[MyAppleMenu] Mar 9, 2012

[applesurf at myapplemenu.com]

MyAppleMenu
====================================
**** In Praise Of Wren ****
<http://techinch.com/2012/03/09/in-praise-of-wren/>
Matthew Guay, Techinch


> Not distract you, not help you waste time, just send tweets from any of your accounts. It can shorten URLs and auto-complete @names, and even shows you the last thing you tweeted so you won’t repeat yourself. And you can save tweets you want to send later, for those ideas that are too good to tweet at 2AM when no one else will see them. Everything you need to make you great at sending tweets, and nothing else.



**** Something’s Unraveling, Alright ****
<http://mattnt.com/2012/03/08/somethings-unraveling-alright/>
Matt Thomas



**** The iPad Is Unbeatable ****
<http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/technology/2012/03/new_ipad_how_apple_s_tablet_strategy_parallels_its_unbeatable_ipod_success_.single.html>
Farhad Manjoo, Slate



**** Behind The Scenes With iMovie Trailers ****
<http://www.macworld.com/article/165767/2012/03/behind_the_scenes_with_imovie_trailers.html#lsrc.rss_main>
Serenity Caldwell, Macworld


> iMovie may not have the flashiest updates of the bunch, but it does gain a neat new feature from iMovie ’11 on the Mac: movie trailers. Now, when creating a new project, you can choose to instead create a trailer with one of nine different templates: Retro, Romance, Scary, Superhero, Swashbuckler, Narrative, Fairy Tale, Expedition, or Bollywood. You can swipe through and preview these for a better idea of what the trailer formats are like—be prepared for child spies and adventuring backpackers.



**** iA Writer For iPhone Review ****
<http://www.macstories.net/reviews/ia-writer-for-iphone-review/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+macstoriesnet+%28MacStories%29>
Federico Viticci, MacStories


> Ultimately, it comes down to the writing experience, and iA Writer excels at this because it is an app that wants you write more by seeing less. This first version of the iPhone app might not be as powerful as its Mac counterpart, but it sure is a pleasure to look at on the Retina display as what really matters, in the end, is that you’re looking at your own words, and nothing else.



**** Supercharge Quick Look On Your Mac With These Plugins, Terminal Commands, And Shortcuts ****
<http://lifehacker.com/5891532/supercharge-quick-look-on-your-mac-with-these-plugins-terminal-commands-and-shortcuts>
Alan Henry, Lifehacker



**** iTunes 1080P Video Looks Better, Saves Space Using Better H.264 Compression ****
<http://arstechnica.com/apple/news/2012/03/new-itunes-1080p-looks-good-through-better-h264-compression.ars?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss>
Iljitsch Van Beijnum, Ars Technica


> The reason that the 1080p versions of the iTunes Store videos can be a good deal better without doubling the file size—or worse—can be found in the tech specs of the new AppleTV and the new iPad.



**** iPad Hotspot Feature Will Be Available On Verizon, Not AT&T ****
<http://www.macworld.com/article/165781/2012/03/ipad_hotspot_feature_will_be_available_on_verizon_not_atandt.html#lsrc.rss_main>
Dan Moren, Macworld


> Consumers trying to decide between Verizon and AT&T on their new 4G-enabled iPad have an additional consideration to take into account: Only one of those companies will be offering Apple’s Personal Hotspot feature at launch. That capability allows users to share the fast 4G connection on their iPads with other devices, such as a laptop or smartphone, via Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, or USB.



**** Smultron Is A Capable And Inexpensive Text Editor ****
<http://www.macworld.com/article/165773/2012/03/smultron_is_a_capable_and_inexpensive_text_editor.html#lsrc.rss_main>
Kirk McElhearn, Macworld


> This inexpensive text editor offers many of the features that developers need, such as syntax coloring, the ability to comment text, text snippets for commonly used tags and bits, and auto-complete. But it’s also a lightweight text editor for anyone who composes text, be it technical, fiction, homework, or anything else.



**** Apple Using OpenStreetMap Data In iPhoto For iPad ****
<http://www.tuaw.com/2012/03/08/apple-using-openstreetmap-data-in-iphoto-for-ipad/>
Kelly Hodgkins, TUAW


> Apple is using the OpenStreetMap data to render its own tiles in iPhoto. The map data Apple uses in iPhoto is supposedly old (circa 2010) and is used without attribution, a situation OpenStreetMap is working with Apple to remedy.



