[MyAppleMenu] Mar 25, 2011

[applesurf at myapplemenu.com]

MyAppleMenu
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**** The Next-Generation Classroom AV System <http://speirs.org/blog/2011/3/24/the-next-generation-classroom-av-system.html>
Fraser Speirs

I set out to design a new classroom AV system that took advantage of the fact that we have iPads in everyone's hands.

**** Music Talent Not Required <http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/silverman/7485204.html>
Dwight Silverman, Houston Chronicle

There's a lot more to GarageBand for iPad than I've detailed here. It's a rich app with many layers of features. If you spring for it, do so when you have a couple of hours to kill. It's that compelling.

**** 10 For X: A Decade Of Mac OS X <http://www.macworld.com/article/158789/2011/03/os_x_ten.html#lsrc.rss_main>
Dan Moren, Macworld

Were you to engage in a flight of fancy, you might call Mac OS X the deliverance for the tenacious few that had held onto Apple in the dark times, through the era when the Mac product line had proliferated into a writhing, seething mass of cryptic models in a seeming attempt to out-PC the PC makers. Mac OS X was a sign that the direction of the company had really and truly changed, after years of failed attempts to modernize the Mac OS.

The coup of Mac OS X, more than anything else, is that it shipped. The road to a new version of the Mac OS was littered with the unmarked graves of projects that had gone before: Taligent. Copland. Gershwin.

**** Pulse News Mini Is Back On Par With Its iPad Counterpart <http://appadvice.com/appnn/2011/03/pulse-news-mini-par-ipad-counterpart/>
Casey Tschid, AppAdvice

**** MultiCorder : Multioption Video Recorder For iPhone 4, 3GS, iTouch 4G <http://www.macworld.com/appguide/app.html?id=833520#lsrc.rss_main>
Beau Colburn, Macworld

Mirage Lab’s MultiCorder is a video recording app that allows you to adjust the size and frame rate of the video captured by your iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, or fourth-generation iPod touch, so that you can have a much finer level of control over how the storage capacity on your mobile device gets used.

**** The iPad Is 99% More Open Than Any Other Computer <http://jpteti.com/post/4072771125/the-ipad-is-99-more-open-than-any-other-computer>
J-P Teti

This is the key to the iPad that nobody has figured out. The iPad does everything that a regular computer user does. Facebook. YouTube. Email. Web browsing. It does all this out of the box.

And it has all the apps.

The iPad is actually opening up technology to more people. None of this crap about it being closed is accurate. By giving people freedom to explore the app store without having to worry about anything (except their wallets), Apple has possibly made the best move they could make by locking down the iPad’s installation sources.

**** Protect Your Privacy: Protect Your E-mail <http://www.macworld.com/article/158123/2011/02/protect_email_passwords_addresses.html#lsrc.rss_main>
Mike Rothman, Macworld

Despite the rise of social networks and Twitter, e-mail is still the way many of us communicate. But it can put a tremendous amount of your private data at risk. Here are some tips for minimizing that risk.

**** Feeding An Offline Reading Habit <http://rakkhi.blogspot.com/2011/03/feeding-offline-reading-habit.html?sms_ss=hackernews&at_xt=4d8c9a0d5427eb62%2C0>
RSSC Security Blog

Ever since I got an iPhone 4 with the retina display I have been hooked on keeping up with my favourite tech and security blogs on the move. Yes I’m one of those annoying zombies you see reading on their phone while walking, standing in line, on the train etc. It has enabled me to make better use of this time and keep entertained. However one of the major problems  is that I live in London and most of my reading is done on the one hour commute to and from work on the tube (underground subway). The tube has no Internet access so I have had to find some offline ways to feed my habit. These are some of the best ways I have found to read and share what I like.

**** QuickCal For Mac: Natural Language Events And Todos For iCal <http://www.tuaw.com/2011/03/25/quickcal-for-mac-natural-language-events-and-todos-for-ical/>
Brett Terpstra, TUAW

The natural language engine is pretty smart to begin with. You can type things like "Dr. appt 4p" and an event is created for today at 4:00pm titled "Dr. appt." You can also get more verbose, adding locations and start and end times. It does todo items, too. "todo - Get something done by wed" will add a task to iCal with a due date.



