Mazen Al-Angary's Official Blog
Posts tagged Interesting
حفل إفطار كواديكال لمستخدمي الماك
Aug 22nd
أقامت شركة كواديكال حفل إفطار لمستخدمي الماك بجدة وذلك في مطعم كاسبر آند جامبينيز حيث تم إعطاء نبذة للحضور عن عمل الشركة وأقسامها التقنية وتم توزيع هدايا على الحضور مقدمة من محل ماكيت بجدة لمنتجات أپل.
You Scratched My Mac!
Aug 11th
Personally I have issues with people holding or even touching my Apple gadgets including my iPhone, iPod, iPad, and Mac.
The other day I got this email from a Mac user in Dubai, UAE who faced the wall of Apple resellers’ bureaucracy , I can relate to her frustration. What these resellers can’t fathom is that Mac users are very passionate about their gear, and such issues will never be resolved till resellers get that simple point one day.
So here is the email I got, I thought of sharing it without editing anything including the names of the stores (Saraf DG is Sharaf DG, but who give a F*** really!).
==========================
Dear Mazen
I do appreciate, here is the full version:
August 1: @9pm my husband bought MacBook Pro from Saraf DG [Ibn Batutta Mall Dubai]
August 2: my birthday, open present BUT i don’t open notebook [mistake]
August 3: all my friends left and i have time to break SEAL for first time since i got it. I discover a tiny scratch on the key board panel [paranoia sets in: i'm anal about scratches and too many hands handling a product: that is just me] and some “handling” marks. Nevertheless, it did not feel new! Please note: i did not open any other sealed parts [charger and cable]. I phone Saraf to speak with manager but are told to bring it in the next morning.
August 4: after another phone call to speak with manager, i get in my car and go to the store. I show him the tiny scratch, after which he take photo and assure me he will send it off to service centre for replacement and that they will get back to me on Sunday [August 8].
August 5: the more i think about it the more angry i get. I send email to ABM and Saraf DG service centre, complaining. ABM did not even acknowledge my mail and Saraf DG, well .. they’ll get back to me [they never did].
August 9: get in my car, no effort from Saraf whatsoever. Speak to a different manager. He assures me that they are waiting for a reply from Apple US and will do exchange as soon as they get the reply! We wait another hour, in which time they [Apple US] reply and say: the scratch is tiny, i must have done it and that they will not exchange. I’m devastated. Although they have a 7day exchange / refund policy: i took to long! Because the seal was not broken: i caused the scratch [how will one prove that a seal is broken if they don't even believe you with a scratch]. I left very angry. When i got home i decided to mail Apple myself and express my disappointment. So i mailed the manager to forward Apple’s reply. He could not supply me with US contact person, so the reply never came from the US. And they only send my URGENT request on Thursday EVENING [8:22pm]!
So i’m not the proud owner of a MacBook Pro but of a MacScratch .. This is my Apple story in short. Thank you again for your support! I’m going to switch it on for the first time since i got it .. wish me luck!
Kind regards
Riana B R.
iPad Cake
Jun 18th
NOTE: If you’re excepting a tech related blog post then the answer is, No.
Today the 18th of June is my Birthday, and my lovely wife decided to throw me a special surprise birthday.
We geeks know that it is very hard to get us anything, especially when it’s a gadget. So while planning for a couple of days, and conspiring with my mother about the matter, I ended up getting this beautiful iPad cake.
I would like to thank the two angels in my life for such a great surprise.
PS. If you find this post fluffy, read the note on the top. The answer is still No!
Quadical: A New Dawn of High-Tech Events
May 24th
A spark of thought launched the idea behind Quadical, a new high-tech event management network in Saudi Arabia.
Quadical has been initiated to meet an eager demand in the Saudi market, to provide a reputable source of high-tech information by organizing events and seminars to decipher all that technical jargon in a simple easy to understand way.
Driven by the passion of sharing knowledge, the Quadical team works extra-hard to present a one of a kind presentation in every single event.
Starting on the 25th of May 2010, Quadical will organize its first gathering to talk about Gowalla (a Location Based Service application), offering all Saudi Gowalla users a chance to learn more about the technology and how they can benefit from it.
The event will be broadcasted live over Ustream, and will be available later on at Quadical YouTube channel. Since Quadical has arranged this event in coordination with Gowalla, Texas to be the first official off US shores event ever.
Yet more surprises are planned since Quadical is putting the final touches on a grand event that will take place at Dar Al Hikmah college on the 31st of May, to talk about the iPad and how people can use this futuristic piece of technology, answering all the questions that might arise during the event. And to add a little excitement, Quadical will offer two secret surprises during the event.
You can watch the Gowalla event live stream here. or on Quadical YouTube channel.
