[MyAppleMenu] Sep 7, 2012

[applesurf at myapplemenu.com]

MyAppleMenu
====================================
**** Dear Apple, Please Will You Let Me Say S***? ****
<http://news.cnet.com/8301-17852_3-57507994-71/dear-apple-please-will-you-let-me-say-s/>
Chris Matyszczyk, CNET


> Yet my iPhone insists that what I really want to say is "shut" or "shot."

Dear CNET, please will you let me say shit?


**** Ask The iTunes Guy: Manipulating Files ****
<http://www.macworld.com/article/1168428/ask_the_itunes_guy_manipulating_files.html#lsrc.rss_main>
Kirk McElhearn, Macworld



**** Apple Lifts Ban On BitTorrent Apps, Or So It Seems ****
<http://torrentfreak.com/apple-lifts-ban-on-bittorrent-apps-or-so-it-seems-120907/>
TorrentFreak


> It’s worth pointing out that neither app allows users to download files to the iPhone or iPad, they merely serve as a remote interface for desktop clients. However, that didn’t prevent Apple from issuing a publication ban on similar apps in the past.



**** Quick Tip: Do You Need Java On Your Mac? ****
<http://gigaom.com/apple/quick-tip-do-you-need-java-on-your-mac/>
Geoffrey Goetz, GigaOM


> Java doesn’t come pre-installed for on OS X as it once did. You may have manually installed it, but it’s likely that besides a few web sites and an occasional piece of software you may want to run, you don’t really need Java on your Mac.



**** The Big Business Of Apple Blogs ****
<http://go.bloomberg.com/tech-blog/2012-09-06-the-big-business-of-apple-blogs/>
Mark Milian and Adam Satariano, Bloomberg


> Gruber […] isn’t the only blogger who’s managed to make a living out of writing about Apple.

I see this not as a story of the rise of Apple bloggers, but the rise of bloggers.


**** Meet Apple's Favorite Blogger ****
<http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-09-06/meet-apples-favorite-blogger?utm_source=loopinsight.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+loopinsight%2FKqJb+%28The+Loop%29>
Mark Milian and Adam Satariano, Bloomberg


> John Gruber makes an estimated $500,000 a year from his blog Daring Fireball. But his relationship with Apple is priceless.

Stop being jealous, and start working.


**** Twitter’s Mac Client Is Probably Over ****
<http://www.marco.org/2012/09/06/siegler-tweetie-mac>
Marco Arment


> Of course it’s dead. The difference now is that Twitter won’t let anyone else replace it, probably because they can make far more money by making people use their website.

Has anyone started writing apps that <i>scrap</i> Twitter's web site?


**** Facebook Abandons HTML5 On iOS: A Shift Or Exception? ****
<http://www.infoworld.com/t/html5/facebook-abandons-html5-ios-shift-or-exception-201604>
Paul Krill, InfoWorld


> So does Facebook's experience mean HTML5 will go down in history as another overhyped technology that failed to meet expectations, like Apple's legendary Lisa computer or virtual reality? Perhaps not. Defenders still abound, including Facebook itself.

Apple's walled-garden approach is stiffening innovation in the web browser market, if not for a viable alternative in Android.


**** Ecoute iPhone App Review ****
<http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/mobile-app-reviews/9523895/Ecoute-iPhone-app-review.html>
Sahne Richmond, Telegraph


> Do you need a new music player app for your iPhone? You might think so once you've tried this one.



**** How Apple Outflanked Microsoft In Both Business And Education ****
<http://www.infoworld.com/d/the-industry-standard/how-apple-outflanked-microsoft-in-both-business-and-education-201691>
Bill Snyder, InfoWorld


> Not only are sales of Macs continuing to grow much faster than that of PCs (which we all knew), but a recent report out of Wall Street indicates Apple is making strong gains in business -- Microsoft's seemingly impregnable fortress -- and the iPad is cannibalizing sales of PCs and even Macs in the education market.



**** Apple Quietly Breaking Up With Audience For Siri's Noise Filtering Tech ****
<http://arstechnica.com/apple/2012/09/apple-quietly-breaking-up-with-audience-for-siris-noise-filtering-tech/>
Jacqui Cheng, Ars Technica


> Now that Apple appears to be shedding its dependence on Audience, it could be an indicator that Siri is ready to make its way onto more devices without the help of earSmart.

Siri has to graduate from beta status in iOS 6.