The Tomorrow Weblog
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**** Burned By Twitter's API Restrictions, Developers Launch Distributed Microblogging Service <http://www.readwriteweb.com/cloud/2011/03/burned-by-twitters-api.php>
Klint Finley, ReadWriteWeb



MyAppleMenu Reader
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**** Send In Whatever Clowns Are Left <http://www.thesmartset.com/article/article03241101.aspx>
Stefany Anne Golberg, The Smart Set

Hard times come to the stage.



SingaporeSurf
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**** GRC System: Wool Over Eyes (Part 4 Of 6) <http://theonlinecitizen.com/2011/03/grc-system-wool-over-eyes-part-4-of-6-2/>
Rajiv Chaudhry, The Online Citizen

The truth of the matter is that the number of GRCs, the number of SMCs, their boundary delineations and sizes are all arbitrarily decided by the government, no matter how they are clothed in Parliament. With a super majority in Parliament, the government can bend the political process to its will at any time.

Is it any surprise, therefore, that the only two six-member GRCs that have been retained for the forthcoming GE (Ang Mo Kio and Pasir-Ris Punggol) are the ones from which the PM and one of the deputy prime ministers are incumbents? GRCs, quite obviously, are fortresses designed to protect the High Command in the electoral battlefield. We need look no further for evidence that the larger the GRC, the more impregnable they are tacitly considered to be.

**** Can The Opposition Win A GRC In GE2011? <http://www.sgpolitics.net/?p=6464>
Ng E-Jay, SgPolitics.net

**** We're 'Not That Small-minded': Chiam <http://www.todayonline.com/Singapore/EDC110325-0000100/Were-not-that-small-minded--Chiam>
Teo Xuanwei, Today

Speaking to reporters at his Meet-the-People session in Potong Pasir, Mr Chiam, 76, reiterated that the opposition's main aim of winning a GRC is to expand its presence in Parliament. Said Mr Chiam: "If the opposition captures a GRC, that will be a big psychological blow to the PAP. It's no longer an impregnable fortress."

On Mr Wong's call for opposition parties to unveil their candidates earlier so as not to shortchange voters, Mr Chiam reasoned that most Singaporeans already know the opposition candidates, because "opposition like to talk a lot, they inadvertently reveal the names of the candidates".

**** In Singapore, A Failure To Fail <http://blogs.hbr.org/anthony/2011/03/the_failure_of_failure.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+harvardbusiness+%28HBR.org%29>
Scott Anthony, Harvard Business Review

Government support is beneficial, but venture capitalist investor Mike Maples recently made a point in a conversation with TechCrunch that crystallized a nagging concern that I've had about Singapore: it's too hard for companies to fail.

Failure is a necessary part of a flourishing innovative ecosystem. Not every idea is destined for greatness. A talented individual working on an idea with fatal flaws by definition isn't working on an idea with transformational potential. When great talent is stuck working on the wrong things, the ecosystem as a whole suffers. The failure of failure leads to stagnation.

**** DPM Wong: Headline Could Have Been Clearer <http://www.straitstimes.com/STForum/Story/STIStory_649063.html>
Toh Yong Chuan, Press Secretary To Deputy Prime Minister And Coordinating Minister For National Security, Straits Times

Since 1965, Singapore has implemented a bilingual policy, which led to a smaller pool of Chinese-educated candidates but an increasing pool of candidates who are bilingual. Having fewer Chinese-educated candidates and more bilingual and bicultural candidates reflects the societal trend.

**** That Makeshift Cubicle At The Void Deck <http://theonlinecitizen.com/2011/03/that-makeshift-cubicle-at-the-void-deck/>
Andrew Loh, The Online Citizen

“We are not so small-minded,” Mr Chiam says. “Our purpose is mainly to expand the opposition. At the moment as you know opposition only has two MPs in Parliament. PAP has 82. If the opposition capturesa GRC, that will be a big psychological blow to the PAP. It’s no longer an impregnable fortress.”

And Mr Chiam added: “Any step that the opposition does that dents the PAP is one step forward for the voters.”

