[MyAppleMenu] Jul 24, 2012

[applesurf at myapplemenu.com]

MyAppleMenu
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**** Apple Taps Martin Scorsese For New Siri Ad ****
<http://www.zdnet.com/apple-taps-martin-scorsese-for-new-siri-ad-7000001451/>
Jason D. O'Grady, ZDNet



**** The Sparrow Problem ****
<http://appcubby.com/blog/the-sparrow-problem/>
App Cubby Blog


> The age of selling software to users at a fixed, one-time price is coming to an end. It’s just not sustainable at the absurdly low prices users have come to expect. Sure, independent developers may scrap it out one app at a time, and some may even do quite well and be the exception to the rule, but I don’t think Sparrow would have sold-out if the team — and their investors — believed they could build a substantially profitable company on their own. The gold rush is well and truly over.



**** How Apple's Phantom Taxes Hide Billions In Profit ****
<http://www.boston.com/business/technology/2012/07/23/how-apple-phantom-taxes-hide-billions-profit/m6tEhJwPM67I6L51SmjV7L/story.html>
Peter Svensson, Associated Press


> Apple Inc., already the world’s most valuable company, understates its profits compared with other multinationals. It’s building up an overlooked asset in the form of billions of dollars, tucked away for tax bills it may never pay.

> Tax experts say the company could easily eliminate these phantom tax obligations. That would boost Apple’s profits for the past three years by as much $10.5 billion, according to calculations by The Associated Press.



**** Windows And OS X Boot Camp: Running Redmond At "Retina" Resolution ****
<http://arstechnica.com/apple/2012/07/windows-and-os-x-boot-camp-running-redmond-at-retina-resolution/>
Chris Foresman, Ars Technica


> The trials and tribulations of running Windows 7 on a Retina MacBook Pro.



**** The Story Of Steve Jobs: An Inspiration Or A Cautionary Tale? ****
<http://www.wired.com/business/2012/07/ff_stevejobs/all/>
Ben Austen, Wired


> To some, Jobs’ life has revealed the importance of sticking firmly to one’s vision and goals, no matter the psychic toll on employees or business associates. To others, Jobs serves as a cautionary tale, a man who changed the world but at the price of alienating almost everyone around him. The divergence in these reactions is a testament to the two deep and often contradictory hungers that drive so many of us today: We want to succeed in the world of work, but we also want satisfaction in the realm of home and family. For those who, like Jobs, have pledged to “put a dent in the universe,” his thorny life story has forced a reckoning. Is it really worth being like Steve?



**** DoJ On Apple E-book Pricing: Two Wrongs Don't Make A Right ****
<http://arstechnica.com/apple/2012/07/doj-on-apple-e-book-pricing-two-wrongs-dont-make-a-right/>
Jacqui Cheng, Ars Technica


> The US Department of Justice says it plans to move forward with its proposed settlement with some e-book publishers, despite the "self-serving" comments submitted by Apple.



**** Apple, Booksellers Oppose Proposed Ebook Price-fixing Settlement ****
<http://www.macworld.com/article/1167808/apple_booksellers_oppose_proposed_ebook_price_fixing_settlement.html#lsrc.rss_main>
Grant Gross, IDG News Service


> The proposed settlement—between the DOJ and three of five publishers the agency charged in April with price fixing—is “a threat to ebook competition,” lawyers for Apple wrote in comments to the DOJ. “In a misguided attempt to reshape the market according to its own preferences, the government seeks to impose a business model that will result in dramatic and long-lasting harm.”






The Tomorrow Weblog
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**** Can The Terms Of The GPL Prevent GNU/Linux Being Used For War? ****
<http://www.freesoftwaremagazine.com/articles/can_terms_gpl_prevent_gnulinux_being_used_war>
Gary Richmond, Free Software Magazine



**** Twitter CEO Dick Costolo Wants 'A World Where People Build Into Twitter,' Not Off Of It ****
<http://www.theverge.com/2012/7/23/3180005/twitter-ceo-dick-costolo-walled-garden>
Dieter Bohn, The Verge






MyAppleMenu Reader
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**** Betrayal By The Beloved ****
<http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/poem/2012/07/_betrayal_by_the_beloved_by_alicia_ostriker_.html>
Alicia Ostriker, Slate



**** Does Quantum Physics Make It Easier To Believe In God? ****
<http://www.bigquestionsonline.com/content/does-quantum-physics-make-it-easier-believe-god>
Stephen M. Barr, Big Questions Online


> Quantum mechanics, however, throws a monkey wrench into this simple mechanical view of things.  No less a figure than Eugene Wigner, a Nobel Prize winner in physics, claimed that materialism --- at least with regard to the human mind --- is not “logically consistent with present quantum mechanics.” And on the basis of quantum mechanics, Sir Rudolf Peierls, another great 20th-century physicist, said, “the premise that you can describe in terms of physics the whole function of a human being ... including [his] knowledge, and [his] consciousness, is untenable. There is still something missing.” 



