I hate it when something so tiny outside my control can mess an entire thing. As a result I am thinking of working on another app while my "first" app is on hold until issues are sorted. The app I had in mind is going to be much more complicated and I have set the deadline for the final finished app just before the Formula 1 weekend in Bahrain. I can release it any time, but a huge event that attracts tourists such as the F1 hopefully increase the odds of someone downloading . The couple of apps similar to my idea on the Android store aren't working at all, so I jumping in to see if I can get a proper one out there.

This new app will be more than just programming. If it is how I envision, I will be working with photo/graphics editing software, taking UI design much more seriously and possibly work with API of external services. The challenge awaits, but the laziness awaits too!

In Bahrain, GBI has partnered with Batelco to manage the landing station. There should be no worry with Batelco disputing access to the cable (as it once did with FLAG), since many providers are now connecting through Viva's wholesale services (connectivity through STC's vast international providers) that is managing GBI's landing station in Saudi Arabia (as STC).

How soon should we expect to see faster Internet? With LTE (up to 100Mbps) being commercially deployed around April by Viva and probably soon after by Batelco and so on, so hopefully in that time range. Fingers crossed Bahraini providers (Zain an exception) give up transfer caps!

1. Ninja Gaiden 3

I haven't played NG2 yet… I did play the first one on the PS3 and it is one of those games you underestimate looking at its cover. Sure it is just a ninja game, hack and slash, shuriken shooting etc… But, if they maintain the same mechanics as in one, some encounters will frustrate you to shreds (in a good way). Release date: March 2012.

2. Resident Evil: Operation Racoon City

Hopefully another great hit from an amazing franchise. I'm getting sick of the RE movies, but the games continue to be a must have for anyone that likes the post apocalyptic shooting genre. As the name suggests, it takes place in Racoon City, much like RE2 and RE: Nemesis. Release date: March 2012.

3. Resident Evil 6

Yikes another RE game in the same year as the other! Yep, I'll let the trailer below speak itself. Release date: November 2012.

4. Borderlands 2

The original Borderlands offered hours upon hours upon hours upon hours of gameplay. Plus you have downloadable content to keep you entertained for a looooooooooong time. The game continues on the planet of Pandora, and the gameplay is similar to the first. The original was a great success, will Borderlands 2 be one too, given it is quite similar in gameplay and setting? Hell yeah! You just need to be trigger happy! Release date: sometime 2012, at worst 2013…

5. BioShock Infinite

If you are familiar with the BioShock series, the first two were related to each other in terms of settings and that only years separate the two plot wise. BioShock Infinite (code name Icarus) however, does not take place underwater (Rapture), but in the skies (Columbia). The developers have quite a challenge making a world that is more open (underwater, limited space vs. open skies, infinite of space).

Don't get excited yet though. It is still in its alpha stage (that is before beta). Nevertheless, if you are eager at trying out like I was , they have several download options available, from a regular installation CD to a VirtualBox compatible virtual machine. I decided to go for the regular installation (only 65MB for the ISO) and run it in VirtualBox. As you can see it is similar to XP's installation wizard, nice and blue.

The developers cut back on the programs and and applications, so you have none of that bloat Windows sometimes install. It doesn't even come with a properly working browser (there was some version of IE that didn't quite work). However, applications are only a click away since they provide a way to get your favorite software.

I right away tried to get Opera installed (it did not want to download Firefox at the time for some reason), it failed the first time (took over CPU) and I had to kill it through the task manager, which is familiar .

I decided to test out its binary compatibility to Windows (and I didn't want to keep running Opera…) by downloading the Windows version of Firefox and installing it. The installation was successful, from beginning to running the browser. I also decided to try it out in VMware, all good!

ReactOS looks like a very promising operating system. It could truly revolutionize computers, especially in places where migrating to newer Windows is a pain. I could also see this OS running on cheap portable devices, maybe even one of those OLPC laptops. If they plan on releasing it fully and keeping it update, "XP" just might be the longest living OS in existence!

