[MyAppleMenu] Mar 30, 2012

[applesurf at myapplemenu.com]

MyAppleMenu
====================================
**** The Digital-Phyiscal: On Building Flipboard For iPhone And Finding Edges For Our Digital Narratives ****
<http://craigmod.com/journal/digital_physical/>
Craig Mod


> This is an essay about recognizing and reorganizing our journeys that live largely in digital space. How do we ground and bind those experiences? What is the value in giving them edges so we may hold them in our hands and hope to understand, perhaps, the weight of the work we produce?



**** Apple Supplier Foxconn Cuts Working Hours, Workers Ask Why ****
<http://uk.news.yahoo.com/apple-supplier-foxconn-cuts-working-hours-workers-ask-093640914.html>
Reuters


> Foxconn's concessions, including cutting overtime for its 1.2 million mainland Chinese workers while promising compensation that protects them against losing income, were backed by Apple, which has faced criticism and media scrutiny for worker safety lapses and for using relatively low-paid employees to make high-cost phones, computers and other gadgets.

> But at the Foxconn factory gates, many workers seemed unconvinced that their pay wouldn't be cut along with their hours. For some Chinese factory workers - who make much of their income from long hours of overtime - the idea of less work for the same pay could take getting used to.



**** SOPA Is All Fun And Games Until NBC Rips Off Apple’s Artwork ****
<http://thenextweb.com/insider/2012/03/30/sopa-is-all-fun-and-games-until-nbc-rips-off-apples-artwork/>
Matthew Panzarino, The Next Web


> The thing is, there is likely nothing malicious about NBC using the Xcode icon. It’s probably a casual thing that isn’t representative of its overall web design policies. But it is being used in a context where it is aiding NBC in making money for itself by starting up a new property.



**** Apple Clarifies Its UDID Position: No Rejections Yet For Use, Only For Lack Of User Opt-in ****
<http://www.pocketgamer.biz/r/PG.Biz/Apple+news/news.asp?c=39375>
Jon Jordan, Pocket Gamer


> Speaking off-the-record, an industry insider told us they had been in contact with Apple and had been categorically told the news it was rejecting apps over UDIDs was a rumour.

> Instead, apps and games had been rejected for the subtly different reason that aren't securely transferred data (for example using SSL) or they didn't give users the option to opt in (or out) from use of UDIDs.



**** New iPad's Battery Life Matches Apple's Claims, But iPad 2 Lasts Longer ****
<http://www.macworld.com/article/1166128/new_ipads_battery_life_matches_apples_claims_but_ipad_2_lasts_longer.html#lsrc.twt_macworld>
James Galbraith, Macworld


> Setting both devices to a lower screen brightness (as Apple does in its testing), we ran our test again. This time, the gap between the battery life test results narrowed, with the iPad 2 lasting 13 hours and 20 minutes and the new iPad lasting 10 hours and 10 minutes. That’s right in line with Apple’s battery life claims for the new iPad. What’s strange is that the iPad 2’s specifications state the same up-to-10 hour battery life, but our tests blew past that mark.



**** Tackling A Newly Installed Application Not Opening In OS X ****
<http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-13727_7-57406599-263/tackling-a-newly-installed-application-not-opening-in-os-x/>
Topher Kessler, CNET



**** Apple's War On Android ****
<http://www.businessweek.com/printer/articles/16150-apples-war-on-android>
Paul M.Barrett, BusinessWeek


> Still, the larger contest between Apple and Google is nowhere near resolution. And it’s not just about smartphones and tablets. While they struggle for dominance in mobile devices, Apple and Google are protecting their flanks from Microsoft and girding for a coming clash over the market for digital hubs that integrate the Internet with television.



**** In Defense Of (Apple’s) Incremental Improvements ****
<http://tidbits.com/article/12856?rss>
Glenn Fleishman, TidBITS


> I want to defend Apple’s incremental improvements as the basis of its success in the market, something its competitors seem baffled by, because they apparently don’t understand the difference between revenue and profit, and between delighting customers with products that can be used for several years and those that are obsolete before they’re even sold.

