[MyAppleMenu] Nov 22, 2011

applesurf at myapplemenu.com applesurf at myapplemenu.com
Tue Nov 22 18:59:00 EST 2011

MyAppleMenu
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**** The Best Virtualization App For Mac OS X <http://lifehacker.com/5861391/the-best-virtualization-app-for-mac-os-x>
Adam Dachis, Lifehacker

Parallels Desktop is really a well-thought out application that has worked to consistently improve overall performance with every version and add new features to make virtualization easy enough for anybody.

**** Soulver Calculator Review <http://www.maclife.com/article/reviews/soulver_calculator_review>
Adam Berenstain, Mac Life

While pricey as a simple replacement for Apple’s Calculator, Soulver is worth a look if you want something less cumbersome than a spreadsheet but much more powerful than the back of a napkin for working out complex calculations.

**** What I Learned Building The Apple Store <http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2011/11/what_i_learned_building_the_ap.html>
Ron Johnson, Harvard Business Review

So the challenge for retailers isn't "how do we mimic the Apple Store" or any other store that seems like a good model. It's a very different problem, one that's conceptually similar to what Steve Jobs faced with the iPhone. He didn't ask, "How do we build a phone that can achieve a two percent market share?" He asked, "How do we reinvent the telephone?" In the same way, retailers shouldn't be asking, "How do we create a store that's going to do $15 million a year?" They should be asking, "How do we reinvent the store to enrich our customers' lives?"

**** Google Just Used Its Search App To Sneak Most Of Chrome OS Onto The iPad <http://thenextweb.com/google/2011/11/22/google-just-used-its-search-app-to-sneak-most-of-chrome-os-onto-the-ipad/>
Matthew Panzarino, The Next Web

With the announcement of its new Search app, Google gave iPad users more than just a slick and well-made native search app that bests the experience on any Android tablet. It also managed to squeeze the core elements of Chrome OS into Apple’s ecosystem.

**** Apple Posts New iPad 2 Advert: “Love” <http://www.macstories.net/news/apple-posts-new-ipad-2-advert-love/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+macstoriesnet+%28MacStories%29>
Graham Spencer, MacStories

This latest advert, “Love”, follows the general style of their previous iPad 2 adverts — with a strong narrator intertwined with people using the iPad, highlighting an emotional connection.

**** Apple Announces Holiday Sale For This Friday, Across The World <http://www.macstories.net/news/apple-announces-holiday-sale-for-this-friday-across-the-world/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+macstoriesnet+%28MacStories%29>
Graham Spencer, MacStories

Apple has begun placing banners on its online Apple Stores across the world, indicating that it will be holding a sale this Friday – on the yearly “Black Friday” as it is known in the US.

**** Replace Your Boring iTunes Icon With Currently Playing Song’s Album Art <http://www.cultofmac.com/131142/replace-your-boring-itunes-icon-with-currently-playing-songs-album-art-how-to/>
John Brownlee, Cult Of Mac

**** Subplot Helps Writers Focus On Characters, Plot <http://www.macworld.com/article/163684/2011/11/subplot_helps_writers_focus_on_characters_plot.html#lsrc.rss_main>
Brendan Wilhide, Macworld

Anyone who has sat down to try and write a story can tell you that the actual writing is the most daunting thing about the writing process. One of the best ways to overcome writer’s block is to plan your story and your characters. Subplot is designed to help you do just that, so you have more time to focus on writing.



SingaporeSurf
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**** What Any Confucian-styled Ruler Should Know <http://www.sgpolitics.net/?p=7221>
Wong Wee Nam, Sgpolitics.net

“治国者不敢侮于鳏寡，而况于士民乎？故得百姓之欢心，以事其先君.”

**** A&E Subsidies For Foreigners Are Here To Stay: Gan Kim Yong <http://www.todayonline.com/Singapore/EDC111122-0000054/AE-subsidies-for-foreigners-are-here-to-stay--Gan-Kim-Yong>
Ng Jing Yng, Today

Currently, a 50-per-cent subsidy is given to all A&E patients regardless of their nationality. Mr Gan said that, over the last five years, foreigners made up 18 per cent of the yearly patient load at A&E departments - amounting to government subsidies of S$14 million every year. This is less than 1 per cent of the Health Ministry's total spending on subsidised patient services at public hospitals, which amounted to S$2.2 billion."

"For A&E services, because they affect life and death, we want to make sure administrative processes in the A&E departments are kept as simple as possible," he said.

