[MyAppleMenu] Nov 9, 2011

[applesurf at myapplemenu.com]

MyAppleMenu
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**** Apple Releases iAd Producer 2.0 <http://www.macstories.net/news/apple-releases-iad-producer-2-0/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+macstoriesnet+%28MacStories%29>
Federico Viticci, MacStories

**** Apple Introduces In-store DIY Check-out <http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/5087e7e6-0a5d-11e1-92b5-00144feabdc0.html#axzz1dAGXhsqg>
Barney Jopson And Joseph Menn, Financial Times

Apple has simplified shopping at its bricks-and-mortar stores by introducing new ordering and payment methods that underscore its credentials as a pacesetter in retail innovation.

**** Apple Releases Java Updates For Lion, Snow Leopard <http://www.macworld.com/article/163489/2011/11/apple_releases_java_updates_for_lion_snow_leopard.html#lsrc.rss_main>
Serenity Caldwell, Macworld

**** Are Cookbooks Obsolete? <http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/09/dining/are-apps-making-cookbooks-obsolete.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss>
Julia Moskin, New York Times

“I never thought I would say this, but I don’t go anywhere without my iPad,” said Kristin Young, a collector of cookbooks in Santa Barbara, Calif., who said that even her favorite volumes are gathering dust. “If it’s not on my tablet, it’s just not useful anymore.”

**** The Criterion Collection Comes To iTunes <http://www.tuaw.com/2011/11/09/the-criterion-collection-comes-to-itunes/>
Michael Grothaus, TUAW

With virtually no fanfare -- or even a press release -- The Criterion Collection has made 46 of its 680 films available on iTunes. Among the films released are art house classics any lovers of cinema will recognize, including The Seventh Seal by Ingmar Bergman, Seven Samurai by Akira Kurosawa, and The 400 Blows by Francois Truffaut.

**** Gallery Of Storefront Photos From Apple's 357 Retail Stores <http://www.macrumors.com/2011/11/09/gallery-of-storefront-photos-from-apples-357-retail-stores/>
Eric Slivka, MacRumors

**** VMware Fusion 4 <http://www.macworld.com/article/163440/2011/11/vmware_fusion_4.html#lsrc.rss_main>
Rob Griffiths, Macworld

Fusion 4 is a nice upgrade from Fusion 3; it's fast and stable, the interface is very Mac-like, and its drag-and-drop installation is about as easy as it gets. The redesigned virtual machine settings and library windows are great improvements over their predecessors. It'd be nice if Linux virtual machines supported OpenGL acceleration, and overall, video acceleration isn't as speedy as it could be.

**** GarageBand Review <http://www.macworld.com/appguide/app.html?id=835978&expand=true>
Christopher Breen, Macworld

It’s a better experience when run on the iPad because of the larger work surface and ability to use it with external controllers and microphones. But the fact that Apple could create a version as accessible as this one, for more diminutive iOS devices, is a testament to the brilliance of GarageBand’s designers. Plus, the refinements and improvements brought with this version of the app make it a better and more musical tool.

**** iPad Printing To An Unsupported Printer <http://www.macworld.com/article/163503/2011/11/ipad_printing_to_an_unsupported_printer.html#lsrc.rss_main>
Christopher Breen, Macworld

**** Adobe Halts Development On Mobile Flash <http://tidbits.com/article/12621?rss>
Adam C. Engst, TidBITS



The Tomorrow Weblog
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**** Sleep Sensor Hides Beneath The Mattress <http://www.technologyreview.com/computing/39105/?ref=rss>
Tom Simonite, Technology Review

Gadgets and apps that track a user's sleep are growing in popularity, but they typically require a person to wear a headband or bracelet. Now a startup called Bam Labs is offering a sensor pad that can track heart rate, breathing, and movement to track sleep and other health measures from underneath the mattress.



MyAppleMenu Reader
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**** Conspiracy Of Hogs: The McRib As Arbitrage <http://www.theawl.com/2011/11/a-conspiracy-of-hogs-the-mcrib-as-arbitrage>
Willy Staley, The Awl

Calling a fast food sandwich an arbitrage strategy is perhaps a bit of a reach—but consider how massive the chain's market influence is, and it becomes a bit more reasonable.