Apple also has a keen eye on realizing what makes a product great, and what should be removed to make the product even better.


**** Apple Supplier In Violation Of Labor And Safety Rules, Outside Audit Says ****
<http://arstechnica.com/apple/news/2012/03/apple-supplier-in-violation-of-labor-and-safety-rules-outside-audit-says.ars?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss>
Megan Geuss, Ars Technica


> The Fair Labor Association conducted what it says is one of the most in-depth, independent surveys of Apple manufacturer Hon Hai Precision Industry (otherwise known as Foxconn), and found a number of health and safety violations in the work environment.



**** First Look: Paper Has Big Potential, Several Flaws ****
<http://www.macworld.com/article/1166133/first_look_paper_has_big_potential_several_flaws.html#lsrc.rss_main>
Serenity Caldwell, Macworld


> While testing the new sketching app Paper, I couldn’t decide whether I loved or hated it. Paper has the potential to be brilliant, but in its present form has too many flaws for it to earn a place in my iPad’s dock.



**** iPhoto 9.2.3 Out Now ****
<http://www.tuaw.com/2012/03/29/iphoto-9-2-3-out-now/>
Mike Schramm, TUAW


> Not too much in this one -- the latest update to iPhoto is mainly just stability fixes.



**** Apple Supplier In China Pledges Big Labor Changes ****
<http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/30/business/apple-supplier-in-china-pledges-changes-in-working-conditions.html?_r=2&smid=tw-nytimes&seid=auto&utm_source=loopinsight.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+loopinsight%2FKqJb+%28The+Loop%29>
Charles Duhigg and Steven Greenhouse, New York Times


> Responding to a critical report about its factories, Foxconn, a leading Asian company that makes electronic products for Apple, Dell, Amazon and others, has pledged to sharply curtail the number of working hours in its Chinese factories and significantly increase wages, a move that could improve working conditions across China.



**** For Reading, The New iPad's Screen Is Underrated ****
<http://www.macworld.com/article/1166114/opinion_the_new_ipads_screen_is_underrated.html>
Dan Frakes, Macworld


> The new iPad has even made me forego my Kindle e-reader. I’ve long been a Kindle fan, because I’ve felt that when it comes to ebook reading, text just looked better and more paper-like with the Kindle’s e-ink technology than on the backlit screen of an iPhone or iPad. But text is so clear on the new iPad that over the past two weeks, every time I would have previously put the iPad down and reached for my Kindle, I’ve kept the iPad in hand. That may change a bit down the road, as I still appreciate the Kindle’s simplicity and light weight, but it will no longer be because I prefer the Kindle’s screen for reading text.

Now, Apple just need to figure out how to make the screen readable in bright sunlight.


**** iPhone 4 Users With Bad Reception Invited To Apply For $15 Settlement Claims ****
<http://arstechnica.com/apple/news/2012/03/iphone-4-users-with-bad-reception-invited-to-apply-for-15-settlement-claims.ars?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss>
Jacqui Cheng, Ars Technica


> iPhone 4 owners who meet certain criteria and didn't accept a free bumper from Apple after experiencing antenna problems are now being invited to apply for a $15 settlement. The claim website went up early Thursday morning following February's settlement of several class-action lawsuits, which offers instructions for those who want that extra $15 in their pockets. The deadline for filing a claim is August 28, 2012.



**** Malware Infects Macs Through Microsoft Office Vulnerability ****
<http://www.macworld.com/article/1166125/malware_infects_macs_through_microsoft_office_vulnerability.html#lsrc.rss_main>
Lucian Constantin, IDG News Service


> Security researchers have encountered new email-based targeted attacks that exploit a vulnerability in Microsoft Office to install a remote access Trojan horse program on Mac OS systems.

> “The attack will be very effective on those who have not updated their copies of Microsoft Office, or aren’t running antivirus software,” the Intego researchers said.



**** Apple’s Siri Balancing Act ****
<http://kensegall.com/blog/2012/03/apples-siri-balancing-act/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+observatory+%28observatory%29>
Ken Segall's Observatory


> Can a company present a feature as a product’s main attraction, and then claim “it’s just a beta” when it gets sued?