**** Not Enough Trains To Run At 2-minute Intervals During Peak Hours <http://www.todayonline.com/Singapore/EDC111122-0000067/Not-enough-trains-to-run-at-2-minute-intervals-during-peak-hours>
Sumita Sreedharan, Today

No where in this report was an assurance that all trains are deployed, or an indication how many percentage of the train fleet are deployed.

**** Not Expecting Perfection, Minister <http://atans1.wordpress.com/2011/11/22/not-expecting-perfection-minister/>
Thoughts Of A Cynical Investor

No, minister, we expect them to make simple correlations. For example if the population of S’pore grows by a factor of X, expect overcrowding by a factor of A in W years, if no new trainns are ordered, or signaling improved, and plan accordingly.

All we want is some common sense.

**** More Time To Repent <http://singaporedesk.blogspot.com/2011/11/more-time-to-repent.html>
Singapore Notes

The same excuse could have been made for the housing shortage, hospital shortage, flood controls shortage. And have you seen the graph for economic growth? Even a drunk driver can steer a straighter line.

**** Beware The PAP-media Agenda <http://www.yoursdp.org/index.php/news/singapore/5037-beware-the-pap-media-agenda>
Singapore Democratic Party

It is clear: Opposition parties that present an alternative programme advocating reform of the autocratic system will get little coverage whereas parties that abide by the PAP system or even subscribe to it are promoted.

**** 人力部暂不计划 立法规范遣送公司 <http://www.zaobao.com.sg/sp/sp111122_027.shtml>
联合早报

副总理兼财政部长及人力部长尚达曼昨天以书面方式回答毕丹星（阿裕尼集选区）的提问。他指出，客工被遣送回国时的利益在现有法令下已获得保障，因此人力部暂不考虑立法规范遣送公司。

**** Singapore: Playground Of The Super-rich <http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/luxurytravel/8904481/Singapore-playground-of-the-super-rich.html>
Michael Simkins, The Telegraph

Yet Singapore is booming – and the new-found energy of the place is palpable everywhere, as is its conspicuous wealth.

**** Dolphins Bound For Singapore Park Not Endangered <http://opinion.inquirer.net/17699/dolphins-bound-for-singapore-park-not-endangered>
Lim Soon Hua, Resorts World Sentosa, Philippine Daily Inquirer

There will always be divergent views about animals in zoological environments. We respect that. We believe that well-run zoological facilities provide strong and inspiring messages to visitors and can make a tangible difference to animal conservation. Caring for living animals comes with great responsibility. If done correctly, animals can thrive in human care and provide vital conservation and research opportunities.

**** Why Paya Lebar Bid Was Rejected <http://www.todayonline.com/Business/EDC111122-0000074/Why-Paya-Lebar-bid-was-rejected>
Today

The government's intent to keep the commercial office market in Singapore competitive does not mean that it will sell State land below its fair market value, the Ministry of National Development (MND) said yesterday in response to a question asking why it rejected the joint bid from UOL Group and Singapore Land for a site in Paya Lebar.

**** The Good Old Days: Singapore MRT Trains In 1991 <http://alvinology.com/2011/11/22/the-good-old-days-singapore-mrt-trains-in-1991/>
Alvinology

There was a time when we were not packed like sardines in our MRT trains, jostling for seats, taking pictures of each other to submit to STOMP for all kinds of minor space encroachment.

**** Singapore’s Casinos, Crime, Money Lending And The Case For ‘National Referendums’ <http://imranwrites.blogspot.com/2011/11/singapores-casinos-crime-money-lending.html>
The Grand Moofti Speaks

For Singapore's educated and increasingly politicized population, the National Referendum is an attractive option. It is an idea whose time has arrived in Singapore.

**** NEA Reviewing Hawker Stall Rental Policy <http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1166989/1/.html>
Channel NewsAsia

"The point I'm trying to make is that subsidies distort the market, and don't necessarily lead to optimal outcomes."

"I'm aware of these practices, and we will look at how best to address this, in order to take the arbitrage out of this and to focus on the business of hawking rather than the business of selling and trading and assignment of subsidised privilege which you've enjoyed for legacy purposes."

**** 30 New MRT Trains: Testing Commuters’ Patience? <http://rogerpoh.wordpress.com/2011/11/22/30-new-mrt-trains-testing-commuters-patience/>
SpotlightOnSingapore




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