Google is a very powerful engine, no question about it. You can search for pages, images, news, videos, locations, locations, books, patents, products, applications, discussions, academic journals and more, all from a single page. You can even convert between currencies or use it as a calculator!

Google isn't everything, there are alternative engines (here is one I reviewed called DuckDuckGo) that may not be as big as Google, but rather cover a certain topic or specialty. Here are some I found (and used):

Traditional Search Engines

• DuckDuckGo: A competitor to the other popular engines out there such as Google, Bing, Yahoo! etc… The difference is that they do not collect information on your searches like the others. Offers better privacy and no bubbling (basing results on your previous searches).

Metasearch Engines (looks up multiple engines)

• Dogpile: I once used this engine many years ago. It searches on Google, Bing and Yahoo! Next to the URL of each result, it mentions from where it pulled the result.

Health and Medical Stuff

• WebMD: You can search for the disease you are suffering from, or by symptoms if you don't know what's wrong. It looks more like a portal rather than engine, with links on the home page itself. You can also find doctors (US only), drugs (the medical kind…) and health tools.

Blogs

• Technorati: This one is one of the best blog search engines (apart from Google blog search) that has been around for quite some time. You can search or just surf through the links to search for blogs by category or tags and so on.

DIYs / Tutorials

• eHow: This one constantly comes up on search results that may be related to a tutorial of some kind. You get an article written by a contributor on how to do something.
• wikiHow: Similar to eHow and also one that pops up regularly on results page of engines. Here is a dangerous article!

Computational Knowledge Engines

• WolframAlpha: I believe it is the best engine publicly available in this category. Unlike regular engines it will usually come up with a single result for queries. You do not exactly enter a question or a bunch of keywords. Rather ask it what you want to know, try these keywords for example: pi, blue+yellow or any of these hundreds of examples they have.

What is Linux?

Contrary to popular belief, Linux is not exactly an operating system (OS). It is the software component that links applications to hardware (or loosely the software/hardware bridge), commonly known as the "kernel". Yes, Windows has a kernel as well, but it is proprietary! Due to the Linux kernel being released under an open source license, people can make changes to it to suit different hardware and environments. As a result, Linux is found in many devices from phones (Android is a Linux based mobile OS) to set top boxes (such as the Dreambox) and of course computers. Thus, you have many, many, many choices when it comes to finding a Linux distribution to install on your computer.

Why Linux?

Compared to Windows, Linux results in much cheaper licensing costs (possibly zero). Linux is generally more secure, due to the way it is built and ironically its lack of popularity compared to Windows. It is not immune to security threats though, security also depends on the end user's actions! It is also quite lightweight, most distros on a default installation run satisfactorily on less than 1GB of RAM. You also have distros made for low memory computers, there is a distro for just about any device.

Where do I start?

First you need to choose a distribution. DistroWatch offers quite a long list of distributions and their popularity. From experience on trying to make Windows users switch, I usually recommend Ubuntu or one of its derivatives such as Linux Mint (the one I currently use and strongly recommend). Ubuntu is backed by a company (Canonical), is easy to install and use, comes with most of the drivers (even proprietary ones) and most importantly has a large user community where you can get help from.

Installation should be pretty easy, simplest being burning the ISO to a CD/DVD (on Windows I recommend ImgBurn to burn stuff). Pop it in your computer and you can try out Linux without touching your hard drive. If you want to install, there should be a button that launches the installation wizard. Few clicks (and some typing) later, you'll boot into Linux! If your PC does not have a CD drive, try installing from a USB flash disk (pen drive) with the help from UNetbootin.

My wireless and/or graphics are not working (properly)!

Your hardware most likely comes with proprietary drivers that cannot be installed by default during the installation without you agreeing to some license. On Ubuntu (and its derivatives) look for something called "Additional Drivers" in the programs list.

What is X Windows software equivalent in Linux?

Many software developers have Linux versions of their software. Below is a list for common ones that may not have a Linux version yet or anytime soon.

