[MyAppleMenu] Mar 10, 2012

[applesurf at myapplemenu.com]

MyAppleMenu
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**** Apple Denies E-book Price Fixing To Beat Amazon ****
<http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-501465_162-57394416-501465/apple-denies-e-book-price-fixing-to-beat-amazon/>
Don Reisinger, CBS News


> In a court filing obtained by PaidContent yesterday, Apple argues that any claim that it views Amazon and the Kindle e-book store as a threat is nonsense.



**** How To Boost Your Mac’s Drag And Drop Productivity With Dropzone ****
<http://lifehacker.com/5891836/how-to-boost-your-macs-drag-and-drop-productivity-with-dropzone>
Adam Dachis, Lifehacker


> OS X: Dropzone is a neat little app that seems like a basic file sharing utility, but when you look further you'll find it actually provides fantastic shortcuts for moving, copying, and uploading files, perform various tasks, and use information. Everything is handled via drag-and-drop, saving you time with common, tedious tasks.



**** The Strange World Of Clock Apps For Mac Users ****
<http://noodlemac.com/2012/03/the-strange-world-of-clock-apps-for-mac-users/>
NoodleMac


> How do I know that? Search for clocks on the Mac App Store. There are a few dozen clocks and alarms that range from free to about $20.



**** The 1Password Emergency Kit ****
<http://vardy.me/the-1password-emergency-kit/>
Mike Vardy


> Imagine if something was to happen to you. Something that would keep you from accessing stuff on your computer that has passwords associated with it. It’s not a pleasant thing to think about, but we’d be foolhardy not to. I mean, we all keep an updated will, and most other pertinent documents are kept in a fire safe or safe deposit box so that your next of kin can move through anything tragic that may befall you with as little resistance as possible.

> But now that we spend so much time online – whether with online banking, email or earning a living – that having a failsafe in place isn’t just a good idea anymore. It’s mandatory.

> That’s why I came up with the 1Password Emergency Kit.



**** Apple Shutting Down iWork.com On July 31 Amid Transition To iCloud ****
<http://www.macrumors.com/2012/03/09/apple-shutting-down-iwork-com-amid-transition-to-icloud/>
Eric Slivka, MacRumors


> Apple today sent out an email to users registered for its iWork.com beta noting that it will be discontinuing the service as of July 31. The discontinuation comes as Apple places its focus on iCloud, which offers users ways to keep documents in sync among their various iOS devices.



**** Why Are Companies Defecting From Google Maps? ****
<http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/why-are-companies-defecting-from-google-maps/>
Geoff Duncan, Digital Trends


> Google first announced plans to begin monetizing Google Maps nearly a year ago, including a requirement that any new services forward display advertising in Google Maps along to their end users, so Google could start generating advertising revenue from the service. The hammer truly dropped in October 2011, when Google finally revealed pricing for Google Maps services.



**** Ask The iTunes Guy: Work With Playlists ****
<http://www.macworld.com/article/165775/2012/03/ask_the_itunes_guy_work_with_playlists.html#lsrc.rss_main>
Kirk McElhearn, Macworld



**** Scholastic Releases iPad E-reader App For Kids ****
<http://www.tuaw.com/2012/03/09/scholastic-releases-ipad-e-reader-app-for-kids/>
Kelly Hodgkins, TUAW






The Tomorrow Weblog
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**** YouTube Subtracts Racy And Raucous To Add A Teaching Tool ****
<http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/10/education/youtube-finds-a-way-off-schools-banned-list.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss>
Stephanie Strom, New York Times


> Educators are giving YouTube — long dismissed as a storehouse of whimsical, time-wasting and occasionally distasteful videos — another look. As Google, YouTube’s parent company, fine-tunes a portal that lets schools limit students’ access to selected content, the video-sharing Web site is gaining popularity as a trove of free educational materials.