> Keep in mind that Apple hasn’t officially taken that position yet. Who knows what their defense will ultimately be. The case is young, and the lawyers may still be busy devising a legal strategy.






The Tomorrow Weblog
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**** Here’s Another Big Data Startup From Team Yahoo ****
<http://gigaom.com/cloud/heres-another-big-data-startup-from-team-yahoo/>
Derrick Harris, GigaOM






MyAppleMenu Reader
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**** The Encyclopedists ****
<http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1868/02/the-encyclopedists/5188/>
Morris Markey, The Atlantic


> The eighteenth century has bequeathed to us one work which embodies in itself the spirit of the century,—that is the <i>Encyclopédie</i>. There are, of course, other works of that epoch more perfect, or nearer that perfection which was always the aim of its great authors. These are, however, the works of individual authors, and they give us only the labors of each author separately, while the <i>Encyclopédie</i> gives us the picture of an age which was one of the most important in the history of the world. 



**** That's What She Said ****
<http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/books/2012/03/sex_and_the_office_relations_between_men_and_women_make_cubicle_life_complicated_.html>
Jennifer Szalai, Slate


> When somebody says the word “office” I think immediately of the cubicle: that charmless little box of efficiency, a quality unconnected to sexuality in any way—one that is, at least to my mind, its opposite. Which is perhaps the point. As Julie Berebitsky points out in <i>Sex and the Office: A History of Gender, Power, and Desire</i>, sexual relationships—consensual or not—have long been considered a threat to productivity and morale, eclipsing the mid-century trope of the secretary sitting on the boss’s knee. Employers labor to strip their offices of expressions of id, encouraging their sublimation elsewhere. (<i>She said “strip”!</i>) But all that this repression suggests is the persistence of what needed repressing in the first place.



**** Science On The Rampage ****
<http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2012/apr/05/science-rampage-natural-philosophy/>
Freeman Dyson, The New York Review Of Books


> The fringe of physics is not a sharp boundary with truth on one side and fantasy on the other. All of science is uncertain and subject to revision. The glory of science is to imagine more than we can prove. The fringe is the unexplored territory where truth and fantasy are not yet disentangled.






SingaporeSurf
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**** Winning Ideas For Rail Corridor ****
<http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1192234/1/.html>
Channel NewsAsia


> An Australian team won the first prize in the Open category's "Extraordinary and Innovative Ideas for a Great Public Space" issue. The team's submission, entitled "The Tiger's Garden", proposed that the Rail Corridor be returned to the wild to reconnect modern Singapore with its primeval past.

> URA says it will study the ideas and concepts from these entries and distil suitable design principles and parameters that can form part of the brief for the Rail Corridor Master Plan and design competition that is being considered at the moment.



**** Lots Of Dead Fishes Along Sungei Tampines ****
<http://wildshores.blogspot.com/2012/03/lots-of-dead-fishes-along-sungei.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+WildShoresOfSingapore+%28wild+shores+of+singapore%29>
Wild Shores Of Singapore


> There are indeed lots of dead fishes along the banks of Sungei Tampines.



**** Censors Clear Chia Thye Poh Video, Rates It NC16 ****
<http://singaporerebel.blogspot.com/2012/03/censors-clear-chia-thye-poh-video-rates.html>
Singapore Rebel


> This is the first film featuring an extended speech from a long-term political prisoner that has been passed by the Government. Two previous films, Zahari's 17 Years and Dr Lim Hock Siew, have been gazetted as prohibited films by previous Ministers of Information, Communications and the Arts (MICA).



**** Remaining Yale In Singapore ****
<http://www.yaledailynews.com/news/2012/mar/30/when-yale-nus-opens-yale-must-throw-its-weight/>
Yale Daily News


> The students who arrive at the new college will be searching for a kind of education that doesn’t yet exist in Singapore. They will want the challenging discussions and the political activism and the chance to question their fundamental tenets. Once these students enroll in a school bearing Yale’s name, it will be Yale’s responsibility to ensure that they get what they’re signing up for.

