Khaled rambles

The location for Tweetup Riyadh March 2010

Khaled A. — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 12:30:25 +0000

The latest Tweetup Riyadh was held in Caribou Coffee in Riyadh. While the coffee was excellent the seating wasn’t the best. So if you have a suggestion for a meetup location then make sure to post a twitter reply to @tweetupriyadh with your suggestion.

Remember that the Tweetups are now held on the first Monday of each month instead of Thursday.

Lost Answers, funny song

Khaled A. — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 18:15:00 +0000

Only less than 12 hours remaining until the return of final season of Lost. I found this funny parody song about the return of Lost and if the writers will solve all the answers or not. I also found an updated version of the “Lost in 8:15 minutes” video.

Video and lyrics after the break.

Lyrics

When LOST first started there were all of these mysteries and we hoped it would, end well
With one season left we are starting to lose faith but only time, will tell
So we wrote this song for the creators of LOST to see
That all these issues and plot points continue to be missing
How can they solve them all?
We’ll have to see if they can because we’ve all been waiting from the start to get

ANSWERS
Like what is the smoke monster
ANSWERS
What do the numbers mean
ANSWERS
LOST we’re counting on you

What was that giant bird and where did it come from, did it really say, Hurley
Whats the significance of pushing the hatch numbers every 108 minutes
And why did the Dharma Initiative not automate that process
And how in the name of physics did the Black Rock crash on the island
The writers can’t solve them all
Like who built the Lamp Post Station and why do they have to recreate the crash to get

BACK THERE
How’d Jack get Locke’s letter back
ANSWERS
Whats in the guitar case
ANSWERS
LOST we hope you’ll come through

Why does the monster look like smoke to everyone but to Locke its a white light
How does it manifest itself into dead people and project video of people’s past
And why were they experimenting on Polar Bears in the first place
And who built the giant wheel that controls time and space
The writers will never solve them all
Like where did Jacob come from hows he have magical powers that cause things to happen outside of the

ISLAND
Who’s the guy who had Jacob killed
ANSWERS
How’d he take over Locke’s body
LOST
You’re making it up as you go

If so many met the castaways in the past why don’t they remember them, later
When Jin survived how could he time travel when he was so far away from the island so the only way that would be possible is if Jin jumped off the ship and landed unconscious in the water then somehow managed to move downstream following the precise bearing of either 325 or 305 depending if you go by the number Michael was given by Ben or Lepidus was given by Faraday and end up close enough to the island to time jump with everyone else all in a matter of second which seems completely preposterous but they probably hope nobody realizes that it makes no sense and we’ll likely never get an answer

There’s far too many questions to fit into just one song
Listing every single thing will make this song far too long
So here’s a few more to ponder on
So you can continue to realize that LOST has too many questions that they’ll never

ANSWER
Why do Whidmore and Ben fight
ANSWERS
Why do people get healed
While others are allowed to die
Why did Jack, Kate, Hurley and Sayid crash in 1977
While Ben, Sun and the rest ended up in the present
What is the Others origin
Why doesn’t Richard Alpert get older
Why can Miles speak to the dead

Boy do we hope that there’s
ANSWERS
To all of these and more
WILL THEY
Answer them before
THE SERIES
Finally comes to an end
LOST
We’re so freaking confused!

Finally, here’s “Lost in 8:15 minutes” updated with seasons 1 to 5.

SaudiMac posts for January 2010

Khaled A. — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 17:12:15 +0000

Here are the top posts on SaudiMac for the month of January 2010.

As usual I made a post on SaudiMac.com English website and SaudiMac.net Arabic site.

Can you guess what’s the main item? Yup, the Apple iPad.

Related posts:And we are back! SaudiMac.com is ready! The location for Tweetup Riyadh March 2010 My favorite iPhone Apps

Only in Saudi Arabia: No singles allowed in this hotel

Khaled A. — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 13:55:14 +0000

Something interesting from Mövenpick Al Nawras in the fine city of Jeddah. This sign has been found on the Internet:

Translation: Single men absolutely cannot rent a room, no exceptions allowed. Families can rent a room only with an original family card (دفتر العائلة) no photocopies allowed. These are instructions from the Saudi MOI.