Microsoft Office (Office suite) > OpenOffice, LibreOffice

Photoshop (advanced image editing) > GIMP

Adobe Acrobat Reader (PDF reader) > Foxit Reader

uTorrent (Bittorrent client) > Deluge, uTorrent for Linux (browser based GUI, command line)

MSN Messenger (instant messaging) > Pidgin (multi network support: AIM, MSN, Yahoo, IRC and more)

iTunes (audio player and iPod sync) > Banshee, Rhythmbox

Video editing > PiTiVi

Video conversions > WinFF

DVD authoring > DeVeDe

ImgBurn (CD/DVD burning) > k3b, Brasero

This is not a complete list, but includes software used by common users. Refer to your distribution's manual for installing software, on Ubuntu, look for the Synaptic Package Manager or Ubuntu Software Center. If you really need to run something that works only on Windows, you could try emulating it in Wine. However, Wine alone is quite complicated for a normal user, so you could try using a Wine frontend called PlayOnLinux to make the process a bit easier. There is no guarantee that Wine (or PlayOnLinux) will properly run the application, so keep that in mind!

1. Reduction in cost of traveling

There is great reduction in cost because telephone conferencing can be done at even the most remote corner of the world. You do not need to spend a lot of money on flight tickets or hotel bills for a meeting, as virtual meeting can now be conducted through a conference call. The fees incurred during conference calls are relatively minimal as compared to the amount, which will be involved in traveling.

2. Time saver and effort conserving

In business, 'Time is money' and every moment wasted is a profit potential lost forever. Telephone conferencing now allows you to just pick up your phone and dial, instead of rushing around packing, checking out several copies of documents, getting your travel ticket organized and the mental stress of having to get to the meeting on time. In the case of telephone conferencing there is always a proper agenda schedule, which is carried out in a way without wasting time.

3. Fast and effective communication

Conference calls do away with the need for written communications, as the replies are instantaneous there and then. Regardless of the location or time zone, you can do instant business and allow participation of many people at any given point of time. It also enables you to connect with family and friends overseas at one time, which is very convenient for them to catch up as if they were all in one place.

4. Quick decisions

Clients need not wait for days on end for a response as telephone conferencing means quick response and decisions. The participants can directly ask questions and get clarifications there and then, which mean business terms and conditions can be concluded clearly.

5. Increased productivity

Without having to leave their familiar office environments, employees will be able to participate in meetings, which will increase the productivity of company. There will be no wastage of time commuting for meetings and this means, that employees will be able to put in more time and efficiency towards their given assignments.

6. Better response from employees

Shy and retiring employees will be more willing to speak up over the phone rather than having to meet someone face to face. They will also feel more involved in the business process and will be happy to speak up and voice their opinions.

7. Record of accurate information

Most telephone conference call providers keep the copies of recorded documents, which become a sort of accurate information library for future reference. For those who missed the conference call meeting can have copies of the recorded teleconference, so they can still have an idea of what transpired.

Telephone conferencing is rapidly becoming a part of big companies and even small businesses as it saves a lot of money and time, which is best utilized in other lucrative ways for the company. Telephone conferencing enables more work to be done on less cost and time.

About the author: Kelly is a blogger by profession. She loves writing on technology and luxury. Beside this she is fond of gadgets. Recently an article on noise cancelling headphones attracted her attention. These days she is busy in writing an article on Jeep Wrangler 2011.

Now, what if you needed to enable UPnP to make applications port forward themselves? Or had to DMZ an IP address within your LAN? Setup QoS? Maybe even change the DHCP range the device gives out. These extras can't be found in the default layout. However, they did have a good reason to hide these extras. It is quite easy for an unfamiliar user to mess up the WiMAX settings for example, such as the username and password.

Here is what the UPnP enabling page looks like (notice the URL in the address bar):

Here is a list of some of the directories and pages (so http://192.168.0.1/directory/page_name.asp to access). Note that not all of them work! I accept no responsibility if you mess up something, YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!!!

