[MyAppleMenu] Jul 7, 2012

[applesurf at myapplemenu.com]

MyAppleMenu
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**** Apple Removes Green Electronics Certification From Products ****
<http://blogs.wsj.com/cio/2012/07/06/apple-removes-green-electronics-certification-from-products/>
Joel Schectman, Wall Street Journal


> In order to meet the standards, recyclers need to be able to easily disassemble products, with common tools, to separate toxic components, like batteries. The standards were created jointly by manufacturers, including Apple, advocacy groups and government agencies. Frisbee says an Apple staff member told him at the end of June that the company no longer wanted Apple computers to be listed as EPEAT certified.



**** iTunes Wades Into Cantopop Language Controversy ****
<http://blogs.wsj.com/scene/2012/07/05/itunes-wades-into-chinese-language-controversy/>
Te-Ping Chen, Wall Street Journal


> On accessing the iTunes store for the first time, some Hong Kong users were irritated to find that the store was listing a number of song titles by the city’s popstars in Mandarin pinyin, a system that transcribes Chinese characters into phonetic Latin script, instead of displaying titles transliterated for the Cantonese language, which is spoken by the majority of the population.



**** Inside Apple's Go-Slow Approach To Mobile Payments ****
<http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304830704577493261395358658.html>
Jessica E. Vascellaro, Wall Street Journal


> When the payments plan came to an executive review in early 2012, several Apple senior executives balked, says a person briefed on the meeting. Apple's chief financial officer, Peter Oppenheimer, questioned whether there was newer secure technology that employed the Internet rather than use NFC, this person said. Apple's Mr. Schiller was worried that if Apple facilitated credit-card payments directly consumers might blame Apple for a bad experience with a merchant.

> The executives ultimately opted for the more scaled-down version of Passbook, which engineers still referred to as the "wallet app."



**** Running Windows 8 On Your Mac ****
<http://www.macworld.com/article/1167170/running_windows_8_on_your_mac.html#lsrc.rss_main>
John Moltz, Macworld


> There are several ways to accomplish this, but I’m going to look at four options—Boot Camp, Parallels, VMware Fusion and VirtualBox.






MyAppleMenu Reader
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**** The Extras Get A Life ****
<http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/07/books/in-redshirts-john-scalzi-gives-expendables-a-life.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss>
John Schwartz, New York Times


> A comic riff on the lives of the expendable and luckless, “Redshirts” plays off a phenomenon that science-fiction fans have long recognized. In the original “Star Trek,” Kirk, Spock, Bones and Scotty were very dangerous men to stand next to if you were wearing the ensign’s red shirt.

> Like a space-based “Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead,” the book takes these peripheral characters and puts them at the center of the tale. “All these people in all these stories who are just cannon fodder for a 10-second or 20-second dramatic moment — they have lives of their own, they have thoughts of their own,” Mr. Scalzi explained. It is up to them to take charge of their lives.



**** Thank You For Killing My Novel ****
<http://www.salon.com/2012/07/05/thank_you_for_killing_my_novel/>
Patrick Somerville, Salon


> The New York Times panned my book, then had to correct the review to fix all their errors. So why am I not angry?






SingaporeSurf
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**** Yale To Ensure Students In Singapore Have Rights ****
<http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-07-06/yale-to-ensure-students-in-singapore-have-freedom-of-expression>
Sharon Chen, Bloomberg


> Students at the new Yale-NUS College will be able to express themselves freely on campus and skepticism of the venture should fade as people see the “successful education experiment,” Pericles Lewis, president of the Singapore campus, told reporters yesterday.



**** SPH Responds To Cupcake Controversy ****
<http://news.asiaone.com/News/Latest%2BNews/Singapore/Story/A1Story20120707-357755.html>
AsiaOne



**** Singapore Casino Law To Allow Fines Up To 10 Percent Of Revenue ****
<http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/07/07/us-singapore-casinos-idUSBRE86601T20120707>
Kevin Lim, Reuters


> The maximum penalty that Casino Regulatory Authority can now impose is S$1 million ($785,000). But after amendments to the law are passed, the fines could potentially exceed $200 million.



**** Almost 40% Foreigners – Where Do We Go From Here? ****
<http://andrewlohhp.wordpress.com/2012/07/06/almost-40-foreigners-where-do-we-go-from-here/>
Andrew Loh



**** IMF Pledge 'Did Not Violate Constitution' ****
<http://www.todayonline.com/Singapore/EDC120707-0000033/IMF-pledge-did-not-violate-Constitution>
Today


> In response to media queries, an MAS spokesperson reiterated that Article 144 "does not apply to lending by Government".

> Referring to the interpretation of the clause by then-Attorney-General (AG) Chan Sek Keong - which was cited in Parliament some 14 years ago - the spokesperson said: "It instead prevents the Government from borrowing without the authority of Parliament and the President's concurrence. This is because borrowings by the Government increase its financial liabilities and could result in a draw on its past reserves."



**** 公积金局的计算法不合理 ****
<http://www.zaobao.com.sg/yl/jl120707_002.shtml>
凌庆荣, 联合早报



**** The Rise Of Mega-churches ****
<http://thestar.com.my/columnists/story.asp?file=/2012/7/7/columnists/insightdownsouth/11614691&sec=insightdownsouth>
Seah Chiang Nee, The Star