**** Optimizing Apps For Cloud ****
<http://channel9.msdn.com/Blogs/Vector/Optimizing-apps-for-cloud>
Tim O'Brien, MSDN






MyAppleMenu Reader
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**** Drifting House By Krys Lee - Review ****
<http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2012/mar/09/drifting-house-krys-lee-review?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+theguardian%2Fbooks%2Frss+%28Books%29>
Kamila Shamsie, The Guardian


> A picture may say a thousand words, but only if you know what you're looking at. The images of North Koreans mourning the death of Kim Jong-il left more than a few people puzzling over what it was we were seeing: grief, terror of being viewed as insufficiently sad, mass hysteria, fear of the unknown or something else entirely? Questions such as these can place an undue, and perhaps unwanted, burden on a Korean writer whose debut collection wings into the UK shortly after we've been confronted with the untranslated images, but if there's one thing Krys Lee knows how to do it's use history and culture as the boards and backdrop of a narrative while allowing her characters to take centre-stage.



**** Standing Alone ****
<http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/11/books/review/beautiful-souls-by-eyal-press.html?partner=rss&emc=rss&pagewanted=all>
Louisa Thomas, New York Times


> It is not a book of moral philosophy. Press is a journalist, and he is interested in how moral problems play out in particular lives. To that end, he relates the experiences of Grüninger and three others: a Serb who saved the lives of Croats by lying about their ethnic identity; an Israeli soldier from an elite unit who refused to serve in the occupied territories; and a financial industry whistle-blower. Press is not simply storytelling, however. He splices his case studies with brief accounts of other dissenters, along with insights drawn from sociology, political theory, history, neuroscience, psychology, fiction and philosophy.



**** Lost Generations ****
<http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/11/books/review/what-leaving-the-atocha-station-says-about-america.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss>
Gary Sernovitz, New York Times


> When an adviser to President Obama was quoted in The New Yorker as saying that the administration’s policy in Libya was “leading from behind,” he initiated a season of hand-wringing about American decline, as if he had announced that the president was implementing a secret plan to make a second-rate country even worse. But whether America is leading from — or falling — behind affects more than our foreign policy. It also affects how it feels to be an American, which is a central concern of American novelists.






SingaporeSurf
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**** The Pot Calling The Kettle Black ****
<http://trulysingapore.wordpress.com/2012/03/10/the-pot-calling-the-kettle-black/>
Yours Truly Singapore


> If PM Lee blames the Workers’ Party for expelling Mr Yaw, does he therefore think that the blameless thing to do is to keep Mr Yaw? That would be uncharacteristic of PM Lee considering his response to the last minute dropping of Steve Tan during the last general election.



**** Hougang By-election Plan Welcomed ****
<http://sg.news.yahoo.com/hougang-by-election-plan-welcomed-.html>
Deborah Choo, Yahoo!


> Bridget Welsh, associate professor in political science at Singapore Management University (SMU), said PM Lee’s decision to call for a by-election in Hougang was a “step in the right direction” as it “shows respect for the voice of the people in Hougang”.

> Speaking to Yahoo! Singapore, Welsh, however, pointed out that the “unwillingness to be transparent on the timing and explanations [PM Lee] offered on why he should not set the timing attempts to obscure the fact that this is about politics and the fortunes of his political party”.



**** RI May Press Singapore On Asset Repatriation, Timor Leste ****
<http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2012/03/10/ri-may-press-singapore-asset-repatriation-timor-leste.html>
The Jakarta Post


> Indonesia is set to kick off another round of high-ranking diplomatic talks with Singapore on issues deemed contentious in the bilateral ties of the two neighboring countries.

> Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa said that among the top agendas to be negotiated was Indonesia’s wish for Singapore to support Indonesia’s anti-corruption drive.



**** Budget Air Travel Growth Spurt Stuns Singapore ****
<http://blogs.wsj.com/searealtime/2012/03/09/budget-air-travel-growth-spurt-stuns-singapore/>
Chun Han Wong, Wall Street Journal


> Some experts, including Standard & Poor’s aviation analyst Shukor Yusof, have disagreed, noting Singapore was ahead of the curve when it decided to build a low-cost carrier terminal in July 2004, and was now trying to get ahead again.

> “The Budget Terminal is quite a bare-bones facility, and has outlived its usefulness. It shouldn’t cost too much to tear down,” he said. “And to be fair to (the Singapore authorities), they didn’t spend that much building it.”