• firewall
  • DMZ.asp
  • vpnpass.asp
  • port_filtering.asp
  • qos.asp
  • port_forward.asp
  • wpssystem_firewall.asp
  • ddns.asp
• message
  • result_noreboot.asp
  • result_reboot.asp
  • result_choice_reboot.asp
• internet
  • dhcpcliinfo.asp
  • lan_advanced.asp
  • lan.asp
  • lan_status.asp
• wps
  • wps.asp
  • wps_inic_sta.asp
  • wps_inic.asp
• wireless
  • wifi_access_info.asp
  • basic_settings.asp
  • stainfo.asp
  • security.asp
  • wifi_list_view.asp

The rest of the folders/pages I found too dangerous to add (such as the WiMAX settings). If you are planning on being adventurous, telnet to your router, the interface is served from the /etc_ro/web directory.

Assuming Skype is used at the highest quality of 40Kbps for audio (assuming SILK codec used), that equates to 24 hours of calls using only 430MB. So it leaves some room to make some video calls as well.

The steps seem simple enough. Connect a DSL modem/router to your landline (of course they recommend their device , the Batelco B-Box). Fire up your browser and I assume it will auto-redirect whatever page you load to their portal for you to top up, much like WiFi in cafes.

Vouchers are available from Batelco, agents and their QuickServe kiosk machines. I think I just may give them a try and relive the DSL days (assuming my lines can handle it !).

So, where does the money to your premium VPS go in Linode?

The VPS panel is simply amazing! They use their own in house panel where you can customize the VPS as much as you want before setup. You can, for example, not use the whole disk allocation, setup different swap sizes, change kernels, the list goes on!

You can use something called "StackScripts" to deploy your VPS with the OS, software installed, configured etc… in one click. There are many (added up to 210) StackScripts, by Linode and users' contributions.

Your bandwidth is pooled, rather than offered as an individual allotment to each VPS. Let's say you have 5 of the lowest VPS which offers 200GB each. The total bandwidth you can use across all your VPSes is 1000GB, so you can have 1 using 900GB and the rest the remaining 100GB or any combination within your limit.

Then you have locations. You can deploy your VPS in any of the six locations they offer. Since it is a one-click operation, you pay for a slot in any location. During the VPS setup you select the deployment location and voila, you have a VPS in that location. As a result, they offer a page that shows in (real time?) the availability of each data center. Oh and they have Japan as a location as well . More goodies here!

Customer support is simply superb. Whenever I had problems I would wait maximum 5 minutes to get a reply. I wouldn't be surprised that is where most of the fee you pay goes to. Granted the issues I had were checking up on the status of a certain location, I'm not sure how long it would take if the problem I faced was much more serious.

Service wise, the first month was really bad . The problems were mostly network issues in the DC I deployed my Linode in. Even worst, it was isolated to only the section where the node was hosted. I had problems from the 24th of November until the 7th of December (that was the last reply I sent them acknowledging problem solved). They associated the problem I faced to bad luck, and it seems they were right. My VPS is now at 65 days of uptime !

What is the network speed like?

From my London based Linode, here are wgets from downloading Linode's test files (100MB each):

London Linode –> London (within the same network): 34.3 MB/s

London Linode –> New Jersey: 1.63 MB/s

London Linode –> California: 1.13 MB/s

London Linode –> Tokyo: 721 KB/s

Now for network tests from one of my many VPSes to my London Linode (100MB test file):

New Jersey –> London Linode: 501 KB/s

France –> London Linode: 5.08 MB/s

Illinois –> London Linode: 2.55 MB/s

Florida –> London Linode: 3.60 MB/s

California –> London Linode: 2.24 MB/s

For some reason network performance isn't the best amongst other providers I have used, however I have nothing that requires serving files in high speed.

What about disk performance and processor?

hdparm -tT /dev/xvda
Timing cached reads:   9396 MB in  1.99 seconds = 4714.37 MB/sec
Timing buffered disk reads: 376 MB in  3.00 seconds = 125.13 MB/sec