Perhaps Mr Wong should be more concerned about his own legacy. Besides going down in history as the minister who let a limping suspected terrorist escape – not once, but twice – Mr Wong has only won in one election, despite having contested six General Elections in total so far.

**** 'Winning GRC Will Be Psychological Blow To PAP' <http://sg.news.yahoo.com/blogs/singaporescene/not-small-minded-chiam-see-tong-20110324-110817-684.html>
Alicia Wong, Yahoo!

**** No To “Scorched Earth”, Please. Empower Us Instead. <http://dlzj.wordpress.com/2011/03/24/no-to-scorched-earth-please-empower-us-instead/>
Ἴκαρος Flew Too High

So the important question to take away from all this is: why are these two parties (more so with WP than NSP), given their larger pool of resources, are simply not interested in giving as many Singaporeans a chance to vote?

**** What Level Playing Field? <http://politicalwritings.wordpress.com/2011/03/10/what-level-playing-field/>
Political Writings

**** Big Changes In PAP Policies <http://mysingaporenews.blogspot.com/2011/03/big-changes-in-pap-policies.html>
Chua Chin Leng, My Singapore News

A third change is the passing of the baton. We are seeing more ‘tai zi’ and ‘gong zi yeh’ stepping forward to fill the shoes left behind by their fathers. 3 out of 6 so far are children of the first generation of PAP founders. And more are on the cards. This must be the year of the princelings. Or is it the year of the foreign talents? 

**** 中央医院为何不接受华文支票？ <http://www.zaobao.com.sg/yl/yl110325_006.shtml>
郑修铨, 联合早报

接电话的男职员告诉我，他们的部门向来不接受华文书写的支票，并没有什么特别理由。我觉得这个理由很难令人接受，况且华文是受到宪法保护的四大官方语言之一。

**** Never Say Never! <http://singaporegirl.wordpress.com/2011/03/24/never-say-never/>
Food Fuels Me To Talk...

**** Not Another New Citizen Please!!! <http://singapore-lighthouse.blogspot.com/2011/03/not-another-new-citizen-please.html>
Singapore Social And Political Thoughts

Are there really no real people that PAP recruitment department can see? I believed that those PAP recruiters stayed too long in their ivory towers that they had forgotten how ordinary citizens looked liked.

**** A Little Bit Of Frightening News <http://mysingaporenews.blogspot.com/2011/03/little-bit-of-frightening-news.html>
Chua Chin Leng, My SIngapore News

**** Ambalam To CNA: Stop Being Ridiculous <http://yoursdp.org/index.php/news/singapore/4683-ambalam-to-cna-stop-being-ridiculous>
Singapore Democratic Party

You are making things up as you go along.

**** All Charges Dropped Against Bollywood Veggies <http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1118803/1/.html>
Shaffiq Alkhatib, Channel NewsAsia

District Judge Jasbendar Kaur said that prosecution, led by BCA's lawyer Joseph Liow, had failed to show beyond a reasonable doubt that the notice as well as two reminders were served on Bollywood Veggies.

**** GE: State Of Play Among Political Parties Heats Up <http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1118821/1/.html>
Imelda Saad, Channel NewsAsia

It is unusual for the PAP to announce its line-up ahead of Nomination Day, and this does give the opposition something to chew on. In response, the Workers' Party's chairman Sylvia Lim said the PAP's East Coast line-up will not change the party's strategy, and added her party will only confirm its line-up on Nomination Day.

**** Holland V Radio Caller Sorry For Taunting Heartlanders <http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_649288.html>
Ashutosh Ravikrishnan, Straits Times

The woman who pitted Holland Village against the heartlanders of Singapore has apologised on public radio.

**** New S'pore Citizens To Go Through Mandatory Programme <http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1118855/1/.html>
Hoe Yeen Nie, Channel NewsAsia

All new Singapore citizens must go through a three-component mandatory programme known as "The Singapore Citizenship Journey" - which must be completed in two months - before they get their pink IC.

After going through each section, participants will then have to take a quiz. The quiz is not meant as a test, but a way for new citizens to get to know the country better.