**** iOS 5.1 Update Brings 4G Label To iPhone 4S On AT&T's Network ****
<http://www.macworld.com/article/165768/2012/03/ios_5_1_update_brings_4g_label_to_iphone_4s_on_atandts_network.html#lsrc.rss_main>
Lex Friedman, Macworld


> Thus, because the iPhone 4S on AT&T’s 3G network can achieve what both Apple and the carrier describe as 4G-style speeds, the status bar now shows the 4G label whenever you’re connected to AT&T’s HSPA+ network. Again, though, your iPhone 4S isn’t any faster than it was last week; this label change falls somewhere between semantics and marketing.






The Tomorrow Weblog
====================================
**** The Personal Analytics Of My Life ****
<http://blog.stephenwolfram.com/2012/03/the-personal-analytics-of-my-life/>
Stephen Wolfram


> One day I’m sure everyone will routinely collect all sorts of data about themselves. But because I’ve been interested in data for a very long time, I started doing this long ago. I actually assumed lots of other people were doing it too, but apparently they were not. And so now I have what is probably one of the world’s largest collections of personal data.






MyAppleMenu Reader
====================================
**** Book Review: 'Gods Without Men' By Hari Kunzru ****
<http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-ca-hari-kunzru-20120311,0,5301583.story>
David L. Ulin, Los Angeles Times


> "There are certain things you can't look at directly. You need to trick them into revealing themselves," a hedge fund entrepreneur named Cy Bachman explains in Hari Kunzru's new novel "Gods Without Men." It's 2008, and he and his associate Jaz Matharu are looking at a silver coffee set in Manhattan's Neue Galerie: The set is all that remains of a life that's disappeared.



**** Roy Choi Of A-Frame And Kogi On How Cookbooks Changed His Life ****
<http://www.laweekly.com/2012-03-08/eat-drink/roy-choi-Kogi-A-Frame-Chego-Spaghetti-Junction/>
Roy Choi, LA Weekly


> I used to be a chef.

> That sounds funny, because I still cook. But the thing is, the moment I stepped out of those kitchen clogs, said goodbye to that part of the chef community and cooked from my soul is exactly the moment when I became more of a cook than when I actually was a chef. Heck, with all that's happened in the last three and a half years — feeding the streets, hearing boisterous laughter, seeing shivering smiles — it all seems a little hazy. But I look at the cadaver that once was a white chef coat with a toque and see a guy who studied food till his eyes got blurry, and realize, damn, I really knew nothing about food at all.



**** People Who Eat People ****
<http://lareviewofbooks.org/post/18900540016/people-who-eat-people>
Steven Shapin, Los Angeles Review Of Books


> Eating people is wrong. But why?



**** Ghosts In The Newsroom ****
<http://www.vanityfair.com/business/2012/04/washington-post-watergate>
Sarah Ellison, Vanity Fair


> <i>The Washington Post</i> is haunted by its history. Dominated by towering figures such as Katharine Graham (who died in 2001), Ben Bradlee (who stepped down as executive editor in 1991), and the reporters who pursued the Watergate scandal, Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, the mythology of the Post was always grander than the reality. No other newspaper enjoyed quite the hype the Post did during its heyday. And few papers are as defined by their city as the Post has been defined by Washington—“Washington” meaning both the nation’s capital and a metropolis in its own right. Don Graham’s devotion to his city has never wavered. “I can’t imagine existing anywhere else,” he told me when I sat down with him recently. From the moment he became publisher, in 1979, he insisted that the newspaper must concentrate on its Washington readers. But not everyone got the message. Inside the Post, there was always a powerful tension between Graham’s view and the view of the newsroom, which, starting with Bradlee and for a period of decades, sought to compete on a national stage with The New York Times—and to a significant degree succeeded.

> For much of that time, the paper’s profits supported both views. Then came the Internet and new competition for readers and advertising dollars.






SingaporeSurf
====================================
**** PM: I Intend To Call A By-election. I Have Not Decided On The Timing. ****
<http://article14.blogspot.com/2012/03/pm-i-intend-to-call-by-election-i-have.html>
Article 14


> This is the proper response that we expect from our Prime Minister. I believe that if this was the first reponse from him when the news of the vacancy in Hougang broke, there would have been very little noise from the public. For sure, there would have been pressure for the by-election to be held sooner rather than later. But, the kind of loss of political capital that the PAP has arguably experienced as a result of brandishing technical arguments through semantics could have been avoided.



**** Down By The Boardwalk In Singapore ****
<http://blogs.wsj.com/searealtime/2012/03/09/down-by-the-boardwalk-in-singapore/>
En-lai Yeoh, Wall Street Journal


> Species usually found in Singapore include: investment bankers, lawyers, and hawkers. Not usually associated with Singapore: fiddler crabs, sand dollars, starfish, and horseshoe crabs.

> Yet all of the above can be found in Chek Jawa, a 100-hectare wetlands area on Ubin island off Singapore’s northeastern coast. It’s a unique patch of nature in the heavily-developed city-state, and guided tours here are booked months in advance, even on weekdays.



