[MyAppleMenu] Jul 15, 2012

[applesurf at myapplemenu.com]

MyAppleMenu
====================================
**** How Did The New MacBook Pros Get Gold-level Green Ratings? ****
<http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2012/07/14/how-did-the-new-macbook-pros-get-gold-level-green-ratings/?utm_source=loopinsight.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+loopinsight%2FKqJb+%28The+Loop%29>
Philip Elmer-DeWitt, Fortune


> [Barbara Kyle, ETBC's national coordinator] explains: "It's important to understand that the manufacturers grade themselves against the EPEAT criteria first, and then EPEAT conducts a review of this grading. That EPEAT review has not yet occurred. They can require the manufacturers to remove any product from the registry if it is not found to conform to the IEEE standard." She adds: "Apple is often a design leader in electronics, but they really blew it here."



**** What The In-app Purchase Hack Means For App Makers ****
<http://www.macworld.com/article/1167691/what_the_in_app_purchase_hack_means_for_app_makers.html#lsrc.rss_main>
Marco Tabini, Macworld


> On the one hand, developers can (and should) do a better job handling IAPs. Despite the software industry claims to the contrary, it’s difficult to properly correlate piracy to lost sales; still, it’s in each developer’s best interest to ensure that their software is well-written, and that includes making sure that they get paid when they deserve to.

> On the other, Apple could have largely prevented this problem, which threatens not only to leave it with a large contingent of unhappy developers, but also could have wide-ranging repercussions for users who are compromising the security of their devices for a purpose that is trivial in relation to the amount of damage that they could be doing to their data. Even if Apple shuts down this specific hacker, the proverbial cat is definitely out of the bag, and there is relatively little that prevents someone else from trying something similar, with possibly more nefarious intentions.

I wonder if Apple can start doing Cocoa for server apps, and allow developers to put server apps on Apple-controlled servers. Would that reduce this risk while allowing developers to concentrate on improving their apps rather then worry about security?





The Tomorrow Weblog
====================================
**** In Age Of Twitter, NBC Rewrites Olympic Playbook ****
<http://online.wsj.com/article_email/SB10001424052702303644004577523280738908096-lMyQjAxMTAyMDEwNDExNDQyWj.html>
Christopher S. Stewart, Wall Street Journal


> But in many ways, this summer's London Olympics will be a monumental experiment for network television in the digital age.



**** Young Entrepreneurs Turn A Tweet From Richard Branson Into $1 Million ****
<http://smallbusiness.yahoo.com/advisor/young-entrepreneurs-turn-a-tweet-from-richard-branson-into--1-million.html?fb_action_ids=10100137262022753%2C10100137211768463%2C4381961266023%2C10100137295874913%2C10100137272476803&fb_action_types=news.reads&fb_ref=type%3Aread%2Cuser%3Ayo7P_jX-MtPx1x1aimvV0XIDiNE%2Ctype%3Aread%2Cuser%3AdNxYkXFY8RDbENFkZ8cz-oFwOPs%2Ctype%3Aread%2Cuser%3A8WxvqIFAUhtDWjtWTnfik46e8fU&fb_source=other_multiline&action_object_map=%7B%2210100137262022753%22%3A10151032496944835%2C%2210100137211768463%22%3A10151032496944835%2C%224381961266023%22%3A10150969731529342%2C%2210100137295874913%22%3A10151086246274935%2C%2210100137272476803%22%3A10151906558735416%2C%2210100137271788183%22%3A10151022720879675%7D&code=AQDR1t5ao7gGR4OkAlE4PNTI7gXZAqwr_NpJBcAW67r7qpzIzX-Shkw5R2-sdr3LveO52R9KqKdUUO09s-oICChAi1_bq0aBOa1kI1qUK6LQATQMrCKiiSgXtEkYIyta6mzZqTxUpRL1uXg5KxPVqxP_Ui8FtGq_6h0Vwbx6jCw1NiMXmR4Mlub8IZaenWWpm5A#_=_>
Dinah Wisenberg Brin, Yahoo!


> When opportunity tweets, tweet back. That may be the key lesson from young brother and sister entrepreneurs Scott and Stacey Ferreira, who recently landed nearly $1 million from Sir Richard Branson and Colorado venture investor Jerry Murdock for their startup -- when they weren’t even looking for funding.






MyAppleMenu Reader
====================================
**** A World Without Coral Reefs ****
<http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/14/opinion/a-world-without-coral-reefs.html>
Roger Bradbury, New York Times


> It's past time to tell the truth about the state of the world’s coral reefs, the nurseries of tropical coastal fish stocks. They have become zombie ecosystems, neither dead nor truly alive in any functional sense, and on a trajectory to collapse within a human generation. There will be remnants here and there, but the global coral reef ecosystem — with its storehouse of biodiversity and fisheries supporting millions of the world’s poor — will cease to be.



**** Commuting To Disneyland ****
<http://www.salon.com/2012/07/14/commuting_to_disneyland/>
Will Doig, Salon


> As going carless turns cool, our new train stations are becoming magnificent public gathering spots.



**** What Is Real Is Imagined ****
<http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/07/14/what-is-real-is-imagined/?smid=tw-nytopinion&seid=auto>
Colm Toibin, New York Times


> As night falls, I watch from the window as flashes from Tuskar Rock Lighthouse become visible. It does its two flashes and then stops as though to take a breath. Until I was 12 and my family stopped coming to this remote place on the coast of Ireland in the summer, I watched the lighthouse too, from a different window not far from here. Every day now as I walk down to the strand I pass the house we lived in then. Someone else is there now, but no matter what happens, the room that I can almost peer into from the lane remains my parents’ bedroom, with the iron bed and the cement floor. I suppose it must seem smaller now that I am bigger.






SingaporeSurf
====================================
**** Review Of Casino Control Act To Mitigate Risks, Ensure Economic Value: S Iswaran ****
<http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1213665/1/.html>
Wayne Chan, Channel NewsAsia


> He said: "One aspect is the social safeguards, which have always been an important part of our efforts with the integrated resorts. And if you look at the social safeguards, they are trying to introduce new measures, some in a pro-active way, so that we are prepared, and in an anticipatory manner for issues that may crop up."



**** Values, Understanding The Purpose & Good Habits Essential To Sustaining Volunteerism ****
<http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1213590/1/.html>
Monica Kotwani, Channel NewsAsia



**** Rais: Stop Condemning And Accusing The Leadership ****
<http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2012/7/15/nation/11667858&sec=nation>
Bernama



**** Should We Still Khaw On NParks? ****
<http://asingaporeanson.blogspot.sg/2012/07/should-we-still-khaw-on-nparks.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+ASingaporeanInAustralia+(A+Singaporean+In+Australia)>
A Singaporean In Austrlia


> An online investigation by indignant netizens who were displeased with Mr Khaw Boon Wan's casual statement about NParks' little luxury buy suggested that Mr Khaw may have more answering to do than  just brushing it away.

Previous:
• <a href="http://www.straitstimes.com/STForum/Story/STIStory_822111.html"> NParks Acknowledges Bicycle Purchase Could Have Been Handled Better</a> (Poon Hong Yuen, National Parks Board, Straits Times)