[MyAppleMenu] Jan 9, 2011

[applesurf at myapplemenu.com]

MyAppleMenu
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**** Mac App Piracy Risk Overblown, For Now <http://www.macworld.com/article/157015/2011/01/mac_app_piracy.html?lsrc=rss_main>
Dan Moren, Macworld

The inclusion of a reasonable anti-piracy system will likely provide the necessary deterrent, and that’s what Apple has provided. Now it’s up to developers to make sure that they’re using those tools correctly.

**** Dear Apple: It's (Past) Time To Let Us Customize Our Alert Tones <http://www.tuaw.com/2011/01/09/dear-apple-its-past-time-to-let-us-customize-our-alert-tones/>
Chris Rawson, TUAW

The iPhone has been on the market for going on four years now, and yet we still haven't been blessed with the ability to use our own sounds for these alert tones. My only question: why the hell not?



MyAppleMenu Reader
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**** The Net Delusion: How Not To Liberate The World By Evgeny Morozov – Review <http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/jan/09/net-delusion-morozov-review?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+theguardian%2Fbooks%2Frss+%28Books%29>
Tom Chatfield, The Guardian

This powerful critique of 'cyber-utopianism' shows us that the net isn't always what we think.

**** Measuring Hell <http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/articles/2011/01/09/measuring_hell/>
Chris Wright, Graphic By Javier Zarracina, Boston Globe

Was modern physics born in the Inferno?

**** China Rises, And Checkmates <http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/09/opinion/09kristof.html>
Nicholas D. Kristof, New York Times

If there’s a human face on Rising China, it belongs not to some Politburo chief, not to an Internet tycoon, but to a quiet, mild-mannered teenage girl named Hou Yifan.

**** Our Desperate, 250-Year-Long Search For A Gender-Neutral Pronoun <http://www.theawl.com/2011/01/our-desperate-250-year-long-search-for-a-gender-neutral-pronoun>
Maria Bustillos, The Awl

Okay, so it is true that the authors of the Fourteenth Amendment took pains to ensure that women were excluded from its protection, by introducing the word "male" into the constitution for the first time. But. Oh, god! There were substantial problems with the original text of the Fourteenth Amendment. And ever since the Supreme Court case of Reed v. Reed, 1971, the Fourteenth Amendment has provided an explicit basis for granting women equal rights as American citizens.

**** "The 4 Percent Universe": Dark Matter And Dueling Scientists <http://www.salon.com/books/laura_miller/2011/01/09/4_percent_universe/index.html>
Laura Miller, Salon

"The 4 Percent Universe" is largely an account of the uneasy alliance between astronomers and particle physicists in the quest to grasp what the astronomer Alan Sandage called "the only two numbers to measure in cosmology," that is, how fast the universe is expanding right now and at what rate that expansion is changing over time -- otherwise known as the deceleration parameter. These two figures can tell you how old the universe is and when it will come to an end. But figuring out what those numbers are and above all why they are what they are has been no easy task.



SingaporeSurf
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**** A Conversation With Mr Lui Tuck Yew <http://www.sgpolitics.net/?p=4485>
Kenneth Lin, Sgpolitics.net

“Cause you were in one of the SDP videos. Don’t go one big round, just come out with what you’re doing.”(The last sentence was a bit incomprehensible, so I only post snippets of what I remembered him saying.)

All this time, I just stood there and smiled. The impresssion of a polite and friendly Mr Lui I got when I met him disappeared, as he showed me how threatening he really was. As I turned to leave, all his bodyguards were dangerously looking at me.

**** A Blow To Meritocracy <http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=646501&publicationSubCategoryId=64>
Carmen N. Pedrosa, Philippine Star

To many, meritocracy is a necessary component of a truly democratic society. That goes for all levels in government. Singapore is admired by both East and West because of its successful governance. It is successful because meritocracy is one of its key policies.

**** Foreigner: Something Is Terribly Wrong With Singapore <http://www.temasekreview.com/2011/01/09/foreigner-something-is-terribly-wrong-with-singapore/>
Temasek Review

Being a foreigner, I do feel foreigners should get opportunities, but I agree that the limit has been crossed. They are converting Singapore into a third world city.