You can also find out about the latest updates by following @Quadical on Twitter.
Or surf over to Quadical’s website, for upcoming events. You know what they say, four heads are better than one. 
آبل آيباد: حقيقة أكبر من خيال
Apr 11th
وأخيراً إنتهى الإنتظار والترقب، حيث قامت شركة آبل بتسليم الدفعة الأولى من أجهزة الآيباد للمشترين الأوائل، حيث وصل للمملكة جهازي المرتقب في الثامن من إبريل، مع العلم بأن جهازي زار مواقع عديدة خلال أربع أيام، فمن الصين طار للولايات المتحدة، ومن ثم لفرنسا ثم الإمارات العربية المتحدة، بعد ذلك إلتف ليصل للرياض وأخيراً وصل بسلام في يدي بمدينة جدة.
طبعاً أنا متأكد من أن الكثير منكم قراء العديد من المقالات والتحليلات عن الجهاز، مما يجعل إعادة الحديث عنها من محض اللت والعجن الممل. لكن ما أود الحديث عنه هي التجربة الأولى في حد ذاتها، وهذا ما قررت أن أشاركه معكم.
أول خاطرة ترد في ذهني عند رفع الجهاز من الصندوق هي “واو“ وبعد تشغيل بعض البرامج على الجهاز تداركت معنى إيجاد الجهاز في حد ذاته. فشركة آبل صرحت بأن هذا الجهاز ليس بديلاً عن الهاتف الذكي (أو آيبود بشاشه عملاقة)، ولا هو بديل عن أجهزة الكمبيوتر المحمولة. هذا الجهاز يُصنف تحت فصيلة جديدة من الأجهزة المتنقلة الخفيفة. وكما قال الرئيس التنفيذي للشركة ستيف جوبز “هذا جهاز وسطي بين الهاتف الذكي واللابتوب“.
إدعى البعض أن الجهاز ثقيل في الحمل، مما أعطى إنطباعاً بأنه غير عملي في التنقل، ردي على ذلك أن الجهاز متوازن في الوزن بالنسبه لحجمه، وذلك يعطي الإحساس بجودة الصنع العالية، حيث أنه غير مُصنع من قطع بلاستيك لُزقت بغراء رخيص.
كما قامت العديد من وكالات الأنباء الكبيرة بنشر أخبار عن عدم قدرة الجهاز على التواصل مع بعض شبكات الـWiFi، مما جعلني أجرب الإتصال بشبكات متعددة من دون أي صعوبات وبدقة فائقة تحاكي إتصال أجهزة الكمبيوتر المحمولة. في إعتقادي الخاص، وبما أن كلمة “iPad” من الكلمات المهمه في مواقع البحث هذه الأيام، أرادت بعض تلك المواقع الحصول على إنتباه الزوار من خلال نفخ بعض فقاعات الصابون من حالات فردية لم يتم التحقق من صحتها (يمكن أصحاب الأجهزة المتضررة زيارة أيٍ من صالات بيع أجهزة آبل، لكن لم يتم إثبات ذلك بعد).
لنكن منطقيين قليلاً في تفكيرنا، قامت آبل بإستثمار الكثير من الأموال والجهد لتطوير وتصنيع هذا الجهاز المرتقب من قِبل المستخدمين والمنافسين على حدٍ سواء، لا أظن أنها ستسمح بفرصة ثقب ترسانتها في مرحلة مهمه مثل هذه.
عنصر الإثارة
لإختصار الموضوع، فإن الآيباد أفضل جهاز كمبيوتر متنقل يتم تصنيعه حتى الآن. فهو أفضل متصفح للإنترنت (حيث يمكنك لمس المواقع كما لم تفعل من قبل)، هو أفضل مشغل وسائط صوتية، أفضل مشغل أفلام HD متنقل، أفضل جهاز للإبداع السريع مثل الكتابة أو الرسم، أفضل جهاز ألعاب (قريباً سيتغلب على البلاي ستيشن PSP والننتيدو DSi لما يتميز به الجهاز من قدرات فائقة لعرض الجرافيكس ثلاثية الأبعاد عالية الجودة)، كما أن الآيباد هو أفضل جهاز يمكنك أن تحلم بإقتنائه لقراءة الكتب والمجلات والصحف والمجلات الهزلية .
في الماضي تمكنت من السفر بجهاز آيفون مكنني من التواصل عبر البريد الإلكتروني والإنترنت، والآن يمكنني فعل أكثر من ذلك بالآيباد.