**** Food Fridays: Club Street Social, Singapore ****
<http://blogs.wsj.com/searealtime/2012/03/09/food-fridays-club-street-social-singapore/>
Shibani Mahtani, Wall Street Journal


> “[Club Street] Social’s design is an amalgamation of design features from my favorite restaurants,” said Ms. Chan, a graduate of New York’s Columbia University, but it is also designed to fit its current home along Gemmill Lane, just off the eatery’s namesake of Club Street.



**** It's True! With $1K Income You Can Own HDB Flat ****
<http://www.raviphilemon.net/2012/03/its-true-with-1k-income-you-can-own-hdb.html>
Ravi Philemon


> What's more appalling than the debate about being able to own a 2-room HDB flat, is the fact that there are still people in Singapore, who after putting in an honest day's work, earn less than $1000 per month.

> I really don't know where the pride is, in trumpeting Charlie got his 2-room flat, when in today's Singapore, he's still only earning $850.



**** Hougang By-election To Be Called, Date Undecided ****
<http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1187942/1/.html>
S Ramesh, Channel NewsAsia


> WP chairman Sylvia Lim asked in Parliament: "Does prime minister not agree that with the Hougang SMC being vacant, there is actually an under-representation of the Hougang voters in this House?"

> In response, Mr Lee said: ""Whether there is a under-representation of the interests of the voters of Hougang as a result of this, I do not know that. If that is an issue, I would have thought it is something which the Workers' Party would have considered before deciding to expel Mr Yaw Shin Leong... So if we are in this situation today, it is because the Workers' Party has caused this situation to happen knowing the consequences. "



**** Community Justice Centre To Be Set Up ****
<http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1187937/1/.html>
Claire Huang, Channel NewsAsia


> A new Community Justice Centre which would be set up later this year looks set to give more help to litigants who wish to represent themselves in court.



**** No LTE Speeds For New iPads In Singapore ****
<http://www.hardwarezone.com.sg/tech-news-no-lte-speeds-new-ipads-singapore>
Seow Tein Hee, Hardware Zone


> If you're hoping to enjoy the fast download speeds of 73Mbps through the LTE connection on the iPad, M1 has confirmed with us that this is not possible.

> This is due to the fact that the iPad operates on the 700MHz and 2100MHz frequency bands. Within Singapore, M1 has stated that its LTE networks operate on the 1800MHz and 2600MHz bands, thus making it incompatible with the iPad's frequency bands.

And the new iPhone this year will probably has LTE that is not usable in Singapore either.


**** ä¸­å›½ç§»æ°‘ä¸Žæ–°åŠ å¡ç¤¾ä¼šåº”å¤šç£¨åˆ ****
<http://news.163.com/12/0309/10/7S5AM5D400014AED.html>
黄莹莹 唐筱妍, 国际先驱导报


> ä¸­å›½ç§»æ°‘çœ‹ä¸­äº†æ–°åŠ å¡çš„ç¤¾ä¼šæœ‰åºã€çŽ¯å¢ƒä¼˜ç¾Žå’Œè¾ƒé«˜çš„ç”Ÿæ´»æ°´å‡†ï¼›æ–°åŠ å¡åˆ™å—ç›ŠäºŽæ–°ç§»æ°‘æ‰€å¸¦æ¥çš„æ´»åŠ›ä¸Žè´¢å¯Œã€‚æ˜¾ç„¶ï¼Œèžå…¥ä¸ŽæŽ¥çº³æ˜¯ä¸­å›½ç§»æ°‘ä¸Žæ–°åŠ å¡äººéƒ½è¦è®¤çœŸæ€è€ƒçš„é—®é¢˜ã€‚



**** "I Intend To Call By-election In Hougang": PM Lee ****
<http://www.publichouse.sg/categories/topstory/item/526-i-intend-to-call-by-election-in-hougang-pm-lee>
Publichouse.sg


> "I intend to call a by-election in Hougang to fill this vacancy. However, I have not yet decided on the timing of the by-election. In deciding on the timing, I will take into account all relevant factors, including the well being of Hougang residents, issues on the national agenda, as well as the international backdrop which affects our prosperity and security."

If PAP simply don't contest, then there's really no timing issue, right? :)


**** Singapore Air Asks Pilots To Volunteer For No-pay Leave ****
<http://finance.yahoo.com/news/singapore-air-asks-pilots-volunteer-010007524.html>
Reuters


> Singapore Airlines Ltd , the world's second-largest carrier by market value, said on Friday it has asked its pilots to volunteer for a no-pay leave of up to two years as the industry was hit by weak demand and soaring jet fuel prices.

