[MyAppleMenu] Sep 21, 2010

[applesurf at myapplemenu.com]

MyAppleMenu
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**** Parallels 6 Is Fast! <http://terrywhite.com/techblog/archives/6161>
Terry White

**** How The iPhone Helped A Blind Person See Colour <http://www.gizmodo.com.au/2010/09/how-the-iphone-helped-a-blind-person-see-colour/>
Kyle VanHemert, Gizmodo

**** Classroom iPad Programs Get Mixed Response <http://chronicle.com/blogPost/Classroom-iPad-Programs-Get/27046/>
Travis Kaya, Chronicle Of Higher Education

As students and faculty members around the country feel around for new ways to integrate the iPad into academic life, a handful of programs are taking a more formal approach to finding its place in the classroom. 

**** Publishers Should Be Careful What They Wish For <http://gigaom.com/2010/09/20/publishers-should-be-careful-what-they-wish-for/>
Mathew Ingram, GigaOM

**** To Cross Platform Develop, Or Not? That Is The Question <http://unplugged.rcrwireless.com/index.php/20100920/app-corner/3558/to-cross-platform-develop-or-not-that-is-the-question/>
Sylvie Barak, RCR Unplugged

Something both investors agreed on, however, was the drawback of getting blinded by an Apple-only approach. Kapoor compared Apple and its app environment to a “drug type of mentality” sucking developers in and making them feel dependent on the firm for the short term monetary gains, whilst crippling them for the long term through lack of control over their own app.

Malloy concurred that there was a “bit of a hypnosis with Apple which gets me a little creeped out”.

**** Police Interview Steve Jobs About Prototype iPhone <http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-20017032-37.html?part=rss&amp;subj=news&amp;tag=2547-1_3-0-20>
Greg Sandoval, CNET

Stephen Wagstaffe, chief deputy district attorney for San Mateo County, Calif., told CNET today that police are close to wrapping up their theft investigation and could forward their final report to his office within the next few weeks. Wagstaffe will then review the information and determine whether to file criminal charges.

**** Apple To Open 2 New Stores In China, Start Selling ... <http://www.mercurynews.com/business/ci_16124202>
Frank Michael Russell, San Jose Mercury News

Apple will open stores in Xidan Joy City in Beijing and Hong Kong Plaza in Shanghai on Saturday, bringing the total number of retail locations in the country to four, the company announced late Sunday.

**** M-S Likely To Seek Joint Venture With Established Developer <http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporebusinessnews/view/1082348/1/.html>
Ryan Huang, Channel NewsAsia

With the land swap agreement between Singapore and Malaysia settled, market watchers have said the company in charge of developing the land parcels would likely seek a joint venture with an established developer. 

**** Apple Signs Secretive Multi-year Technology Licensing Pact <http://feeds.appleinsider.com/click.phdo?i=809d077b0a1102d5dcdefdc8b85ff0f7>
AppleInsider

Rovi announced Monday that it had signed a deal with Apple, which will allow the Cupertino, Calif., company to license intellectual property. The confidential agreement was disclosed in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Rovi offers a number of products and services that could apply to Apple. It sells metadata and media recognition software, anti-piracy digital rights management services, and interactive program guides for television set top boxes.

**** Apple Releases Security Update 2010-006 For Snow Leopard <http://rss.macworld.com/click.phdo?i=658848e466c800982bea52c2192b9bbe>
David Chartier, Macworld

According to this security document, the update fixes one specific bug in Mac OS X 10.6.4’s AFP file sharing implementation that could allow remote attackers to bypass the password validation system if they know the name of an account on the Mac.

**** TinkerTool 4.2 Gets More Snow Leopard, iTunes Options <http://rss.macworld.com/click.phdo?i=3eabee33e166af85b1b5eb3c03754cb6>
David Chartier, Macworld

Marcel Bresink has updated TinkerTool, his utility for customizing a number of hidden OS and app preferences, with access to yet more options for Mail, iTunes, Safari, and even the Dock.

