[MyAppleMenu] May 11, 2010

[applesurf at myapplemenu.com]

MyAppleMenu
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**** Confirmed: Apple And AT&T Signed Five-Year iPhone Exclusivity Deal -- But Is It Still Valid? <http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/10/confirmed-apple-and-atandt-signed-five-year-iphone-exclusivity-de/>
Nilay Patel, Engadget

Here's the deal: an ongoing California class-action lawsuit filed in 2007 claims that Apple and AT&T illegally exerted a monopoly over iPhone service by telling customers the iPhone's required service contract was two years long when the Apple / AT&T exclusivity deal was actually for five years -- thus requiring buyers to re-up with AT&T for three years (and not, say, T-Mobile) if they wanted to keep using the iPhone. Obviously Apple had to respond to these allegations, and in addition to arguing that no one was ever promised an unlocked iPhone after two years, the company's lawyers repeatedly confirm the existence of the five-year agreement while noting it was publicly reported in USA Today. 

**** Steve Jobs Reportedly Says The iPad's Ability To Print 'Will Come' <http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/technology/2010/05/steve-jobs-reportedly-says-the-apple-ipads-ability-to-print-will-come.html>
Don Reisinger, Los Angeles Times

Steve Jobs reportedly replied to an Apple customer's e-mail, saying that printing would eventually make its way to the iPad.

**** Gaming On The iPad: What Works, What Doesn't <http://www.macworld.com/article/151134/2010/05/ipad_gaming.html>
Chris Holt, Macworld

A month’s worth of game playing has given me an idea of what’s working and what’s not. It comes down to a matter of control—a gaming platform is ultimately tethered by its control system. I’ve found the iPad’s to be suited for certain games, but not others. Here’s a rundown of which control schemes are suited for which games on the iPad.

**** Cooking Dinner? There's An App For That <http://www.cnn.com/2010/LIVING/homestyle/05/10/digital.recipes.cooking/index.html>
Steven Stern, CNN

The iPhone and other portable devices seem ready to turn into the hottest kitchen accessory since the food processor. A lot of that might be because of high-tech digital cookbooks that can do much more than gravy-stained hardcovers ever could: making shopping lists, sharing recipes with friends, helping to use leftovers efficiently, figuring out, instantly, what words like "julienne" mean.

**** The iAd: Steve Jobs Regifts The Mobile Marketing Experience <http://battellemedia.com/archives/2010/05/the_iad_steve_jobs_regifts_the_mobile_marketing_experience.php>
John Battelle, Searchblog

Ahh…there it is: The gift. Steve Jobs’ brilliance lies in his ability to make everything seem magical. The true gift Apple is selling right now? A Golden Ticket into Willie Wonka's Chocolate Factory. A chance to be associated with the greatest marketer in the history of the industry.

Think I’m kidding? Then consider this: Apple is telling marketers willing to pony up for the launch that Steve Jobs will mention their brand on stage as he launches iAds this summer. “That is worth a hell of a lot,” one agency chief told me.

**** Apple Locks Resellers Out Of iPad Sales <http://www.channelregister.co.uk/2010/05/11/ipad_dealers/>
Register

Apple's iPad is available for pre-ordering, but only via Apple's own stores, not its retail partners. Even Apple's approved resellers are not allowed to take deposits or pre-orders from customers keen to try and lay hands on the genius-tablet.



MyAppleMenu Reader
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**** The Magic Cure <http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/articles/2010/05/09/the_magic_cure/?page=full>
Rebecca Tuhus-Dubrow, Boston Globe

Startled by the power of placebos, doctors consider how to use them as real treatment.

**** The Hilbert Hotel <http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/05/09/the-hilbert-hotel/?src=me&ref=homepage>
Steven Strogatz, New York Times

Infinity can be mind-boggling.

**** Screw Happiness <http://www.salon.com/life/feature/2010/05/10/screw_happiness/index.html>
Rebecca Traister, Salon

Bombarded by studies about who is content and why, we forget one thing: Dissatisfaction has its own rewards.

**** The Secret Of "Babies'" Success <http://www.salon.com/ent/movies/film_salon/2010/05/10/babies_documentary_success/index.html>
Matt Zoller Seitz, Salon

Adults can't get enough of this documentary. And for once, it has nothing to do with Michael Moore gimmicks.



SingaporeSurf
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**** S'pore Rebuts NGO Report <http://www.todayonline.com/Singapore/EDC100511-0000112/Spore-rebuts-NGO-report>
Today

MND says the policing and enforcement of sand extraction licences is ultimately the responsibility of the source country. 

However, Singapore will continue to play its part to ensure that sand is extracted in a legal and environmentally responsible manner.

Spend some money, Singapore government, and do an audit first before making accusations that everything is okay.

**** Just For Laugh <http://pngapore.blogspot.com/2010/05/just-for-laugh.html>
Times They Are A-Changin'

On 1 May 2010, The Straits Times carried a huge report on Minister Lim Swee Say. The Insight team spent a day trailing the labour chief to find out his work schedule. It was quite a nice writeup except for some strange photographs.

Did you notice the two boxes of mandarin oranges on his table?

