[MyAppleMenu] Jan 16, 2013

[applesurf at myapplemenu.com]

MyAppleMenu
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**** A Foray Into Simplenote Alternatives ****
<http://shawnblanc.net/2013/01/simplenote-alternatives/>
Shawn Blanc



**** Belgium Watchdogs: Apple Is 'Deaf To Demands' Over Consumer Rights ****
<http://www.zdnet.com/belgium-watchdogs-apple-is-deaf-to-demands-over-consumer-rights-7000009816/>
Charlie Osborne, ZDNet


> Accusing Apple of a 'misleading' and 'illegal' AppleCare warranty policies, a Belgian consumer rights group will be taking the tech giant to court.



**** Apple Scoops PBS On 'Downton Abbey' Episodes, But PBS Is Cool With It ****
<http://www.thewrap.com/tv/column-post/apple-scoops-pbs-downton-abbey-episodes-pbs-cool-it-73226>
TheWrap TV


> Apple is making the entire third season of "Downton Abbey" available on iTunes before every episode airs on PBS -- and that's just fine with PBS.



**** Apple Lets Buyers On China Web Pay In 2-Year Installments ****
<http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-01-16/apple-lets-buyers-on-china-website-pay-in-two-year-installments.html>
Bloomberg


> “Financing is traditionally the best route to make expensive luxury items affordable to those unable to save the cash for them, and if Apple pulls it off it will be a pioneer in consumer credit in China,” Wolf said.

> Apple has used financing plans in other markets, including the U.S., Brazil and Singapore, according to its local sites for those countries.



**** Review: 27-Inch iMac Mixes Advancements, Compromises ****
<http://www.macworld.com/article/2025363/review-27-inch-imac-mixes-advancements-compromises.html>
James Galbraith, Macworld


> The new, thinner, 27-inch iMacs are striking in terms of their design, but the loss of two convenient features—internal optical drives and built-in FireWire ports—dampens my enthusiasm for the makeover. The new iMac’s drastically reduced glare and generous 8GB of RAM are features that benefits every user. Enhanced FaceTime cameras, better sounding speakers, and faster processors sweeten the deal, and the optional Fusion Drive’s ability to offer an SSD’s speed with a hard drive’s capacity is a nothing short of a breakthrough in storage.



**** Safe Sex? There’s An App For That ****
<http://www.salon.com/2013/01/15/safe_sex_theres_an_app_for_that/>
Tracy Clark-Flory, Salon


> I fully expect to one day tell my awed children, “I know it’s hard to believe, but back in my day we didn’t have a database of potential dates’ STD status, sexual performance reviews and DNA analysis.”



**** Zooming Options For Safari In OS X ****
<http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-13727_7-57563949-263/zooming-options-for-safari-in-os-x/?part=rss&tag=feed&subj=MacFixIt>
Topher Kessler, CNET


> Though each browser has its own options for making text and images more legible, there are a few approaches in Safari that are a bit uncommon and not only help you zoom in and adjust what you are seeing, but also allow you to manage tabs and other content you are viewing.



**** iOS Development Tips I Would Want If I Was Starting Out Today ****
<http://stuartkhall.com/posts/ios-development-tips-i-would-want-if-i-was-starting-out-today>
Stuart Hall


> Learn to love Stack Overflow.



**** Apple Looks To Improve Siri’s Script ****
<http://www.technologyreview.com/view/509961/apple-looks-to-improve-siris-script/>
Tom Simonite, Technology Review


> Apple’s virtual assistant Siri may have its roots in a Pentagon-funded artificial intelligence research project, but algorithms aren’t everything and the Cupertino company is now turning to writers to make Siri smarter.



**** Dear Apple: I Give Up, WireframeApp Will Become Open Source. ****
<http://wireframeapp.com/post/31629741670/dear-apple-i-give-up-wireframeapp-will-become-open>
Wireframeapp


> "Your DUNS number requirement was the last straw."



**** Understanding Automatic Reference Counting In Objective-C ****
<http://longweekendmobile.com/2011/09/07/objc-automatic-reference-counting-in-xcode-explained/>
The Long Weekend Website


> Automatic Reference Counting (ARC) largely removes the burden of manual memory management, not to mention the chore of tracking down bugs caused by leaking or over-released objects! Despite its awesomeness, ARC does not let you ignore memory management altogether.



**** A Second Key Retail Executive Has Departed Apple ****
<http://www.ifoapplestore.com/2013/01/15/a-second-key-retail-executive-has-departed-apple/>
IfoApplestore.com


> Jerry McDougal, Vice-President of Retail, said goodbye to his colleagues last Friday, sources say. His departure was explained as <i>not</i> work-related, but rather so he could spend more time with his family. 



**** Review: Borderlands 2 One Of The Best Games On The Mac ****
<http://www.macworld.com/article/2024488/review-borderlands-2-one-of-the-best-games-on-the-mac.html>
Peter Cohen, Macworld


> Borderlands made its mark on the gaming world for mixing the venerable first-person shooter genre we all know and love with elements of role-playing gameplay, like tons of quests and side missions, randomized loot drops and character-building through the use of skill points. So it’s great to see Aspyr’s Borderlands 2 not stray too far from the formula, but improve incrementally on its predecessor.



**** Selling A Mac: What Version Of Mac OS X Can You Include? ****
<http://tidbits.com/article/13498?rss>
Adam C. Engst, TidBITS


> So why is all this necessary? Is there really anything wrong with just wiping a Mac you’re going to give away and installing a fresh copy of the latest version of OS X it can run? I won’t tell anyone if you do, but Apple’s legal beagles have anticipated that you might want to do this and have explicitly forbidden it in the Software License Agreement.



**** Writing Tools ****
<http://mattgemmell.com/2013/01/15/writing-tools/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+mattgemmell%2Frss2+%28Matt+Gemmell+-+RSS2%29>
Matt Gemmell


> I spend quite a bit of time writing, and I’d like to briefly share a list of the main tools I use - not just for the writing itself, but to help myself focus, resolve issues, and overcome the occasional bout of block.






MyAppleMenu Reader
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**** The Delights Of Disgust ****
<http://chronicle.com/article/The-Delights-of-Disgust/136537/>
Justin E.H. Smith, The Chronicle Of Higher Education


> It was disgusting. I did it again.



**** Words That I Need For My Dissertation That Don’t Exist. ****
<http://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/words-that-i-need-for-my-dissertation-that-dont-exist#.UPXR-KH0DUg.twitter>
Carmen Faye Mathes, McSweeney's



**** The Bee ****
<http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/poem/2013/01/_the_bee_by_henri_cole.html>
Henri Cole, Slate



**** The Importance Of Being Forgetful ****
<http://www.theeuropean-magazine.com//752-friedrich-joerg/938-the-digital-archive#938>
Jörg Friedrich, The European


> When today’s present turns into the distant past, today’s everyday life won’t fall into oblivion anymore. For the self-perception of society, the lack of historical memory loss is even more consequential than the current loss of privacy.