[MyAppleMenu] Apr 24, 2012

[applesurf at myapplemenu.com]

MyAppleMenu
====================================
**** Q&A: Linking iPhoto To Multiple Accounts ****
<http://gadgetwise.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/04/24/qa-linking-iphoto-to-multiple-accounts/?gwh=0079299B6416F3A2EED4E21A90088402>
J.D. Biersdorfer, New York Times



**** Send Text, Files From Mac To iOS Via Messages ****
<http://www.macworld.com/article/1166505/send_text_files_from_mac_to_ios_via_messages.html#lsrc.rss_main>
Macworld



**** Flashback Returns: Is Apple Dropping The Ball? ****
<http://www.infoworld.com/t/malware/flashback-returns-apple-dropping-the-ball-191518>
Woody Leonhard, InfoWorld


> Where would you point the finger?



**** Podcasting 101: Apple’s Way Of Managing Podcasts ****
<http://gigaom.com/apple/podcasting-101-apples-way-of-managing-podcasts/>
Geoffrey Goetz, GigaOM



**** SkyDrive For Windows And OS X Lion App Now Available With New Paid Storage Plans ****
<http://www.theverge.com/2012/4/23/2969080/skydrive-for-windows-and-os-x-lion-app-download-paid-storage-options>
Tom Warren, The Verge


> SkyDrive for Windows will allow users to drag-and-drop files (up to 2GB in size) to and from SkyDrive folders. Similar to Dropbox, all files and SkyDrive content will be managed in one central folder that syncs with Microsoft's online cloud storage. There is also a new fetching files option that allows SkyDrive desktop users to access, browser, and stream files from a remote PC running the latest preview of SkyDrive desktop — handy if you forgot to sync a particular file from your desktop PC while you away from your PC.



**** Clear Out With A Nice 1.1 Update (Undo, No Character Cap, New Themes) ****
<http://www.zdnet.com/blog/apple/clear-out-with-a-nice-11-update-undo-no-character-cap-new-themes/12809>
Jason D. O'Grady, ZDNet


> Clear’s minimal, completely one-handed and features a beautiful UI that fades into the background. It’s what a list app should be.



**** Apple Prompting Some Users For Extra App Store Security Details ****
<http://www.macworld.com/article/1166511/apple_prompting_some_users_for_extra_app_store_security_details.html#lsrc.rss_main>
Lex Friedman, Macworld


> If your iPhone pops up a message demanding you configure some security settings, don’t panic. Apple confirmed Monday to <i>Macworld</i> that such prompts, requiring that you select and answer three security questions before grabbing apps (or even app updates) from the App Store, are indeed legitimate. 



**** SpamSieve No Longer Sieves With Outlook SP2 ****
<http://www.macworld.com/article/1166502/spamsieve_no_longer_sieves_with_outlook_sp2.html#lsrc.rss_main>
Christopher Breen, Macworld



**** The Slow Decay Of The Microsoft Consumer ****
<http://techcrunch.com/2012/04/23/you-could-have-it-all-my-empire-of-dirt/>
MG Siegler, TechCrunch


> To me right now, Microsoft’s consumer business feels like Nokia’s smartphone business a few years ago: the numbers look fine, and in some cases even good, but the world is quickly changing. If you just look at the past five years of what Apple has done versus what Microsoft has done, it’s not hard to imagine Microsoft’s business being completely dominated by the enterprise side of the equation in another five years. That will still make for a great business, but it’s not the Microsoft that many of us have known.






The Tomorrow Weblog
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**** Edison's Revenge: The Rise Of DC Power ****
<http://www.technologyreview.com/business/40023/>
Peter Fairley, Technology Review


> With the growing number of devices generating and using direct current, Reed says, comes a big opportunity to save energy. By distributing DC power to DC devices instead of converting it to AC along the way, it's possible to avoid substantial energy losses that occur every time electricity is converted.






