With my birthday just around the corner I find myself looking back at my accomplishments, my memories and thousands of pictures. My life laid out on the table in front of me as if it all just happened yesterday. I wanted to achieve a great many things, a handful have materialised, others are still works […]
It’s been almost three years since my last big African project south of the equator. This morning I once again saw Lusaka’s green lawns bask in the warm, morning sun while birds played in the lush Acacia trees lining the streets. Not much has changed. The people are still friendly, kind and with a genuine […]
Before going on leave some weeks back, I managed to finish up a number of projects and hand them over to those who would act as custodians in my absence. I try to make the process as painless and informative as possible for those staying behind to man the walls. But in spite of my […]
Today I was approached by a friend and colleague to give a talk about the benefits of working in the information technology consulting industry and “How you attain achievement and enjoyment at work”. To be honest, I was taken aback by the mere proposition of talking on the subject in a positive voice given my […]
I really don’t care for the Emirates Foundation, duty free shopping or the number of languages spoken by the crew, nor do I enjoy announcements that belch through the headphones at a pain inducing volume, override my preferences and pause my show. I care little for local time, the outside air temperature or that some […]
What is it about professional certifications that compels people to get certified in the technologies they work in or fields they want to get into? As many of us know, a certification doesn’t necessarily translate into someone’s mastery of topic. For a long time I resisted obtaining them because of too many disappointing experiences with […]
Research in Motion (RIM), the Canadian maker of BlackBerry phones, is laying everything on the line in the hope that its latest device, the BlackBerry 10 smartphone, will win over consumers and pull the company out of a lossmaking slump that saw its share price tumble by almost 96% over the past two years. RIM […]
To say that I’m a fan of international roaming would be a big fat lie. Don’t get me wrong, I love the freedom of being able to take my mobile phone and SIM (subscriber identity module) card from my current provider, travel half way around the world and still be able to communicate as if […]
Multi-billion dollar Oil & Gas companies are being targeted by a new generation of intelligent and destructive computer viruses that are capable of collecting sensitive information and are capable of destroying entire computer ecosystems. On August 15, Saudi Aramco, the world’s largest Oil & Gas producer based in Saudi Arabia, admitted that it was targeted […]
Millions of frequent flyers around the globe go through the pain of requalifying for the coveted Emirates Skywards Gold membership level. For some of us, this may mean being only a few thousand tier miles away from retaining Gold, for others, it could be 25,000 miles. So what’s the best way to ensure you keep […]
I’m a bit confused by the state of modern backpacking, at least when it comes to understanding people’s motives for leaving home in the first place. And with so many travel websites, prescriptive guides and an ever-increasing supply of tourist-compiled material, I somehow feel that the romance and adventure of exploring new lands is slowly […]
With the rising sun the stillness and peace of the night gives way to hammer-drills, screeching machines and a sea of fluorescently coloured construction workers precariously clinging to the most recent addition to Dubai’s skyline. A marriage of glass and steel, polished until the reflection of distant sea waves can no longer be distinguished from […]
Modern communication technology has allowed us to transcend cultural, geographic and political boundaries without much concern for the inherent ethical differences that exist within each group. The internet, for instance, has torn down these barriers and provided a publishing platform with an unprecedented global reach. Across the globe there are many cultural varieties and differences, […]
The once bustling hallways of Dubai Mall were virtually people-free this morning. Shop roller-shutters closed tight, lights dimmed and closure notices displayed prominently on many shopfront windows. Restaurants that once served up deliciously smelling delights lay barren without any hint of service, produce or the usual eclectic clientele. Astronomers Divided A few days ago the […]
Social media sites are increasingly finding themselves under the microscopes of privacy advocacy groups who criticize ever-growing data warehouses on global citizens. But as the social craze spills into the corporate ecosystem, individuals aren’t the only ones who should be concerned about what the likes of Facebook are planning on doing with all this information. It’s […]
New digital snooping laws being discussed in the U.K. and U.S. are generating a lot of negative sentiment from advocates of privacy and human rights groups. The new surveillance laws would allow service and platform providers to collect, store and even sell data to third parties and permit its perusal by various security services. In […]
More often than not, our corporate email experience is more akin to strategic warfare than benign correspondence. As the office pressures increase and the landslide of email begins to drive our patience thin and email etiquette to nonexistence, it becomes easier to make mistakes that could weigh heavily on your career prospects and professional reputation. […]
For those of us who live in the Middle East, Internet censorship and partial access to services is a daily reality. The UAE’s two primary Internet Service Providers (ISPs), Du & Etisalat, actively monitor and filter access to Internet sites and content that the government deems inappropriate. But censorship of the Internet is only part […]
Whether it’s for convenience, speed, cost or variety, more and more people are turning to the internet for their daily dose of news. The rise of the internet and web-based advertising has significantly stripped traditional newspaper operations of a much needed revenue source. As print circulation continues to decline, almost every major paper is streamlining […]
I’m not exactly sure when terrorist phobia started becoming part of the general aviation landscape, but I’m pretty sure it had something to do with 9/11. A prime example of how the few bad eggs can spoil it all for the rest of us. The US, with its finite wisdom, has managed to spread most […]