[MyAppleMenu] Nov 30, 2011

[applesurf at myapplemenu.com]

MyAppleMenu
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**** Alfred Launcher App Hits Version 1.0 <http://www.macworld.com/article/163893/2011/11/alfred_launcher_app_hits_version_1_0.html#lsrc.rss_main>
Dan Moren, Macworld

**** Apple Releases Safari 5.1.2 With 'White Flash' And PDF Viewing Fixes <http://www.macrumors.com/2011/11/29/apple-releases-safari-5-1-2-with-white-flash-and-pdf-viewing-fixes/>
Eric Slivka, MacRumors

**** iOS 5.1 Beta Offers Developers Limited Siri Integration <http://arstechnica.com/apple/news/2011/11/ios-51-beta-offers-developers-limited-siri-integration.ars?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss>
Chris Foresman, Ars Technica

A source confirmed to Ars that a handful of the new iOS 5.1 APIs allow developers to specifically handle the response from Siri's speech-recognition servers. These APIs don't allow developers to integrate Siri support for controlling an app the way that Apple has with, say, Messages or Reminders. But it does open up the possibility to better handle text dictation input.

**** Finding Good Apps For Children With Autism <http://gadgetwise.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/11/29/finding-good-apps-for-children-with-autism/?partner=rss&emc=rss>
Pradnya Joshi, New York Times

**** PopClip Adds iOS-Like Copy And Paste To Mac <http://lifehacker.com/5863362/popclip-adds-ios+like-copy-and-paste-to-mac>
Thorin Klosowski, Lifehacker

While most people will still find a quick Command+C the easiest way, PopClip wants to make it simple for users who might be more used to iOS.

**** Review: iTunes Match Wins Cloud Music War By Wisp <http://www.ajc.com/business/review-itunes-match-wins-1244478.html>
Ryan Nakashima, The Associated Press

Although there are things to like about Google's and Amazon's systems, they both favor streaming, which isn't how I want to listen to music when I'm not at a computer.

Apple's iTunes Match is fundamentally more oriented to work with downloading in mind, and it meshes well with your existing song library, either on your device or on your computer.

**** Why Hypercard Had To Die <http://www.loper-os.org/?p=568>
Stanislav Datskovskiy, Loper OS

Jobs supposedly claimed that he intended his personal computer to be a “bicycle for the mind.” But what he really sold us was a (fairly comfortable) train for the mind. A train which goes only where rails have been laid down, like any train, and can travel elsewhere only after rivers of sweat pour forth from armies of laborers. (Preferably in Cupertino.)

**** Path: Introducing Path 2, The Smart Journal <http://minimalmac.com/post/13535402511/path-introducing-path-2-the-smart-journal>
Minimal Mac



MyAppleMenu Reader
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**** When The Chefs Come Home <http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/30/dining/when-the-chefs-come-home.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss&pagewanted=all>
Julia Moskin, New York Times

But this year, the chefs descended to our level instead. Even the global stars Ferran Adrià and Heston Blumenthal, known for adding spheres, foams and frog custard to the European culinary canon, came down to earth.

**** How Brooklyn Got Its Groove Back <http://www.city-journal.org/2011/21_4_brooklyn.html>
Kay S. Hymowitz, City Journal

To understand the emergence of the new Brooklyn, it’s best to start by recalling its original heyday.

**** The Things We Carry <http://lareviewofbooks.org/post/12967278985/the-things-we-carry>
Jocelyn Heaney, Los Angeles Review Of Books

On teaching in a community college and

the talk about higher education.



SingaporeSurf
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**** More Hawkers "Sell Off" Stalls To Cash In On High Transfer Fees <http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1168379/1/.html>
Jessica Yeo, Ng Lian Cheong, Channel NewsAsia

It seems that more hawkers are hoping to cash in on the high price of transferring their stall tenancies, because of concerns over changes to current procedures.

Authorities currently do not track private transfer arrangements between hawkers.

**** Repartriation Companies – Manpower Minister’s Response Belittles The Efforts Of Migrant Workers <http://theonlinecitizen.com/2011/11/repartriation-companies-manpower-ministers-response-belittles-the-efforts-of-migrant-workers/>
Jolovan Wham, The Online Citizen

It is easy for politicians and bureaucrats to turn a blind eye to this because for every foreign worker who has to suffer the indignity of being captured, confined and forcefully repatriated, for every foreign worker whose dream of a better life is shattered, there are a thousand more waiting in line for an opportunity to work here.

