After months and months of waiting for the Vista Ultimate Extras, finally one such Ultimate Extra appears yesterday. Windows DreamScene.
What is it? Just an animated Wallpaper. A High Definition video... It comes with 5 animated wallpapers. They do look good, but that's it, and you will probably get bored of watching it after like 7 seconds. Totally useless. And why the wallpaper? I'd rather have video as a screen saver. And I am sure it's been done by some other freeware apps already.
That is what we got the Vista Ultimate for??? That is what we paid the extra dollars for??? Oh I forgot the Ultimate has support for an additional 16 languages!!!
Of course you need to restart after you install this. WHy does it need to restart??? And it's not like it restarts quickly or anything... And if you do not want to, it will keep nagging you to restart... for WHAT??? And of course this Ultimate will take a big amount of RAM and CPU. But hey, you have a shiny new PC with Gigs RAM and the fastest Dual or Quad Core CPU already, just to get Aero eye-candy from Redmond...
I get to USE my Ubuntu for all sorts of things while it is being installed! I did not need to frigging restart my machine to install any package. Even an update of the Kernel (or OS) does not need a restart! As for eye-candy, Compiz-Fusion Kicks Ass!
And what's with the Vista new Delete Shortcut warning thingy? It warns you that you will delete the actual file, prompts you for a password and makes you think twice. What the hell???
Oh boy... I hate MS products by the minute, but sometimes I just have to use it for whatever stupid reason. I hardly do now, specially after IE4Linus working great on Ubuntu.
Long Live Linux.... Long Live Ubuntu!
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Friday, September 21, 2007
Fly over Bahrain, or anywhere on Earth, with Google
Google Earth 4.2 has a great little easter egg. Just press Ctrl-Alt-A (must be Capital A) and you will be presented with a screen to choose your aircraft, and location. And then you can happily cruse around or crash your plane in the ocean. It is GREAT fun.
There are already tons of info on how to use it. I will not repeat them here.
A nice quick start guide is here.
Have fun!
There are already tons of info on how to use it. I will not repeat them here.
A nice quick start guide is here.
Have fun!
Sunday, September 16, 2007
On Bahrain TV Ad-Dawwar
I don't usually watch Bahrain TV. But last night while flipping channels I noticed this Bahrain TV show. I don't want to even start to critique the program. That's not the point of this entry.
Anyway, the program is Live and you call and get some questions about Bahrain or Heritage and you win some prizes.
At some point, the two presenters Abu Abdulla and Zahra Arafat where talking about the different prizes they have, some cash, some "instant" and two Grand prizes to be drawn on Eid. The two grand prizes are a Lexus and a Hummer. Just then I am 90% sure I heard Abu Abdulla talking to Zahra and saying (maybe just kidding) "... yeah, so you get the Lexus and I get the Hummer".. Immediately Zahra replied "Noooooo!".
I will not be surprised if that was the case, but I could be wrong. I wasn't really paying that much attention prior to that.
Even if it was a joke, it is not something to joke about. Maybe it is just me, but I do take these things seriously, and to me that is fraud.
Does that ring a bill with some old BTV prize show where the presenters "won" BD6000 in the 1990's?
As BuZain and Ammar think it's only a joke, I edited the post to reflect that.
Anyway, the program is Live and you call and get some questions about Bahrain or Heritage and you win some prizes.
At some point, the two presenters Abu Abdulla and Zahra Arafat where talking about the different prizes they have, some cash, some "instant" and two Grand prizes to be drawn on Eid. The two grand prizes are a Lexus and a Hummer. Just then I am 90% sure I heard Abu Abdulla talking to Zahra and saying (maybe just kidding) "... yeah, so you get the Lexus and I get the Hummer".. Immediately Zahra replied "Noooooo!".
I will not be surprised if that was the case, but I could be wrong. I wasn't really paying that much attention prior to that.
Even if it was a joke, it is not something to joke about. Maybe it is just me, but I do take these things seriously, and to me that is fraud.
Does that ring a bill with some old BTV prize show where the presenters "won" BD6000 in the 1990's?
As BuZain and Ammar think it's only a joke, I edited the post to reflect that.
Sunday, September 02, 2007
Arabic on SE M600i
I love my M600i. The keyboard is great, and the phone is generally very good and nice interface. The only issue I had is that it did not come with Arabic Fonts. So I initially was forwarding the Arabic SMS I get to my old K600 to read them. Stupid, I know. I saw some Arabic enabling software, but was to thinking it was too costly. I did not find anything usable, until now. It's free too!
