[MyAppleMenu] May 5, 2010

[applesurf at myapplemenu.com]

MyAppleMenu
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**** A Good Problem To Have <http://www.mikeindustries.com/blog/archive/2010/05/a-good-problem-to-have>
Mike Industries

It’s scary to people because they remember the harm other companies have done when they reached monopoly status, but with Google, Microsoft, Nokia, RIMM, and now HP all keeping the market healthy with different alternatives, there is no excuse for not voting with your feet if you’re unhappy. When the biggest problem in personal technology is that the leading company is getting a little too exceptional, it’s a good problem to have.

**** Mac DVDRipper Pro 1.5.5 <http://www.macworld.com/reviews/product/485209/review/mac_dvdripper_pro.html?expand=true&lsrc=rss_main>
Christopher Breen, Macworld

Mac DVDRipper Pro is a reasonably capable and affordable tool for those who want to create archives of the DVDs they own. In my experience, RipIt has more success with difficult-to-rip discs, but at twice the cost.

**** Review: iPad Wi-Fi + 3G <http://www.macworld.com/article/151011/2010/05/ipad_3g_review.html?lsrc=rss_main>
Dan Moren, Macworld

**** Old Info-Mac Digests Come Back Online <http://db.tidbits.com/article/11255?rss&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+tidbits_main+%28TidBITS%3A+Mac+News+for+the+Rest+of+Us%29>
Adam C. Engst, TidBITS

**** Lawyer: Antitrust Move Against Apple Would 'Sink' <http://www.macworld.com/article/151025/2010/05/apple_antitrust.html?lsrc=rss_main>
Gregg Keizer, Computerworld

Antitrust charges against Apple over its decision to ban rivals’ development tools from the iPhone would likely fail because the company doesn’t have a stranglehold on the mobile market, an expert said Monday.

“The government has to show that Apple’s conduct is adversely affecting competition for consumers, and that requires that it show the absence of choice.” said Hillard Sterling, an antitrust attorney at Chicago-based law firm Freeborn & Peters LLP.

**** FileMaker Releases Free Business Productivity Kit, 30-day Trial <http://www.tuaw.com/2010/05/04/filemaker-releases-free-business-productivity-kit-30-day-trial/>
Dave Caolo, TUAW

The kit is a collection of ready-to-use templates for business owners who don't have the time or inclination to build a system for themselves, but want to get right to work. It includes solutions for tracking customer and vendor contacts, sales, product information, invoicing and shipping.

**** Apple's Fetish For Silence <http://www.informationweek.com/blog/main/archives/2010/05/apples_fetish_f.html>
Thomas Claburn, InformationWeek

Apple doesn't stoop mingling with the masses. That might ruin its carefully cultivated mystique. But as Battelle observed in a comment on his post, while Apple has long based its communication strategy around secrecy, "what's changed is how deep and ubiquitous it is now, and how removed the company has become from the public square compared to its past (when it was always removed, but not so deeply)."

**** Is Steve Jobs Worried He's Running Out Of Time? <http://www.dailyfinance.com/story/company-news/is-steve-jobs-running-out-of-time/19459725/>
Sam Gustin, Daily Finance

If Jobs really does feel like he's running out of time -- as the quote from the Auletta piece suggests -- that may help explain his somewhat frenetic recent behavior, during a time in which he has dramatically thrust himself onto center stage with his latest creation, the iPad.

Apple watchers can't help but notice a sped-up, almost frantic quality to the way Jobs has been operating this year. It's almost as if he views himself as a besieged general -- surrounded by advancing forces and running out of time -- intent on making one last stand against the enemy, which, in Jobs's case, may be time itself.

We are all running out of time.

**** NetAirus Sues Apple Over iPhone Concept <http://www.macobserver.com/tmo/article/netairus_sues_apple_over_iphone_concept/>
Jeff Gamet, The Mac Observer

NetAirus Technologies filed a lawsuit against Apple over claims that the iPhone infringes on a patent it owns. Unlike other patent cases that target specific technologies, the NetAirus lawsuit alleges that entire iPhone concept infringes on its patent.

**** Inconspicuous Consumption: The Case Of The iPad <http://gadgetwise.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/05/04/inconspicuous-consumption-the-case-of-the-ipad/?partner=rss&emc=rss>
Jenna Wortham, New York Times

Is there a reluctance among us to be viewed as conspicuous consumers, perhaps a lingering sentiment hanging on from the darker days of the recession?  Or is the iPad possibly still too new and not yet as widely adopted to use in public without attracting attention and even embarrassment, as some have noted?

