Read Choosing the perfect Ultrabook in Ehab Heikal’s blog

Now some perspective here, a normal computer user will be happy with mostly any ultrabook. Their performance is good and they are very very light. A normal user should look for the following weight, sturdiness, and speed. The variation in weight between ultrabooks is huge, see there is a big difference between a 1.1 KG ultrabook and a 1.4kg one, 300grams are about 25% of the weight of an ultrabook and grams add up fast once you add a power supply etc. You really want a light ultrabook that you can take anywhere with you, but you also want it to be able to survive minor accidents if you are planning to take it with you at times and places when you would not take your notebook. To me an ultrabook holds the potential to replace a tablet, to be your companion everywhere. And to be your companion everywhere you need it to startup fast like your tablet and so you need it to have an SSD not a normal hard disk.

But to a geek like me there are many other points to consider.

First of all the keyboard. Most Ultrabooks have terrible keyboards for touch typists because they key travel is very limited. Since the manufacturers are trying to make the thinnest and lightest ultrabooks they are willing to sacrifice a lot. Most of the ultrabooks I have seen like the Toshiba z930, and the samsung series 9 have keyboards that will be hard to use for a long time. I have really wanted to like the toshiba z930 since it is the lightest full metal ultrabook you can buy in Egypt and at 10,600LE for the model with i7  third generation and a 256 ssd its price is amazing. But the keyboard will not allow me to work for long periods of time on it nor the others.

The dell XPS 13z has a much better keyboard but the problem is the new model which is based on the third generation of core processors did not arrive yet. This third generation of core processors have a much much better graphics performance than the one before it, so really I will not buy yesterday’s technology even if it was discounted and loose on graphics performance of the new 4000 intel graphics chip. The Dell XPS 13z also has amazing build quality, I mean it gives you the feeling that it can fall and will take it like a man The Toshiba although all metal feels more fragile since the metal flexes with pressure.

The apple Macbook Air, has a better keyboard than most, but I am not an Apple Guy.

Now the choice is even more complicated due to windows 8. I do not use windows a lot, my main operating system is Linux, but with the new touch features I would like to have an Ultrabook that I can use to see if windows is worth it, and with such a device it could totally replace the need for a tablet ( I have been forcefully stopping myself from buying a Galaxy Note 10.1 ).

Another interesting Ultrabook in Egypt is the Asus zenbook, the zenbook seems to be very sturdily built, it really gives you the impression that it can go anywhere with you, the keyboard is just as bad as the rest, but the brushed all metal exterior is amazing.

The Sony Duo 11 seems like a nice compromise. Although it has a smaller 11 inch screen and is heavier than the Toshiba Z930 it has a touch screen and can be used as a tablet. It also has a trackpoint ( optical not like the ones on Thinkpads ) which I believe every touch typists should use instead of the trackpad since you do not need to move your hand off the touch typing position to use the mouse.

See touch screens take up more space and weigh more than traditional screens, add to that the fact that if you want to use the touch screen as a tablet, a mechanism for turning it around from notebook mode to tabled mode needs to be made, thus even more added weight.

What do you think is the best tablet for a geek in the market in Egypt?

Read Biased Humans. in Ehab Heikal’s blog

Everybody is biased, that is life. Some people will sacrifice truth, decency, faith and honor to further their biases. Some people will share before they read, some will read but not verify. Some will verify before sharing but their verification is biased. Some will write in a news paper column, some will reply to posts, but all are biased and such is human nature.

It is HOW you are biased, that defines you. It is the dedication to truth that purifies you. And the short answers like they are bad for Egypt, or they are retards, or they are backwards are not truths and are not worth biases of educated people.

Read Getting Tp-Link MR3020 to work with Etisalat USB modem e173 in Egypt in Ehab Heikal’s blog

The TP-Link is a very handy and small portable wireless N router/Access point that can be used to add wireless to your existing network or act as a router when a USB 3G/4G stick is attached to it. Alas making it work with Etisalat current USB stick which is the e173 from Huwawie is not a simple.

