[MyAppleMenu] Feb 27, 2012

[applesurf at myapplemenu.com]

MyAppleMenu
====================================
**** Apple Airs New 'iCloud Harmony' Commercial ****
<http://www.macrumors.com/2012/02/26/apple-airs-new-icloud-harmony-commercial/>
Eric Slivka, MacRumors



**** No Company Follows Apple’s Expanded Audits ****
<http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-02-27/no-company-follows-apple-allowing-expanded-china-audits-amid-abuses-tech.html>
Adam Satariano and Peter Burrows, Bloomberg


> Apple Inc.'s rivals aren’t rushing to emulate the iPhone maker’s decision to subject supplier factories to audits by a labor group. Instead, they’re sticking to internal checks that may leave room for violations -- and negative public relations fallout.



**** Adobe Photoshop Touch Review ****
<http://www.macstories.net/reviews/adobe-photoshop-touch/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+macstoriesnet+%28MacStories%29>
Graham Spencer, MacStories


> Adobe has done a great job with Photoshop Touch: it’s one of the very best iPad apps to date. As far as I am concerned, Adobe has matched the quality of Apple’s iPad apps like Pages and iMovie in creating Photoshop Touch. Adobe has made appropriate compromises in bringing Photoshop to the iPad, making considered design choices that fit in with the iPad and exploiting the philosophies the iPad embodies: simplicity and an enjoyable experience.



**** Wirecast Pro For Mac 4.1.3: A Close Look At A Powerful Webcasting Tool ****
<http://www.tuaw.com/2012/02/26/wirecast-pro-for-mac-4-1-3-a-close-look-at-a-powerful-webcastin/>
Steven Sande, TUAW






The Tomorrow Weblog
====================================
**** True Innovation ****
<http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/26/opinion/sunday/innovation-and-the-bell-labs-miracle.html?pagewanted=all>
Jon Gertner, New York Times


> “Innovation is what America has always been about,” President Obama remarked in his recent State of the Union address. It’s hard to disagree, isn’t it? We live in a world dominated by innovative American companies like Apple, Microsoft, Google and Facebook. And even in the face of a recession, Silicon Valley’s relentless entrepreneurs have continued to churn out start-up companies with outsize, world-changing ambitions.

> But we idealize America’s present culture of innovation too much. In fact, our trailblazing digital firms may not be the hothouse environments for creativity we might think. I find myself arriving at these doubts after spending five years looking at the innovative process at Bell Labs, the onetime research and development organization of the country’s formerly monopolistic telephone company, AT&T.



**** The Case For Open Computer Programs ****
<http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v482/n7386/full/nature10836.html>
Darrel C. Ince, Leslie Hatton and John Graham-Cumming, Nature






MyAppleMenu Reader
====================================
**** I May Not Be A Mother – But I'm Still A Person ****
<http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2012/feb/25/child-free-women-jody-day>
Jody Day, The Guardian


> I don't blame mothers for their single-issue approach to life; I would probably have been the same. However, the result is that women are separating into two tribes: the mothers and the childfree, and we are struggling to find common ground.



**** Second Date ****
<http://www.qlrs.com/poem.asp?id=896>
Betsy Esther Tan, Quarterly Literary Review Singapore



**** Proposing On February 29 ****
<http://articles.boston.com/2012-02-26/magazine/31098374_1_leap-day-engagement-story-perfect-man>
Kathy Tully, Boston Globe


> My dream of a 50-50 relationship might have brought us together, but four leap years later, it’s the unbalanced times that reveal just how deep our love has grown.






SingaporeSurf
====================================
**** Public Transport: We Have Been Done In ****
<http://blogging4myself.blogspot.com/2012/02/public-transport-we-have-been-done-in.html>
Blogging For Myself



**** IDA Steps In To Speed Up NGNBN Roll Out ****
<http://www.todayonline.com/Singapore/EDC120227-0000105/IDA-steps-in-to-speed-up-NGNBN-roll-out>
Tan Weizhen, Channel NewsAsia



**** A Peek Into The Life Of Chee Soon Juan ****
<http://sg.news.yahoo.com/blogs/singaporescene/peek-life-chee-soon-juan-050517946.html>
Jeanette Tan, Yahoo!



**** Two New Road Projects To Improve Connectivity In Northern S'pore ****
<http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1185527/1/.html>
Channel NewsAsia


> The first, costing S$75 million, will involve expanding the existing interchange that connects the Central, Tampines and Seletar Expressways. 

> The second project will involve building a new road between the TPE and Yishun Avenue 6.



**** How To Subsidise Buses ****
<http://yawningbread.wordpress.com/2012/02/27/how-to-subsidise-buses/>
Alex Au, Yawning Bread


> Among those who can satisfy the regulator that quality standards will be met, the party that bids the lowest subsidy (or none) wins the tender. That way, the public will know that we have made the most effective use of public money in subsidising public transport.



**** Leaders Should Persuade, Not Silence, Our Critics ****
<http://www.yoursdp.org/index.php/news/singapore/5158-leaders-should-persuade-not-silence-our-critics>
Singaore Democratic Party



**** Hawker Food Soup Tulang, Hilang! ****
<http://pratapolitics.blogspot.com/2012/02/hawker-food-soup-tulang-hilang.html>
Prata Politics


> You know what is going to happen right as no local wants to carry on the hawker tradition although there is still a demand for it. The immigrants from PRC, Burma etc are going to take over the hawker industry. They already are. Hawker fare is the fare of immigrants - like our past, and our current.