Apparently someone misused the services of the Mövenpick resort, so everyone else have to pay the price . But they should exclude all single men, not just us Saudis. I am sure single expatriate men won’t have this problem because that sign is in Arabic only. Also Mövenpick Al Nawras should have mentioned this on their website as well just to be fair.

Guess I can’t go unless I get married or borrow my father’s family card . If you know the cause for that policy then please share it!

Lost plane crash scene done in 24 style

Khaled A. — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 04:00:15 +0000

For fellow fans of the hit TV show Lost: Flight 815 crash done in real time, 24 style. You get the plane scene, the hatch scene and the otherville scene. Enjoy (10 minutes video):

Lost’s final season (season 6) will air Tuesday February 2nd, a bit early this season. I will be ~~downloading~~ acquiring it of course on Wednesday.

My favorite iPhone Apps

Khaled A. — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 05:00:21 +0000

I have made a list of my favorite iPhone Apps (some free, some aren’t). Make sure to check them out:

In English: My favorite iPhone apps in 2009.

And in Arabic: برامج الآيفون المفضلة لي في العام ٢٠٠٩.

Top Arabic Web Apps for ‘09

Khaled A. — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 13:19:53 +0000

Make sure to check this list of Arabic web sites, I mean apps, strange, in Arabic it’s مواقع = websites but it’s web apps = تطبيقات الويب. Enough nitpicking. Here’s the list of Arabic Web Apps:

Mashahd TV OnDemand network. A good example that proves you don’t need to add YOUTUBE/TUBE in your site’s name.
Qabas min Hikmah (to quote from wisdom). A database of wise quotes.
WA9.LA (link). iTiny. URL shortening services.
Gwasah (submarine, gather your friends and sail in the submarine). Allows you and your friends to have private discussions.
Kanashah. Online notes web app.
Auto Survey. Arabic survey tool.
Zahma o La (is it crowded or not). Monitor King Fahad bridge (between Saudi Arabia and Bahrain) activity.
Mo3jam (dictionary). A dictionary of colloquial Arabic terms.
Kammelna (Complete us, a Belote term). Online Belote card game. Belote is a popular in Saudi Arabia.
Arabic Keyboard. Because you can’t find an Arabic keyboard everywhere you go.
Bedkash. Classified ads.
iconty (My Icon). Arabic icon search engine. For designers.
Uzerat (Users). The BugMeNot for Arabic websites. Find logins for sites that demand your registration.
Hide 2 Me. Share multiple links in a single short link.
Read Now. A stumbleupon for Arabic reading content.

Voting will begin next Friday.

Tee Gschwendner branches in Saudi Arabia

Khaled A. — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 17:00:35 +0000

I talked about Tea Gschwendner (Tee Gschwendner) before. But I will take the time to list all the branches with Gowalla links in Saudi Arabia for easy reference.

One important note that Fahad reminded me on Twitter: ” اذا بغيتوا تشترون من تي جشفندر لاتاخذون كلام البائع كله اعرف وش تبي قبل واذا نويت تجرب جرب كميات قليلة”. If you wanted to buy from Tee Gschwendner do not believe whatever the salesman said, you should know what you want and if you want to try something just buy in small quantities (100g, 50g). Yes, I agree with Fahad completely.

Here’s the list:

Riyadh: Hayat Mall.
Riyadh: Centria Mall.
Riyadh: Azizia Mall.
Riyadh: Kingdom Center.
Jeddah: Stars Avenue Mall.
Jeddah: Red Sea Mall, King Abdulaziz Road.
Dhahran: Jarir Plaza, Prince Faisal Ibn Fahad Street.

Come on, Jeddah and Dhahran friends, use Gowalla and add these shopping centers to the map.

Only in Saudi Arabia: Family Only Parking

Khaled A. — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 22:28:59 +0000

Spotted by Hussain at Hyperpanda near Extra electronics store in Al-Khobar.

Only in Saudi Arabia we will see idiotic signs like these. Hey bachelors, you are not allowed to buy groceries.

Expect more “Only in Saudi Arabia” posts.

