I was surprised to see this today. My friend Ali Al-Suwaidi sent me a link to this video today. This is about the iPark that I talked about in a previous post.
How stupid is that!!? When countries are already talking about metropolitan area networks spanning the whole country. Somehow putting it in a park needs all this promotion!!? Doh! But you know what? Why not! :)
6 years ago I was driving at 12:30pm (rush hour) on one of the main roads in Doha and there were like two or three other cars. My team was piloting an e-Gov service, full transaction with payment. At the time government internet involvement was at/or slightly above 0.
Now, 6 years later. They rank well above the average and well above many countries in terms of ICT (according to UN).
At this rate, 5 years from now. Qatar will be leading in the field and ranking at the top.
This is especially true since we have a CERT body now under the name QCERT, that focuses on a research as well as a focus on research and education coming from the top.
Please excuse my ignorance, but what is CERT? By the way, there is no "Race" to the top. Countries like South Korea and Singapore already have these MAN-WIFI networks up and running. Tunisia decided to go with WiMAX instead (better in my opinion) but will probably be paid service, AND WiMax is still in it's infancy, so there will be issues. Covering a Park with Internet is something that municipalities in small towns around the US, Europe and even Africa has done already with great success, because it's SUPER easy. (Come to me, I'll design one of these locations for you for free)
But again, I think it's good step ... I just don't like over hyped things, wherever they show up. And everything allah wakeelak in the Arab world is over hyped. We have to be #1, the Best, The Only, the whatever :)
I don't like overhyping things. And i realize where that is coming from.
However, in the Arab world we are suffering from an inferiority complex due to us autophobically criticizing everything we are, have or do. Or us making a big deal out of the most infinitesimal of achievments.
I think however for a country that is still working on its road infrastructure, a FREE wireless park is quite an achievement. What is most impressive is not the technical side of it, but the strategic understanding of the need to prioritize on these things for the very reasons you mentioned.
Us technical people sometimes fail to look at things outside the box, and fall for the trap of evaluating things from a techincal point of view. It is only when we mature in our strategic understanding that we realize how difficult it is to manage the limited resources for the unlimited amount of things we are behind in.
Israel is now using White Phosphorus in Gaza. White Phosphorus is not an illegal weapon. It is however, to be used under very strict regulations. The most relevant of these is that it is not to be used on personnel. This includes the prohibition of use against military combatants as well as civilians. A person coming in contact with this substance will suffer horrific burns, and the heat will peal the skin from the bone. Having bombed UNRWA schools, hospitals, and ambulances, it is clear that Israel is intentionally targeting civilians. And now its clear they are even doing this with illegally used weaponry. It is also clear that Israel is targeting the civilians in order to scare them and scare Hamas into a submissive ceasefire that guarantees Israeli presence in Gaza. Israel however, is getting no where, and its at the end of its rope. I yesterday saw a 12 year old girl who had both her legs amputated at the knee due to severe burns that reached the bone. The girl was in the hospital...
I was having a conversation tonight during the sahrah at a friend's house about the validity of the position that the Government of Jordan has taken regarding the War on Lebanon. A comment was made during that conversation that sparked a thought. Who is to blame? My friend said that the Jordanian people don't follow rules and get politically carried away easily and as a result should not be allowed to demonstrate and should be controlled *these words are me putting politely*. When I look around, the people of Jordan do behave rather impolitely towards each other and do not obey the rules. And the question here is who is to blame? We are certainly not stupid by evidence of the academic achievements and intuitive solutions made by Jordanian companies and Jordanian students ...etc. So IQ is not really it. I blame both the people and the government. I blame the government because the law doesn't seem to apply to everyone, and not all of the law is applied. To explain this, here...
After a while of crashing and freezing, expectedly, my XBOX 360 has finally given me the 3 finger salute known as 3RL (3 Rings of Light). Error code is 0102. Which basically for a while meant that its dead beyond repair. Now however there is a number of alternative methods that may revive it. I have nothing to lose that I didn't already. I'm starting with the eraser. Will keep you posted. UPDATE My XBOX 360 is fixed and I went through the whole Nurnburgring on PGR3 and everything except for the fans seems to be working fine. The fans are much louder now.
How stupid is that!!? When countries are already talking about metropolitan area networks spanning the whole country. Somehow putting it in a park needs all this promotion!!?
ReplyDeleteDoh!
But you know what? Why not! :)
Qwaider, calm down.
ReplyDelete6 years ago I was driving at 12:30pm (rush hour) on one of the main roads in Doha and there were like two or three other cars. My team was piloting an e-Gov service, full transaction with payment. At the time government internet involvement was at/or slightly above 0.
Now, 6 years later. They rank well above the average and well above many countries in terms of ICT (according to UN).
At this rate, 5 years from now. Qatar will be leading in the field and ranking at the top.
This is especially true since we have a CERT body now under the name QCERT, that focuses on a research as well as a focus on research and education coming from the top.
Please excuse my ignorance, but what is CERT?
ReplyDeleteBy the way, there is no "Race" to the top. Countries like South Korea and Singapore already have these MAN-WIFI networks up and running. Tunisia decided to go with WiMAX instead (better in my opinion) but will probably be paid service, AND WiMax is still in it's infancy, so there will be issues.
Covering a Park with Internet is something that municipalities in small towns around the US, Europe and even Africa has done already with great success, because it's SUPER easy. (Come to me, I'll design one of these locations for you for free)
But again, I think it's good step ... I just don't like over hyped things, wherever they show up.
And everything allah wakeelak in the Arab world is over hyped. We have to be #1, the Best, The Only, the whatever :)
I don't like overhyping things. And i realize where that is coming from.
ReplyDeleteHowever, in the Arab world we are suffering from an inferiority complex due to us autophobically criticizing everything we are, have or do. Or us making a big deal out of the most infinitesimal of achievments.
I think however for a country that is still working on its road infrastructure, a FREE wireless park is quite an achievement. What is most impressive is not the technical side of it, but the strategic understanding of the need to prioritize on these things for the very reasons you mentioned.
Us technical people sometimes fail to look at things outside the box, and fall for the trap of evaluating things from a techincal point of view. It is only when we mature in our strategic understanding that we realize how difficult it is to manage the limited resources for the unlimited amount of things we are behind in.
Ooh, and btw, google CERT. :)
ReplyDelete