As promised, the Dubai Metro is all set for an exciting launch tomorrow 09-09-2009. The Red Line of the Dubai metro is all set to kick start operations in less than 48 hours from now. The launch on the date announced shows the commitment and vision of the rulers. Dubai Metro was announced in 2005 and after just four years it is all set to take off. Tomorrow the opening ceremony will be held at the Mall of Emirates at 9 pm. As revealed today, the service for the public opens on 10th Sep at 6am. Tomorrow the first ride at 9 pm will be by H.H. Sheikh Mohammad and other key officials.

The red line of the metro which is opening now is 52 km (32.4 mi) in length and runs from Al Rashidiya to Jebel Ali. It will have 29 stations and travel along Sheikh Zayed Road for most of the length. The Green Line is due to open by June 2010. Tomorrow 10 of the 29 stations on the red line are opening and the reaming 19 stations will open in the next few months in phases. The Red Line will be served by 62 high class driverless trains.

I am excited and looking forward to my first ride. I doubt if I will be able to hop into the metro on the 10th Sep as most of the tickets have been taken away by the lucky ones. Over the weekend I will definitely check out the metro. I expect traffic on Dubai roads to drop quite a bit and dependence on taxis to come down drastically.

If what I hear is true, the Dubai Metro is truly world class in its quality and design of the stations and the trains. No stone has been left unturned in its execution. The budget exceeded by a couple of billion dollars due to superior quality of finishing.

In my guess the Dubai metro will be one of the most sophisticated and classy metro systems in the world. I wish it every success and look forward to it being a driver of change to the emirate of Dubai. This is real blessing to ease the choked roads of Dubai and make car owners lives better.

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Microsoft will be launching its new Operating System Windows 7 on October 22, 2009. This will replace Windows Vista which is generally seen as a disappointment. Initially Vista had lots of problems, now it is said to be somewhat ok but overall it has been a failure with frustrating experiences from many users. I for one have not used it, so I cannot say a lot about Vista. I have been on XP for the past 5 years and am happy with it.

Windows 7 could be a major revenue generator for most software and hardware players. In a recent survey of Deutsche Bank, 34 per cent of corporate bosses reported plans to upgrade to Windows 7. Windows 7 could achieve in less than a year what Windows XP and Windows 2000 achieved in two years. Windows 7 could also bring in good money to Microsoft which had disappointing latest earnings.

Here are a few things to know for those curious about Windows 7

Should you upgrade to Windows 7?

If you don't have any complaints with your existing system continue with it. But eventually a time will come when Microsoft will stop supporting the programs you are using, so you will sooner or later be forced to upgrade. Like for example there are hardly any PCs today with Windows 95 or 98.

Is Windows 7 better?

Yes. Apparently it is believed to be faster, more stable, and more secure than all the previous operating systems. Ask any professional who is using a test version and he will say good things about Windows 7. Windows 7 is smarter in many ways - it starts faster than Vista, requires less memory, has excellent controls and shortcuts for navigating multiple windows on a desktop. It is also superior in power usage, for example it automatically stops unused processes on a laptop to extent its battery life.

What about the cost?

The standard version for home users will cost $199 or $119 to upgrade from Vista. Professional business version will cost $299 or $199 for an upgrade.

What if you have a Vista PC?

If you have not fallen in love with Vista and want a better OS and the latest software from Microsoft and are willing to spend $119 then go for an upgrade. The upgrade will not be a problem according to Microsoft. You can do a simple upgrade that keeps files, settings and programs or a custom installation that erases the hard drive. Anyways you have to create a backup of your files first.

What if you are on Windows XP?

You will have to first erase the hard drive, load Windows 7 and then reload your programs and files.

Should you buy a new computer before October 22 (when Windows 7 will become available?)

If you are buying a Vista PC today make sure that the manufacturer is giving you a coupon for a free upgrade to Windows 7. The coupons may not come with Windows XP systems or most of the bargain netbook mini laptops. But I would suggest that you wait for October 22 as a computer with a preloaded Windows 7 will not have as many glitches as you could experience if you go for an upgrade. The reason is computer manufacturers are still fine tuning their machines for Windows 7 compatibility. New PC models will surface around the time Windows 7 makes its debut. Better wait if you are not in a great hurry for a new PC.

