop, New York Times

With Asian economies powering ahead now and many companies relaxing restrictions on travel, Singapore, Japan, South Korea and other Asian countries are stepping up marketing campaigns to attract conventions, trade shows and other big-tent events.

**** Emphasis On Mother Tongues A Vital Feature Of Singapore's Education: PM Lee <http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1054141/1/.html>
Channel NewsAsia

In a statement, Mr Lee said the government is determined to progressively strengthen and update its teaching and examination. 

The government has noted public responses to Education Minister Ng Eng Hen's recent comments on the weightage of mother tongue at the Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE).

**** SBS Completes Divestment Of Transit Link For S$1.7m <http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporebusinessnews/view/1054138/1/.html>
Jonathan Peeris, Channel NewsAsia

As the LTA has been assigned to take on the role of Transit Acquirer by the Minister for Transport, it has been mutually agreed that the sale of Transit Link to the LTA would serve the interests of all parties involved.

**** NCMP – The Gauntlet Perhaps Left Unpicked On The Floor <http://chemgen.wordpress.com/2010/05/03/ncmp-the-gauntlet-perhaps-left-unpicked-on-the-floor/>
Chemical Generation Singapore

Regardless if it is front door, back door or window invitation, opposition members should make do, accept the humility and seize the opportunity to make a difference regardless of the limited voting rights NCMP have compared to a MP. I would still appreciate more opposition members entering parliament; almost like how I welcome Santa Claus squeezing down the chimney bringing cheer and goodies to the House.

**** Do Your Part For Singapore <http://yawshinleong.blogspot.com/2010/05/do-your-part-for-singapore.html>
Yaw Shin Leong