I have to apologize for my long absence from this blog. Its been a buzy past month and with the current global crisis, i am looking into some personal matters. But the good news is, i am back and here to write more frequently. A much awaited kick was received as an email from a regular reader, for my absence and not so frequent posts.

Picture of me photographed by : Alison Barrett

I have always taken interest in nature, and for a very weird reason, i am sky fetish. Not that its a problem, but going through the 900MB of just sky images made me realize that  i lost track of what i loved doing the most. Capture moments. while i was happy with the snappy mobile and the point-n-shoot cameras, i was pulled back by functionality and limitations of these gadgets. Hence enters the semi-pro DSLR from Nikon. Its a D40 and a pretty low base DSLR for shooting, but in a week, i am satisfied that it gets the job done. With the Nikon DX 18-55mm AF lense and the 70-200mm manual lense, i think i pulled off some nice pictures. Have a look at my not so professional attempt, and a generating hobby.

View images on Flickr

First of thank you very much Azzam, for giving this tip. Its readers like you who make the process of waiting less painful. So i went to Jumbo Electronic in Mall of the Emirates and as of 4th of December 08 they have a DEMO piece. Mind you it is still not out in stores. As i mentioned in my earlier post, the 5800 was to show itself to the masses probably next week (6th - 11th ??), so yes things are turning to come true as the display of a demo piece is a start closer to the release.

Keep your eyes open dubai, you might just be one of the few lucky, to get you dirty sweaty hands on this baby Keep updating and keep reading ..

So, in my previous post i mentioned i had something for you ? Well, without keeping you guessing and annoying you let me enlighten the kind geeks of the middle east. At the Nokia Music Store launch on the 30th of November 2008 in Dubai, i was able to play around with the eagerly awaited Nokia 5800 ExpressMusic owned by the Nokia Music Store manager for middle east operations. The proof, is staring right at you. Working on etisalat network, the soon to come phone looks just amazing in your hands.

The touch is pretty decent, as far as i have read over the web, most reviews showed the touch being non-responsive at times, guess they have a software update already. The handwriting feature was the one that caught my eye, easy and smart. Sound quality even in a crowded place is just blowing away. Music playback on the phone speakers purely shows how much nokia concentrated on the music/sound part of the phone. This is in no way a review, but i will post one when i have time to play around with it. The phone was in my hands for just a few seconds, and the next moment it was gone

Now for the good news, I can confirm from a nokia official at the launch that this baby will be in the middle east market in the next week. That’s a timeline of 6th to the 11th of December 2008. Keep your ears open, cars running and sport shoes on, cause when this baby comes out it will be in limited stocks and it will be gone if you don’t get your sweaty hands on them sooner. I’ll keep everyone updated as and when i find out more, but a request to all readers is to please comment up once you know the phone is out, so it would help everyone here.

For now, enjoy the image and keep your fingers crossed !

Yeap, i was there and i bring you some exciting news folks. It all starts with the above invitation. The 12th Nokia Music Store is now officially the Middle East. I wont start with the flaming, but nokia was smart to pick up on a market they know will grow to their advantage. Where as Apple on the other hand, has only the App Store site for the middle eastern people. No iTunes, no support, no movies. I am glad that nokia has its own support for the music store, unlike the service support that involves the money gobbling dealers here.

The setup was perfect, not as good as the UK launch, but it was still good. Beautiful chicks in white nokia tops and three-fourths. Music all night long, the burj al arab in the backdrop, drinks on the house and the beach waves to set the mood. Now try to beat that Apple !, you have been instigated

The extra piece of news i have for some interested folks, is that the Asian Nokia Music store (India) has a probable launch date. 20th Jan 2009 ! Still its unconfirmed as the Nokia Music Store International operations manager was skeptical on giving me any more juicy info. But, but, but .. I did get hold of something really special guys. Keep a look out for my next post

Didn’t feel like leaving all that music and drinks behind, but it was back to work the next day. All in all it was a good launch, many questions answered, many guests happy and tons of music to download in the near future. Well i do have one freebie i can give away so comment on if you want a voucher to download a few songs off the store. I’ll select one comment in all, so make sure the email id you use is valid.

If you need more info, head on to the article on the Gulf News website, to fill your technical appetite.
And if you want to check out the entire Nokia Music Store Middle east Launch gallery then head over here !

