[MyAppleMenu] Jul 17, 2011

[applesurf at myapplemenu.com]

MyAppleMenu
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**** Per Se 1.0 <http://www.macworld.com/article/160593/2011/07/perse1.html#lsrc.rss_main>
Heather Kelly, Macworld

Per Se does its best to approximate on the Mac the old school pulp and ink journaling experience, while adding in some very cool features that could only exist in a digital notebook. It is not a tool for managing or parsing a stream of complex ideas. Instead, it is an uncomplicated, intuitive little application that just wants to know how your day went.

**** Why Apple Dares To Change Your Apps <http://www.macworld.com/article/160934/2011/07/gartenberg_final_cut.html#lsrc.rss_main>
Michael Gartenberg, Macworld

It would be nice if Apple could accommodate every user desire and focus special attention on long-time users. But that’s not how you build a mass-market audience with broad product acceptance. While some might lament that fact, the reality is Apple really has transitioned from being a company for a few of us. It’s now, at last, truly the company for the rest of us—with all that implies.



MyAppleMenu Reader
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**** One Big Yawn: Boredom Is Not Just A State Of Mind <http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/jul/17/boredom-peter-toohey-andrew-anthony?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+theguardian%2Fbooks%2Frss+%28Books%29>
Andrew Anthony, The Guardian

It may not be the most heart-pounding news of the moment, but boredom is coming back into fashion. Not boredom in the sense of lying around blank-faced in a brown study, a practice which in my experience has never really gone out of style, but boredom as a subject (rather than a product) of academic study. In recent years several scholarly books have reanimated a topic that had fallen into analytical torpor, the latest being Boredom: A Lively History by Peter Toohey, an Australian professor of classics who now lives and works in Canada – a country, alas, that bears an unfortunate reputation for being boring.

**** Why Every Novelist Is Holding Out For A Hero <http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/jul/17/literary-career-heroes-robert-mccrum?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+theguardian%2Fbooks%2Frss+%28Books%29>
Robert McCrum, The Guardian

All the writer can do is put one book in front of the last, and go back to the empty page or vacant screen. At best, the life of the writer, properly understood, is a quest for clarity and understanding in which every fresh start feels like an outrageous gamble against impossible odds.

**** Waterline By Ross Raisin – Review <http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/jul/17/waterline-by-ross-raisin-review?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+theguardian%2Fbooks%2Frss+%28Books%29>
Anthony Cummins, The Guardian

Ross Raisin's second novel authentically captures a bereaved man's fall into homelessness.

**** Compelling Tales, Rarely Told Well <http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/17/business/many-business-books-but-few-are-written-well.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss>
Bryan Burrough, New York Times

This is going to be awkward. I’ve spent weeks, in fact, debating whether and how to say this in print. But it’s something that’s irked me for years. And while occupying this chair these last months, it’s a feeling that’s only strengthened: The fact is, I find the quality of too many business books, well, underwhelming. There. I said it.

**** App Developers Withdraw From US As Patent Fears Reach 'Tipping Point' <http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/appsblog/2011/jul/15/app-developers-withdraw-us-patents>
Charles Arthur, The Guardian

App developers are withdrawing their products for sale from the US versions of Apple's App Store and Google's Android Market for fear of being sued by companies which own software patents - just as a Mumbai-based company has made a wide-ranging claim against Microsoft, Apple, Google, Yahoo and a number of other companies over Twitter-style feeds, for which it claims it has applied for a patent.

Software patent owners in the US have latched onto potential revenue streams to be earned from independent developers by suing over perceived infringements of their intellectual property - which can be expensive for developers to defend even if they are successful.

Now developers in Europe are retreating from the US to avoid the expense and concern such "patent trolls" are causing.

**** Seaside Holidays Then And Now <http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2011/jul/17/seaside-resort-beach-holidays-uk>
Rachel Cooke, The Guardian

This is a lovely thing, of course. I'm not going to lie. I'm middle class. I dream of crab sandwiches and red-checked tablecloths as much as the next person, and when such things elude me, as they did in Broadstairs a couple of years ago, where all I could find were laminated menus and the smell of old cooking oil, I get quite grumpy. But still, it would be just as dishonest to tell you that my longing for such things is born of nostalgia.