> Should Singaporean policies interfere, Levin must lead the way in standing up for his students. If Yale cannot ensure the rights of the students at Yale-NUS, its presence in Singapore will be a disgrace.



**** Electricity Tariffs To Increase 4.3% From April To June ****
<http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1192183/1/.html>
Channel NewsAsia


> Electricity tariffs will increase by 4.3 per cent for the next three months beginning this Sunday. SP Services said this is due to higher fuel prices, which have resulted in higher power generation costs.



**** Judgement Reserved In Hougang By-election Application ****
<http://www.todayonline.com/Hotnews/EDC120330-0000109/Judgement-reserved-in-Hougang-by-election-application>
Today



**** Singaporean Democracy In Action ****
<http://www.asiasentinel.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4378&Itemid=181>
Paul Karl Lukacs, Asia Sentinel


> The government expects to lose a by-election in an opposition ward, so it has adopted the novel strategy of refusing to schedule the vote. The legality of the maneuver will be tested on March 30 in the island nation’s home-grown court.

> While the issue would presumably be of interest to all Singaporeans, the country’s citizens may not have an opportunity to learn their government’s precise legal position. As of this writing, tomorrow’s hearing is scheduled to be held in the judge’s private chambers and is not open to the public. 



**** More 'Child Kidnap' Stories Emerge Online ****
<http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_783438.html>
Elizabeth Soh, Straits Times


> Police are investigating a series of online postings about alleged child kidnap attempts in the heartland. Four such allegations have surfaced on the Internet in the past two weeks.



**** No Complaints Here Over Being Misled On iPad 4G Access: Case ****
<http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_783444.html>
Irene Tham, Straits Times


> The Infocomm Development Authority confirmed on Thursday that Apple South Asia, which imports the device here, had specified that the new iPad can access only the 2G/3G network but not the 4G frequency band in Singapore.



**** SMRT In Talks To Raise Bus Drivers' Pay ****
<http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_783431.html>
Goh Chin Lian, Straits Times


> The National Transport Workers' Union is in talks with public transport operator SMRT to raise the basic pay of its bus drivers, so as to catch up with the salaries of their counterparts in SBS Transit.



**** 高架地铁站　凉风中候车 ****
<http://www.zaobao.com.sg/sp/sp120330_001.shtml>
é™ˆç´«ç­ , 联合早报


> 在高架地铁站候车的乘客，日后可在更清爽的环境中候车。陆路交通管理局将斥资290万元，在全岛36个高架地铁站月台安装风扇，工程预计在明年首季完成。

Just make sure those fans don't fall off the ceiling.


**** 建屋局华文广告不知所云 ****
<http://www.zaobao.com.sg/sp/sp120330_019.shtml>
联合早报


> 在英文版中提到“A large sprinkling of mature estates”，华文广告却翻译为“大方撒上已发展组屋区”，让人摸不着头脑。



**** More Secure iBanking Needed ****
<http://www.todayonline.com/Voices/EDC120330-0000013/More-secure-iBanking-needed>
Yvonne Tan, Today


> Given how people now use their phones not just to SMS but to email and surf the Web, just like a personal computer, the phone is more vulnerable to hackers now than it was in the past.

> The MAS and banks should review the use of mobile phones to receive or generate passwords as a second form of security.

On the other hand, a good smartphone -- such as iPhone -- is a great device for people with disabilities such as sight problems. On my iPhone, I can increase the font-size of the text messages to suit my eyes better, but on DBS' hardware token, I need to place it under strong light and squint my eyes a little just to read the digits.


**** Dead Fish Found In Another River ****
<http://www.todayonline.com/Singapore/EDC120330-0000073/Dead-fish-found-in-another-river>
Amanda Lee, Today


> Hundreds of dead fish, measuring 5cm long each and similar to the ones found earlier, were washed up ashore yesterday along Sungei Tampines, making it the second incident to have occurred in the Pasir Ris estate in the past 10 days. 



**** One More Round Of Singapore Observations ****
<http://fcw.com/blogs/lectern/2012/03/singapore-more-observations.aspx>
Steve Kelman, Fedearal Computer Week