First of all you need to update the software of the router. You can find the latest firmware here http://www.tp-link.com/Resources/software/TL-MR3020_V1.00_120817.zip and unzip it. Please note that to update the firmware you need to connect to the router via Ethernet and not wireless. Then via the browser go into the admin interface of the TP-Link by typing 192.168.0.254 ( unless you changed that before ) and use admin/admin as username and pass. Navigate the menus and find the update menu and update the software with the file you downloaded. Wait for the update. Please note that this update erases all your settings including the wireless passwords etc and that it will automatically make the TP-Link use secure wireless with a default password. So I recomend that while you are connect to the ethernet you set the wireless password to something that you will remember.

Now you need to download the E173 driver from here http://www.tp-link.com/resources/compatible/HUAWEI_E173.zip and unzip it. Now after you have done this, go to the 3G section under network then go to 3G/4G in the TP-Link interface and press the modem settings button. Now press add new and upload the bin file you just downloaded and unzipped. Now this is not all. Now go into the 3G/4G section again and select, Egypt and Etisalat in the appropriate sections, select PAP for authentication type, then save. In this same page again Click advanced settings and enable the option “Set the Dial Number, APN, Username and Password manually”. Enter *99# as the dial number and etisalat as the apn. Save and reboot the TP-Link by unplugging the power and returning it after a few seconds.

After something like a minute or so the USB stick in the TP-Link should light up a solid blue light on its end. Try to connect and should be connected to the Internet.

This little gadget is really useful it can be used as an access point, or a 3G router and it is really small and can be powered using any USB power.

مواطن أميركي يشتري طائرة بوينج للعيش فيها
????? ‘????? – حقق مواطن أميركي حلما راوده طوال حياته، بتمكنه أخيرا من العيش في طائرة قديمة من طراز بوينغ 727، في ولاية أوريغون.

الألمان يهملون الاعتناء بسياراتهم
????? ‘????? – قال مسؤولون من الوكالة الألمانية للفحص الفني إن الألمان الذين يعانون من ضائقة مالية ينفقون أموالا قليلة على صيانة سياراتهم.

نائبة في البرلمان الاوكراني تصف اليهود بـ النتنين
????? ‘????? – الت صحيفة “معاريف” العبرية امس ان احدى اعضاء البرلمان الاوكراني عن الحزب الذي هاجمته اسرائيل

Read My view of the Constitution drafting and things around it. in Ehab Heikal’s blog

This was a reply to a post online right after the 63.8 vote yes to the first democratically affirmed constitution of Egypt, but I felt it needed its own post.

Mo Ashour ( a great friend and a true Liberal and humanist) I do not think that representing the relative strength of political currents in the constitution is fault. I do believe that using tactics like quitting from the Constitution committee to undermine the strength of the will of the people is a huge fault that has cost us a more refined Islamized constitution from the Secular side. I do not believe that Egypt will ever be secular until it is close to what people refer to as end times. I do not think that the solution that is valid in any and all countries where there are minorities is liberalism. Sometimes the minority have to live in the rule of the majority, it is the burden of the majority to ensure that such is not abused. I agree that the USA has a great system FOR A COUNTRY THAT HAS NO IDENTITY, a country that has filled its population from “various external sources”. I agree that as a reaction to the Catholic Church, secularism seems logical, but at those same times when the inquisition was going on non-Muslims in Islamic lands prospered and lived without a sword on their necks. I fully believe that moderate Islam as practiced for 1400 years has enough safeguard against persecution of minory simply by historical comparative record to other areas of the world. I believe that it is the right of nations to assert their identity regardless of the predominant liberal wold ideology.
I believe that variety is the basis of human experience, the cornerstone of our survival and that global liberal rule that allows variety within it, is not variety at all, but a softer fascism.
Someone had to put his feet on the pedal and stop the continual Westernization of our country. That includes the Westernization of its ideology. Liberalism was not grown here, nor in Asia, nor in south America. It is localized and has been exported world wide. I am proud that when we voted we voted this way.
I say all this with utmost respect for your ideologies and your chosen way of life. But you have to realize that as a people we do not want to change our ways when it comes to this and this shows in the vote.
Some people say if you reject liberalism then reject everything European, like the very voting process. To that I say, get a life or rather that voting democracy is a tool, Liberalism or secularism to me is an ideology. The concept of democracy is compatible with the Quran, Secularism is not.
Wow a huge post.
So to sum up, 64% if not played with, proves to me that Egypt chose not to be secular. That those that want it to be and have left the constitutional committee because of that, had no hope of getting what they wanted anyway, I also think if the people really understood what these people wanted for Egypt the vote for yes would be higher. The secular leaders do not represent Egypt at all, and their stupid childish tactics of leaving the committee in protest and unrealistic understanding of Egypt has bereft us of a more refined Islamized constitution.

