Umar in Dubai

This blog is not dead

umar — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 18:52:23 +0000

Maybe taking a nap, a hiatus, if you will, but definitely not dead.

I am going through the busiest time of my life. Work is crazy, traveling is unavoidable, and family life is demanding. As a result my blogs are suffering the most. I haven’t been able to update any of my blogs for months.

But my blog is not dead. I am, in my mind, going through a plan of how to streamline my blogging activities. I know I will have to kill one or two of my other blogs to do justice with more important blogs. But in the end I will have a process to guarantee a smooth blogging schedule.

In the meanwhile, lots of things have happened in Dubai.

I move into a new apartment in Jumeirah Lake Towers, which is just 10 minutes away from my office. So now I don’t have to drive for hours everyday just to commute from home to work and back. This has significantly changed my lifestyle as I am able to explore Dubai with a new vigor.

I was there at the opening ceremony of Burj Dubai, renamed to Burj Khalifa. It was one of the most amazing and breathtaking display of fireworks I have ever seen. The dancing fountain was synchronized with the fireworks which made the show even more mesmerizing.

And last week I went on a road-trip to Musandam, Oman. It turned out to be one of the best one-day outings ever.

I will post about each and every experience in detail along with the pictures. So stay subscribed (or subscribe if you are not already) and stay in touch.

The best of this blog is yet to come.

Originally posted at This blog is not dead

Happy New Year 2010

umar — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 09:54:50 +0000

: new year 2010 from Crestock Creative Images

I couldn’t have let an entire month pass by without a single post on my blog.

I do admit that things have been tough over last few weeks and I have been tied up with work and family, among other things. Due to financial crisis we are expected to work twice as hard to bring in more money to the company. As a result I am unable to give any time to my blog and other online activities. I had a great year 2009, and I will write about it soon. I hope your year was as good as mine (or better) and I wish all my readers all the happiness and prosperity for the year 2010.

Originally posted at Happy New Year 2010

A Laptop That Delivers

umar — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 11:41:54 +0000

Staying Connected in the Information Driven World

It is no secret that in today’s information driven world staying connected is highly critical. New data is released on the internet every passing moment and if you are not in touch, somebody else will take advantage of it before you even get a chance.

The Shift in Technology

The technology, as a result, has adapted and started focusing on products that make it easier for you to connect to your information source and stay connected for the longest of times.

Although mobile phone industry is moving at a very fast pace, the real power of mobile computing still lies within laptop computers. The technology behind the portable computers has advanced exponentially by introduction of processors such as centrino, core 2 duo, and atom. Gone are the days when laptops used to be bulky and heavy. Now they are light and can fit in your pocket. Even the high-end models are optimized to consume minimum resources and last longer on batteries.

Samsung X460

I got a chance to review X460, Samsung’s latest laptop computer, and after playing with it in my labs for a week, I was highly impressed.

Samsung X460 is a high-end laptop for serious computing. Priced at AED 5,000 (US$ 1,370), it is not the cheapest laptop available in the market, but with all the features packed in it, the price is worth it.

Basic Specs

So let’s look at some basic specs before anything else…

Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor P8600 (2.40GHz, 1066MHz, 3MB)
3GB Memory (DDR3 / 1GB x 1 + 2GB x 1 )
LCD 14.1″ Flat-LED WXGA (1280 x 800) Gloss Displau
Graphic Memory 256MB GDDR3 (Ext. Graphic)
Graphic Processor nVIDIA GeForce Go 9200M GS (Ext. Graphic)
HD (High Definition) Audio
EDS (Enhanced Digital Sound) Effect
Integrated Camera 1.3MP Web Camera
HDD 250GB (5,400rpm S-ATA) Storage

The Power Within

So this little beast has a fast processor, plenty of memory, powerful graphics and ample storage capacity. But that’s not it. All of these are nicely packed into a slim and sleek design which makes it lightweight and easy to carry around. The 14.1″ display looks great and is probably the best I have seen in laptops.

The Stamina

But the feature I like the most is the long battery life. A fully charged battery can last over 6 hours if used normally. Of course more resource intensive tasks will drain the battery faster but on the average you should get around 6 hours of unplugged use. This is the feature that enables you to stay connected for the longest of times.

Add all of that to standard nifty features like fingerprint reader and integrated webcam, and it becomes a leader in its category.

Conclusion

So if you are a road warrior who doesn’t want to compromise on features then Samsung X460 is for you. To bad my employer bought me a new laptop just a few months ago otherwise I would have certainly gone for it.

