[MyAppleMenu] Aug 3, 2012

[applesurf at myapplemenu.com]

MyAppleMenu
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**** Apple Executives Emerge From Shadows To Raise Public Profile ****
<http://go.bloomberg.com/tech-blog/2012-08-02-apple-executives-emerge-from-shadows-to-raise-public-profile/>
Mark Milian, Bloomberg


> “When they attend all of these events, they’re kind of evangelizing,” said Shaw Wu, an analyst at Sterne Agee & Leach. “They’ve got to continue to do that.”

> The change in Apple’s public speaking this year may be a result of Cook’s preference for having his team network within the industry, and not rely solely on Apple-specific events, Wu said.

Apple is doubling down on transparency and secrecy.


**** Mountain Lion Seems To Have (Partially?) Addressed The Memory Management Issues In OS X ****
<http://workstuff.tumblr.com/post/28556080639/mountain-lion-seems-to-have-partially-addressed-the>
Adam Fields (Work Stuff)



**** Mountain Lion Is (Still) A Quitter ****
<http://tidbits.com/article/13174?rss>
Matt Neuburg, TidBITS


> And so the user, who did not quit the application deliberately, is puzzled and annoyed, and in order to continue using this application must now search for it and relaunch it all over again.



**** Graphics Improvements Give Mountain Lion That Speedy Feeling ****
<http://arstechnica.com/apple/2012/08/graphics-improvements-give-mountain-lion-that-speedy-feeling/>
Chris Foresman, Ars Technica


> Has Mountain Lion been feeling faster for you compared to Lion on the same machine? It's probably not just you: Mountain Lion appears to include improved graphics drivers and low-level graphics subsystem improvements. According to our testing, these improvements result in an approximate performance increase of up to 10 percent. Those improvements can make your current hardware <i>feel</i> faster despite the fact that your CPU can't magically crunch numbers any faster. The changes also lay the foundation for Apple to update OS X's OpenGL support in a more timely manner, which could potentially lead to better graphics performance in the future.






The Tomorrow Weblog
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**** Techies Rise Up The Publishing Food Chain ****
<http://www.digiday.com/publishers/techies-rise-up-the-publishing-food-chain/>
Erika Schnitzer, Digiday


> Publishing today is not just about great editorial content. Your chance of becoming the next rising star in publishing is slim to none if you don’t have a tech star on your team. And yet that’s easier said than done.






MyAppleMenu Reader
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**** Discovering Science ****
<http://radar.oreilly.com/2012/07/discovering-science.html>
Mike Loukides, O'reilly Radar


> The excitement of science is tied to challenging assumptions about how things work.



**** The Newlyweds By Nell Freudenberger: Review ****
<http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/bookreviews/9429476/The-Newlyweds-by-Nell-Freudenberger-review.html>
Tim Martin, Telegraph


> <i>The Newlyweds</i>, her third book, takes a typically light-footed approach to contemporary events, shading a plot skimmed from the top of the collective consciousness — the financial crisis, Islam, the information society, the shrinking globe — with a downbeat comic insight that feels almost 19th-century.



**** Into The Nothing, After Something ****
<http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/03/books/why-does-the-world-exist-by-jim-holt.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss>
Dwight Garner, New York Times


> A subterranean stream of death and personal tragedy trickles around the margins of Jim Holt’s new book, “Why Does the World Exist? An Existential Detective Story.”



**** The Woman Who Went To Every Country ****
<http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2012/08/the-woman-who-went-to-every-country/260653/>
Alison Agosti, The Atlantic


> There are two things you need to know right off the bat: Yesterday I ate a huge burrito for lunch, and my family is not very close. We're not <i>un</i>close, I guess. It's just that we have better things to do, and I'd be willing to guess we all register somewhere in the Asperger's spectrum.

> So when I got a text message from my mom today telling me not only that my grandmother was on life support, but that they were, in fact, removing it, please understand that it was not that outlandish. My mom got married a few years ago and didn't tell me until like a week later.






SingaporeSurf
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**** Mainstream Press Scuttling Govt's Effort ****
<http://www.publichouse.sg/categories/topstory/item/719-mainstream-press-scuttling-govts-effort>
Andrew Loh, Publichouse.sg


> Unfortunately, the stupidity (yes, I will call it what it is) of mainstream papers like the New Paper and the Straits Times is not helping – not helping either the government or Singapore address the serious issues we face.

> Instead, these papers seem to want to take pot shots at the genuine unhappiness expressed by many Singaporeans, resorting to ridicule and sensationalism to sell a few more copies of their respective rags.



**** Lawyer M Ravi Begins Legal Action Against Law Society, Wong Siew Hong ****
<http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1217749/1/.html>
Joanne Chan, Channel NewsAsia


> Lawyer M Ravi says he has started legal proceedings against the Law Society of Singapore and Mr Wong Siew Hong for alleged defamation and damage to reputation.



**** Taxi Fleet Growth Rate To Be Capped At 2% ****
<http://www.todayonline.com/Singapore/EDC120803-0000163/Taxi-fleet-growth-rate-to-be-capped-at-2>
Today


> The taxi fleet growth rate will be capped at 2 per cent per annum until the end of next year, as the Land Transport Authority (LTA) prepares to impose new taxi availability (TA) standards.

> This, compared to the average rate of around 4 per cent per year over the past seven years.

Okay, so we have not enough buses, not enough trains, and, perhaps, not enough taxis for the next few years.
Trishaws, then, eh?