This comes from here.
You must have your phone in File Transfer Mode. It will not work in Phone Mode.
The restart your Phone. You will notice the fonts have changed in all the displays.
This comes from here.
You must have your phone in File Transfer Mode. It will not work in Phone Mode.
- Create a \Resource\Fonts folder in your M2 card
- Copy the Tahooma.ttf from Windows\Fonts (you may use other font if you like. I find this one very readable on M600i the screen. Verdana did not work for me).
- Make 4 copies of the file(s), and name them:
- Sans-Serif_Latin-Regular.TTF
- Sans-Serif_Latin-Italic.TTF
- Sans-Serif_Latin-BoldItalic.TTF
- Sans-Serif_Latin-Bold.TTF
The restart your Phone. You will notice the fonts have changed in all the displays.
Sunday, July 22, 2007
Fine use for the One-Laptop-Per-Child
The One Laptop Per Child, OLPC, was a project started at MIT some time ago by Nicholas Negroponte. Its main goal was to create a durable laptop that can be used in harsh environments by children. It was supposed to cost about US $100.
From their website
It took sometime for the vision to become a reality, and just recently some OLPC's have reached children from around the world. Third World.
The latest use for some of these laptops? According to a story from technochurch.com:
I really don't know whether to laugh or cry. But as is usual with many things in life, even the best intentions can have some very bad consequences.
From their website
Our goal: To provide children around the world with new opportunities to explore, experiment and express themselves.
It took sometime for the vision to become a reality, and just recently some OLPC's have reached children from around the world. Third World.
The latest use for some of these laptops? According to a story from technochurch.com:
The One Laptop Per Child initiative has reached new heights by delivering internet porn to third world children.According to a report Thursday from the official News Agency of Nigeria, laptops in a primary school in Abuja "have gone awry as the pupils freely browse adult sites with explicit sexual materials."
It’s heart warming to know that the efforts of the well meaning folks behind the OLPC project are delivering real results on the ground; providing the same opportunities for teenage boys to access internet porn no matter how impoverished they are or where they live.
The party however will be short lived; a representative of the One Laptop Per Child group was reported saying that the OLPC computers would now be fitted with porn filters.
I really don't know whether to laugh or cry. But as is usual with many things in life, even the best intentions can have some very bad consequences.
Saturday, July 21, 2007
Goodbye Windows Start Menu, Welcome Launchy
I hate the Windows XP Start Menu. It tries to be too smart, and never really works. I usually switch back to Classic Menu on any machine I start using. I even hate the Vista Start Menu more so. Heck I hardly use Vista anymore!
Anyway, I'm a keyboard guy, I love VIM, and I find myself pressing Windows Key + R to get a Run command and then typing notepad or calc to start some applications. I would rather not use the mouse whenever possible.
So if you are remotely like me and would like to start your applications and even documents with the keyboard, then you really should give Launchy a try.
In a nutshell, after you install Launchy, you see nothing. It is running in the background waiting for you to press its hotkey, the ALT-SPACE is the default. Then you can type a program name or a document name and it will start it for you. You can even let it look for MP3 files, for other documents, or perform a Google Search all from that simple bare-bones interface.
To get menus of all of its options and customize it, just right-click the Launchy window, around it's border or anywhere except where you'll enter text.
Don't wait, go and get it now!
Anyway, I'm a keyboard guy, I love VIM, and I find myself pressing Windows Key + R to get a Run command and then typing notepad or calc to start some applications. I would rather not use the mouse whenever possible.
So if you are remotely like me and would like to start your applications and even documents with the keyboard, then you really should give Launchy a try.
In a nutshell, after you install Launchy, you see nothing. It is running in the background waiting for you to press its hotkey, the ALT-SPACE is the default. Then you can type a program name or a document name and it will start it for you. You can even let it look for MP3 files, for other documents, or perform a Google Search all from that simple bare-bones interface.
To get menus of all of its options and customize it, just right-click the Launchy window, around it's border or anywhere except where you'll enter text.
Don't wait, go and get it now!
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
ATM and Card Fraud
You probably heard about the Bulgarians that copied ATM and Credit Cards in Bahrain some time ago. You may also have heard about some people who said they had all of their money vanish from their accounts, and saw some transactions on their bank statements that they did not make. Or all sorts of "fraud"... What are they talking about? What's happening?
