[MyAppleMenu] Dec 21, 2011

[applesurf at myapplemenu.com]

MyAppleMenu
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**** It Feels Like Trust—The Apple Store App And Self Checkout <http://whowritesforyou.com/2011/12/19/it-feels-like-trust-the-apple-store-app-and-self-checkout/>
Randy Murray, First Today, Then Tomorrow

I have a feeling that other retailers will not be able to understand how powerful this is. If you treat your customers with respect, if you don’t treat them as stupid, and if you give the appearance that you trust them, they, we, will relax. And we’ll buy things without hesitation. I need this, I pick it up, I pay for it on the go, I walk out with it, it’s mine.

Even now, I’m not so much impressed with the technology as still pleasantly aglow with the feeling that Apple trusted me and everyone else in the store. And I’m feeling that old evangelical fervor, as I did years ago when I wanted to tell everyone about the Mac. Now I want to drag people into the nearest Apple Store, have them buy something, and walk out.

**** NFL To Stream The Super Bowl To iPhone, iPad Apps <http://www.tuaw.com/2011/12/20/nfl-to-stream-the-super-bowl-to-iphone-ipad-apps/>
Mike Schramm, TUAW

**** Tired Of The iMovie Blues? Add More Power And Effects To Your Mac Movies <http://mac360.com/2011/12/tired-of-the-imovie-blues-add-more-power-and-effects-to-your-mac-movie/>
Ron McElfresh, Mac360

**** New MobileMe Phishing Scam Attempts To Relieve Users Of Login Data <http://www.macworld.com/article/164417/2011/12/new_mobileme_phishing_scam_attempts_to_relieve_users_of_login_data.html#lsrc.rss_main>
Serenity Caldwell, Macworld

**** iOS deals begin -- App Store freeze coming Thursday <http://www.tuaw.com/2011/12/21/ios-deals-begin-app-store-freeze-coming-thursday/>
Mike Schramm, TUAW

**** WriteRoom 3 Review <http://www.macworld.co.uk/macsoftware/reviews/?reviewid=3326414&olo=rss>
Karl Hodge, Macworld UK

With a significant and streamlined menu redesign complementing WriteRoom’s more modern look, there’s just one feature missing. iA Writer includes markdown features; a way to format your document on the fly without shortcuts or menu access. WriteRoom doesn’t. However, if you can live with that, WriteRoom’s still a contender.

**** Kindle For iOS Updated Gives iPad Users Access To Kindle Fire's Magazine Collection <http://www.tuaw.com/2011/12/21/kindle-for-ios-updated-gives-ipad-users-access-to-kindle-fires/>
Dave Caolo, TUAW

You can buy individual issues or subscriptions, which will be delivered to the device when available. Note that the magazines and newspapers are limited to the iPad.



MyAppleMenu Reader
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**** The Right Fit <http://lareviewofbooks.org/post/14214225281/the-right-fit>
Rosten Woo, Los Angeles Review Of Books

On how the spacesuit was made.

**** Sex, Drugs And E Chords While Seeking Remission <http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/21/books/sic-a-memoir-by-joshua-cody-review.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss>
Dwight Garner, New York Times

It would be possible to praise Joshua Cody’s memoir, “[sic],” without talking about how teeming it is with what Kingsley Amis liked to call E.S.D. — explicit sexual description. But why would you want to?

**** Trials And Errors: Why Science Is Failing Us <http://www.wired.com/magazine/2011/12/ff_causation/all/1>
Jonah Lehrer, Wired

This assumption—that understanding a system’s constituent parts means we also understand the causes within the system—is not limited to the pharmaceutical industry or even to biology. It defines modern science. In general, we believe that the so-called problem of causation can be cured by more information, by our ceaseless accumulation of facts. Scientists refer to this process as reductionism. By breaking down a process, we can see how everything fits together; the complex mystery is distilled into a list of ingredients. And so the question of cholesterol—what is its relationship to heart disease?—becomes a predictable loop of proteins tweaking proteins, acronyms altering one another. Modern medicine is particularly reliant on this approach. Every year, nearly $100 billion is invested in biomedical research in the US, all of it aimed at teasing apart the invisible bits of the body. We assume that these new details will finally reveal the causes of illness, pinning our maladies on small molecules and errant snippets of DNA. Once we find the cause, of course, we can begin working on a cure.