سألني البعض عن عمر البطارية، لم أقم بتجربة فعلية لكن من ملاحظتي إستخدمت الجهاز لمدة ٣ ساعات إستهلكت ما يقارب ٩٪ من طاقة الجهاز. آبل أعلنت عن ١٠ ساعات مشاهدة فيديو، وقام البعض بتحقيق ١١ ساعة من الألعاب والفيديو المتواصل.
جميع الحقوق محفوظة ٢٠١٠ مازن العنقري
JeddahFood App: Gets You Out & About
Apr 10th
One of the best sites about restaurants and cafés in Jeddah, has just launched their first application on the iPhone, The JeddahFood app offers a lot of cool features.
This application will use your GPS equipped iPhone to locate your whereabouts and recommend venues that are close to you, you can even specify what cuisine you are looking for.
But what really makes this application so special, is its ability to let you read live reviews about the venue, see ratings, call the place you want to visit in case you want to place an order or make a reservation, visit the venue’s website, or even get to know the opening hours.
As a user of the application you can add your review or comments, rate, and share with your friends on FaceBook or Twitter.
A must have app if you live in Jeddah or plan on visiting, using the app gets you to discover more than meets the eye, even to people who live in Jeddah, I tried the app and found locations around me that I never knew were there.
You can get the full version of the app on the iTunes store for $3.99 (That’s about SR15, consider it as buying the JeddahFood team a cup of latté for the great work they did with their site, and now their application).
Apple iPad: Bigger Than Life
Apr 8th
Well finally the wait is over, Apple delivered the iPad on the 3rd of April as promised, and I got mine delivered on the 8th, given the fact that my iPad flew all the way from China to the US, visited France, the UAE, till it reached my hands in Jeddah Saudi Arabia.
Now I am sure by now that you read a ton of articles, reviews, and opinions about the iPad and what it can and can’t do. So this won’t be a review, this will be an experience.
The first word that crossed my mind when i first held the iPad out of its box was “WOW!” after firing up some apps the whole iPad experience started to sink in, now i fully understand what Apple has created, and I think this is what got many people confused, they try to label this revolutionary device as a portable computer, or a netbook, or in some cases as a giant iPod touch (or iPhone). Yet Steve Jobs made it very clear when he said that this is something in-between a mobile phone and a laptop, created for ultra mobility.
Some people said that the device is so heavy, I find it very light and balanced (Recommendation: Try lifting some weight you wussies), you can feel that you’re holding a quality product, not a cheap piece of plastic tablet wannabe.
Many news sites reported that the new Apple product has issue connecting to the Internet, I found it connecting to many networks with no problems, so I guess in the quest to get more web-hits and Google juice, those site got there hand on a single incident to make a huge air-balloon out of it.
Let’s be logical, Apple placed a lot of betting chips on those product, they won’t ship out a defected device, especially when every other company dreams of finding a crack they can stab at.
The WOW Factor
Bottom line, the iPad is the best ultra-mobile device ever created, hands down.
It is the best Internet tablet (you can really touch the web for the first time), the best music device, the best HD movie player, the best creation on-the-go device, the best mobile gaming device, and the best book, magazine, and comic book reader you can ever dream of buying.
In the past I managed to travel naked with my iPhone, as a dear friend likes to say, now I can be even more productive and move lighter with the iPad, with everything merely a finger tap away.
P.S. This article has been drafted on an iPad, and if I had the SD card adaptor I would have posted directly to the web, thanks to Pages app on the iPad, so much for creating. Now scroll down and enjoy the images.
iPad thickness compared to iPhone 3GS
Reading books on the iPad
Drafting this article on the iPad using pages and exporting seamlessly through iTunes.
UPDATE: Regarding battery life, I have been playing with my iPad for about 3 hours with WiFi turned on, it consumed about 9% leaving me with 91% full battery.
Copyright 2010 © Mazen Al-Angary, All Rights Reserved.
One of The Most Creative Games Yet
Apr 8th
I must say, I am so impresed by this game on the iPhone.
Created by the gifted Sketch Nation. You can watch the video to get blown away by it:
You can buy the game for $0.99 here
The New BMW 5 Series @ Yas Formula 1 Raceway
Mar 21st
Just came back for a quick trip to Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, UAE, where I tested the brand-new BMW 5 Series at Yas Marina Formula 1 raceway circuit. Since I am so tiered at the moment to write a review of this amazing car, you can watch this exclusive video shot on the tarmac of the raceway circuit.
All the shots and the video have been taken today, so this is as fresh as it gets
And here is the Video, which was shot on my iPhone 3GS, since my HD camcorder’s 4GB card is full with a 1hour HD video of the whole event. Enjoy 
I would like to thank BMW Group and their Middle East Office for this great event and opportunity.
Copyright 2010 © Mazen Al-Angary, All Rights Reserved.
SaudiMac on CNN
Mar 13th
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