**** The Bitter And The Sweet ****
<http://singaporelifetimes.blogspot.com/2012/03/bitter-and-sweet.html>
Singapore Life And Times


> The PAP knows it is a lost cause, so it is better to exact as much damage on the WP resource-wise. But of course, it will suffer collateral damage, they are not stupid. More Hougang residents will be turned off by a PAPty that doesn't care. The real unknown is how much collateral damage it will sustain from the rest of Singapore, which is watching the drama as it unfolds very publicly?



**** Income Disparity And Its Perilous Inequality ****
<http://theonlinecitizen.com/2012/03/income-disparity-and-its-perilous-inequality/>
Ghui, The Online Citizen



**** 书中自有荧光屏？ ****
<http://www.zaobao.com.sg/fk/fk120310_011.shtml>
诚治, 联合早报


> ç§‘æŠ€å¤šå¹´æ¥çš„è¿…é€Ÿå‘å±•å¸¦åŠ¨äº†è®¸å¤šæ”¹å˜ï¼Œå½“ä¸­æœ‰å¥½æœ‰åï¼Œä½†å…¨éƒ¨éƒ½ä¼¼ä¹Žæ— å¯é¿å…ã€‚æˆ–è®¸ï¼ŒçŽ°åœ¨å°±æ˜¯ç§‘æŠ€å†²å‡»åˆ°ä¹¦åº—ä¸šçš„æ—¶å€™äº†ã€‚

> 但阅读的风气应该不会受到影响。

Technology <i>has</i> helped me read more and wider. If physical bookstores are to be eliminated (I don't think so, though) because of technology, then so be it.


**** Education: Mindset Of Government Must Change First ****
<http://www.sgpolitics.net/?p=7411>
Ng E-Jay, Sgpolitics.net


> The state of education in Singapore is a reflection of how the government has steered the nation in political, economic, and social terms. The education issues therefore cannot be addressed in isolation. It is not simply a matter of asking people to change their ways.



**** Important To Quote Source ****
<http://www.todayonline.com/Voices/EDC120310-0000039/Important-to-quote-source>
Pritam Singh, Member of Parliament for Aljunied GRC, Today


> Before I delivered my speech, I secured Groundnotes' permission to use the article in full, which Groundnotes himself acknowledged in a March 7 posting. Groundnotes also wished to remain anonymous.

> On hindsight, it would have been better for me to have said in Parliament that I was quoting from a source who wished to remain anonymous, so as to avoid unnecessary controversy.



**** What’s it like to own a house with a meagre $850 a month? ****
<http://theonlinecitizen.com/2012/03/whats-it-like-to-own-a-house-with-a-meagre-850-a-month/>
Leong Sze Hian, The Online Citizen


> In any case, utilising almost all his CPF, may render him broke without any CPF savings for his retirement.



**** Rites ****
<http://piaroh.wordpress.com/2012/03/09/rites/>
Words Of The Cze


> As a simple rule of thumb, an MP must undertake reasonable efforts to make clear when content is original and when it is not. Both WP MPs are lawyers by training – I am sure they understand what ‘reasonable’ means.



**** Significant "Firsts" In 2012 Budget Session ****
<http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1188032/1/.html>
S Ramesh and Sharon Tong, Channel NewsAsia


> Parliament has approved the budget estimates for Financial Year 2012 after nine days of debate.

> Parliament has adjourned to a date to be fixed. 



**** More Incidents Of Laser Light Pointing At Aircraft In Changi ****
<http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1188011/1/.html>
Channel NewsAsia



**** 'Lemon Law' On Defective Products To Take Effect In September ****
<http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_775762.html>
Tessa Wong, Straits Times


> Under this law, consumers who find that a good is defective within six months of purchase, have the right to require the seller to repair or replace the goods within a reasonable period of time and without significant inconvenience to them.



**** Two Ferry Operators Accused Of Anti-competitive Behaviour ****
<http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1187988/1/.html>
Channel NewsAsia


> The Competition Commission of Singapore (CCS) suspects that Batam Fast Ferry and Penguin Ferry Services have breached the Competition Act.

> It said on Friday that they had exchanged, and provided sensitive and confidential price information on ferry tickets sold to corporate clients and travel agents. These are for two routes between Singapore and Batam.