The problem with this assumption, however, is that causes are a strange kind of knowledge. This was first pointed out by David Hume, the 18th-century Scottish philosopher. Hume realized that, although people talk about causes as if they are real facts—tangible things that can be discovered—they’re actually not at all factual. Instead, Hume said, every cause is just a slippery story, a catchy conjecture, a “lively conception produced by habit.” When an apple falls from a tree, the cause is obvious: gravity. Hume’s skeptical insight was that we don’t see gravity—we see only an object tugged toward the earth. We look at X and then at Y, and invent a story about what happened in between. We can measure facts, but a cause is not a fact—it’s a fiction that helps us make sense of facts.



SingaporeSurf
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**** Timely Measures Were Taken To Prevent Property Market Bubble <http://www.todayonline.com/Voices/EDC111221-0000087/Timely-measures-were-taken-to-prevent-property-market-bubble>
Jimmy Chan Yee Shun, Today

A Singapore property market that continues to inflate is not without consequences to our economy and people. The recent measures are not only timely, but belated.

**** MRT Breakdown – Yes, There Is A Silver Lining <http://andrewlohhp.wordpress.com/2011/12/20/mrt-breakdown-yes-there-is-a-silver-lining/>
Andrew Loh

“Wanna salute the ground staff, bus-drivers and engineers of SMRT,” a friend posted on her Facebook page, “who through no fault of theirs have to put in extra hours and to put up with being punching bags, while they try to do their best to help commuters.”

As the saying goes, every cloud has a silver lining. And in the case of the recent – and continuing – breakdowns of the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) system in Singapore, these silver linings would be the ground and station staff of the train operators.

**** A Taste Of Home: Singapore <http://www.thebeijinger.com/blog/2011/12/20/A-Taste-of-Home-Singapore>
Iain Shaw, The Beijiner

If you thought the Chinese take food seriously, for Singaporeans it’s a matter of life and death. If you don’t believe me, try lunch around noon at Lau Pa Sak on a Saturday. To prove the point, Tang Weng Chau from the Singaporean Embassy invited me along to the Xindong Lu restaurant with an assembled crew of Singaporean foodies (and one from Hong Kong). The Singaporeans see strength in numbers. “If there were just a few of us, we wouldn’t be able to finish all this food,” Tang laughs, as waitresses mill back and forth, loading our table with countless dishes.

**** Who Gives A Shit At Christmas About Plebs? <http://desparatebeep.blogspot.com/2011/12/who-gives-shit-at-christmas-about-plebs.html>
Tang Li, Desparatebeep

By contrast Singapore has a system that lavishes money on the glitz and the glam and somehow neglects basics. Swanky stations make Ministers feel good when they brag to the world about how great we are. Opperator CEOs look good when they buy swanky gadgets. Nobody except the end user suffers when basic things are not taken care of.

I couldn't except being on the receiving end of this disregard for the small man when I was in National Service. I don't see why I should stand for it now that I'm older and way past military liability. These are not things I receive as part of someone elses generosity but things I pay for as a consumer and a tax payer.

Acountability is not a wishy-washy Western liberal dream that is unsuitable for Singapore's “Asian” society. Demanding it is the most practical and patriotic obligation of every citizen.

**** Why It Feels So Darn Right To Blame PAP For Our Train Blues <http://dotseng.wordpress.com/2011/12/20/why-it-feels-so-darn-right-to-blame-pap-for-our-train-blues/>
Dotseng

As since the PAP has through the years cloaked the world in mystery by selling its mumbo jumbo of the cult of infallibility and promoting its appellation of the best in the world – this really can only work, if things don’t go bump in the night – but as the seers would often say, the fall from grace comes with pride – and when that day comes, is it so unusual for all of us to suddenly find the whole idea of relying on a select few to deliver the good life suddenly so threatening than enchanting?