مكتب الارصاد البريطاني: عام 2013 سيسجل رقما قياسيا في ارتفاع الحرارة
????? ‘????? – قال مكتب الارصاد الجوية البريطاني امس الخميس انه يتوقع ان تكون درجات حرارة الكرة الارضية أعلى بمقدار 0.57 درجة من المتوسط في العام القادم

Read Iphone 5 – My Mini Review in Ehab Heikal’s blog

Do not get me wrong, I would not be caught dead owning an Iphone, but I do setup things like these for my family and here is my impression of the Iphone 5 hardware. First of all IOS is not my cup of coffee, it over simplifies things to the point of making it more difficult to do useful things with your phone. If you want to be productive and spend some time learning then a Samsung Galaxy Note 2 is more suitable for you. That being said the Iphone 5 is the best Iphone ever and here is why.

Apple finally got it, a bigger screen means a more useful smart phone! The new 4 inch screen in narrower and taller making it more suitable for Internet browsing than the earlier 3.5 inch screens of Apple, but it still falls short of the many Android high end phones on size. The colors are amazing, nearly as good as samsung OLED, the blacks are deep and the colors are very well defined. The resolution is so high that going any higher would be useless. So overall I would say the screen is amazing for an iphone.

The body is very sexy, it is really the most attractive Iphone yet and most probably the most attractive phone ever. But that comes at a price, many online reports suggest that it is also the most fragile iphone when it comes to stretchability, so you will need a cover for it, but tell me does that not destroy the very purpose of having a good looking phone? And the real knocker is that it is lighter too by a wide margin than the iphone 4S!

Speed! Yes that is all I have to say. The phone although a dual core, keeps up with my Quad Core Samsung and in some areas even beats it. Well that is because the CPU is a new generation where apple is a few months ahead of the competition. Competing CPUs have just begun to come out from others and will be in phones in a couple of months, for now the Iphone 5 is head to head with the fastest phones with a better battery life because it gets that speed from only two cores rather than 4 power hungry cores.

The in-ear headphones are new ones from apple, they easily beat any headphone included in the box of most phones. They are one step better than their predecessors. The Midrange and high frequencies are very clear, the bass is ok. But if you are a music lover you will still want to purchase a more expensive set of headphones if you can find good ones here in Egypt. If you compare them to the ones included with the Samsungs they will beat them hands down but they are not a replacement of a Klipcsh ( you can not get these in Egypt ) or high end Sennheiser ( or even bose and beats which you are paying more for the marketing than the quality ) headphone.

But what I love the most and also hate the most is the new power/computer mini-doc connector. The connector is really small and well build and the really nice trick is that it does not matter which orientation you plug it, unlike USB plugs on most if not all Android phones where there is a top side and a bottom side. The thing I hate is that it is not USB or not standard. I just got used to having one cable charge my phone and my bluetooth and connect cameras to the computer etc. See although the innovation is good, being outside the standard is bad.

Overall if you are an Iphone lover, this phone is the best Iphone yet, it is faster, lighter, larger, more attractive and generally the best phone for people that can not invest time or effort in learning a the more powerful Android operating system.

Read Who will the Egyptians be? in Ehab Heikal’s blog

The path of peace and love is much harder than the path of politics and power. Everything you do, every thing you say, every lie you tell yourself to justify your position, defines who you are and what Egypt is going to be for generations ahead.
Will our generation be remembered as creating an Egypt when politics divided friends or when friends broke down the greed of politicians.
For there is only one fact, that man on the other side, is an Egyptian, is a brother, is a friend, or a friend of a friend, you know his father and mother.

The words you say define who you are!