**** The Woman Who Fell To Earth: A Love Story <http://stanmed.stanford.edu/2011summer/article2.html>
Ruthann Richter, Stanford Medicine

“See you below,” he yelled to Deborah as he flew through the air. Five seconds into his fall, the static line engaged his chute, which opened above. Randy clutched the handles around his shoulders, terror in his throat, resolving never to skydive again.

He landed in the drop zone at the Antioch, Calif., airfield with a thud when he heard screams and turned to see Deborah, her partially opened white chute wrapped around her like a shroud as she streaked toward the ground. Her main chute had never opened, and she was frantically clawing her way to her reserve chute.



SingaporeSurf
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**** No Longer Content To Murmur Our Dissent <http://theonlinecitizen.com/2011/07/no-longer-content-to-murmur-our-dissent/>
Ghui, The Online Citizen

They must also accept responsibility for the fact that it was their iron grip of control that led to this outpouring of resentment in the first place. The PAP can either: 1) relinquish their need for utter control, 2) accept the responsibility of needing to be accountable to the people they govern, and 3) understand that repression will only lead to pent up anger that will boil over or face an uphill battle for votes in GE 2016. The greater the repression, the greater the eruption.

**** Tharman Warns Of Sluggish Global Economy <http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_691585.html>
Amanda Tan, Straits Times

Singaporeans should brace themselves for the impact of a sluggish global economy in the coming months, said deputy prime minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam yesterday.

Some of the factors are temporary and may reverse themselves, said Mr Tharman, pointing instead to structural trends in the global economy that pose a greater worry.

**** Constitution Guarantees Equality “Regardless Of . . Sexual Orientation”, Says Government <http://yawningbread.wordpress.com/2011/07/17/constitution-guarantees-equality-regardless-of-sexual-orientation-says-government/>
Au Waipang, Yawning Bread

That said, just because the constitution does not explicitly mention sexual orientation does not mean that equal protection does not extend to it. However, it will require an explicit case judgement or declaration from the highest court to nail down, by way of interpretation, that the clause does encompass sexual orientation and gender identity. Such has not yet taken place. If anything, the fact that all sorts of discriminatory laws and policies exist suggests that the government does not believe they are constrained by the constitution not to discriminate. This contradiction between the Singapore government’s words in an international forum and its domestic behaviour is rather shameless.

**** Dr Tony Tan Was No Independent-minded Person On The Graduate Mothers’ Scheme <http://www.temasekreview.com/2011/07/17/dr-tony-tan-was-no-independent-minded-person-on-the-graduate-mothers-scheme/>
The Temasek Review

Why then give credit to Dr Tony Tan for having rolled back the scheme? Was he not merely acting on the public backlash which caused the PAP to lose an additional seat in Potong Pasir to opposition MP Chiam See Tong? Was there any evidence that he had dissented on the graduate mothers scheme before the people made their strong opposition known in the 1984 election?

**** Wedding March <http://piaroh.wordpress.com/2011/07/17/wedding-march/>
Words Of The Cze

**** President Must Be A Potent Symbol Of Our Multiracial Ethos <http://theonlinecitizen.com/2011/07/president-must-be-potent-symbol-multiracial-ethos/>
Muhammad Farouq Bin Osman, The Online Citizen

**** In A Sea Of Foreigners <http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/7/17/asia/9096784&sec=asia>
Sumiko Tan, Straits Times

We’re all just human beings and that, really, should be all that matters.

**** Singaporeans Outraged By Public Transport Standards <http://news.insing.com/tabloid/singaporeans-outraged-by-public-transport-standards/id-58213c00>
InSing

inSing editors are shocked and aghast at the standards of public transport in Singapore (we take public transport too!). We can't help but wonder if our public transport is indeed "world class" and befitting a first world country. Can Singaporeans afford to waste an hour waiting for a bus or train in our hectic lifestyles?

**** Of Bus Rides And Weekends <http://www.darkroomconcepts.com/?p=36>
The Dark Room Philosophy

I sometimes like to take a long bus ride and sit near the window, looking out as the bus zooms past various parts of Singapore. It allows me time to take in the scenery that we as Singaporeans have come to be accustomed to, as well as think through things on my mind without disruption.