It’s available in all the major electronic stores in Dubai. Go get one before it runs out of stock!

Click here for full image gallery of Samsung X460

Originally posted at A Laptop That Delivers

Announcing my blog on parenting

umar — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 07:44:42 +0000

: Baby girl with father from Stock Photo

Almost 14 months ago I was blessed with a beautiful baby girl. That marked the beginning of a new phase of my life. I stepped into the world of parenthood, or fatherhood to be more accurate.

Since then each day of my life is filled up with precious moments and memories. Memories that I will cherish forever.

In order to capture those memories in a cookie jar, I started a new blog on my experiences as a father. The intention was to document notable expressions and create a memoir for future reference.

For over an year I kept it low profile. But now time has come to make it official.

So without further adieu, I invite you all to visit A Father’s Diary.

I know there is not much there at the moment, but with the passage of time it can become a good read for parents. Thanks for visiting and subscribing to my new blog.

Originally posted at Announcing my blog on parenting

Rise and Shine

umar — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 05:23:00 +0000

I am sure you have heard and read phrases like “successful people start their day early”, “wake up early to make your day longer”, and the timeless “early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy wealthy and wise”.

I do believe in waking up early and personally know people who wake up before sun rise and are quite successful in their life. (not necessarily because of waking up early but surely its one of the factors).

In my case i wake up just a few minutes before i have to leave for work after which the race against time begins. Ideally i would want to start my day at least a couple of hours before leaving for work, get some workout and a healthy breakfast, plan my day with peace of mind, and commute to work without worrying about speeding fines.

But it’s easy said than done.

I am not very fond of sleeping but once i go to sleep it’s hard for me to wake up, specially in the mornings. So i don’t know if i will ever be able to follow the trait of successful people. Occasionally when i do start early i do feel really good about myself and notice myself performing better through the day so i know its not just a theory. The formula actually works.

The problem is how to get myself to wake up early morning. It’s not that I haven’t tried. I have tried to set up multiple alarms, tried to sleep early at night (not always possible but I have tried it), avoided caffeine, prayed, and what not. But nothing works consistently. So currently I have given up my efforts of starting my day early, but from time to time the desire pinches me.

So enough about me. Tell me about yourself. Do you believe in waking up early? What time do you start your day? How do you use the extra time in the mornings? How do you make sure to wake up on time every day? Any tips and tricks?

The comments section is all yours.

Originally posted at Rise and Shine

Fog on Emirates Road

Samsung: Twice the Fun

umar — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 05:19:25 +0000

Samsung just launched their brand new camera with dual LCD screens, one at the back of the camera just like the traditional digital cameras available today, and another LCD screen on the front of the camera.

I was invited at the launch party of this new camera where I got a chance to take a closer look at it. It is indeed a great camera. The front LCD can be used to take self portraits, and you can play animations on it to ensure little kids being photographed are looking at the camera instead of being distracted by the surroundings. The screens are touch sensitive and the camera has g-sensor, so you can perform common tasks by simple hand and finger gestures like delete a picture or browse through pictures. I was surprised to see touch screen and g-sensors featured in a camera. I always thought this technology was limited to cell phones only, but it is true that creativity has no limits. I guess we have entered the era of smart cameras with features as face recognition, smile recognition and blink detection. It’s very hard to take a bad picture these days.

A view of launch party

Samsung gave away three of dual-LCD cameras at their launch party. Since I was not lucky enough to get one, it seems like I will have to buy it.

Thanks to Samsung for inviting me to the launch.

Originally posted at Samsung: Twice the Fun

Candylicious

umar — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 09:37:33 +0000

In a typical Dubai style, Candylicious, the world’s biggest candy store, has opened its doors opposite to the Dubai Aquarium, world’s biggest glass aquarium, in Dubai Mall, the worlds biggest mall, in the shadow of Burj Dubai, world’s tallest man made structure.

The place is worth checking out, though. I have never seen such a huge variety of candies at one place before. There were many names I was already familiar with but at the same time I saw many sweets and chocolates that I had never seen before. I was listening to the owner of the shop in a radio interview this morning and she said in terms of size this might not be the biggest store in the world but it has more candies per square meter than anywhere else. They also have more variety than other candy stores. The place had a mesmerizing effect on everyone. Not only kids but even adults were behaving like a kid in a candy store, literally.

They also sell ice-cream and popcorn. I didn’t try the ice-cream but their pop-corn was also the best I have ever had.