**** Changes Must Start From The Top... <http://www.straitstimes.com/STForum/Story/STIStory_747152.html>
Kenneth Ling, Straits Times

If Ms Saw says she will stay on 'to put things right' , I am not confident she can.

Despite many signs of a decline in train service over the past two to three years, SMRT under her watch preferred to describe the delays, disruptions, breakdowns and overcrowding as normal, citing the increasing scale of passenger usage.

**** Poor Planning And An Unapologetic Attitude <http://www.straitstimes.com/STForum/OnlineStory/STIStory_747079.html>
Lee Kok Meng, Straits Times

This statement neither sounded apologetic nor assured commuters about SMRT's disaster recovery planning. For example, why wasn't the inclusion of other bus operators part of SMRT's contingency plan?

**** Fines Won't Work Unless They Are Punitive <http://www.straitstimes.com/STForum/OnlineStory/STIStory_747069.html>
Jeremy Chen, Straits Times

Fines for public transport disruptions, unless punitive, may not provide a strong enough incentive for the hard work necessary to make things better.

**** 部长薪金检讨报告料下月初公布 <http://www.zaobao.com.sg/sp/sp111221_003.shtml>
周殊钦, 联合早报

由于明年春节落在1月23日，从时间上推算，报告预计在明年1月的头两个星期公布，才赶得及国会估计将在1月16日前后复会时进行辩论。国会在每年二三月，一般都忙于对政府新财政年财政政策的辩论，以及由国会拨款委员会辩论国家机关及政府各部门的开支预算。

**** Most Damaged Trains Repaired <http://www.facebook.com/notes/lui-tuck-yew/most-damaged-trains-repaired/310548048975647>
Lui Tuck Yew, Facebook

Since pulling the 13 damaged trains from operations, SMRT has worked hard to fix the damages. Beginning of service  this morning, 11 of these 13 damaged trains have been repaired, and they were able to run a total of 108 trains. Hence, they are now able to operate the trains during peak hours at intervals very close to what it was before the two major incidents last week.

The next thing is to look at when we can gradually increase the 40kph limit. We have run the trains at this reduced speed over critical segments of the network since Sunday. The engineers from LTA and SMRT have inspected the trains and third rail every night since.

**** Chinese Property Buyers Boost Role In Singapore <http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204026804577100061645662408.html>
Patrick Barta And Esther Fung, Wall Street Journal

An unexpected increase in Chinese property buyers is moving Singapore's real-estate market, in the latest sign of the effects of Chinese money elsewhere in Asia.

If Chinese money keeps flowing, it could help cushion any downturn.

**** New English Radio Station To Cater To Women, Families <http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1172624/1/.html>
Joanne Chan, Channel NewsAsia

A new English radio station, which caters to women and families, will hit local airwaves in nine months' time. SPH Unionworks will operate FM92.0, after it won an open tender by the Media Development Authority (MDA).

**** Manage Your Smartphones, Data Plans Properly When Overseas: CASE <http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1172646/1/.html>
Monica Kotwani, Channel NewsAsia

A picture of a mobile phone bill showing a staggering amount of about S$350,000 has gone viral on Facebook, prompting Singapore's consumer watchdog to advise smartphone users to better manage their data roaming plans. 

**** Wait Time For Trains May Be Shortened, Speed May Be Raised <http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1172666/1/.html>
Channel NewsAsia

MRT trains may be able to travel faster - at 60 kilometres per hour - depending on trial results of trains on the floating slab tracks at different speeds over the next few days. The floating slab track is designed to absorb vibrations from passing trains so that surrounding buildings are not affected.

**** MP Seng Han Thong: SMRT’s Unpreparedness Also Due To Malay And Indian Staffs English Language Inefficiency <http://theonlinecitizen.com/2011/12/mp-seng-han-thong-malay-indian-english-inefficiency/>
The Online Citizen