MyAppleMenu Reader
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**** Foundling ****
<http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/poem/2012/04/_foundling_by_billy_collins.html>
Billy Collins, Slate



**** Talking With Your Fingers ****
<http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/04/23/talking-with-your-fingers/>
John McWhorter, New York Times


> The latest word on the street about English in America – always bad, it seems – is that the shaggy construction of texting and e-mail spells the death of formal writing. Yet the truth about English in America – always sunnier, in fact – is that the looseness and creativity of these new ways of writing are a sign of a new sophistication in our society. This becomes clear when we understand that in the proper sense, e-mail and texting are not writing at all.






SingaporeSurf
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**** Rights Group Urges Singapore To Lift Travel Ban For Opposition Leader To Attend Norway Forum ****
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/rights-group-urges-singapore-to-lift-travel-ban-for-opposition-leader-to-attend-norway-forum/2012/04/24/gIQAVz05dT_story.html>
Associated Press


> The New York-based Human Rights Foundation called on Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in a letter Tuesday to allow Singapore Democratic Party Secretary-General Chee Soon Juan to speak at the Oslo Freedom Forum in May.

> The government’s bankruptcy office said in a letter earlier this month that it denied Chee permission to travel to the conference because he has failed to make a contribution to his bankruptcy estate.



**** Singapore Sinking As Buyers And Developers Pull Out ****
<http://opp.org.uk/news-article.php?id=6469>
Overseas Property Professional


> Singapore’s international property sector is facing a double whammy as overseas buyers pull out and developers panic about a series of new regulations.



**** S'pore Magnet Losing Its Foreign Worker Pull ****
<http://business.asiaone.com/Business/News/Story/A1Story20120424-341729.html>
Cai HaoXiang, The Business Times


> Even without the policy moves to curb inflows, the supply of blue-collar foreign workers in Singapore could be drying up. Low wages, the high cost of living here, and better prospects in the workers' home countries have all played a part in this trend.



**** SMRT Unveils S$900m Plan To Upgrade Train Systems ****
<http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1197159/1/.html>
Channel NewsAsia


> "Some of the measures are already on-going and will be accelerated, while others are new," interim chief executive officer Tan Ek Kia said at a news conference on Tuesday. SMRT said it is discussing cost-sharing arrangements with the Land Transport Authority (LTA).

> Even with the renewal plans, SMRT said it cannot expect no disruptions.

Also: <a href="http://www.todayonline.com/Singapore/EDC120424-0000147/Commuter-takes-the-stand-at-COI-public-hearing">Commuter Takes The Stand At COI Public Hearing</a> (Sharon See, Channel NewsAsia).


**** Energy Guzzler Singapore Boosts 'Green' Buildings ****
<http://www.france24.com/en/20120424-energy-guzzler-singapore-boosts-green-buildings-0>
AFP


> From the bone-chilling air conditioning that pumps through Singapore's malls and offices to lights that burn all night, the city state is one of Asia's most intensive energy users.

> While the city-state contends that the WWF's per capita measurement of carbon emissions "disadvantages countries with small populations" -- compared to the likes of rapidly industrialising China -- it has nevertheless been spurred into action.



**** Singapore ‘Shoebox’ Condo Sales May Prompt Extra Taxes ****
<http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-24/singapore-shoebox-condo-sales-may-prompt-extra-taxes.html>
Pooja Thakur, Bloomberg


> Singapore may introduce additional measures to cool the housing market after private home sales reached a record in the first quarter as more “shoebox” apartments were sold, property services company Jones Lang LaSalle Inc. and brokerages including Nomura Holdings Inc. said.

> The volume and price increases “suggest that there could be some policy measures,” Chua Yang Liang, head of research for Southeast Asia at Jones Lang’s Singapore unit, said in a telephone interview. “The policy risk is high. If they do implement, they could do it in four to six weeks as they are quite quick to react.”