Well, the day has finally arrived. Today the 1st of December, 2008 will see Russell Peters in dubai. He will be here till the 3rd of December and continue to make folks laugh till they pee. So what can some of you little faint hearted folks do ? Bring an empty brown paper bag, it could be used in various situations. If you get picked on, or if you are embarrassed or even if you want to excuse your self to the washroom. Second option would be to sit right at the back

Now for nuts like myself, i would suggest you head over to Festival city or Mall of the Emirates and get some nifty cool RP slogans printed. Like moi and run through the door like you’ve never ran before and catch the first seat in Platinum .. of course you need platinum tickets.

All is set and ready to celebrate the 37th National Day of the UAE. I myself have seen 25 National Days in this beautiful county and every single one of them has a story to tell. Every year, this day is a new reason to light up the cities and celebrate the formation of the emirates. Like any other country the people of the emirates love and adore this day, but the celebration .. is in style

A small history lesson for the new expats here. The rulers of Abu Dhabi and Dubai decided to form a union between their two emirates independently, prepare a constitution, then call the rulers of the other five emirates to a meeting and offer them the opportunity to join. It was also agreed between the two that Adi Bitar write the constitution by December 2, 1971. Adi Nasib Al Bitar (1924 - 1973) was a judge, a legal advisor and lawyer who worked all over the Middle East. He was the author of the constitution of the United Arab Emirates. On that date, at the Dubai Guesthouse Palace, four other emirates agreed to enter into a union called the United Arab Emirates. Ras al-Khaimah joined later, in early 1972. And hence 2nd December, 1971 is always a well respected and celebrated day.

Dubai
Among the highlights will be the Union March on 1 December to be led by His Highness Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed from the Jumeirah Center to Union Square. This will be followed by a Marine Parade on 2 December on the Dubai Creek. The event, featuring boats, yachts, and naval vessels, is supported by Dubai Police, the Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing, Dubai Civil Defense, Road and Transport Authority and Dubai International Marine Club. The activities will also include an evening of poetry on 2-3 December under the auspices of His Highness Sheikh Ahmed Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid, Chairman of Dubai Event Management Corporation. The event is sponsored by the Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing. A team of Dubai Police personnel will offer an aerobics display in Dubai and Hatta at from 1-3 December. Additional events will also be organized at the Heritage Village, Diving Village, Al Shindagha Heritage Village, Mamzar Park, Al Safa Park, Jumeirah Park, Zabeel Park and Musharraf Park.

Abu Dhabi
In Abu Dhabi, three Emirati ultra-light aircraft pilots are to take to the skies over the corniche for three days this week as they are recruited into Hungary’s ace Micro Aviation Team (MAT). The ADTA/ADACH National Day three-day extravaganza in the Abu Dhabi Corniche will also have performances by local bands, an inspiring nightly fireworks display set to the UAE national anthem, and will culminate each evening in free-to-attend concerts by some of the Arab world’s best music performances at the Emirates Palace Garden. Performers include Mohammed Abdo, Ahlam, Al Wasmy, Elissa and Kadim Al Sahir, who will play to audiences of 7,000. During the events, Abu Dhabi Transportation Department is to provide a complimentary shuttle bus service to take music fans to the free concerts.

Other emirates
Similar free-to-attend concerts are being held in Al Ain, in the desert setting of Bida Bint Saoud with seating for 2,500, and at the Cultural Centre in Bida Zayed in Al Gharbia which can accommodate 1,500. Ras-Al-Khaimah, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm-Al-Quwain, and Fujairah also have events planned up by their respective authorities.

So get into that festive mood, and spread the love. For the government its a 10 Day holiday till the 11th of December, and private sector will be a day. But it depends on a company to company basis on how their holidays work. So get out and have fun !

This post cannot be re-published or re-printed without the consent of the owner. The information is provided solely for the purpose of public and safety and cannot be treated as a means to alter violations. Please respect the UAE traffic law and abide by it.

The traffic violations in Dubai and other emirates has seen a rise in the past few years. People from different traffic backgrounds with a different opinion and traffic habit drive here. This means there should come a day when the authorities have to take a stand against violators and safeguard the other drivers from falling into the pit-hole of death. Throughout the UAE, a total of 2,056 people died in road accidents between January and June, an increase of 20 per cent on the previous year. And just in Dubai a total of 1,314 accidents occurred between January and June.

