[MyAppleMenu] Jun 30, 2012

[applesurf at myapplemenu.com]

MyAppleMenu
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**** Don’t Annoy Users ****
<http://daringfireball.net/linked/2012/06/29/dont-annoy-users>
John Gruber, Daring Fireball


> "Unhappy iPhone users who would like to use Google services in a more integrated manner and can’t are also Apple’s worst nightmare."

> No, Apple’s worst nightmare is someone buying an Android phone instead of an iPhone.

Apple is <i>extremely</i> cautious in such decisions on iOS, because, as everyone can see on the Mac OS, once you allowed something, it is very difficult to take back.


**** Looks Like Apple Has Changed Its App Store Algorithm Again ****
<http://techcrunch.com/2012/06/29/looks-like-apple-has-changed-its-app-store-algorithm-again/>
Ingrid Lunden, TechCrunch



**** Firefox Security Bug Not A Bug At All ****
<http://www.pcworld.com/article/258595/firefox_security_bug_not_a_bug_at_all.html>
John P. Mello Jr., PCWorld






The Tomorrow Weblog
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**** It Took Less Than 10 Years For IT Not To Matter ****
<http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-06-28/it-took-about-a-decade-for-it-to-not-matter>
Ashlee Vance, Businessweek


> Without question, some startups are producing cutting-edge technology and some customers are taking advantage of their wares to one-up rivals. On the whole, however, corporations now seem to prefer, whenever practical, to rent the same computing services their rivals do, rather than try to build custom systems.



**** Digital Diary: Talking About Death Online ****
<http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/06/29/digital-diary-talking-about-death-online/?partner=rss&emc=rss>
Jenna Wortham, New York Times



**** Matthew On Twitter Restrictions ****
<http://inessential.com/2012/06/29/matthew_on_twitter_restrictions>
Brent Simmons, Inesential.com


> Were I a Twitter client developer, I would get in touch with other client developers and start talking about a way to do what Twitter does but that doesn’t require Twitter itself (or any specific company or service).






MyAppleMenu Reader
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**** Fear And Loathing 40 Years Later ****
<http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/books/2012/06/hunter_s_thompson_fear_and_loathing_on_the_campaign_trail_72_review_by_matt_taibbi_.html>
Matt Taibbi, Slate


> Hunter S. Thompson’s outrage-stuffed, anti-cynical campaign masterpiece.



**** If This Is My Final Tweet ****
<http://www.salon.com/2012/06/29/if_this_is_my_final_tweet/>
Wajahat Ali, Salon


> I wore loneliness as an armor to protect myself from pain, the inevitable companion of love.  However, loneliness does not comfort you as you’re lying on a gurney wearing gaudy gym shorts, sweating profusely, and being defibrillated. What delusional grandeur made me think I could tame the unpredictable, mercurial and gloriously messy ride known as life?



**** Against The Grain ****
<http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/01/books/review/white-bread-by-aaron-bobrow-strain.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss>
Tamar Adler, New York Times


> How we ended up with bread that is not bread is the ostensible subject of “White Bread: A Social History of the Store-Bought Loaf,” by Aaron Bobrow-Strain, an associate professor of politics at Whitman College. I say “ostensible” because he writes: “This isn’t really a book about the history of bread. It’s a book about what happens when dreams of good society and fears of social decay get tangled up in campaigns for ‘good food.’ ”



**** The Best Of All Possible Worlds ****
<http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/01/books/review/america-the-philosophical-by-carlin-romano.html?_r=2&partner=rss&emc=rss>
Anthony Gottlieb, New York Times


> Let deficits grow, good jobs disappear and China loom — hang it all, America will always have world-beating epistemology and metaphysics up its sleeve. Well, maybe that isn’t quite fair to Romano, because his claim depends on redefining the term “philosophy,” giving it a nebulous meaning that embraces far more than is taught under that name in universities. 






SingaporeSurf
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**** Prime Taxi To Phase Out Its CNG Taxis ****
<http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporebusinessnews/view/1210828/1/.html>
Channel NewsAsia



**** Electricity tariffs to drop by an average 2.5% ****
<http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1210823/1/.html>
Channel NewsAsia



**** The Makings Of A Mega Scandal ****
<http://www.publichouse.sg/categories/topstory/item/657-the-makings-of-a-mega-scandal>
Publichouse.sg


> Perhaps it is time to consider enacting a Whistleblowers’ Act, which might encourage employees to come forward sooner with what they know about wrongdoing within their organisations.  The post-NKF reforms have already demanded a higher degree of transparency from charities to allow donors to judge how their contributions are being spent, so it might not be necessary to tighten this further if it entails markedly higher costs for smaller charities.



**** Tucker’s Lens: Reflections On Singapore ****
<http://www.ncee.org/2012/06/tuckers-lens-reflections-on-singapore/>
Center On International Education Benchmarking


> It is too early to tell whether Singapore will be able to make the deep cultural shifts that are needed to reach the goals they set for themselves a few years ago, and it is also too early to tell whether the Japanese will succeed in reaching similar goals, but it is, I think, a sure bet that Singapore’s deeply ingrained, almost reflexive, habit of constantly checking to see how their peers are responding to the neverending changes in the global competitive environment and then thinking hard about the implications of what they find for their own actions has served them very well over and over again as they have made their way to first world status.  It is a very powerful learning system.



**** Malaysian High Commission Clears The Air ****
<http://www.straitstimes.com/STForum/Story/STIStory_816752.html>
Nik Ady Arman, High Commission of Malaysia in Singapore, Straits Times


> But it is important to remember that Bersih was an illegal one.

> Not only would foreign citizens' participation in a local illegal rally generate speculation on the motive for their involvement, but the host government would also be accountable should the diplomats become victims of violent acts during the demonstration.

> This is why Malaysian diplomats are continually reminded to be mindful not to participate in any illegal activities while serving abroad.



**** Xenophobia Forum Deadlock ****
<http://www.todayonline.com/Singapore/EDC120630-0000010/Xenophobia-forum-deadlock>
Amir Hussain, Today