**** New Council Formed To Integrate New PRs And Citizens ****
<http://www.todayonline.com/Singapore/EDC120424-0000112/New-council-formed-to-integrate-new-PRs-and-citizens>
Woo Sian Boon, Today


> The People's Association (PA) has announced that it is setting up a PA integration council, which will be helmed by existing Integration and Naturalisation Champions (INCs). This council will aim to further cement and grow integration efforts targeted at permanent residents or new citizens in Singapore.



**** Immigration Can Mitigate Rate At Which Citizen Population Ages: Report ****
<http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1197113/1/.html>
Imelda Saad, Channel NewsAsia


> Singapore needs to continue attracting immigrants to slow down the decline and ageing of its citizen population, according to a paper released by the National Population and Talent Division.

> It says that if the country's Total Fertility Rate remains the same, Singapore will need an immigration inflow of between 20,000 and 25,000 new citizens each year to keep the citizen population size stable.



**** 公布买春案被告名字 é›…å›½è®¤ä¸ºæŠ¥ç« å¹¶ä¸è¿‡ç« ****
<http://www.zaobao.com.sg/sp/sp120424_013.shtml>
联合早报


> 英文/马来文报集团总编辑丹尼尔（Patrick Daniel）则回应说，如果考虑每个罪犯都有家人而不公开他们的身份，那所有案件都不必报道了，而这起网上买春案件跟其他罪案没有多大不同。

I am not sure whether anything is lost in the translation, but the term "罪犯" refers to guilty criminals, which the 48 accused persons are not. They are innocent until  proven guilty in the courts.
SPH should apologize.


**** Sex Addiction Film Too Hot For Singapore ****
<http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gJ0cscNCIfVEv_qltU9Udw-6El5g?docId=CNG.8f5de66e8202b0f87773e00855d9f67a.2b1>
AFP



**** A Most Important Parliamentary Question ****
<http://singapore2025.wordpress.com/2012/04/23/a-most-important-parliamentary-question/>
Pritam Singh, Singapore 2025


> Accountability and transparency will only be raised if all Singaporeans play their part and continue to scrutinise PAP policies closely. While credit ought to be given to the government when it is substantively transparent, the opposition should be expected to query the numbers and assumptions used by the government, and enquire if they are real answers to real issues, or political answers to laboratory scenarios with little relevance to ground realities.



**** ST Article On LUP "Misleading", Says Chiam ****
<http://www.publichouse.sg/categories/politics/item/572-st-article-on-lup-misleading-says-chiam>
Chiam See Tong, Publichouse.sg


> I can categorically state that my town council and I would have executed the Lift Upgrading Programme (LUP) project without any hassle. We had a clear financial plan and were reserving funds even from our operating accounts. Our audited balance sheet was self-explanatory – it reflected that the total available residential property fund to be $6.7 million as of 31 March 2011.The LUP project was expected to be completed by 2014, and we still had 4 years more to accumulate our funds. It should also be noted that LUP payments to HDB are progressive and not made as one lump sum payment. A few years back, my town council had in fact built 29 lifts free-of-charge for the residents of Lorong 8 Toa Payoh, without them having to make any co-payments like for the LUP.

> We also did major rewiring work there, contrary to Mr Sitoh Yih Pin’s assertion that we had not done any such work in the constituency for 26 years. At the same time, we were able to build interaction parks, around 16 linkways, do re-painting, make changes of water pumps, re-roofing and many other important improvement works.

Also: <a href="http://www.todayonline.com/Singapore/EDC120424-0000101/Chiam-See-Tong-clarifies-on-report-on-Potong-Pasir-lift-upgrading"> Chiam See Tong Clarifies On Report On Potong Pasir Lift Upgrading</a> (Today).


**** Singapore To License More Foreign Law Firms As Fees Fall ****
<http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-23/singapore-to-license-more-foreign-law-firms-as-fees-fall.html>
Andrea Tan, Bloomberg



**** Govt online outreach efforts not ‘populist’ in nature: MICA Minister ****
<http://sg.news.yahoo.com/govt-online-outreach-efforts-not-‘populist’-in-nature--mica-minister.html>
Jeffrey Oon, Yahoo!