**** Every Woman Should Travel Alone ****
<http://www.salon.com/2012/07/24/every_woman_should_travel_alone/>
Sarah Hepola, Salon


> At 27, I took a road trip across the country by myself. It was foolish and lonely and the best thing I've ever done.






SingaporeSurf
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**** Why Aren’t Things The Way They Used To Be Back Home In Singapore? ****
<http://dotseng.wordpress.com/2012/07/24/why-arent-things-the-way-they-used-to-be-back-home-in-singapore/>
Dotseng



**** A Few Tips On Eating In Hawker Centers In Singapore ****
<http://dishesandplaces.wordpress.com/2012/07/24/a-few-tips-on-eating-in-hawker-centers-in-singapore/>
Because There Are Always Places To Go And Things To Eat


> Don’t be intimidated. Take your time until you find something exactly to your liking. Don’t worry, all of it will taste good.



**** Why Singaporeans Are Pissed Off By Our Prime Minister’s Comment On Social Integration With New Citizens ****
<http://www.transitioning.org/2012/07/24/why-singaporeans-are-pissed-off-by-our-prime-ministers-comment-on-social-integration-with-new-citizens/>
Gilbert Goh, Transitioning.org



**** My Own One Child Policy ****
<http://thotspeak.blogspot.sg/2012/07/my-own-one-child-policy.html>
The Art Of Dumbspeak



**** Bigger Bonuses Not Enough To Retain People: Report ****
<http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1215354/1/.html>
Channel NewsAsia



**** Lowest Income Hardest Hit By Inflation, But Not Much Affected As They Own Homes? ****
<http://leongszehian.com/?p=1723>
Leong Sze Hian


> How can a family earning $801 afford the increased rental of up to $275, or for that matter a 2nd-timer family earning $800 or less having to pay increased rental of up to $165?



**** The Man Who Loves The Law, The Spirit And Dance ****
<http://andrewlohhp.wordpress.com/2012/07/24/the-man-who-loves-the-law-the-spirit-and-dance/>
Andrew Loh



**** Prejudice – The Silent Killer Of HIV/AIDS Patients ****
<http://theonlinecitizen.com/2012/07/prejudice-the-silent-killer-of-hivaids-patients/>
Saiful Saleem, The Online Citizen


> We might have done a decent job when it comes to achieving reasonable relative racial harmony but when it comes to sexual minorities and people who live with HIV/AIDS, the road is still long and the hill is steep.



**** The Cracks, The Fault Lines And The “Master Of Balance” ****
<http://pijitailai.blogspot.sg/2012/07/the-cracks-fault-lines-and-master-of.html>
否极泰来 Piji Tailai



**** Stop Kicking The Ravi Football ****
<http://yoursdp.org/news/2012-07-24-5269>
Singaore Democratic Party


> What Ravi – and, for that matter, anyone who is similarly afflicted – needs is medical attention and the sooner he receives it, the better it is for him and for our community. With a strong and supportive social network, Ravi can function and contribute positively to Singapore, as he has all these years.

> Let us give him the space that he needs while he is going through a difficult period: keep the cameras away and the interviews at bay. Let us get him back on his feet again so that he can be the Ravi that we have all come to know and respect. And yes, love.



**** The World's Happiest Places: From San Luis Obispo To Singapore ****
<http://www.travelerstoday.com/articles/2404/20120723/world-s-happiest-places-san-luis-obispo.htm>
Travelers Today



**** Singapore Artists, You're Not Forgotten: National Arts Council ****
<http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_825328.html>
Adeline Chia, Straits Times


> National Arts Council (NAC) chief Benson Puah assured professional artists that their development is still high on the council's list of priorities, even as the government goes big on funding community art projects.



**** No Green Light For New MRT Fare Gates, Please ****
<http://www.todayonline.com/Voices/EDC120724-0000037/No-green-light-for-new-MRT-fare-gates,-please>
Poh Ching Ping, Today


> The use of plain green and red LED lights is not the best design scheme. First, it is hard for people with colour blindness to differentiate the colours.