SingaporeSurf
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**** How Effective Were The NMPs? <http://www.todayonline.com/Singapore/EDC111109-0000053/How-effective-were-the-NMPs?>
Ong Dai Lin, Today

**** Tiong Bahru: Singapore's Oldest And Hippest 'Hood <http://www.cnngo.com/singapore/life/tiong-bahru-singapore’s-oldest-and-hippest-hood-980850>
Maida C. Pineda, CNNGo

There is a popular saying that everything old becomes new again, and it proves especially true with Singapore’s veteran hipster suburb, Tiong Bahru.

**** Selective Courage And Other PM’s Tales <http://atans1.wordpress.com/2011/11/09/selective-courage-and-other-pms-tales/>
Thoughts Of A Cynical Investor

Your comments seem nothing more than your father’s “style of single-party governance: long-term decisions made by an inner circle, without the distractions of a substantial opposition or the time pressures of electoral deadlines. “Public debate can make issues “harder to solve,” you said sometime back, so it’s reasonable to assume that you would rather avoid informed public debate of any kind.

**** Parliamentary Proceedings Should Be Broadcast In Full <http://www.straitstimes.com/STForum/Story/STIStory_731902.html>
Lee Seck Kay, Straits Times

It would be unfair (to the MPs) and unacceptable (to the public) to have the members' speeches and arguments edited. A tell-it-like-it-is approach is probably best in the interest of transparency. Future parliamentary sessions should be televised in their entirety.

**** KL-S'pore High-speed Rail Link Gets A Rethink <http://www.nst.com.my/nst/articles/2non/Article/>
Minderjeet Kaur And Ling Poh Lean, New Straits Times

The government may go ahead with the high-speed train between the capital city and Singapore. The project is expected to cut rail travelling time from the usual seven hours, to just two. Various policymakers and government agencies involved in improving public transport in the country are studying the issue in detail.

**** Singapore Graveyard Stirs Lively Debate <http://blogs.wsj.com/searealtime/2011/11/09/singapore-graveyard-stirs-lively-debate/>
Chun Han Wong, Wall Street Journal

Authorities and activists are jousting over the fate of the remains of up to 100,000 dead people – including luminaries of the island’s colonial yesteryears – interred at the Bukit Brown cemetery, located in a densely-vegetated part of Singapore just south of the city-state’s central water catchment area and nature reserve. Should government plans proceed, the 86-hectare burial ground will gradually be transformed into a residential district, starting with road construction slated to begin in early 2013.

In the eyes of advocates, though, the development plans would mean irreversible loss of cultural heritage and wildlife in a city-state where economic imperatives have often superseded preservationist impulses.

**** Cracking The Singapore Citizenship Test <http://findmuck.wordpress.com/2011/11/08/cracking-the-singapore-citizenship-test/>
The Mind Game

**** Stew The Canard, Cook The Migrant Worker <http://yawningbread.wordpress.com/2011/11/09/stew-the-canard-cook-the-migrant-worker/>
Alex Au, Yawning Bread

**** The Mule, The Mastermind And The MDP <http://webelieveinsecondchances.wordpress.com/2011/11/09/the-mule-the-mastermind-and-the-mdp/>
We Believe In Second Chances

If Singapore wants to be serious about crime prevention, it needs to rethink its strategy. State-sanctioned killing isn’t the answer. It leaves open the possibility that innocent people might be sentenced to death, and in the case of the MDP, it creates outcomes that are manifestly unfair.

**** The New PAP Government’s Art Of Listening Without Listening <http://theonlinecitizen.com/2011/11/the-new-pap-governments-art-of-listening-without-listening/>
Ravi Philemon, The Online Citizen

It’s quite obvious from his post that the Ministry of National Development arrived on this decision to redevelop Bukit Brown Cemetery into a 8-lane public road unilaterally; and that the consultations were an afterthought.

**** How Much Discretion Should The Prosecution Have? <http://theonlinecitizen.com/2011/11/how-much-discretion-should-the-prosecution-have/>
Kirsten Han, The Online Citizen