The Tomorrow Weblog
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**** Making Money While Keeping Prices Low: Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos Explains It All (Mostly) ****
<http://allthingsd.com/20120906/making-money-while-keeping-prices-low-amazon-ceo-jeff-bezos-explains-it-all-mostly/>
Tricia Duryee, All Things D



**** How Google Builds Its Maps—and What It Means For The Future Of Everything ****
<http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2012/09/how-google-builds-its-maps-and-what-it-means-for-the-future-of-everything/261913/>
Alexis C. Madrigal, The Atlantic


> Behind every Google Map, there is a much more complex map that's the key to your queries but hidden from your view. The deep map contains the logic of places: their no-left-turns and freeway on-ramps, speed limits and traffic conditions. This is the data that you're drawing from when you ask Google to navigate you from point A to point B -- and last week, Google showed me the internal map and demonstrated how it was built. It's the first time the company has let anyone watch how the project it calls GT, or "Ground Truth," actually works. 



**** Why Java Developers Should Check Out Scala ****
<http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/programming-and-development/why-java-developers-should-check-out-scala/5753>
Justin James, TechRepublic


> Scala is a general purpose language that runs on the JVM (though there is a version for .NET) that maintains a large amount of interoperability with Java and has a fairly small learning curve. The programming language aims to make substantial improvements on Java, mostly by reducing verbosity and introducing a variety of functional programming elements. Because it is interoperable with Java and runs on the JVM, Java developers do not have to give up their existing work if they want to start using Scala in projects.






MyAppleMenu Reader
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**** Pride And Prejudice ****
<http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2012/sep/27/pride-and-prejudice/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+nybooks+%28The+New+York+Review+of+Books%29>
Zoë Heller, The New York Review Of Books


> One might reasonably argue that the occasional outburst of snowflakery is a tolerable price to pay for liberation. But Naomi Wolf would counsel against such complacency. In her new “biography” of the vagina, she warns that her subject is in danger of being trivialized by its cultural ubiquity.



**** Defining A Great Street ****
<http://www.theatlanticcities.com/design/2012/09/defining-great-street/3181/>
Kaid Benfield, The Atlantic Cities


> As you view them, consider what’s appealing about each street in the photo, what might be transferable to other communities.






SingaporeSurf
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**** Singapore In Year's Worst Pollution As Indonesia Haze Hits ****
<http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-19515000>
BBC


> The South East Asian neighbours have been working on measures and regulations to curb the practice of forest burning in Indonesia.

> However, activists say that officials have not been hard and fast in enforcing the regulations.



**** Why Is The Death Penalty Carried Out So Secretively? ****
<http://www.visakanv.com/blog/2012/09/why-is-the-death-penalty-carried-out-so-secretively/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=why-is-the-death-penalty-carried-out-so-secretively>
Visakan Veerasamy


> After all, the executioner isn’t hanging the person- he’s merely the tool. <i>we</i> are hanging the person, as a country. That person is being killed on our behalf- how dare we look away? What right do we have to be willfully ignorant?



**** A Conversation Going Nowhere ****
<http://berthahenson.wordpress.com/2012/09/07/a-conversation-going-nowhere/>
Bertha Harian


> Seriously, it’s about time Mr Heng and his team (whoever they are) get down to telling us <i>how</i> this conversation will take place instead of simply suggesting “dialogue’’ and “forums’’. 



**** Society Must Agree On Who Should Receive Social Help: Chan Chun Sing ****
<http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1224666/1/.html>
Hetty Musfirah, Channel NewsAsia


> For example, instead of using the subsidy to mitigate the cost of childcare services, Mr Chan said some parents may channel the additional help to pursue more expensive services that they perceive to be better. 

> He said this may then set off a vicious circle where centres perceived to be of higher-quality are able to charge higher fees, pay more to attract better quality teachers and attract better quality students. This, Mr Chan said, may compound the problem of social segregation. 



**** HK Lags Behind Singapore Due To Political Obstruction ****
<http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/hkedition/2012-09/07/content_15741076.htm>
Yiu Chi-shing, China Daily


> How can the city's economy develop if such ill-motivated political maneuvers are allowed to block the government's efforts to carry out its mandate? And how could Hong Kong not fall behind Singapore in economic development when misguided politicians had their way?



**** Of Hate And Prejudice ****
<http://singaporedesk.blogspot.sg/2012/09/of-hate-and-prejudice.html>
Singapore Notes


> The word is hate for her political adversary. Hate to be reminded that from 2009, she was the Director of the National Population Secretariat, working under "population czar" Wong Kan Seng at the Ministry of Home Affairs to unleash the tsunami of foreign invaders. Hate to be at the receiving end of her own faulted policy making.