**** Singapore Lures The Super Rich ****
<http://www.theage.com.au/business/singapore-lures-the-super-rich-20120801-23fe1.html>
The Age



**** Reaping What They Sow ****
<http://www.economist.com/node/21559976>
The Economist


> The city-state of Singapore likes to think of itself as squeaky clean, so the prosecution of a priest, no less, for corruption has caused a furore.

> The case has divided Singapore’s fast-growing Christian community, which makes up about a fifth of the 5m population. It also worries those who see corruption as a growing problem.



**** Winds Of Change (II): Prospects For Democratization In Singapore ****
<http://singaporearmchaircritic.wordpress.com/2012/08/03/winds-of-change-ii-prospects-for-democratization-in-singapore/>
Singapore Armchair Critic



**** On Singapore: Beyond Stereotypes And Prejudices ****
<http://afreeman.me/2012/08/02/on-singapore-beyond-stereotypes-and-prejudices/>
A Free Man


> While this may seem against democratic principles or as a threat to personal freedom of every respective individual, it in reality just brings the quality of life to a whole different level.



**** Singapore Tries To Realign With Singaporeans ****
<http://cogitasia.com/singapore-tries-to-realign-with-singaporeans/>
Ernie Bower, Center For Strategic & International Studies


> The restructuring is timely and smart. While it will be criticized by some Singaporeans as too little, it demonstrates a core understanding that political renovation is necessary as Singapore, and indeed the rest of Southeast Asia, undergoes a reorganization of political power as voters assert themselves and the strongly autocratic regimes that dominated the Cold War era cede ground to new polities.

> The reorganization of two ministries and the launch of a third address Singapore’s urgent need to reprioritize and focus on increasingly significant issues of society building, youth engagement, and enhancement of the social safety net. Not all Singaporeans have benefited from the incredible growth and globalization of the country, and there are significant calls for re-balancing growth and development. Prime Minister Lee has said these improvements are integral to Singapore’s success in its “new phase of development.”



**** Cabinet Re-organisation Hints At Government Confusion ****
<http://yoursdp.org/publ/perspectives/2-1-0-1085>
Vincent Wijeysingha, Singaore Democratic Party


> The re-organisation appears to have simply reshuffled the portfolios of the current ministries and reallocated them from two into three ministries.

> Additionally, the reshuffle of ministers necessary for the newly-structured Cabinet also brings with it a cost.



**** Is There A Choice Between Smaller And Bigger Population? ****
<http://mysingaporenews.blogspot.sg/2012/08/is-there-choice-between-smaller-and.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+MySingaporeNews+(My+Singapore+News)>
Chua Chin Leng, My Singapore News


> When we were 1m and 2m, we were already producing the talents that built the foundation for our economic miracles. We were producing talented Singaporeans even then. Unless those were not talents, then we are just slapping our own stupid face.

> What is so bad about a smaller population with lower growth, but real productivity growth, and a better quality of life, with more space for everyone and a lower cost of living?



**** Housing Woes Of A Single Mother? ****
<http://leongszehian.com/?p=1768>
Leong Sze Hian


> Why did we change the HDB rental policy a few years ago to increase the rental for such 2nd-timer families with such low household income?

> I think it may be quite normal in the course of life events, for previous HDB flat owners to end up in a state of financial stress.

In Singapore, it seems, there is still no second chances after failure.


**** 地铁瘫痪听证会　耗资近1000万元 ****
<http://www.zaobao.com.sg/sp/sp120803_017.shtml>
李静仪, 联合早报


> é™†è·¯äº¤é€šç®¡ç†å±€ç­”å¤æœ¬æŠ¥è¯¢é—®æ—¶é€éœ²ï¼Œä¸Žåœ°é“æ•…éšœå¬è¯ä¼šç›¸å…³çš„å¾‹å¸ˆè´¹ã€ä¸“å®¶å’¨è¯¢è´¹åŠåŒ–éªŒè´¹ç”¨ç­‰åŠ èµ·æ¥çº¦400万元，这笔费用将纳入陆交局在2011å’Œ2012财政年的部分营运开支。

> SMRT企业则在这次的听证会花费了590万元的律师费和技术顾问费等，调查结果被接受之后，它被陆交局罚款200万元。单单这两个项目，它总共承担790万元。

Let's not waste all these money.


**** Immigration : Using Low Fertility Rate As A Justification..... ****
<http://singaporemind.blogspot.sg/2012/08/immigration-using-low-fertility-rate-as.html>
Diary Of A Singaporean Mind


> If the PAP had imported people primarily to make up for  below-replacement fertility rate in the period of 1970-1990s, the numbers should be smaller and we and would not have so many problems.



**** Increase Transparency Of Government Tenders ****
<http://www.todayonline.com/Voices/EDC120803-0000067/Increase-transparency-of-government-tenders>
Gary Chua Sheng Yang, Today


> The government should review the tender process, to make it compulsory to publish evaluations and feedback on each proposal, for tenders above a certain value, say, S$100,000.



**** The Meaning Of Our Pledge ****
<http://www.sgpolitics.net/?p=7793>
Wong Wee Nam, Sgpolitics.net


> When reciting the National Pledge, we citizens should resolve to put our heart where the mouth is. Otherwise it would sound like an empty promise.



**** Now, To Solve Our Baby Woes ****
<http://www.todayonline.com/Singapore/EDC120803-0000077/Now,-to-solve-our-baby-woes>
Tan Weizhen, Today


> Helping young people get married and have children earlier - this will be an immediate priority of the new Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF). 

> The other is to support at-risk families and their children, acting minister for community development, youth and sports Chan Chun Sing said yesterday.