**** When Rights Can Mean Life And Death <http://yoursdp.org/index.php/news/singapore/3688-when-rights-can-mean-life-and-death>
Chee Soon Juan, Singapore Democrat Party

Here comes the million-dollar question: Why not remove all doubt by ensuring that suspects have lawyers and/or witnesses present during interrogation? If the evidence is strong enough the suspect may want to voluntarily confess on the advice of his/her lawyer. At the very least, accusations of confession under duress can be eliminated.

Such butchery of due process must be reviewed without which we could be wrongly convicting innocent people and even sentencing them to their deaths. With the mandatory death penalty in play in Singapore, such a review is all the more urgent.

**** No Need For Affirmative Action Along Racial Lines <http://www.straitstimes.com/STForum/OnlineStory/STIStory_524858.html>
Albert Tye, Straits Times

Prof Hussin also lamented the economic gap between Malays and non-Malays. Why such a comparison along racial lines? Within the Chinese and Indian communities, there are also very diverse groups of different economic and financial status.

**** Singapore Tops The Table For Overseas Degrees <http://www.telegraph.co.uk/expat/expatnews/7682061/Singapore-tops-the-table-for-overseas-degrees.html>
Emma Clark, Telegraph

The thriving economies of Singapore and Hong Kong have created the "ideal" environment for overseas students, according to The Heritage Foundation, an American think tank.

**** Sand Exports To Singapore Harm Cambodia: Watchdog <http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100510/bs_wl_afp/cambodiasingaporeenvironmentcorruption_20100510210515;_ylt=AoxWHiOIfZUWVNUYlPf6uW7POrgF;_ylu=X3oDMTNlOTY4czdrBGFzc2V0A2FmcC8yMDEwMDUxMC9jYW1ib2RpYXNpbmdhcG9yZWVudmlyb25tZW50Y29ycnVwdGlvbgRwb3MDMjIEc2VjA3luX3>
AFP

Cambodia is engaged in destructive sand exports to fuel Singapore's rapid expansion despite a supposed government ban on the practice, an environmental watchdog said Tuesday.

London-based Global Witness said Cambodia was making a "mockery of the government's supposed May 2009 ban on sand-dredging", risking devastation to its coasts, endangered species, fish stocks and local livelihoods.

See Also: Shifting Sand: How Singapore's Demand For Cambodian Sand Threatens Ecosystems And Undermines Good Governance [http://www.globalwitness.org/data/files/shifting_sand_final.pdf], by Global Witness. (Note: Link goes to a PDF document.)

**** 本地工作时间过长 <http://www.zaobao.com/yl/yl100511_005.shtml>
杨松坚, 联合早报

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**** Chickening Your Way Out Of Bilingualism <http://aaron-ng.info/blog/chickening-your-way-out-of-bilingualism.html>
Aaron Ng, Hear Ye! Hear Ye!

Sure, I recognise the fact that some students have a genuine issue with bilingualism, but that doesn’t mean opening a backdoor for everyone because of a minority of students. Besides, if we have a problem, shouldn’t we solve the problem rather than changing the problem to make the problem easier or removing the problem altogether?

**** Sell New HDB Flats At Cost Instead Of Asking Citizens To Sell Flats For Retirement <http://singaporealternatives.blogspot.com/2010/05/sell-new-hdb-flats-at-cost-instead-of.html>
Goh Meng Seng, Singapore Alternatives

We call upon Minister Mah and PAP to take their responsibilities as embedded in the social contract of land reform seriously and fulfill them, instead of trying to shrug it off by using all sorts of flawed reasoning and excuses. We do not expect the ruling party to meddle with the resale market but we hope that HDB could resume its original role by publishing the cost of all new HDB flats and selling them at cost price to first time Singaporean buyers.

**** Singapore – Worst Polluter Per Capita <http://aussgworldpolitics.wordpress.com/2010/05/10/singapore-worst-polluter-per-capita/>
Readings From A Political Duo-ble

**** Death Penalty – Are We Trading Off Justice For Real Deterrence? <http://mathialee.wordpress.com/2010/05/10/death-penalty-are-we-trading-off-justice-for-real-deterrence/>
Mathia Lee, Plans And Preoccupations

I believe our laws cannot be about technicalities. Nor must it fall prey to filmsy childish arguments. I have never come across a sound argument for death penalty to be mandatory — not from a justice point of view, nor from a deterrence point of view.

**** Singapore Official And Media Claim Liberal Cities Are Hotspots For Drugs And Crimes <http://aussgworldpolitics.wordpress.com/2010/05/11/singapore-official-and-media-claims-liberal-cities-are-hotspots-of-drugs-and-crimes/>
Readings From A Political Duo-ble

**** Shanmugam's Misleading Defense Of The Mandatory Death Penalty For Drug Trafficking <http://callantham.org/blog/2010/5/11/shanmugams-misleading-defense-of-the-mandatory-death-penalty.html>
Callan Tham, Trapper's Swamp

**** Mother Tongue Weighting Won't Be Reduced, But Teaching Methods To Change <http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1055797/1/.html>
Channel NewsAsia

The weighting of the Mother Tongue language will not be reduced at the Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) -- but it will be taught in a new way to meet the dynamic needs of the student population. 

Speaking at an hour-long news conference Tuesday at the Istana, prime minister Lee Hsien Loong said more resources and teachers will be devoted to the teaching of Mother Tongue languages.