[MyAppleMenu] May 26, 2011

applesurf at myapplemenu.com applesurf at myapplemenu.com
Thu May 26 18:59:00 EDT 2011

MyAppleMenu
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**** Apple Responds To Increasingly Serious MACDefender Situation <http://tidbits.com/article/12199?rss>
Adam C. Engst, TidBITS

I think many of us in the press rather pooh-poohed MACDefender, since it seemed like there were too many places to short-circuit its nefarious plans. But we may have overestimated the security sophistication of many Mac users; as Apple’s star has risen, so too has the number of Mac users who have minimal security awareness.

**** Dreamweaver CS5.5 Review <http://www.macworld.co.uk/digitallifestyle/reviews/index.cfm?reviewid=3281951&olo=rss>
Karl Hodge, Macworld UK

**** Apple Store Customers Satisfied Even If They Don’t Buy Anything <http://allthingsd.com/20110525/apples-retail-juggernaut/>
John Paczkowski, All Things Digital

**** Mac Defender: Pay Attention But Don't Panic <http://www.macworld.com/article/160098/2011/05/macdefender.html#lsrc=twt_macworld>
Rich Mogull, Macworld

The bottom line: You should pay attention to Mac security. But you don't need to freak out about it.

**** Apple Standard Procedures Won't Work With Security <http://news.cnet.com/8301-31322_3-20066288-256.html>
Molly Wood, CNET

So, when Apple--more than three weeks after this malicious software appeared in the wild--got around to posting a support forum on how to remove or avoid MacDefender, it was also nearly a week after Google reportedly killed a lot of the poison links that were infecting people in the first place, a week after CNET and others posted instructions on how to remove MacDefender, and at least one support memo too late to demonstrate a serious commitment to customer security.


>From the perspective of, say, John Gruber at Daring Fireball, this approach represents a commitment to decisive action that leaves the customer hanging for a brief, uncomfortable period, then ultimately results in a satisfactory outcome. From my perspective, it represents a commitment first and foremost to not admitting fault, canny observation of which way the media winds are blowing, and action only after outcry has reached a sufficiently intolerable din.


**** No More iSync In Lion <http://www.tuaw.com/2011/05/26/no-more-isync-in-lion/>
Victor Agreda, Jr., TUAW

**** Eight Tips For Travelers <http://www.macworld.com/article/160080/2011/05/travel_tips.html#lsrc.rss_main>
Jason Snell, Dan Frakes, Chris Breen, And Lex Friedman, Macworld

These veteran travel tips can make traveling with your Apple gear much more fun.

**** ScreenFloat 1.1.1 <http://www.macworld.com/article/160104/2011/05/screenfloat.html#lsrc.rss_main>
Lex Friedman, Macworld

**** After Effects CS5.5 Review <http://www.macworld.co.uk/procreative/reviews/index.cfm?reviewid=3281953&olo=rss>
Barry Stead, Macworld

**** Adobe InDesign CS5.5 Review <http://www.macworld.co.uk/procreative/reviews/index.cfm?reviewid=3281667&olo=rss>
Neil Bennett, Digital Arts

**** Mac Malware Is Back. Your Move, Apple <http://www.pcworld.com/article/228727/mac_malware_is_back_your_move_apple.html>
Jared Newman, PCWorld

Can Apple continue to address every high-profile malware attack on a case-by-case basis, or will malware like Mac Defender and Mac Guard force Apple to act like Microsoft, creating a full-blown security center to address attacks?



MyAppleMenu Reader
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**** Rudolph Herzog: Punchlines From The Abyss <http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/may/25/rudolph-herzog-dead-funny?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+theguardian%2Fbooks%2Frss+%28Books%29>
Rudolph Herzog, The Guardian

Seen at a distance of 70 years, these jokes can appear tasteless and feeble. Herzog argues that they offer a telling insight into "what preoccupied and moved Hitler's 'racial community'." They also reveal a tension.

**** Could Conjoined Twins Share A Mind? <http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/29/magazine/could-conjoined-twins-share-a-mind.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all>
Susan Dominus, New York Times

Twins joined at the head — the medical term is craniopagus — are one in 2.5 million, of which only a fraction survive. The way the girls’ brains formed beneath the surface of their fused skulls, however, makes them beyond rare: their neural anatomy is unique, at least in the annals of recorded scientific literature. Their brain images reveal what looks like an attenuated line stretching between the two organs, a piece of anatomy their neurosurgeon, Douglas Cochrane of British Columbia Children’s Hospital, has called a thalamic bridge, because he believes it links the thalamus of one girl to the thalamus of her sister.

**** When You’re Strange <http://www.nybooks.com/blogs/nyrblog/2011/may/25/when-youre-strange/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+nybooks+%28The+New+York+Review+of+Books%29>
Paul Theroux, New York Review Of Books

Otherness can be like an illness; being a stranger can be analogous to experiencing a form of madness—those same intimations of the unreal and the irrational, when everything that has been familiar is stripped away.