Looking at the growing rates of traffic congestion and road rage in the UAE, the government has decided to implement harsh traffic laws on anyone who does not abide by the rules (I should know better :)). They have re-stated the traffic laws, fines and introduced the “Black Points System“. Though after the new traffic law being passed in Dubai, the accident rates have gone down, and the fines issued were sufficient to build an Atlantis on Honolulu. The most scary part of this entire scenario are the new radars installed (see picture below)

Looks familiar ? Well this would be the dreaded “Laser Radar” or simply called the LIDAR (Light Detection And Ranging). In comparison with the ancient “Photo Radar” the laser radar is like it’s big brother on steroids.

Here’s a little overview on how a traditional radar works, so you get an idea.

Radar is the use of radio waves to detect and monitor various objects. The simplest function of radar is to tell you how far away an object is. To do this, the radar device emits a concentrated radio wave and listens for any echo. If there is an object in the path of the radio wave, it will reflect some of the electromagnetic energy, and the radio wave will bounce back to the radar device. Radio waves move through the air at a constant speed (the speed of light), so the radar device can calculate how far away the object is based on how long it takes the radio signal to return.

Radar can also be used to measure the speed of an object, due to a phenomenon called Doppler shift. Like sound waves, radio waves have a certain frequency, the number of oscillations per unit of time. When the radar and the car are both standing still, the echo will have the same wave frequency as the original signal. Each part of the signal is reflected when it reaches the car, mirroring the original signal exactly. But when the car is moving, each part of the radio signal is reflected at a different point in space, which changes the wave pattern.

Now since we have an idea on how the traditional radar works, lets see how the LIDAR works.

Laser (or lidar, for light detection and ranging) Radars use a more direct method that relies on the reflection time of light rather than Doppler shift. The Doppler shift method is no quiet reliable as sound travels at something like 1,000 feet (300 meters) per second, so it creates a very apparent round-trip time for the sound.

A laser radar measures the round-trip time for light to reach a car and reflect back. Light from a laser radar moves a lot faster than sound — about 984,000,000 feet per second (300,000,000 meters), or roughly 1 foot (30 cm) per nanosecond. A laser radar shoots a very short burst of infrared laser light and then waits for it to reflect off the vehicle. The gun counts the number of nanoseconds it takes for the round trip, and by dividing by 2 it can calculate the distance to the car. If the gun takes 1,000 samples per second, it can compare the change in distance between samples and calculate the speed of the car. By taking several hundred samples over the course of a third of a second or so, the accuracy can be very high.

The advantage of a laser radar is that the size of the “cone” of light that the radar emits is very small, even at a range like 1,000 feet (300 meters). The cone at this distance might be 3 feet (1 meter) in diameter. This allows the radar to target a specific vehicle. The disadvantage is that the radar has to be properly aimed at the road/vehicle

Since the comparison between the two radars is clear, lets see the new radars that have been installed. They are called the Speed Safety System (SSS), by a Swedish company called Sensys. These are the latest in traffic control technology and possess a high rate of detection, say 99.99% ? The 1% is due to climate and road conditions. So now you might see how serious the Dubai Police is ?

Each of these units, by estimate cost around 100,000 - 250,000 Dhs (please do correct me if i am wrong). So when you say that the government earns the money from your fines, they are actually using it to keep the roads safe. I am scared and angry as much as you are, so don’t get me wrong, but to think that your life could end in just 5 seconds of a disastrous collision because some inexperienced driver was traveling at the speed of 220 Km/hr on emirates road, is just something to reconsider and think about.

The SSS operates from the side of the road, tracking traffic for speed and distance. For stationary use, the system is installed in a cabinet mounted on a pole. The cabinets are made for all weather conditions. Tracking starts at 150 - 200 meters and vehicles exceeding the speed limit, triggers the system at a set report line. A picture is taken of the violating vehicle and stored with time, date, speed and location embedded in the file.

