[MyAppleMenu] Jul 28, 2011

[applesurf at myapplemenu.com]

MyAppleMenu
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**** To Fill A Gap In Commercial Radio, Classically Trained Apps <http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/28/technology/personaltech/classical-music-apps-for-smartphones.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss>
Bob Tedeschi, New York Times

Androids or iPhones make good music players, and personalized radio apps like Slacker, Pandora and Last.fm offer passable alternatives to conventional radio, especially if you pay for advertising-free versions of the services.

**** Lodsys Files Opposition To An Apple Intervention <http://news.cnet.com/8301-27076_3-20084483-248/lodsys-files-opposition-to-an-apple-intervention/?part=rss&tag=feed&subj=News-Apple>
Josh Lowensohn, CNET

**** Mobile Devices Or: How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The iOS <http://blog.roothausen.de/2011/07/25/mobile-devices-or-how-i-learned-to-stop-worrying-and-love-the-ios/>
Roothausen

Of course, Android is more open than iOS and there are things an Android device can do which are just not possible or forbidden by Apple on iOS. But know what? - These corner cases don't bother me any more. I've been using my iPhone for a few months now. Even in the first days I was able to do more useful stuff with it than I ever did on Android in almost two years. At the moment I'm really pleased with the experience on iOS, but I'm also curious if this is the case in two years from now.

My recommendation: Buy an Android phone if you want a smartphone that works and does its job. Buy an iPhone if you care about user experience and want a smartphone that works really well.

**** OS X Lion Bug: Safari Guzzling Massive Amounts Of RAM <http://www.tuaw.com/2011/07/27/os-x-lion-bug-safari-guzzling-massive-amounts-of-ram/>
Chris Rawson, TUAW

**** BBC iPlayer Goes Global With iPad App Launch In 11 Countries <http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/appsblog/2011/jul/28/bbc-iplayer-global-ipad-launch>
Stuart Dredge, The Guardian

BBC Worldwide is launching its global iPlayer service on Thursday, via an iPad app that will be made available in 11 countries in Western Europe. The US, Canada and Australia will follow later this year, as part of what is intended to be a one-year pilot.

**** Task Till Dawn 1.6 <http://www.macworld.com/article/160874/2011/07/tasktilldawn.html#lsrc.rss_main>
Michael Harvey, Macworld

Task Till Dawn is Java-based freeware that will launch applications, open files, run shell scripts; if you can double click on it in the Finder, Task Till Dawn will open it for you on whatever schedule you set, and scheduling is what this application is all about.

**** "How We Compete With Apple" <http://www.inc.com/articles/201107/peachmac-georgia-retail-chain-competes-with-apple.html>
Nicole Carter, Inc

After two decades of working with the tech giant, Darryl Peck opened a small Apple retail store called PeachMac. Here's how he grew his business by imitating and improving the Apple shopping experience.

**** Apple's Existing Mac Lines Tweaked For OS X Lion <http://www.macrumors.com/2011/07/28/apples-existing-mac-lines-tweaked-for-os-x-lion/>
Eric Slivka, MacRumors

Apple no longer includes restore discs of any sort, a move that could cause difficulties for the occasional user who finds the need or desire to perform a clean install of Lion on a bare hard drive. Apple's new MacBook Air and Mac mini models support a Lion feature called Internet Recovery that allows the operating system to be reinstalled to a bare hard drive, but other current hardware now shipping with Lion does not support the feature. 

**** Review: Safari 5.1 <http://www.macworld.com/article/161387/2011/07/safari_51.html#lsrc.rss_main>
Nathan Alderman, Macworld

Safari 5.1 gives Apple’s browser enough horsepower to hold its own against rivals in day-to-day browsing. More importantly, its new features truly distinguish it from the pack, making Safari 5.1 a great step up from its predecessor.