STC & Mobily wrongfully claim to be the first HSPA+ carriers (Updated)

Khaled A. — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 19:03:53 +0000

Update: Last time I ramble uncaffeinated! fixed facts! Sorry Mobily.

Both the Saudi Telecommunications Company (STC) and Mobily has announced yesterday that they are the first to offer HSPA+ (Evolved HSPA with download speeds up to 56Mbit/s!!!). They announced the same thing in at least 2 different Saudi newspapers: AlRiyadh and Al-Eqtisadiah simultaneously!

Here are STC’s “news” articles: on AlRiyadh newspaper and Al-Eqtisadiah newspaper (Arabic links). The two articles are identical, in fact they are most likely a press release by STC. STC claims to be the first in the country, however…

Mobily had the same thing: on AlRiyadh newspaper and Al-Eqtisadiah newspaper. In addition, the news was also announced in Saudi Gazette English newspaper. The first part was identical to the Arabic press releases however it did include some info about the new Mobily Connect modem promotion. Mobily claimed to be the first in the region~~, makes no sense because…~~

STC was wrong!Both were wrong!

At least one telecommunications company had HSPA+ with 21Mbit/s available in the region. Zain Kuwait had HSPA+ since September 2009 (Kuwait News Agency link) and is called e-GO. Isn’t Kuwait party of the “region”? So why is Mobily claiming to be the first in the region when Zain Kuwait clearly had it first and who is bringing it first in Saudi Arabia? STC or Mobily? Both claim to be the first. Zain Kuwait actually released an HSPA+ device (Kuwait News Agency link). I found nothing about Zain Kuwait updating their network.

The Big Question

Two major Arabic speaking newspapers (AlRiyadh and Al-Eqtisadiah) published conflicting articles, each claiming to be the first. Why didn’t the newspapers verify the information first? How can the readers take them seriously?

Image source: www.sequence.cc/SMS_main.php

Native Arabic support for Google Android

Khaled A. — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 17:02:23 +0000

STC was the first company to introduce an Android based cellphone in the region. The phone was the HTC Magic however native Arabic support is only available for Android OS 1.5 while the latest OS version for the Magic is 1.6 (HTC are working on 2.1 update to be released this year). Arabic support is not available in 1.6, 2.0 and 2.1.

I should contrast this to the iPhone: iPhone OS 3.0 added support for many languages including Arabic. You do not need to download additional software to add Arabic to the iPhone and you don’t need to change anything if all you needed is to read Arabic. Apple did that in less than 2 years and all of their iPhones support Arabic by now. As for Android you should be able to add Arabic by visiting a site such as XDA Developers.

Which brings us to the ArDroid website that specializes in helping the Arabic speaking community use Google Android phones. They started a feature request to have better Arabic language support:

I bought an Android phone and I said since you already made the locale adding the Arabic language will be easy and fast , but now I have the phone for 5 months and no Arabic support still , we have two available Android phones in my country and two are coming in a few months , I had an iPhone but I sold it to buy an Android phone , so I think I’m wrong in selling the iPhone , anyway please Google add the Arabic support and Prove Me Wrong .

Support this by voting for this issue to be resolved which you can do by simply clicking the star on the left (you might need a Google Account for that).

I should remind Google that Nokia is a major market-share holder in Saudi Arabia, BlackBerry comes in second place. So they are the major competition for Android phones here, not the iPhone.

Image from here.

Tried DISQUS then removed it

Khaled A. — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 18:41:23 +0000

I tried DISQUS but honestly I rather have the comments saved here. That’s it quick rant is over!

Happy new year!

No related posts.

Coffee Shops in Riyadh: Java Time

Khaled A. — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 17:03:46 +0000

Java Time (Java Time, used to be Coffee Time and Y Cafe) started as a small coffee shop by the owners of Softland computer hardware store. This is supposed to be their homepage but there’s nothing.

It used to be a decent coffee shop but lately they opened a branch in every street, the coffee quality changed dramatically and bad seating.

Black drip coffee taste old, espresso feels burnt, their “popular” drinks are just covered in sugar and sweeteners so nothing to taste. Apparently you need to get used to it to like their coffee, no thanks.

