[MyAppleMenu] Apr 16, 2012

applesurf at myapplemenu.com applesurf at myapplemenu.com
Mon Apr 16 18:59:00 EDT 2012

MyAppleMenu
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**** FileMaker Pro 12 ****
<http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2403007,00.asp>
Samara Lynn, PC Magazine


> You would be hard-pressed to find another database product that is so polished, eye-catching and fun to use. FileMaker also works seamlessly across mobile devices. Although users can't leverage the new capabilities of FileMaker Pro 12 without upgrading all connecting client devices to version 12, and it's not a database option for larger organizations, it's a well-engineered database solution that gets more advanced with each new version.



**** Apple Removes iWork, Aperture Trials From Its Website ****
<http://www.macstories.net/news/apple-removes-iwork-aperture-trials-from-its-website/>
Federico Viticci, MacStories


> The trial version of iWork ’09, Apple’s productivity suite that includes Pages, Numbers, and Keynote, is no longer available on the company’s website for download. The company has replaced the former iWork trial webpage with a message informing customers that iWork is available on the Mac App Store.

Is Apple leading by example, or did Apple just don't have the resources to update the trial versions too?


**** In Defense Of iTunes ****
<http://www.networkworld.com/community/node/80293>
Yoni Heister, Network World


> The fact that iTunes encompasses syncing, media management and playback from one centralized hub is a feature, not a hindrance.



**** Publish Or Perish ****
<http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2010/04/26/100426fa_fact_auletta>
Ken Auletta, New Yorker


> For the moment, Jobs is the publishers’ best ally. “Steve is very proud that Macmillan put a gun to Amazon’s head,” the insider said. But in the long term Apple and Google will not necessarily be better partners than Amazon. One day, they, too, will complain about the cumbersome publishing process, or excessive prices. Just days before the iPad went on sale, on April 3rd, there were rumors that Apple might list best-sellers for as little as $9.99. Apple agreed to the agency model for just one year, and, as publishers are acutely aware, Jobs has a history, with music and television companies, of fighting to reduce prices. One publisher said, “Maybe Apple will want to come back in a year and bite our heads off.” The iPad may even make it possible for Amazon to reach new consumers. Apple now offers about sixty thousand e-books, far fewer than Kindle does, and Amazon has launched an app that allows it to sell e-books on the iPad. No matter where consumers buy books, their belief that electronic media should cost less—that something you can’t hold simply isn’t worth as much money—will exert a powerful force. Asked about publishers’ efforts to raise prices, a skeptical literary agent said, “You can try to put on wings and defy gravity, but eventually you will be pulled down.”



**** Book Publishing’s Real Nemesis ****
<http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/16/business/media/amazon-low-prices-disguise-a-high-cost.html?_r=1>
David Carr, New York Times


> There are some ironies here. Amazon views e-books as cheap software sold to animate device sales, in this case, the Kindle. And who does that remind you of? Ah yes, Apple, which shrank music to a 99-cent single business to propel the sale of iPods.






The Tomorrow Weblog
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**** A Startup Puts The Internet In Your Couch Cushions ****
<http://www.technologyreview.com/computing/40193/?ref=rss>
Rachel Metz, Technology Review


> Ninja Blocks are among a recent wave of devices aimed at popularizing an idea known as "the Internet of things"—the connection of everyday objects to the Internet. The blocks also fit in with trends to democratize computing, and make it easier for the average person to control technology without actually knowing how to program.






MyAppleMenu Reader
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**** The Forty-year Itch ****
<http://www.newyorker.com/talk/comment/2012/04/23/120423taco_talk_gopnik>
Adam Gopnik, New Yorker


> When the new season of “Mad Men” began, just a few weeks ago, it carried with it an argument about whether the spell it casts is largely a product of its beautifully detailed early-sixties setting or whether, as Matthew Weiner, its creator, insisted, it’s not backward-looking at all but a product of character, story line, and theme. So it seems time to pronounce a rule about American popular culture: the Golden Forty-Year Rule. The prime site of nostalgia is always whatever happened, or is thought to have happened, in the decade between forty and fifty years past. (And the particular force of nostalgia, one should bear in mind, is not simply that it is a good setting for a story but that it is a good setting for <i>you</i>.)



**** “Waiting For Sunrise”: A Spy On The River Of Sex ****
<http://www.salon.com/2012/04/16/waiting_for_sunrise_a_spy_on_the_river_of_sex/>
Laura Miller, Salon


> It’s Vienna, 1914, and everyone is preoccupied with the secret side of life. Lysander Rief, a young British actor visiting the city, learns that the parlormaid in his respectable boarding house has been turning tricks with a fellow guest, a man suspected of embezzling from the army, who explains to the bemused foreigner that in respectable-looking Vienna, “below the surface, the river is flowing, dark and strong.” What river? “The river of sex.” Not long after that, Lysander himself begins a passionate affair with a sculptor behind the back of her common-law husband. The rest of his time he devotes to a form of psychotherapy that entails papering over a shameful incident in his past with tamer, happier “memories” induced by hypnosis.