> “Engagement is now the buzzword. Consultation. The most important point of doing it is not because it’s fashionable or popular but because it’s the best way forward. The underlying impetus is to engage as many people as possible.”

22 years ago, Goh Chok Tong promised a more consultative government. Still not achieved yet.


**** Alleged Drug Addicts Spook AMK Residents ****
<http://news.insing.com/tabloid/alleged-drug-addicts-harass-ang-mo-kio-residents/id-6c433f00>
Lianhe Wanbao



**** Ban Cleaning Window Exteriors To Save Lives? ****
<http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_792015.html>
Goh Shi Ting & Janice Tai, Straits Times


> The Humanitarian Organisation for Migration Economics (Home) is aiming to collect 300 individually written letters and send them to the Ministry of Manpower. It has gathered 50 so far from Indonesian maids at an event on Sunday attended by more than 200 workers from the country.



**** Glitches Common On Bukit Panjang LRT ****
<http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_792016.html>
Christopher Tan, Straits Times


> Users of the Bukit Panjang LRT system are no strangers to glitches, as the 7.8km-long intra-town light rail system has had more than 150 incidents and disruptions since it opened in November 1999.

> They ranged from trains colliding or stalling in the middle of the track, to train doors opening when carriages were moving. In 2002, a wheel fell off, leading to a five-day shutdown.



**** Penalise Operators For Overcrowded Trains As Well ****
<http://www.straitstimes.com/STForum/Story/STIStory_791921.html>
Adam Reutens-Tan, Straits Times


> Earlier last week, I sat at Kembangan MRT station's platform and watched as six west-bound trains passed by with barely any passengers getting on because the carriages were packed.

> This was not an isolated case. My friends and I often pass up on boarding overcrowded trains when we head for work in the morning.



**** Do Not Start Accepting MRT Problems As Normal ****
<http://www.todayonline.com/Voices/EDC120424-0000049/Do-not-start-accepting-MRT-problems-as-normal>
Lau Swee Kwong, Today


> The MTR is older, more complicated, runs at higher frequencies and serves more commuters than our MRT. However, we do not hear of regular breakdowns on the MTR.



**** A Singaporean Feels Priced Out ****
<http://www.sgpolitics.net/?p=7528>
Ng E-Jay, Sgpolitics.net


> If we become active citizens and play a bigger role in the political process, we can help create a better life for our children. If we remain apathetic and think there’s nothing we can do, we will doom our children to suffer the same fate.



**** Making It My Singapore. ****
<http://kirstenhan.me/2012/04/24/making-it-my-singapore/>
Kirsten Han, Funny Little World


> If we no longer feel that this is our Singapore, then it is up to us to make it the Singapore we hope for it to be. No one else is going to do it for us.



**** Worsening Income Inequality In Singapore ****
<http://theonlinecitizen.com/2012/04/worsening-income-inequality-in-singapore/>
Wen Shan, The Online Citizen


> We have to take the first step. If we can give up some efficiency to have a greater equity, I would gladly support the idea.  It is time for us to make a stand that social equity is an important feature of our culture. I call on the government of Singapore to be brave and implement the first social protection system in Singapore.



**** Singapore’s Giant Supertrees: The Ultimate Vertical Gardens ****
<http://grist.org/list/singapores-giant-supertrees-the-ultimate-vertical-gardens/>
Sarah Lasko, Grist


> Singapore is in the middle of a project that looks like a Miyazaki movie come to life. The city’s 18 “supertrees” do everything that normal trees do, only better. They will stretch up to 164 feet tall, grow 200 species of flowers, ferns, and epiphytes, collect solar energy, harvest rainwater, and work as a natural cooling system. Oh, and one of them has a bistro at its summit.