**** FaceTime Goes Missing In Saudi Arabia, Much Of Middle East <http://www.tuaw.com/2010/09/20/facetime-goes-missing-in-saudi-arabia-much-of-middle-east/>
Michael Rose, TUAW

**** Apple Buys Facial-Recognition Firm Polar Rose <http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-20017018-37.html?part=rss&amp;subj=news&amp;tag=2547-1_3-0-20>
Jim Dalrymple, CNET

Apple has acquired Malmo, Sweden-based Polar Rose, a facial-recognition company with several products that could be integrated into Apple's current and future product lines.

**** Secrets Of Apple's Customer Success <http://news.cnet.com/8301-31021_3-20017064-260.html?part=rss&tag=feed&subj=News-Apple>
Erica Ogg, CNET

Hardware manufacturers liberally take cues from Apple products, so why not its approach to customers?

**** Apple Gets Quicker In China <http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2010/09/20/apple-gets-quicker-in-china/>
Loretta Chao, Wall Street Journal

The imminent launch of the iPhone 4 in China shows how Apple is rolling products out in China much more quickly than it used to.  Apple seemed to have upped its game in China with the official launch of the iPad.  Sure enough, fresh on the heels of that came word the iPhone 4 will officially launch Saturday–not to mention that two new Apple Stores are set to open this weekend, doubling the company’s total in China.

**** Adobe Releases Photoshop Elements 9 <http://rss.macworld.com/click.phdo?i=3c30d360b1c3c1b158fc11bed55c7901>
Heather Kelly, Macworld

Adobe on Monday announced the latest version of Photoshop Elements 9, the company's consumer-level photo editing application, for both Mac and Windows. There are a number of features in this version that are new to Mac users, most notably the bundled Elements Organizer, which acts as a hub for importing, managing, and viewing photo and video files.

**** We Love Our Computers -- But Love Macs Best <http://money.cnn.com/2010/09/21/technology/pc_satisfaction/?section=money_latest>
David Goldman, CNNMoney.com

Americans' satisfaction with their personal computers has been on the rise for the past decade, but consumers still overwhelmingly prefer Apple's Macs to Windows PCs.

**** BMW Brings Apple's iPad To The Back Seat In X3 <http://content.usatoday.com/communities/driveon/post/2010/09/bmw-brings-apples-ipad-to-the-back-seat-in-x3/1>
USA Today



The Tomorrow Weblog
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**** You'll Never Be Left To Your Own Devices <http://www.timeslive.co.za/scitech/article668623.ece/Youll-never-be-left-to-your-own-devices>
Reuters

Ultra-smartphones that react to your moods and televisions that can tell it's you who's watching are in your future as Intel Corp's top technology guru sets his sights on context-aware computing.



MyAppleMenu Reader
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**** When "Porn" Lost Its Impact <http://www.salon.com/mwt/feature/2010/09/20/the_meaning_of_porn/index.html>
Mary Elizabeth Williams, Salon


>From horror movies to interior design and young adult books: How a salacious word got robbed of its meaning.


**** Clothesline <http://feeds.slate.com/click.phdo?i=874e428c12b744ab4ce1124c4234a8ea>
Paula Bohince, Slate Magazine



SingaporeSurf
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**** KL, S’pore Conclude Deal <http://www.nst.com.my/nst/articles/KL_S__8217_poreconcludedeal/Article/>
Shahrum Sayuthi, New Straits Times

Azman explained that despite the development charges being “substantial”, the project to develop the parcels of land would still be economically viable even if the PCA eventually decided that it needed to be paid by M-S Pte Ltd. 

“The matter should not in any way be considered a snag in the agreement that was finalised today,” he said, while stressing the development of the land would proceed as planned, even while the matter was being deliberated by the PCA.