**** Miss Lora ****
<http://www.newyorker.com/fiction/features/2012/04/23/120423fi_fiction_diaz>
Junot Díaz, New Yorker






SingaporeSurf
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**** Parents Sue Apple Over In-app Game Charges ****
<http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-17728039>
BBC


> Apple had called for the case to be dismissed, pointing out that in-app purchasing can now be disabled.

> However, US District Judge Edward Davila said the hearing could now go ahead.



**** DAP Told To Urge Singapore To Abolish ISA ****
<http://www.nst.com.my/latest/dap-told-to-urge-singapore-to-abolish-isa-1.74563>
Bernama


> Datuk Ibrahim Ali (Independent-Pasir Mas) today challenged the DAP to propose to the Singapore government to abolish the Internal Security Act (ISA) in the republic.

> He said the fact remained that the ISA had been successful in maintaining peace in the republic.

If A and B does not imply A is required for B.


**** More Risk In Singapore Housing Market ****
<http://blogs.wsj.com/searealtime/2012/04/16/more-risk-in-singapore-housing-market/>
Chun Han Wong, Wall Street Journal


> Analysts say the robust demand—fueled by low interest rates and bumper property launches by developers—could trigger more government intervention after the latest market-cooling measures were introduced in December. This time, the target could be the mass market, where demand remains resilient despite a slowdown in the high-end segment.



**** S’pore Day In New York A Hit But Will It Bring Home Local Talent? ****
<http://sg.news.yahoo.com/blogs/what-is-buzzing/grass-greener-singapore-053731842.html>
Daphne Seah, Yahoo!



**** Time To Reflect On Death Penalty Law For Drug-related Offences? ****
<http://www.todayonline.com/Voices/EDC120416-0000138/Time-to-reflect-on-death-penalty-law-for-drug-related-offences?>
Lau Wen Jin, Today


> Arguably, imposing the mandatory death penalty for drug-related offences, to achieve the communitarian goal of stopping drug trafficking, is disproportionately harsh and does not adequately respect the basic good of life. It does not conform to natural law.

> It may be ripe for parliamentarians and citizens to ponder these deeper questions of justice in the law.



**** Ex-NWC Chief Clarifies Statement On Wage Restructuring ****
<http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1195554/1/.html>
Imelda Saad, Channel NewsAsia


> Professor Lim said his assumption that low wage workers here are paid 100 per cent less than their productivity contribution is "an underestimation".

> He said if over three years, their pay goes up by 50 per cent, such workers will still be paid 50 per cent less, at the end of the three-year restructuring period.



**** ACTA In Singapore ****
<http://harishpillay.wordpress.com/2012/04/16/acta-in-singapore/>
Harish Pillay, Life One Degree North, One-o-three Degrees East


> That ACTA needs to be looked into seriously with a view to nullifying it. The fact that the entire effort was done in secrecy is what is annoying and especially with the likelihood of serious collateral damage and with unintended consequences.



**** Public Consultation – The Next Step In Singapore’s Democracy ****
<http://theonlinecitizen.com/2012/04/public-consultation-next-step-singapore-democracy/>
Eddy Blaxell, The Online Citizen


> In recent years Singaporeans have taken tentative steps towards engaging with their government and taking part in the nation’s political debate. Rather than fearing the criticism the government should take this as a positive development and make their own move towards cooperation. Instituting and institutionalising a system of consultation and public discussion is the next step for the PAP if it wants to move towards a mature democracy. Developing a system that makes citizens and government feel invested in each other would show that the PAP is still interested in the people it set out to serve. And that, more than anything, is what Bukit Brown is all about.

The PAP government still have no idea how to work with others with fundamental different views.


**** 新加坡欲玩转“中美平衡术” 尽量避免偏向性 ****
<http://military.china.com/news2/02/11078239/20120416/17149661.html>
世界新闻报


> 大国平衡战略是在李光耀当政时期形成的。这位新加坡的政治领袖曾经多次著书阐述自己的政治观点：“新加坡是世界地图上一个名不见经传的小红点，没资源、没土地，南北分别被虎视眈眈的印度尼西亚和马来西亚包围。靠什么存活？既然谁也得罪不起，那就谁都不得罪，外交为经济利益服务好了。”不难看出，根深蒂固的不安全感，是新加坡平衡外交的源头。



**** Job Opportunities In Singapore Decreased By 8% In 1Q12 ****
<http://sbr.com.sg/hr-education/news/job-opportunities-in-singapore-decreased-8-in-1q12>
Singapore Business Review



**** The Levy Revenue ****
<http://hardhitting-nobs.blogspot.com/2012/04/levy-revenue.html>
Musings From The Lion City


> Similarly put; when you can a casino, chances are you are going to lose. Even the most positive of gamblers is mentally prepared to lose a few hundred to a few thousand dollars there. What’s a $100 compared to that?