**** Restore Safari 5.0.3's Tab Opening Behavior <http://www.macworld.com/article/161388/2011/07/restore_old_safari_tab_behavior.html#lsrc.rss_main>
Dan Moren, Macworld

**** Intel Integrated Graphics: Finally Good Enough For The MacBook Air? <http://arstechnica.com/apple/news/2011/07/intel-integrated-graphics-not-hampering-sandy-bridge-macs.ars?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss>
Chris Foresman, Ars Technica

Effectively, Apple's updated low-end hardware runs about twice as fast as last year's models for about the same money. Games won't run as well, but then again, they didn't run that well on this hardware to begin with.

**** Improved Lion Compatibility Coming To Office, But Not For A Few Months <http://arstechnica.com/apple/news/2011/07/improved-office-compatibility-coming-to-lion-but-not-for-a-few-months.ars?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss>
Chris Foresman, Ars Technica

Microsoft's iconic productivity suite Office for Mac will gain support for new Lion features, including auto save and fullscreen mode, in an upcoming update. But don't get excited just yet, as those features won't be available for the next few months.



The Tomorrow Weblog
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**** New Language For Programming In Parallel <http://www.technologyreview.com/computing/38149/?ref=rss>
Duncan Graham-rowe, Technology Review

Writing code for the latest multicore chips is notoriously tricky, but a new language could make it simpler, and make computers more efficient in the process.



MyAppleMenu Reader
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**** Gods Without Men By Hari Kunzru – Review <http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/jul/27/gods-without-men-hari-kunzru-review?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+theguardian%2Fbooks%2Frss+%28Books%29>
Theo Tait, The Guardian

At its worst, it's diverting and readable; at its best, it's genuinely interesting and exhilarating.

**** How A Famous Kitchen Seduced Me <http://www.salon.com/food/feature/2011/07/27/what_i_learned_at_prune/index.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+salon-food+%28Salon%3A+Food%29>
Tamar Adler, Salon

Years before Prune's chef wrote a bestselling memoir, I asked her to teach me to cook -- and she changed my life.



SingaporeSurf
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**** Why Public Transport Fares Should Not Be Raised <http://www.sgpolitics.net/?p=6997>
Wong Wee Nam, Sgpolitics.net

It is no surprise then that these two public transport operators do not reduce their fares independently of each other to compete, but instead apply together to raise their fares. Is this how competition works? It appears to work more like a cartel.

**** Hot In New York <http://yawningbread.wordpress.com/2011/07/28/hot-in-new-york/>
Au Waipang, Yawning Bread

**** Net Fare Adjustments Went Down, Not Up: Transport Council <http://www.straitstimes.com/STForum/Story/STIStory_695543.html>
Eugene Tan, Public Transport Council, Straits Times

Therefore, if we were to add the actual fare adjustments between 2008 and last year, as Mr Leong did, commuters would, in fact, see a net fare adjustment of -3.4 per cent.

To be fair, Mr Leong should have used nominal wage data instead of real wage data in his comparison of the transport fare hike and inflation rates against wage growth.

**** Being Human, Humane, Humanist—the Whole Shebang <http://catherinelim.sg/2011/07/28/being-human-humane-humanist-the-whole-shebang/>
Catherine Lim

My quest for meaning—for ultimately that is what it is—has brought me so much satisfaction—emotional, intellectual, spiritual—that, at the risk of scandalizing my religious friends, I’m going to borrow the breathless language of religious ecstasy to describe it. Thus can I truly say that my atheistic journey has been no less than an epiphany, a rebirth, a moksha, a nirvana.

**** MOF Responds To SDP's Queries About Reserves <http://www.yoursdp.org/index.php/news/singapore/4911-mof-responds-to-sdps-queries-about-reserves>
Singapore Democratic Party

Non-transparency means non-accountability and this cannot be a good way to handle our reserves.