**** Transport Fares: Up Again? <http://theonlinecitizen.com/2011/07/transport-fares-up-again/>
Leong Sze Hian And Joshua Chiang, The Online Citizen

The last fare increase was in 2008 at 1.7 percent. If the current application by transport operators for an increase of 2.8 percent is passed, it would mean a total fare increase of 4.5 percent for the period of 2008 till now. During the same period, real median wages have declined by 3.9 percent.

**** PTC To Track Affordability Factor When Deciding Fare Adjustments <http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1141428/1/.html>
Dylan Loh, Channel NewsAsia

Public Transport Council chairman Gerard Ee said the "affordability factor" will be tracked when looking at fare increases proposed by Singapore's two main public transport operators.

He said the amount of money that people spend on public transport is monitored, and that over the last few years, a smaller proportion of household income is being spent on public transport.

**** Singaporeans Dying Away From Home <http://sg.news.yahoo.com/blogs/singaporescene/singaporeans-dying-away-home-134247626.html>
Andrew Loh, Yahoo!

When the son enquired about making bank transfers so that payments could be made on time, the person in charge, Ms Suraya (not her real name), of the home repeatedly tells him not to worry. "It doesn't mean that you have to pay on the date we agreed on. It is okay if you are one or two weeks late. It is okay," she tells him. Such compassion gives the family some peace of mind.

We were told that in recent months, more Singaporeans have made enquiries with the home. "The main reason is the cost," Ms Suraya says. "But also the recent case of abuse in a nursing home in Singapore has raised concerns among Singaporeans." She was referring to the Nightingale nursing home at Braddell Road where the staff were discovered mistreating a resident there. The JB home currently has 20 Singaporean residents. Demand has been so strong that it is planning to open a new center in the coming months.

**** Tan, Independent & Willing To Serve? <http://singaporegirl.wordpress.com/2011/07/17/tan-independent-willing-to-serve/>
Food Fuels Me To Talk...

I may have some heart for underprivilged fellow citizens but the mantle to be their spokesperson, I think, is best left on those who enter Parliament as politicians, not the ceremonial head who opens Parliament!

**** The Baby Isaac Story <http://theonlinecitizen.com/2011/07/the-baby-isaac-story/>
Elliot Aruldoss And Jewel Philemon, The Online Citizen

Even if MCYS was legally correct in repatriating Baby Isaac to Malaysia, did they discharge their social obligation well?

**** A Vision Of A Future We Don’t Know <http://mollymeek.wordpress.com/2011/07/17/a-vision-of-a-future-we-dont-know/>
Molitics

But what’s the use of feedback if the same old absurd bureaucratic-technocratic system of generating more SOPs, processes and KPIs remain in place to ensure that everything improves on paper and rots further at its core.

**** The Improvement Of Productivity And Service Starts With Competition <http://www.todayonline.com/Voices/EDC110718-0000014/The-improvement-of-productivity-and-service-starts-with-competition>
Ng Hui Hong Nicholas, Today

A profit driven company would strive to reduce costs and increase revenue. Hence, their best case scenario would be to run at full capacity. This meaning the maximum number of people squeezed into trains and buses. Whereas a non-profit organisation could have a different KPI, such as managing costs and improving service standards.

**** My Response To Tan Jee Say’s Presidential Bid <http://www.sgpolitics.net/?p=6990>
Ng E-Jay, Sgpolitics.net

Mr Tan’s heart is undoubtedly in the right place. However, if Mr Tan genuinely feels that many government policies have divided our nation, then all the more he should remain in opposition politics where he can play a far more aggressive role in challenging the ruling party.

**** Preserving Memories Key To A Strong Home: PM Lee <http://www.todayonline.com/Singapore/EDC110718-0000037/Preserving-memories-key-to-a-strong-home--PM-Lee>
Leong Wee Keat, Today

Preserving the memories of the communities where Singaporeans live is key to making the country a "strong home", said prime minister Lee Hsien Loong yesterday as he called on every constituency to create its own heritage trail.