**** "Tabloid City": A Love Letter To Old New York <http://www.salon.com/books/2011/05/25/tabloid_city_pete_hamill/index.html>
Barbara Spindel, Salon

Pete Hamill has written many love letters to New York City, in fiction, journalism, and memoir. With his latest novel, he's written a nostalgic love letter to the New York City daily tabloids. "Tabloid City" shifts perspective among more than a dozen characters, but at its heart is Sam Briscoe, a 71-year-old editor who wears fedoras and trench coats and says "goddamned" a lot. Sam helms the New York World, Gotham's last afternoon tabloid, which, like all newspapers, is "under assault from digitalized artillery."

**** Readers Of The Pack: American Best-Selling <http://www.bookforum.com/inprint/1802/7781>
Ruth Franklin, Bookforum

The best seller is caught in a peculiar paradox: Its popularity can be understood as both proof and negation of its value.



SingaporeSurf
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**** PAP MPs Are So Used To A Biased Press, They Can’t Stand A Free One <http://www.sgpolitics.net/?p=6883>
Ng E-Jay, Sgpolitics.net

I believe what has happened is that Ms Ng is so used to a biased mainstream press, she has been rattled by the sudden appearance of fairness, and moreover, by the widespread support enjoyed by opposition parties, and by opposition MPs in particular.

**** Low Thia Khiang On Handover Of Aljunied Town Council <http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1131188/1/.html>
Hoe Yeen Nie, Channel NewsAsia

Workers' Party secretary-general, Low Thia Khiang, has said it may be one or two months before the handover of Aljunied Town Council is completed. Some of the outstanding issues include completing an audit of accounts, as well as sorting out contracts with existing vendors.

**** Dumbass Remark Of The Week: Dr Lim Wee Kiak <http://www.mrbrown.com/blog/2011/05/dumbass-remark-of-the-week-dr-lim-wee-kiak.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+mrbrown+%28mrbrown%29>
mrbrown

Aiyah, now I know why my ministers don't listen to me. I don't earn enough.

**** Dr. Lim Wee Kiat Enlightens Us <http://mollymeek.wordpress.com/2011/05/25/dr-lim-wee-kiat-enlightens-us/>
Molitics

Using the same theory, it is easy to understand why million-dollar ministers never seem to take the views and suggestions of common folk. No wonder all our views are dismissed as noise.

Using the same theory again, even when a minister earns $500,000 per year, he may not take us seriously. Because most of us earn maybe 100-500 times less.

**** How To Contain The Effects Of Foreign Buying Of Property.... <http://singaporemind.blogspot.com/2011/05/how-to-contain-effects-of-foreign.html>
Diary Of A Singapore Mind

Basically, the data shows Singaporeans are increasingly being squeezed down (to the lower end) and squeezed out of the property market.

**** Taking The Review A Step Further <http://www.todayonline.com/Singapore/EDC110526-0000312/Taking-the-review-a-step-further>
Dharmendra Yadav, Today

**** Try A Different Thinking Cap <http://mysingaporenews.blogspot.com/2011/05/try-different-thinking-cap.html>
Chua Chin Leng, My Singapore News

**** Parliament Not Likely To Reconvene For Three Months <http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1131257/1/.html>
Esther Ng, Today

It is widely expected that Parliament will only sit after the Presidential Election, which is due to be held by August.

**** Is This The PAP Value System? <http://singaporemind.blogspot.com/2011/05/is-this-pap-value-system.html>
Diary Of A Singapore Mind

Ordinary Singaporeans listen to people who talk sense and have good ideas. They are not going to listen to a minister just because he is paid $2M a year.

**** 政府应提供国会议员办事处 <http://www.zaobao.com.sg/yl/yl110526_006.shtml>
林俊南, 联合早报

40多年过去了，我国已经从第三世界国家晋升到第一世界国家，继续让民选国会议员在组屋底层接见民众，确实有辱国体。是时候了，为了国家的颜面，政府有必要尽快给新一届的民选议员每人一个办事处，好让他们有体面地执行人民代议士的神圣任务。

**** 部长薪金高低与受人尊重无关 <http://www.zaobao.com.sg/yl/yl110526_007.shtml>
杨万德, 联合早报

新加坡的部长在处理国内外事务时，须要展现的是他们的正直精神、精辟看法及办事能力，而不是靠着他们有百万薪金的背景来争取别人对他们的尊重。

若我们的社会是以个人身价来衡量地位身份平等与否，是不是也意味着弱势群体会受到不公平的对待呢？

**** SDP: Transportation Of Ballot Boxes Open To Serious Questions <http://yoursdp.org/index.php/news/singapore/4844-sdp-transportation-of-ballot-boxes-open-to-serious-questions>
Singapore Democratic Party

**** 议员接见选民 居民：为何反对党议员 不能用居委会接见选民 <http://www.zaobao.com.sg/sp/sp110526_009.shtml>
林慧慧 萧佳慧, 联合早报

反对党议员没有舒适的办事处，只能在组屋底层“开桌”会见选民，不少居民为反对党议员无法利用现有基层组织设施为居民服务而打抱不平。

**** 澄清网上所传 陈振声：我与李家没关系 <http://www.zaobao.com.sg/sp/sp110526_017.shtml>
联合早报

网上近日流传社会发展、青年及体育部代部长陈振声少将是前内阁资政李光耀的外甥，不过陈振声已经在网上作出澄清。

**** Does Money Equal Dignity? <http://thesatayclub.net/2011/05/does-money-equal-dignity/>
Melissa Wong, The Satay Club

More importantly, it is highly worrying that a Member of Parliament – one of 87 men and women who are the elected representatives of the people – believes that one’s dignity is linked to his income.