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You probably believe that your Twitter message can be seen only by your followers, this is not true. Most Twitter users do not know that their posts are visible not just to heir followers but to the entire world. The default setting on Twitter is to allow the entire world to view posts. If you want to restrict access to only your circle of people then you must change your profile setting. You have to set it to Make my Tweets only visible to my followers. This limits the access and also makes it invisible to search engines. I think it is important to do this.

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Shahrukh Khan, the noted Bollywood actor was detained in Newark International Airport in New Jersey for nearly two hours as his last name khan was on the caution list of immigration officials in the airport.

Since the name popped up on the computer they questioned him and detained him. This is strange on the part of immigration officials – a star of his stature should not be held on such silly grounds. Despite Khan telling that he was a movie star he was asked many questions. No wonder King Khan was taken aback. This happened despite some of the immigration officials knowing that he was a Bollywood star. I am sure many Americans enjoy Bollywood movies, this is not the treatment to be meted out to a star. This is not the first time – recently former ex-President of India Dr. Abdul Kalam was also questioned in an Indian airport by Continental Airlines of US.

Strangely, Khan was in the USA to promote his new film My Name is Khan which in fact is about racial profiling. This movie to be released in early 2010 is about an Indian Muslim setting out on a journey across America after being mistaken for a terrorist in post 9/11 America. Back in India khan's airport experience became news on major television channels.

Needles to say such acts will only alienate and lower the value of the global brand called America in the eyes of the world. Let good sense prevail on the authorities concerned at least in the coming days.

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The popularity of netbooks is on the rise and notebook sales are flat. I personally do not believe in owning a netbook. I prefer a notebook any time over a netbook, the reason is they are a lot less capable than a regular notebook, the sole advantage is that they are more handy. However the growing popularity of netbooks cannot be denied. Over the last one year netbook sales have jumped by 260 percent.

Towards the end of 2010 Chrome Operating System from Google will make its debut. Chrome OS could make your netbook more powerful than what it is now. Chrome OS is being designed mainly for netbooks, not notebooks. The OS is meant to address the requirements of all your web-based online needs. It is clear that Google wants to bring all major desktop features to the online world. It wants the MS Office Suite or the equivalent of it to be made available to you wherever you are with a wired or a wireless net connection.

Here is what you should know about Chrome OS.

It will be Linux based.

It will arrive in the market in the last quarter of 2010.

We will have to wait to see how well Chrome OS will be received by the public.

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What does this statue remind you?

Does it not look like Michael Jackson (especially the nose part). This is a sculpture in Chicago in Field Museum and the image is that of an Egyptian bust. It was carved between 1550-1050 BCE and it is that of a woman. The face of Jacko on a 3,000 year old Egyptian bust! If you have seen the video of Jackson Remember the Time, he cast himself in the song as an Egyptian interloper. Perhaps something told him that he had some Egyptian connections in some past life. Or did MJ see this statue and made his face to resemble it?

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Google is in final stages to launch Google Wave and it could become the next exciting thing. Google Wave will be about many online applications in one tool. Google Wave will consolidate features like e-mail, photo sharing, video sharing, instant messaging, blogging, wikis, document sharing, maps and multimedia management. Wave could be the most ambitious project that Google has ever undertaken. Wave has been in the works for about two years now and is almost ready to be rolled out later this year.

What is Wave? Wave lets people create a document where you can converse or communicate with people you like with videos, photos and more in richly formatted text. Wave is a unified web application for communication and content creation. In other words it is another social networking product. You can share Wave and any one you are sharing with can reply, edit the content or add participants at any point. You can specify the people with whom you want to share a comment a photo or a video. And then you can playback to see who said what and when and how the document evolved. All this happens in real time and Wave is live. With Facebook one drawback is that whatever you share goes to everybody you are friends with. For example there could be a particular photo you do not want to share with everyone, Wave will help you share content only with people you choose. A Wave can be a simple text message, a collection of photos, a video or other content. Each Wave could be a new Facebook page created in a jiffy with the content you want to share with a specific set of people. And then you can chat in real time.

The best thing of Wave is its API, which can be incorporated or embedded into any website. You can develop API extensions, or simply use the extensions to plug in to your own website like a wordpress plugin.