**** Door Fault Causes Train Delays On North-South Line ****
<http://www.todayonline.com/Singapore/EDC120416-0000088/Door-fault-causes-train-delays-on-North-South-line>
Today


> A mechanical fault caused train delays for nearly two hours on the North-South line this morning.



**** CCTVs To Keep Tabs On Film Pirates ****
<http://news.asiaone.com/News/Latest+News/Singapore/Story/A1Story20120416-339955.html>
Tong Jia Han, My Paper


> Cinema operators told my paper that they have begun installing closed-circuit TV (CCTV) cameras not just in the common spaces of their cineplexes, but in movie halls as well, citing security and movie piracy as reasons for doing so.

Don't do anything you don't want to be published on STOMP, even if you are seated on the love seats at the very last row.


**** Twilight Rush: A Transient’s Notes On Life In The Lion City ****
<http://www.interaksyon.com/lifestyle/twilight-rush-a-transients-notes-on-life-in-the-lion-city>
Julius D. Mariveles, InterAksyon.com


> “It’s not that the elderly don’t want to retire, many simply cannot afford to." Life is fast in Singapore and it does not slow down even in old age.



**** Who's Monitoring Who? ****
<http://singaporedesk.blogspot.com/2012/04/whos-monitoring-who.html>
Singapore Notes



**** Ban Camping And Barbecuing At East Coast Park ****
<http://www.straitstimes.com/STForum/Story/STIStory_789181.html>
Ang Chin Guan, Straits Times


> While most visitors to the park produce negligible amounts of litter, there are a few who generate the bulk of the waste. These are the ones who go there to camp and have barbecues.



**** The Sad Singapore Love Story ****
<http://asingaporeanson.blogspot.com/2012/04/sad-singapore-love-story.html>
A Singaporean In Australia


> If you buy into the government's story, stop to ponder for a well. Why is it legit for someone to be earning heaps when he is only good at doing one thing - acing exams, while the examination stinkers with a pair of skillful hands or a creative mind serve their rest of their lives as lower class peasants? Why is there a absolute need to divide the brilliant and the average this widely? Why isn't there an avenue for late boomers to catch up, condemning them in the abyss of oblivion too soon?



**** New Secondary School ****
<http://wilfulwishes.blogspot.com/2012/04/new-secondary-school.html>
Talkinggirl



**** Singapore Employers Are Mollycoddled By The Government ****
<http://temasekdisclosed.blogspot.com/2012/04/singapore-employers-are-mollycoddled-by.html>
Alex Tan Zhixiang, Temasek Disclosed


> When people say some Singaporean children are not filial to their parents, they need look no further than the current PAP who doesn't even respect their old guards and simply throw away their suggestions and label them radical. That is just sad.

But the PAP government, past and present, have no track record of working well with people with different fundamental views.


**** Singapore Income Disparity – 2012 Edition ****
<http://www.freakthoughts.net/?p=782>
Freak Thoughts



**** PCF Looking At Giving Priority To Citizen Kids ****
<http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_789265.html>
Kezia Toh & Stacey Chia, Straits Times


> A PCF spokesman said in response to questions from The Straits Times that it was reviewing its admission policy, following the Education Ministry's changes last month to the registration scheme for children entering Primary 1.



**** Who Is Anti-Singapore And Who Is Mad? (From One Angry Bird To Another) ****
<http://paradoxpapers.wordpress.com/2012/04/15/who-is-anti-singapore-and-who-is-mad-from-one-angry-bird-to-another/>
The ParadoX Files


> But some of us who are considered ‘mad’ as in ‘anti-establishment’ may like to learn one trick. We can’t maintain the same tone and loudness all the time, or it will just become background noise. We also need to stand down now and then, so that people who are moderate would know the difference when it is really red alert.



**** 若不拨款资助 两巴士公司或亏钱停业 ****
<http://www.zaobao.com.sg/sp/sp120416_006.shtml>
联合早报


> 吕德耀回复有关政府注入巨资协助巴士服务的问题时指出，巴士服务已在亏损中，当然政府可以要求业者增加巴士趟次，但别忘了营业执照是有期限的。到期后，业者可以放弃经营，到时公共交通系统就会陷入一个窘迫的局面。

So the government has no plans for a collapse of SMRT and SBS Transit? Wouldn't that mean the two transport company should start abandoning all their risky overseas expansion and their risky non-public-transport businesses? In fact, maybe even nationalize the public transport business?


**** Employers Need To Promote Flexi-working Hours For SMRT Early Bird Discounts To Work ****
<http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1195390/1/.html>
Ng Lian Cheong, Claire Huang, Channel NewsAsia


> In order to diversify the crowded peak hours, the Transport Ministry will set up an inter-departmental working group, focused on promoting flexible working hours and flexible travel habits.

What happened to the creation of the three regional centers for diversifying the crowds going into the CBD?






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