This sends a completely wrong message to the public: that the pursuit of material wealth is the only way to advance one’s standing in society.

**** Jetstar In Cross-hairs Of Singapore Airlines <http://www.smh.com.au/business/jetstar-in-crosshairs-of-singapore-airlines-20110526-1f5ca.html>
Matt O'Sullivan, Sydney Morning Herald

The launch of another low-cost airline is a direct threat to Jetstar and Malaysia's long-haul airline AirAsiaX, in which English entrepreneur Richard Branson has a part stake.

**** Challenge To PAP To Review And Repeal Repressive Laws Before Engaging Singaporeans <http://www.temasekreview.com/2011/05/26/challenge-to-pap-to-review-and-repeal-repressive-laws-before-engaging-singaporeans/>
The Temasek Review

To put it bluntly, we are dismissed as mere ‘noises’ in the past and now they are only pretending to entertain us while the governing principles of the PAP regime remain cast in stone.

**** How Civil Service Can Serve Better <http://theonlinecitizen.com/2011/05/how-civil-service-can-serve-better/>
See Leong Kit, The Online Citizen

**** Reviving The Minimum Wage Debate (Part 1) <http://theonlinecitizen.com/2011/05/reviving-the-minimum-wage-debate-part-1/>
Gordon Lee, The Online Citizen

While a staggeringly high minimum wage could decrease overall employment, economic theory and empirical statistics demonstrate that a minimum wage set at a modest level has little (if any) negative effect on unemployment. Unemployment should also be weighed against achieving a country’s other economic and social objectives.

**** 10 Ideas For Ministerial Salary Reform <http://theonlinecitizen.com/2011/05/10-ideas-for-ministerial-salary-reform/>
Leong Sze Hian, Alex Lew, The Online Citizen

**** Quoted Out Of Context, Dr Lim? <http://theonlinecitizen.com/2011/05/quoted-out-of-context-dr-lim/>
Dawson Koo, The Online Citizen

MPs should not make such insensitive statements and then turn around and claim to be misquoted – without explaining where this supposed misrepresentation was. That is just taking the easy way out.

**** Kaya Toast Lowers Singapore’s Productivity, Part 2 <http://yawningbread.wordpress.com/2011/05/26/kaya-toast-lowers-singapores-productivity-part-2/>
Au Waipang, Yawning Bread

No doubt some will slam this is the typical elitist attitude of the PAP. But it’s an attitude that is really quite pervasive in Singapore. People feel it is beneath their dignity to engage/communicate with, or take suggestions or criticism from those beneath their social level. It must stand to reason then that the wider the gaps in social strata (as deduced from pay-grade), the more dysfunctional is communication within that society, and the harder it is to redesign work practices that mix-and-match tasks for greater efficiency.

**** Build-to-order Scheme Needs Revamping <http://chaptertworeload.wordpress.com/2011/05/26/build-to-order-scheme-needs-revamping/>
Aaron Ng, Chapter Two: Reload

The chief drawback of the BTO scheme is that the scheme requires a certain level of interest to be met before construction begins. Even if HDB offers BTO projects, those are not real supplies until the level of interest is sufficient to allow the scheme to proceed to the next stage. If there is insufficient interest in the BTO, the applicants are turned back to the resale market if they have an urgent need for housing, which means easing of demand in the resale market through BTO projects are not guaranteed. The ability of the BTO scheme to blunt flat prices is limited compared to HDB having an actual stock of flats.

**** Possible Formulae For Determining Ministers' Salaries <http://mrwangsaysso.blogspot.com/2011/05/possible-formulae-for-determining.html>
Gilbert Koh, Mr Wang Says So

If civil service salaries are generally fair and competitive at every level, then pegging our ministers' salaries to the permanent secretaries (and paying the ministers incrementally more) makes good sense.

**** Misinterpretation, Misquote And Ministerial Salaries <http://mollymeek.wordpress.com/2011/05/26/misinterpretation-misquote-and-ministerial-salaries/>
Molitics

Based on your clarification, it seems that you do still hold the belief that a salary of $500,000 per annum is too low for a minister even though it is an amount that some of the most impoverished citizens under your care will take decades to earn (without even factoring in inflation? You still seem to be implying that “low” salaries will affect the dignity of ministers even though it is perfectly reasonable to say (without asserting that ministers should be lowly paid) that any lowly paid person, minister or not, can be dignified in the face of anyone in the world. Because even the most lowly paid person is earning an honest living.

**** Will Singapore Still Swing Under Its New Government? <http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/offshorefinance/8537724/Will-Singapore-still-swing-under-its-new-government.html>
Alison Brown, The Telegraph




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