**** Taxi Problem Can Harm Nation's Reputation <http://www.straitstimes.com/STForum/OnlineStory/STIStory_739390.html>
Gwen Hoe, Straits Times

With the growing population putting stress on the bus and train systems, it is time the authorities addressed the taxi situation. Use Hong Kong as an example - there are no surcharges and premium timings, and yet you can find a taxi anywhere, at any time.

**** Gingrich Praises Singapore’s ‘Very Draconian’ Laws That Mandate Executions For Drug Possession <http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2011/11/29/377716/gingrich-praises-singapores-very-draconian-laws-that-mandate-executions-for-drug-possession/>
Zaid Jilani, Thinkprogress

**** Facebook Posts Show Ugly Side Of Singapore’s Multicultural Society <http://thenextweb.com/asia/2011/11/29/facebook-posts-show-ugly-side-of-singapores-multicultural-society/>
Jon Russell, The Next Web

A recent study commissioned by Facebook revealed that the social network is bringing people closer together, with the average degree of separation now down to 4.74, although in certain countries and close communities it is as low as 3. This tighter bond between online users has seen negative side-affects in addition to benefits which, have included, greater transparency during the recent election in Singapore.

**** Elephant Parade In Singapore <http://alwaysblend.wordpress.com/2011/11/29/elephant-parade-in-singapore/>
Blending Our Lives With Different Colours

**** Lion City, Tiger Land: Singapore’s Native Cat On The Brink Of Extinction <http://latitudes.nu/lion-city-tiger-land-singapore’s-native-cat-on-the-brink-of-extinction/>
Morgan Victor, Latitudes

**** SlutWalk Organisers Fight Against Need For Police Permit <http://sg.news.yahoo.com/slutwalk-organisers-fight-against-need-for-police-permit.html>
Jeanette Tan, Yahoo!

“No one (who has organised similar events in the past) has had to apply for a police permit before, and we feel it’s important to not set a precedent for other events in the future to do this as well,” one of the organizers Cher Tan, 24, told Yahoo! Singapore on Tuesday evening.

**** Restaurants Urged To Make Jobs More Attractive As They Turn To S'poreans <http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_739586.html>
Ng Kai Ling, Straits Times

Restaurateurs facing staff shortages will have to work harder to sign on more Singaporeans as the government is firm on keeping the foreign-worker quota for the industry.

**** When Politicians Were Naïve <http://mysingaporenews.blogspot.com/2011/11/when-politicians-were-naive.html>
Chua Chin Leng, My Singapore News

Today they are pragmatic and honest. No more young and idealistic. They may even say if I am not pay so much, don’t call me. And they will delay the opening of an MRT station because there is not enough load, not profitable, not justifiable. They will build public housings, but you wait for another few years for them to be built. They cannot afford to build and wait for the people. Hospitals, transportations, public services, must be justified in terms of profits before they are built.

**** New Bank Scheme For Indonesian Maids Working In Singapore <http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_739592.html>
Amanda Tan, Straits Times

Indonesian maids working here will get to keep more of their salaries in their first few months here, if a new banking scheme by the Indonesian government takes off.

**** Focus On Policy In Debates, Says New Speaker Michael Palmer <http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_739588.html>
Straits Times

Worthwhile suggestions should not be attacked just because they are made by the opposing team, he said, in an editorial in the latest issue of Petir, the magazine of the People's Action Party (PAP).

**** Don't Get Lost In Quagmire Of Party Politics, Urges Speaker <http://www.publichouse.sg/categories/community/item/282-dont-get-lost-in-quagmire-of-party-politics-urges-speaker>
Andrew Loh, Publichouse.sg

The new Speaker urges Members of Parliament on both sides “not to allow the exchange of shots between PAP and opposition, or front bench and back bench, to dictate the agenda"; or “to get lost in the quagmire of party politics.”

**** Income Growth: Only 0.1%? <http://theonlinecitizen.com/2011/11/income-growth-only-0-1/>
Leong Sze Hian, The Online Citizen

Since the report said that the real median income of full-time employed residents dipped by 0.3% in 2010, and real median income growth of all employed residents (full-time and part-time) was negative in 2009 and 2008 (according to past labour reports), does it mean that this year’s real growth was only 0.1% after almost nearly three previous consecutive years of negative growth?

With inflation currently at 5.4% in October, how likely is it that we may end the year with yet again, another negative real median income growth?

**** Is YPAP Distancing Itself From Its Campaign For ‘Fairer Fares’ At Speakers’ Corner? <http://theonlinecitizen.com/2011/11/is-ypap-distancing-itself-from-its-campaign-for-fairer-fares-at-speakers-corner/>
Ravi Philemon, The Online Citizen