**** Of Wrongful Pride And Prejudice ****
<http://www.singapolitics.sg/views/wrongful-pride-and-prejudice>
Sim Ann, Straits Times


> But online comments that clearly spew hate and prejudice against individuals or groups are simply that - hate speech. All of us, politician or netizen, need to take a clear stand against hate speech. Abuse of foreigners, or any human being for that matter, is not acceptable, whether it is verbal or physical, online or offline. Interpreting such vile comments, as Mr Giam does, as misdirected anger intended originally for the government is deeply questionable.



**** Shoebox Living – Are You A Size 7? ****
<http://voiddecker.com/2012/09/shoebox-living-are-you-a-size-7/>
The Void Decker


> Nobody wants to see shoebox or, worse, micro apartments becoming the norm of Singapore living, but ultimately it is the market that decides. For a start, we could do without sweeping statements on the quality of life of those who actually live in them.

> Would a policy like this not drive up the prices of shoebox units and further limit the housing choices that singles have? What of those who can’t afford expensive units in the central area?



**** Panda Trinkets Unleashed In Singapore ****
<http://blogs.wsj.com/searealtime/2012/09/06/pandas-trinkets-unleashed-in-singapore/>
Martin Vaughan, Wall Street Journal


> The arrival in Singapore Thursday of two Chinese VIPs—Very Important Pandas named Kai Kai (male) and Jia Jia (female)—has given rise to a new sought-after commodity in the city-state: panda swag.

Okay, we have the first mainstream media making the VIP pun. :)


**** “花园城市”看病不贵（他山之石） ****
<http://finance.ifeng.com/roll/20120907/6998531.shtml>
å¼ é¢–, 国际金融报


> æ–°åŠ å¡æ€»èƒ½ç»™ä¸–ç•Œä¸€äº›å¯ç¤ºï¼Œè¿™ä¸ªè¢«èª‰ä¸ºâ€œèŠ±å›­åŸŽå¸‚â€çš„å›½åº¦ï¼Œæ²¡æœ‰ä»»ä½•è‡ªç„¶èµ„æºï¼Œå´å¾ˆå¥½åœ°è§£å†³äº†518万人口的看病就医难题。



**** Singapore: A Supersized Vision Of The Asian Dream ****
<http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/asia/singapore/9525734/Singapore-a-supersized-vision-of-the-Asian-dream.html>
Nigel Richardson, Telegraph


> In the course of four days I saw more and more parallels between modern Britain and this former British colony that the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are scheduled to visit next week. It’s like a tropical London, 20 years down the line – corporate, glitzy and exclusive.



**** Double Zig-zag Yellow Lines In Front Of Raffles City, Robinsons ****
<http://gintai.wordpress.com/2012/09/07/double-zig-zag-yellow-lines-in-front-of-raffles-city-robinsons-of/>
Gintai_昇泰



**** Singapore’s Prime Minister Warns China On View Of U.S. ****
<http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/07/world/asia/singapores-prime-minister-warns-china-on-view-of-us.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss>
Jane Perlez, New York Times


> In an unusual public airing of strategic problems surrounding China’s rise, the prime minister of Singapore, Lee Hsien Loong, warned China on Thursday that it should view the United States not as a declining power, but as a nation with the ability to innovate and bounce back.

> Speaking at the Central Party School, the prestigious training ground for new members of the Communist Party, Mr. Lee also suggested that China try to solve its maritime disputes in the South China Sea regionally, through the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, rather than country by country.



**** All Town Councils Face Similar Cost Pressure ****
<http://www.todayonline.com/Voices/EDC120907-0000022/All-town-councils-face-similar-cost-pressure>
Albert Teng, 14 PAP Town Councils, Today


> With a diverse profile of towns and residents, each town council may have different facilities to meet their residents' needs. Thus, maintenance costs and operating expenses vary.



**** Long Warranties Need Credibility ****
<http://www.todayonline.com/Voices/EDC120907-0000067/Long-warranties-need-credibility>
Christophe Inglin, Today


> I cannot say the same for many cheap office chairs from no-name manufacturers with two- or three-year warranties.



**** More Tots On The National Conversation ****
<http://atans1.wordpress.com/2012/09/07/more-tots-on-the-national-conversation/>
Thoughts Of A Cynical Investor



**** MOE Clarifies Stance On Private Tuition ****
<http://www.todayonline.com/Singapore/EDC120907-0000071/MOE-clarifies-stance-on-private-tuition>
Ng Jing Yng, Today


> "Teachers should not recommend tuition to students or parents as a form of learning support," an MOE spokesperson said in response to TODAY's queries on the points raised by Mr Hri Kumar. 

> According to the spokesperson, when teachers "come across students who are under-performing in their studies, they would look for ways of giving such students additional learning support".