**** iPad 3G’s Unlimited Data Plan Truly Is Unlimited – Blogger Downloads 30 Gigabytes In Two Days <http://thenextweb.com/apple/2010/05/04/ipad-3gs-unlimited-data-plan-unlimited-blogger-downloads-30-gigabytes-days/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheNextWebNetwork+%28The+Next+Web+Network%29>
Alex Wilhelm, The Next Web

**** iPad Pushing Average Apps Prices Higher, But Not By Much <http://arstechnica.com/apple/news/2010/05/ipad-pushing-average-apps-prices-higher-but-not-by-much.ars?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss>
Chris Foresman, Ars Technica

Developers are keen on using the launch of the iPad to "re-calibrate" app pricing expectations, though an analysis by Distimo reveals that average iPad app prices are less than one dollar higher than average prices for iPhone-only apps. Despite these numbers, plenty of developers are having success charging far more than 99¢, the most popular price point for iPhone apps.

**** Who Exactly Was Steve Jobs Talking To In His 'open Letter' On Adobe? <http://www.zdnet.com/blog/apple/who-exactly-was-steve-jobs-talking-to-in-his-open-letter-on-adobe/6812?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+zdnet%2FApple+%28ZDNet+The+Apple+Core%29>
David Morgenstern, ZDNet

For Mac users, and iPhone and iPad users, quality is a central value.

**** Apple May Face Investigation Over iAd <http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Mobile-and-Wireless/Apple-May-Face-Investigation-Over-iAd-152588/>
Nicholas Kolakowski, eWeek

**** Dragon Age: Origins <http://www.insidemacgames.com/reviews/view.php?ID=1079>
Ted Bade, Inside Mac Games



The Tomorrow Weblog
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**** YouTube Will Let Some Users Charge For Rentals <http://news.cnet.com/8301-13577_3-20004114-36.html?part=rss&amp;subj=news&amp;tag=2547-1_3-0-20>
Caroline McCarthy, CNET News

YouTube's fledgling movie rental program will soon be taking an interesting twist: some content owners will soon be able to use a "self service" tool to charge for access to their videos, product manager Hunter Walk said this week in an interview with MediaPost.

**** Dropbox Gets A Mobile API And A Trio Of Apps <http://news.cnet.com/8301-27076_3-20004149-248.html?part=rss&amp;subj=news&amp;tag=2547-1_3-0-20>
Josh Lowensohn, CNET News

Dropbox is getting more serious about its efforts to bring its cloud storage solution to mobile devices. On Tuesday the company is announcing a mobile API for developers to build ties to Dropbox's servers into their own apps, as well as formally launching first-party applications for the iPad and Android and BlackBerry devices.



MyAppleMenu Reader
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**** For Sushi At Home, Skip The Fish <http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/05/dining/05mini.html?ref=dining>
Mark Bittman, New York Times

Like rice dishes everywhere — risotto, paella, arroz con pollo, biryani — sushi is a way of taking a common, relatively inexpensive product and giving it more character by adding a bit of something interesting to it. You already know this doesn’t have to be fish, because you’ve eaten sushi with avocado and egg, at least.

Both are traditional in Japan, but there’s no reason to stop there. What about roasted peppers? Or a slice of prosciutto?



SingaporeSurf
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**** Singapore's Gamble <http://www.economist.com/business-finance/displaystory.cfm?story_id=16051696>
Economist

The recent travails of those rival resorts are a reminder that the gambling industry is risky not only for punters but also for investors and the places that host it. Yet Singapore’s timing may be good.

**** Singaporeans 'Wait And See' Before Investing In Iskandar Malaysia <http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v5/newsindex.php?id=495474>
Zakaria Abdul Wahab, Bernama

Iskandar Investment President and Chief Executive Officer Arlida Ariff said Singaporeans, like any typical investors elsewhere, wanted some assurances first from the government before they would want to commit their businesses in the country's southern economic corridor.

**** A Simple Majority Is Enough, Continued <http://callantham.org/blog/2010/5/5/a-simple-majority-is-enough-continued.html>
Callan Tham, Trapper's Swamp

It is one thing to be wary of tyranny of the majority, but arguing for tyranny of the minority is the opposite extreme and both should be avoided if we want a democracy that works, instead of a democracy where obstructionism is an accepted tactic and nothing gets done. Be careful what we wish for.

**** Sexuality Education For Multi-valued Singapore <http://thinkingbetterthinkingmeta.blogspot.com/2010/05/sexuality-education-for-multi-valued.html>
Sam Ho, Sam's thoughts

The continual discourse on sexuality education in Singapore simply reveals our maturity to deal with sex. In a multi-valued Singapore, we appear to be less tolerant of views other than our own.