The seating in every branch is extremely congested, there is no open space and if the branch is full then prepare for the bad smells. Most coffee shops keep an open breathing space between seating areas to make it a comfortable place. Don’t bother conversations with your friends because everyone is talking, it’s louder than a noisy classroom. Did I mention the smell? At least they don’t allow smoking.

Internet: their Internet policies changed so much: pay 10SR for 1 hour or 50MB bandwidth, free for 20 minutes using a card that you ask for each time and apparently they made a deal with STC to provide free Internet. Please note that it’s an open access point so take caution.

Gowalla locations in Riyadh: King Abdulaziz rd, not sure, heh, Tahliah rd, Mecca rd, Takhassusi st and King Abdullah rd.

In the end, it’s definitely not a recommended place by me. Unless you want to order a french latte (loaded with sweeteners) and other similar drinks. If you want real black coffee or espresso that’s good then you are at the wrong place. It’s a shame really since it’s one of the 2 local coffee shop brands (the other is Dr Cafe) and both offer horrible coffee.

SMS Rumor: Thugs posing as health officials strike

Khaled A. — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 12:42:10 +0000

As I said earlier, STC’s free SMS is only helping spread rumors like this one at Arab News:

There are concerns bogus Health Ministry officials are visiting homes with the intention of robbing residents. Citizens and expatriatwes have been circulating warnings via SMS messages about the con men, although the Ministry of Health has denied the rumors.

As if that not enough, someone started another rumor: “STC free SMS are valid for the first part of a multi part SMS” and referenced Al Eqtisadiah newspaper as a source. Al-Eqt was quick to respond to this rumor, denying it in this SMS they sent to everyone whoever used their SMS news service:

توضيح من جوال الاقتصادية:
يؤكد جوال الاقتصادية عدم صحة الرسالة المنسوبة إليه والتي تم تناقلها عبر الرسائل النصية حول التصريح المنسوب لشركة الاتصالات السعودية بأن الرسالة النصية يتم احتسابها في حال تجاوز حجمها رسالة واحدة،وقد تلقت الاقتصادية بيانا من الاتصالات السعودية يؤكد مجانية الرسائل النصية والصوتية ورسائل الوسائط بغض النظر عن حجم الرسالة داخل الشبكة وذلك طيلة فترة المكافأة التاريخية والتي أطلقتها الشركة بعنوان ويتواصل الشكر.
وللمعلومية فإن رسائل جوال الاقتصادية تبدأ بالرمزaleqt5005.

STC: one month of SPAM SPAM SPAM SPAM

Khaled A. — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 22:25:36 +0000

STC continues to brib… I mean “thank” their customers by offering a month of free SMS/MMS. This came after a month of free calls. Oh yeah, many customers are saying that they got billed for their calls for the last month.

I will say it again: STC is still having problems with their billing system (from the complaints I see on twitter). Arab News talked about it in September and November: people still receive a bill way higher than their bill’s ceiling credit. CITC refused the original promotion only to back down from their decision.

Here is what’s bothering me: STC continues to turn a blind eye to their billing issues. They probably paid so much money for the new billing system and are too stubborn to admit that they have problems.

They call their offer (in Arabic) “استمرارا لمكافأتها التاريخية غير المسبوقة” which translate to “Continuing their historic, unprecedented rewards”. Yes, dear customer. We messed up your bill so much that we will grace you with a reward. STC should just admit it already, say that they are sorry and that they are making it up for their customers who did not abandon them.

By the way, %40 of mobile phones are now Mobily numbers.

And here’s something interesting: Al Eqtisadiah (The Economist) Arabic newspaper had a fascinating article about STC’s free SMS “promotion”. They had some observations: people are abusing the SMS system, sending idiotic messages such as “achoo, I sneezed”. Hoaxes and rumors are also being started using these messages. Don’t forget: a lot of Spam! The following video comes to mind:

The flood of SMS has apparently affected an important service that customers are paying for: Mawjood Extra. This service sends an SMS when you missed a call. According to Al Eqtisadiah many customers receive their Mawjood SMS after hours of the call. This “offer” is effecting the quality of service for many customers.