> The carrier has no plans to make the scheme compulsory at this point and sees the situation as temporary, [Singapore Air spokesman Nicholas Ionides] said.



**** Why Pritam And Show Mao Were Wrong ****
<http://andrewlohhp.wordpress.com/2012/03/09/why-pritam-and-show-mao-were-wrong/>
Andrew Loh


> Certainly, using entire chunks of someone else’s creation, in Parliament no less, is unacceptable, without any form of attribution or credit given to the creator. While the creators of the content may have given consent for it to be used, or may have granted permission to not be credited, even so, MPs Pritam and Chen should know that there are other ways to give credit. After all, both are in the legal profession where the specific use of words is a staple practice.



**** Learning From Singapore's Success ****
<http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/usa/weekly/2012-03/09/content_14793868.htm>
Tan Cheon Kheong, China Daily


> Singapore's experience shows that cities need to adopt a holistic approach in water resource protection. This encompasses water supply management, wastewater management, and storm water management. Moreover, public education is essential.



**** Manifesto For A Pro Singaporean Political Party ****
<http://mysingaporenews.blogspot.com/2012/03/manifesto-for-pro-singaporean-political.html>
Chua Chin Leng, My Singapore News



**** Maid May Have To Do Double The Work The Next Day ****
<http://www.straitstimes.com/STForum/OnlineStory/STIStory_775484.html>
Chew Kum Chung, Straits Times


> My annual leave allocation will not increase, so if no one does the chores, it will only mean that the maid will have to do double the amount of work the day after her day off.

Idiot!


**** Prejudice Against Older Staff Is Acute In S'pore, Says Academic ****
<http://www.straitstimes.com/STForum/Story/STIStory_775500.html>
Tara Dhar Hasnain, Straits Times


> Of all the countries I have worked in, I find that prejudice against older colleagues in the workplace is deepest in Singapore even as the family network helps them socially.



**** 拿了公家钱就要改善服务 ****
<http://www.zaobao.com.sg/yl/sl120309_001.shtml>
联合早报


> 政府给予两大公交业者11äº¿å…ƒå·¨é¢æ´¥è´´ï¼Œæ˜¯ä»¥æ”¹å–„å·´å£«æœåŠ¡ç´ è´¨ä¸ºäº¤æ¢æ¡ä»¶çš„ï¼Œå€˜è‹¥ä¸šè€…æ‹¿äº†é’±ï¼Œè¿˜æ˜¯æ— æ³•åœ¨ä¸€å®šçš„æ—¶é™å†…ï¼Œä¾‹å¦‚ä¸‰äº”å¹´ï¼Œæ‹¿å‡ºè®©å…¬äº¤ä¹˜å®¢æ»¡æ„çš„æœåŠ¡ï¼Œå°±éš¾è¾žå…¶å’Žäº†ã€‚



**** The Squeeze Factor ****
<http://www.todayonline.com/Commentary/EDC120309-0000053/The-squeeze-factor>
Colin Tan, Today


> Is this more a problem of overcrowding than a loss of amenities or hard-to-quantify material gains?

Look beyond the selfish reasons given, and you may find a disturbing trend on our urbanization.


**** Maids A Necessity But Also A Privilege To Have ****
<http://www.todayonline.com/Voices/EDC120309-0000046/Maids-a-necessity-but-also-a-privilege-to-have>
Cherie Lim Ball, Today


> Although a live-in maid is a necessity for many families with young children and elderly, we should see it as a privilege in the scheme of things.

> How can we be a society with soul if we cannot even consider the basic human rights of the people we employ to care for those we hold dear: Our children and elderly?



**** Should MPs Attribute Comments To Sources? ****
<http://www.todayonline.com/Singapore/EDC120309-0000008/Should-MPs-attribute-comments-to-sources?>
Teo Xuanwei, Today


> Two recent incidents involving Workers' Party MPs have sparked discussions online on how rigorously politicians should attribute materials and arguments from others. 

In both cases, permission was asked for, and received, before the speeches were delivered. Nevertheless, I feel that if the speeches derive mostly from one single source, that source should be mentioned.


**** What Holistic Education? ****
<http://pratapolitics.blogspot.com/2012/03/what-holistic-education.html>
Prata Politics


> MOE now wants to dabble in "holistic education", nice fancy wordplay for something to learn beyond maths, science and languages. However, MOE's quest for holistic education is going to flop even before it starts particularly if holistic education classes are outside of regular curriculum time. It's a fact that most parents don't give a shit about anything that is not graded.

Nonsense. So what if many parents do not appreciate a good education? Are we aiming for the lowest denominator?


**** Mass State-Sanctioned Population Management ****
<http://mollymeek.wordpress.com/2012/03/08/mass-state-sanctioned-population-management/>
Molitics