The current cards use a magnetic strip to store your account number, name and other data. It does not store the PIN. This data is very easily read and then copied. This is called "skimming". The card data is copied by attaching some device to an ATM, or at Point of Sale devices. When the card is skimmed, many copies can be made and used not just in Bahrain, but around the world. Don't ask me how, but it is dead easy, and will cost no more than BD10.
Skimming cards at ATMs in Bahrain was, and still is, a very serious threat, and banks recently used some quick and dirty solutions on their ATMs to prevent skimming devices from being attached to their ATMs. You probably noticed some weird device on most ATMs in Bahrain attached to the ATM just where you enter your card. But that is not the solution. Cards can be skimmed outside Bahrain. And skimmed cards can be used inside Bahrain.
Q. So what is the solution?
A. New Chip, Smart Cards, or EMV cards, which are now becoming normal in Europe are impossible to copy. These cards store more data in a very secure way. The cards also provide for other services.
Q. So why are banks in Bahrain or the GCC not using these Smart Cards yet?
A. Cost. It costs more to the bank to implement a solution that uses Smart Cards. And of course banks would rather bury their heads in the sand and deny any problems or fraud rather than invest in this costly technology.
But now that fraud is becoming a real major issue that starts to bite from banks profits, and because of pressure from international organizations, banks are rushing to use and issue EMV cards. It will take time before we see them in wide use in Bahrain.
Q. Until I get to use one of these Smart Cards, how can I protect myself from fraud or my card being skimmed?
A. Use your card in trusted merchants and report any suspicious activity or device you see at a Point of Sale or any weird device attached to an ATM to the concerned Bank.
Try not to have all your eggs in one basket. If you can, do not put all your money in one account and link it to the card. If that card is skimmed, all the money in the account can be stolen via your skimmed card before you even notice.
Check your account regularly and report any transactions you did not make. The bank "should" refund you and create you a new card. But don't assume they will do it easily.
If you suspect your card is skimmed, report it as Stolen immediately.
Try to hide your PIN when you enter it at an ATM or POS machine. Your card may not be usable without a PIN. When the cards are skimmed, there is either a small camera or somebody that tries to see the PIN you entered. Make it difficult for them to see your PIN.
Happy and Safe Banking!
The current cards use a magnetic strip to store your account number, name and other data. It does not store the PIN. This data is very easily read and then copied. This is called "skimming". The card data is copied by attaching some device to an ATM, or at Point of Sale devices. When the card is skimmed, many copies can be made and used not just in Bahrain, but around the world. Don't ask me how, but it is dead easy, and will cost no more than BD10.
Skimming cards at ATMs in Bahrain was, and still is, a very serious threat, and banks recently used some quick and dirty solutions on their ATMs to prevent skimming devices from being attached to their ATMs. You probably noticed some weird device on most ATMs in Bahrain attached to the ATM just where you enter your card. But that is not the solution. Cards can be skimmed outside Bahrain. And skimmed cards can be used inside Bahrain.
Q. So what is the solution?
A. New Chip, Smart Cards, or EMV cards, which are now becoming normal in Europe are impossible to copy. These cards store more data in a very secure way. The cards also provide for other services.
Q. So why are banks in Bahrain or the GCC not using these Smart Cards yet?
A. Cost. It costs more to the bank to implement a solution that uses Smart Cards. And of course banks would rather bury their heads in the sand and deny any problems or fraud rather than invest in this costly technology.
But now that fraud is becoming a real major issue that starts to bite from banks profits, and because of pressure from international organizations, banks are rushing to use and issue EMV cards. It will take time before we see them in wide use in Bahrain.
Q. Until I get to use one of these Smart Cards, how can I protect myself from fraud or my card being skimmed?
A. Use your card in trusted merchants and report any suspicious activity or device you see at a Point of Sale or any weird device attached to an ATM to the concerned Bank.
Try not to have all your eggs in one basket. If you can, do not put all your money in one account and link it to the card. If that card is skimmed, all the money in the account can be stolen via your skimmed card before you even notice.
Check your account regularly and report any transactions you did not make. The bank "should" refund you and create you a new card. But don't assume they will do it easily.
If you suspect your card is skimmed, report it as Stolen immediately.
Try to hide your PIN when you enter it at an ATM or POS machine. Your card may not be usable without a PIN. When the cards are skimmed, there is either a small camera or somebody that tries to see the PIN you entered. Make it difficult for them to see your PIN.
Happy and Safe Banking!
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