**** 新一届国会应尽早开会 <http://www.zaobao.com.sg/yl/yl110728_006.shtml>
王新民, 联合早报

我们期盼新一届国会早日开会，对影响广大民生的车资课题进行辩论，让民选议员们有机会把广大国人的心声带进国会。我们相信真理是越辩越明的。

**** A YP Activist’s Response To TOC’s “Statements Like These Do Not Help” <http://theonlinecitizen.com/2011/07/a-yp-activists-response-to-toc’s-“statements-like-these-do-not-help”/>
The Online Citizen

Yet I do not know which speech TOC was reporting on, because their article bears no resemblance to the actual speech – unless you count 6 words lifted out of context from:

If you take the time to listen to the speech, it is clear the PM is looking beyond any standard mould, because he wants diversity and change. Taking the underlined words out of context is at best negligent, at worst dishonest.

**** Jailed In Singapore For Writing A Book They Didn't Like <http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jul/27/jail-singapore>
Patrick Barkham, The Guardian

Before he went into jail, Shadrake made a vow: "When I come out, I'm going to continue to be a thorn in the side of the Singapore authorities for as long as I live." He is proud of what he considers his best work in his 50-year career and has "no regrets". After recuperating in Britain he will return to Malaysia, where his book has sold 10,000 copies – many to traders who have smuggled it into Singapore, where his book is not officially banned but is, mysteriously, unavailable in any shops. "The Singapore government scored an own-goal by persecuting Alan. His book has drawn the international spotlight to Singapore's use of the death penalty," said Lance Lattig, south-east Asia researcher at Amnesty International. "When it comes to drug trafficking, Singapore operates an institutionalised system of unfair trials with automatic presumption of guilt and a mandatory death penalty. Singapore doesn't recognise the universal right to free speech. Instead, the government tightens or loosens restrictions on free speech as it pleases."

**** President Is Not Powerless <http://furrybrowndog.wordpress.com/2011/07/28/president-is-not-powerless/>
Furry Brown Dog

**** Open Letter To Dr Tony Tan: Reveal Money Squandered On Foreign Students <http://www.temasekreview.com/2011/07/28/open-letter-to-dr-tony-tan-reveal-money-squandered-on-foreign-students/>
The Temasek Review

We did not ask for free education, so why do you digress and deflect our question on why international students are given these many privileges at the expense of locals?

We never asked for Singaporean-only privileges. We ask that Singaporeans’ needs are also considered. Do you know the technologies that led us to progress can also be used to verify success? Even though I was young in 1984, I don’t recall you being against the Graduate Mothers Scheme, strange.

**** Dr Tony Tan Replies To Allegations That His Son Received Special Treatment During NS <http://singstatistician.blogspot.com/2011/07/dr-tony-tan-replies-to-allegations-that.html>
Thoughts Of A Singapore Statistician

As a lau peng, I have a lot of difficulty believing this explanation. I find it to be dubious and highly unsatisfactorily.

**** Liberalising Bus Services May Lead To "Cherry-picking": Lui Tuck Yew <http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1143622/1/.html>
Hetty Musfirah, Channel NewsAsia

Transport minister Lui Tuck Yew has shot down the opposition National Solidarity Party's (NSP's) proposal to introduce more competition among public bus operators here.

Mr Lui said such a move would only lead to "cherry-picking" of the profitable routes among transport operators and might not benefit commuters.

Has the PAP government given up its earlier plan of bundling several bus routes for tendering among bus companies? Was LTA being 'blackmailed' by the cherry-picking SBS and SMRT, who may have decided not to bid for these bus routes?

**** Nearly One Million China Nationals Living In Singapore? <http://www.temasekreview.com/2011/07/27/nearly-one-million-china-nationals-living-in-singapore/>
The Temasek Review

With one out of five people living in Singapore being a China national, Singapore now has one of the highest number of Chinese nationals in the world after China itself.

**** Private Residential Market Should Be Left To Market Forces: REDAS <http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1143664/1/.html>
Linette Lim, Channel NewsAsia

The Real Estate Developers' Association of Singapore (REDAS) said that prices of private homes should be left to market forces without any intervention from the government.