Properties

• High-resolution digital images
• Continuous speed verification by applying two independent methods
• Number plate and/or driver identification
• Secure remote communication and setup
• Local storage capacity of up to 400,000 images (optional)
• Provides information about time, date, location, vehicle speed, speed limit
• Supports front or rear photography, or both simultaneously
• Non-intrusive technology, no devices buried in the road surface
• Uses Sensys’ unique multi-tracking radar RS240
• Tracks and measures each vehicle more than 20 times per second
• Triggers at an adjustable speed limit and report line
• Scheduled functionality (only enforced during specified hours and days)
• Possible to take one or two images of the offense

Some of the few options mentioned

• The alarm becomes activated should someone try to sabotage or break into the cabinet. Units that may be connected to the alarm system include door switches, tilt and vibration
  sensor, smoke/fire detector and voltage sensor.
• A video sequence is added to the evidence package as supplementary evidence to the high-resolution still image.
• The incident detection system transmits an alarm should the traffic flow change, such as when a queue forms in a lane. It also detects vehicles stopping on the hard shoulder, and will notify the traffic control room.
• The unique feature of Sensys’ radar of being able to discern distance is used to detect a vehicle passing the stop bar during the red-light phase.

So basically, you cannot fool or avoid the system, which in a way is good. But the traffic congestion problems keep growing and road rage becomes our only option. Hopefully Dubai police would deploy more officers on important roads over the emirates to heavily fine violators who cut through lanes, block traffic and drive on through the hard shoulder. Want to avoid getting snapped by these babies ? Then read on …

• Avoid driving fast & break up near radar points, It will track you approx. 150 m to 200m away.
• Avoid boosting the speed after the radar points, it will track the average distance between two control points ( two nearest radars)
• Please follow the rules while line changing, Can be tracked
• Don’t use mobile phones while driving, Can be tracked
• Use seat belts always, Can be tracked
• Follow the lane discipline for heavy vehicles, Can be tracked
• Always keep the safe distance, Can be tracked
• Avoid jumping lanes, crossing yellows, Can be tracked

Drive safely and obey the traffic laws !

Sources: How Stuff Works , Dubai Police and Sensys.

Now for those of you who don’t know Russell Peters, he’s a Canadian stand-up comedian of Indian origin who loves to crack up people on any kind (and i mean ANY). You can watch a part of his act here. He is scheduled in Dubai on the 1st , 2nd and 3rd of December 2008. As most of you know the money gobbling folks in dubai just love taking advantage of such situations, ITP Tickets being one of them. Now .. now , i ain’t complaining here.

Let me explain, on the Russell Peters website it was clearly mentioned that he will be here in dubai for 3 days. Now to do shows all three days depends on him, but ITP being the wise guys who were authorized to distribute his tickets, put 1st of December 2008 as the ONLY date on their website. The day continues, and after 2 days news comes out that he is performing on the 2nd of December also. The link to the Buy Tickets page still shows 1st of December as the show date and after its all sold out the 2nd December link shows up.

So for all the ones eagerly waiting for his tickets i am posting a probable link to the 3rd December show, just incase he decides to do one. Looking at previous links from ITP Tickets here is the possible prospect:

1st of December 2008 - www.itp.net/tickets/russellpeters/russell_register.php
2nd of December 2008 - www.itp.net/tickets/russellpeters/russell_register2.php
3rd of December 2008 - www.itp.net/tickets/russellpeters/russell_register3.php

Hope all of you have a chance at his tickets, and get to see the best stand-up comedian of all times .. Russell Peters. Now .. Take it, and Go !

Sometimes i wonder if this would be my state someday. Will i be one of those who cant live without a gadget even when i go to the washroom (taking my iPod touch with me does not count :D). There are more geekier geeks than me. Oh ! come on ! A friend of mine sent this pic and the caption was “This will be your state”, so from this i assume that i have the - completely gone gadget / tech crazy sticker on my forehead. OK, lets not call it crazy, its more like tech-appreciation

Let me know what your views are in the comments.

Updates on updates ! This can really be frustrating as the hype around nokia’s first touch-screen device is ever growing here. Finally a few “small” shops now know what the Nokia 5800 is. Cant say the same for shops like cellucom or axiom.

I was at Jumbo Electronics in Mall of the emirates yesterday, and the guys there now know me well. So well that they try to run away (in a good way) I wont blame them because of the dates they have given me, as they gave an honest probability based on previous releases of phones from nokia. They guys mentioned yesterday that the sales exec. from Nokia ME had been up there and that he was certain the Nokia 5800 would be release in the first week of December 08, and if not the first week, it is for a sure scheduled launch in the second week. Price is still a big “don’t know” but assuming the recent news of the phone being listed at €429 in Spain, i can guess an AED 1800 or AED 1900 price range for this baby.

Well at least now we can look forward for Christmas ..