**** Allow Return Of Unused Medication <http://www.straitstimes.com/STForum/OnlineStory/STIStory_580807.html>
Ng Bee Keow, Straits Times

The tablets were sealed individually in the pack and they were not in our possession for long. It is a waste to throw away all the medicine as it could be used for other patients.

Really? You dare to take medicine that have been circulated among other patients? I know I wouldn't.

**** Means Testing In Public Hospitals <http://tankinlian.blogspot.com/2010/09/means-testing-in-public-hospitals.html>
Tan Kin Lian

Why do we have practices that are so complicated that even those who are supposed to be implementing these decisions are confused? Can we simplify matters for the citizens?

**** Singapore Vs Malaysia <http://blog.thestar.com.my/permalink.asp?id=32528>
The Star

The Singaporeans are wide awake whilst many Malaysians are still asleep. 

Now, let us not rest on our laurels, Singapore has foreign reserves of to last it for 68 years at it's current rate of spending vs revenue collected. Malaysia has enough for 7 years!!!! Let them give thanks to Harry Lee. Harry has promised to come back and haunt anyone who squander this huge reserve largely accumulated on his watch.

**** Comments Critical Of PAP Deleted On PM Lee's Ang Mo Kio Facebook <http://www.temasekreview.com/2010/09/21/comments-critical-of-pap-deleted-on-pm-lees-ang-mo-kio-facebook/>
The Temasek Review

**** KL Studies High-speed Singapore Rail Link <http://www.btimes.com.my/articles/20100921103029/Article/>
Bloomberg

Malaysia’s government is studying the viability of a high-speed rail system to connect greater Kuala Lumpur to Singapore with a traveling time of two hours, according to an exhibition in the capital.

**** CNG Cars In Singapore: Moment In The Sun Over <http://www.eco-business.com/news/2010/sep/21/cng-cars-singapore-moment-sun-over/>
Eco-Business

Interest in compressed natural gas (CNG) cars has fizzled out after a brief spurt. The trend can be blamed on a number of factors - the languishing car market, a persistent shortage of refuelling facilities, negative publicity over poorly carried out petrol-to-gas conversions and even the uncertainty hanging over the tax break granted to such cars.

**** Alternative Narratives: The Danger Of Romanticising The Other <http://www.eurasiareview.com/201009208364/alternative-narratives-the-danger-of-romanticising-the-other.html>
Ong Weichong, Eurasia Review

Critical academic freedom is a privilege to be respected, but it cannot be at the expense of national security and social cohesion. Singapore’s historical narrative would be poorer without a more nuanced view of the leftist heritage in its nation-building past. But any attempt to romanticise the actions of violent revolutionaries that claimed the lives of Singapore and Malaysian security personnel and civilians alike would demean the sacrifices of those who gave their all to protect the independence and security of their respective countries.

**** Tan Wah Piow: Challenge Singapore’s Facade Democracy <http://theonlinecitizen.com/2010/09/tan-wah-piow-challenge-singapore’s-facade-democracy/>
James Gomez, The Online Citizen

Singapore’s façade democracy needs to be challenged if citizens want their political rights – this is what I took away from my one hour conversation with Tan Wah Piow.

**** ‘I Didn’t Want My Kids To Grow Up In S’pore’ <http://sg.yfittopostblog.com/2010/09/21/i-didn%e2%80%99t-want-my-kids-to-grow-up-in-spore>
Ion Danker, Yahoo!

Local entertainer Moe Alkaff says Singapore’s rigid education system was one of the “push” factors that led him to migrate with his family to the United States in 2000. 

**** Rudderless In A Choppy Sea, Part 1 <http://yawningbread.wordpress.com/2010/09/21/rudderless-in-a-choppy-sea-part-1>
Yawning Bread

Something as critical as fair elections no longer seem to be guided by dispassionate principles, but regularly genuflects to the interests of the powerful. This kind of debasement feeds cynicism that eats into a healthy democracy.