**** å°æ¹¾ä»£è®­æ–°åŠ å¡å†›é˜Ÿï¼šåªèƒ½åšä¸èƒ½è¯´çš„ç§˜å¯† ****
<http://news.163.com/12/0227/09/7R8PLU2G00014JB6.html>
环球时报


> æ®å°æ¹¾ã€Šè”åˆæŠ¥ã€‹æŠ¥é“ï¼Œå°æ¹¾ä»£è®­æ–°åŠ å¡â€œæ˜Ÿå…‰éƒ¨é˜Ÿâ€ï¼Œæ˜¯â€œåªèƒ½åšä¸èƒ½è¯´çš„ç§˜å¯†â€ï¼Œâ€œæ˜Ÿå…‰éƒ¨é˜Ÿâ€è£…å¤‡ã€å¾…é‡éƒ½æ¯”å°æ¹¾éƒ¨é˜Ÿå¥½ï¼Œä¸€åé€€å½¹å†›å®˜é€éœ²ï¼Œæ–°åŠ å¡å®˜å…µä¼™é£Ÿå¥½åˆ°æ²¡è¯è¯´ï¼Œä¸Šå°‰å†›å®˜æœˆè–ªæ¯”å°æ¹¾ä¸­æ ¡è¿˜é«˜ã€‚



**** Envoy To Singapore Denies Re-assignment Rumors ****
<http://www.chinapost.com.tw/taiwan/foreign-affairs/2012/02/27/332883/Envoy-to.htm>
The China Post


> Speaking at a farewell party in her honor held in the city state that day, Shih assured her hosts that what she described as “soap-opera-like rumors and speculation” against her will be debunked over time.



**** Lease Buyback Scheme Sees Low Take-up Rate ****
<http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1185483/1/.html>
Joanne Chan, Channel NewsAsia


> Property watchers said schemes aimed at helping elderly Singaporeans unlock the value of their homes, are slow to find favour. That's because the schemes are either too restrictive, or not well understood.



**** 3rd MRT Rail Clip Found Dislodged Near Ang Mo Kio ****
<http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_771166.html>
Lin Zhaowei, Straits Times


> This 10cm, palm-sized metal piece was found a few hundred metres from Ang Mo Kio station along Ang Mo Kio Avenue 8, near a jogging track in the space below the viaduct.

I wonder if the Singapore government has any plans for if the MRT system breaks down completely for an extended period.


**** New Train Design To Fix Solve Old Commuter Habits ****
<http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_771161.html>
Goh Chin Lian and Peter Wong, Straits Times


> The Land Transport Authority's (LTA's) latest effort to encourage this has been to launch a pilot project to change the design of five train cars by removing the vertical poles near the door and fixing two more rows of overhead hand rails mid-carriage.

> But it looks like this is not changing commuter habits either.

This is stupid. The way forward is to make sure there are enough personal space for everyone. Stop making these stupid re-designs and then blame it on the passengers. Do something right: add carriages, add trains, add buses, have better crowd management.
Passengers' demands are very simple: get on and off the train in a predictably timely manner without having to touch any passengers and without being touched by other passengers.


**** Refocus On Buses Is The Start Of A Fruitful Journey ****
<http://www.straitstimes.com/STForum/Story/STIStory_771068.html>
Lau Kai Guan, Straits Times


> Is there enough space in our bus interchanges and depots to hold the buses during drivers' meal breaks or at the end of a service day?

> Can buses be routed more efficiently to provide an attractive alternative to crowded rail lines?

Look at all the new air-con bus interchanges -- all of them are small in terms of the number of bus bays and the amount of space for passengers to queue. And because they are generally housed in commercial buildings, these bus interchanges are difficult to expand.
Short-sighted and lacking in long-term planning: that's seem to be the summary of LTA under Raymond Lim.


**** Let Transport Operators Set Own Fares ****
<http://www.straitstimes.com/STForum/Story/STIStory_771054.html>
Tan Si An, Straits Times


> By channelling public funds to the bus sector, is the Government tacitly confirming that current public transport fares are artificially low and unsustainable?

> If so, the Government should re- examine its current policy and let operators set their own fares. Only then can we have a truly efficient and effective system which operates according to market demands.

Before we do that, we must ensure that the barrier to entry for the public bus industry is low enough.


**** The S$1.1 Billion Question — Let Me Say It Again ****
<http://yawningbread.wordpress.com/2012/02/27/the-s1-1-billion-question-let-me-say-it-again/>
Alex Au, Yawning Bread



**** TR Emeritus Has No Intention To Remove Richard Wan As Editor ****
<http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1185360/1/.html>
S Ramesh, Channel NewsAsia


> It stated its position on its website on Sunday in response to many emails and comments urging the team to remove Mr Wan as an editor, as well as "revert to its former stealth mode". The team said while it had strong apprehensions about Mr Wan revealing his identity publicly, it respected his decision.



**** 800 More Buses 'Will Not Cause More Congestion' ****
<http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_770865.html>
Royston Sim, Straits Times


> MP Seng Han Thong, deputy chairman of the Government Parliamentary Committee for Transport, said: 'If buses are more frequent and connectivity is better, hopefully, more people will use public transport and there will be fewer cars on the road.'

> Assistant Professor Paul Barter from the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy noted that congestion is caused primarily by cars, which he said are a far less 'space-efficient' transport mode than public transport vehicles.



**** Desmond Choo Confident & Ready To Serve Hougang Residents ****
<http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1185347/1/.html>
Olivia Siong, Channel NewsAsia


> "We're always ready; ready in the sense that we've been serving the people and whether there's a by-election or not. It doesn't really distract us from our main work which is service here," said Mr Choo.