Now every time we will go to Dubai Mall we will surely stop by candylicious to buy some popcorn.

Originally posted at Candylicious

Dubai Metro Starts

umar — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 13:06:33 +0000

Before and After pictures of Shaikh Zayed Road

09/09/09 is a date that residents of Dubai will never forget, for it marks the day when Dubai will change forever.

Today is the day when long awaited Dubai Metro project starts operating, although on a much limited scale, with only 10 of the 38 stations of the red-line operational on launch.

It will take another 9 months for rest of the stations and green-line to become operational, and that’s when full potential of Dubai metro will be realized. But until then there is a period of transition that everyone will have to go through. Plus there are bound to be teething problems which need to be resolved before the usage reaches critical mass.

In my case, the metro station near my office is not operational on launch, and the one near my home does not start before June 2010, so my dream of using metro for my daily commute doesn’t seem to come true until then. But even then I will try to use metro whenever I get a chance. If for nothing else then just for the sake of experience.

In the long run Dubai metro will change the way Dubai operates. Dependence on taxis and private cars will be eliminated. Many businesses will come into existence because of Dubai metro. There will be nothing but positive effects of Dubai metro on the culture of Dubai.

Originally posted at Dubai Metro Starts

Bring the Android

umar — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 06:44:29 +0000

Although UAE is considered to be a shopper’s paradise, one thing that has been missing from stores is Android-powered mobile devices.

Why is Android a big deal? Well it is a big deal because android is no longer an underdog, it is slowly but surely emerging as a robust mobile platform with market share growing every day, and threatening the giants like Windows Mobile, iPhone and Blackberry.

With all the great things happening in Android world, it’s a shame that no Android device is officially available for sale in Dubai. It was only last week when the first android device was made available in UAE by Samsung. But HTC has so far three android devices out in the market and none of them have landed in UAE yet (although I might buy one from gray market because HTC Hero is just irresistible).

If mobile phone manufacturers believe UAE is not the right market to launch new products then I think that’s a major underestimation. At any given time UAE is being visited by thousands of tourists who are eager to get their hands on latest products. In addition to that, the residents of UAE are also on top of technology and they will be the first to adapt any new technology introduced here. They are missing out a major market by not launching android phones here.

So here is my open demand to all the mobile phone manufacturers having android devices in their portfolio (or planning to have one). Don’t miss out the UAE market folks! You will not be disappointed.

Originally posted at Bring the Android

Twitter users in Dubai

umar — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 06:58:02 +0000

There was a time when twitter was blocked in UAE for reasons I still can’t understand. But then it was unblocked which resulted in mass adoption of twitter by netizens of the nation.

In case you are not yet familiar with twitter phenomenon then you can get introduced by this video here. The only thing I want to add to that introduction is that twitter is now much more than answering the “what are you doing?” question. It is being used to share links, pictures, videos, and anything that can be shared. It’s also a highly effective platform for online marketing. It compliments the existing social networking engines in more ways then we can think of. Twitter rocks!

So here is a list of major twitter users in UAE that will surely add value to your twitter time-line. The list is by no means complete. You can add more to it in the comments.

But first things first, a shameless plug. Please follow me at twitter here.

Below are twitter users in UAE I particularly like:

Rex: UAE’s first online men’s magazine
Dubai Explorer: Twitter account of Explorer magazine
ExpatWoman: Twitter account of Expatwoman.com
Masarat Daud: Non-conformist. Indian girl-child. Youth talk radio presenter in Dubai. Defying stereotypes, working for rural empowerment in Rajasthan, India.
Omran AlOwais: Owner of the shufflegazine
Magnus Nystedt: Editor of shufflegazine
shufflegazine: Shufflegazine itself
Wild Peeta: Owner of the wild peeta restaurant. Great example of twitter marketing campaign.
Stuff Magazine
Time Out Dubai: Time Out Dubai Magazine

And here are some random UAE twitter users that I follow:

Kinan Jarjous
Saleh Esmaeili
Jeswin Lopez
Aaron White
Oussama Salah
Kellie Whitehead
Mohammed Abu Ghoush
The m! Shop Dubai
Dubai Guy
sam
Dubai Informer
Venkatesh Sridhar
REG ATHWAL
Swidub
Kedar aka Floatr
Samar Owais
binmugahid
dubizzle
Stephanie TS.

If you are a twitter user in Dubai and want your name published here then you can do so by leaving a comment.

Originally posted at Twitter users in Dubai