Google is banking on Wave in a big way. Wave could make people go away from the other Google products like Blogger, Gmail, Google Docs, Google Talk, Picasa, and Sites and from similar products by other competitors. The possibilities of using Wave are endless so it all depends on how much the end user understands Wave. In the end if it does not turn out to be useful or is not user friendly it will fall flat.

My take is that Wave will indeed create waves. It will be big. Google is really taking on the world.

If you want to know when Wave will be ready then sign up for Google Wave

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As already mentioned in my previous post I bought the Nokia E75. My Sony Ericsson W810i was 3 years old and it has served me well, so I thought it is about time I changed my phone. If you ask me what I think about the E75 then going by my initial experience I will give it a thumbs up. The main thing with Nokia phones is that they are solid, user friendly and reliable. The E75 is no exception. The build quality is excellent with steel finish and the sliding mechanism gives confidence. The screen adjusts itself to vertical or horizontal views depending on whether you pull out the slider or not. The phone is about the size of any other cell phone but it packs a lot more features than a regular mobile. Of course it also costs more but it is a lot cheaper than a Blackberry or an Apple iPhone in the UAE. I paid around $350 at wholesale price.

The E75 takes over the Nokia E71 which is also a lovely device but without the QWERTY key pad. The QWERTY keyboard is the primary reason I eyed the E75. It really helps for texting an SMS or for emailing if I go for internet facility. The E series of Nokia phones are business phones. The N series has more personal features. The E75 comes with an office suite which includes word and worksheet programs; document zipping, Adobe PDF program, dictionary and a currency converter. It also comes with GPS, Nokia maps, email and wireless connectivity capabilities, Internet messenger, MP3, FM and a 3.2 megapixel camera. The battery seems good if my 3 day experience is something to go by. I am impressed with the FM and MP3 features.

A couple of negatives that I discovered are:

1. When I search contacts for a person lets say starting with the letter T then it displays all contacts having the letter T either in the first name or the last name. For example if I type in the letter T in the search box wanting to dial Tom Murphy it will also display Michael Taylor as Michael Taylor has the word Taylor starting with T as his last name. This is irritating. Why Nokia designed it this way and whether this is the way it is for all Nokia phones I am not sure.

2. The keyboard keys are too flat and it kind of takes time getting used to it. I wish it had a surface similar to the key of a computer keyboard. It can be improvised.

3. The camera is ordinary. I have never believed that cameras on mobiles phones are good. They have still not come of age I guess, most mobiles have ordinary cameras. 3.2 mega pixels should give a decent picture but if you see the photo it is something you do not want to save.

All in all this seems a good phone and definitely worth the price I have paid.

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I am on the way to Abu Dhabi from Dubai as I write this. I picked up a Nokia E75 yesterday and I am using it to blog. May be I will take net connection for my E75 to blog on random subjects when I am on the move. The E75 has browsing and email facilities. It is a cute little thing and a pretty capable device. Right now I am typing on a word doc, the QWERTY key board of the E75 is helpful. I really prefer travelling by bus rather than driving myself as the bus service is excellent with luxury buses every few minutes. The distance between the two emirates (cities) is around 160 kms and the bus makes it in less than 2 hours. If I drive myself it will take a few minutes lesser. If some one drives like a mad man he can travel 160 kms in 80 minutes! but not me definitely! The drive is a lovely cruise and the roads here are great, but if you have to do it regularly it can get monotonous and stressful. And then the risk of accidents which can be fatal at high speeds.

Most people have heard of Dubai and not Abu Dhabi, the capital of UAE. Dubai as you know is the more showy, flamboyant city and Abu Dhabi the big brother is the quieter, richer laid back capital. Dubai diversified itself into areas like tourism, real estate and is a trading hub for the middle east and GCC countries. Dubai has almost run out of oil, Abu Dhabi has loads of oil reserves. It is what primarily differentiates the two cities. The ongoing recession has hit Dubai quite severely as it is focused on tourism and real estate both of which are down in the dumps after the credit crunch battered the world economy. But I am confident that Dubai will turnaround quicker than most people guess due to the visionary proactive leadership and continuous developments for the public good. The Dubai metro service which will open on 09-09-2009 is one such example. And Dubai has lots of such mega projects in the pipeline. Its success story has just begun.

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