Khaled rambles technology, tea/coffee, consumer rights and other interest from Saudi Arabia

17Jan/120

10 Steps for Better Blogging

I’m posting them here, partially so I have a place to quickly find them if I need to, partially to force me to hold to them, partially out of commitment to transparency, and partially in case they’re of interest or use to anyone else.

10 steps to better blogging.

Good steps that all bloggers should implement.

Tagged as: No Comments
10Jan/120

Useful Google Extensions

From HyperText:

I’ve long been a huge fan of Chrome/Chromium and have been asked more than a few times for a list of the extensions I use, and so I thought I’d whip up a quick post to list and discuss them (where necessary). (The italicized text after the name of each extension is the copy provided by the respective developer.) Note that this list does not include the bookmarklets I use; I’ll discuss those in a separate post.

Though it probably is obvious, there likely is some overlap between certain of the “privacy” extensions, and I’m OK with that. Relatedly, I also whitelist cookies on Chrome (an awesome browser feature). Basically, this means that I have to give a site explicit permission before it can set cookies. It’s great, though not without its annoyances; for example, sometimes some snooping is required to get certain websites working. (It’d be nice if Chrome let us enable cookies for a particular site, and then automatically deleted those cookies as soon as the tab in which they were created was closed. If you’re aware of an extension that will do this, please let me know.)

  • Send to Kindle Push web articles to your Kindle. I use this extension a lot; if, for whatever reason, it fails, I fall back on Instapaper’s “Send to Kindle” bookmarklet (which, I’m guessing, most people don’t even know about).
  • Instachrome Save your URLs to Instapaper. I use this instead of the bookmarklet(s) because it automatically closes the tab after the link has been saved, something I’ve written about (and “fixed”) before. I hope that future versions allow us to target specific folders.
  • Posthoc Adds pages to the Read it Later online service. This is a must-have for me because I use both Instapaper and Read It Later, and like Instachrome, this too closes the tab after the link is saved.
  • Tabs Counter A visual candy -- always know the number of opened tabs. This is the kind of stat I love knowing at all times. I kind of wish it would display the tab count for the current window and the combined tab count for all of the open windows; currently, it shows the tab count of just the current window.
  • AdBlock The most popular Chrome extension, with over 2 million users! Blocks ads all over the web.
  • Chrome Cookies Button Provides quick icon access to manage your Chrome cookies.
  • Chromeblock Stop secret tracking of your web browsing. (UPDATE: This extension is no longer available for download; I’m not sure why.)
  • 1Password Beta Password and identity manager for Mac, Windows, iOS and Android.
  • Disconnect Stop third parties and search engines from tracking the webpages you go to and searches you do.
  • Ghostery Protect your privacy. See who’s tracking your web browsing with Ghostery.
  • YSlow Make your pages faster with Yahoo!’s page performance tool.
  • Google Analytics Opt-out Add-on Tells the Google Analytics JavaScript (ga.js) not to send information to Google Analytics.
  • Page One -- Banish Multipage Articles Always display the single-page version of articles at popular news sites.
  • SelectOut Tracking Opt-Out Be in control of who tracks you online.
  • Sheepish Protect your privacy. See who’s tracking you. Are you sheepish? (UPDATE: This extension is no longer available for download.)

You should follow me on Twitter here

Tagged as: No Comments
9Jan/120

Build your own Time Capsule with Debian, Netatalk

Maybe I can make a small home backup server with these steps.

Build your own Time Capsule with Debian, Netatalk:

Tagged as: Continue reading
9Jan/120

Attribution on the web

File this under: Good to know.

Attribution on the web:

My Internet Friend Stephen Hackett recently wrote about attribution on the web. Specifically, citing a story’s source and “via” link, or method by which you became aware of the story. He and I pretty much have the same policy.

First, an explanation. The source in this case is just that: a story’s origin. For example, in this post I published earlier today about 3 billion iPad app downloads, the source is ABI’s report.

The reference, or “via,” identifies the outlet that first made me aware of the story. In this case, it was The Loop. As a result, The Loop gets a “via” link at the foot of the post. 1

Of course, it isn’t always that cut and dry. Let’s say that Jim had a “Via SiteX” on his post. I’d visit that link and look around. If there’s no additional link, I’ll consider SiteX the referential site and give it the via on my site, too.

Sometimes I’ll find a story on my own. For example, this article comparing Steve Jobs and Charles Eames. I found Om Malik’s article on my own this morning, so there’s no via link.

Other times a story will be so big that everyone and their brother is posting about it. In that case, I avoid a via link all together because, like I said, everyone has it. For example, this post about the pending international launch of the iPhone 4S. Apple issued a press release, everyone re-blogged it, so there’s no via necessary.

Like Stephen, if I find something on a big site like Engadget, CNN, etc. that everyone else will obviously see, there’s no via necessary.

Finally, regarding sources. They always get a link in the opening paragraph, and hopefully in the first sentence.

That’s my policy on using the via link. What’s yours?

  1. I always put via links at the foot of a post in brackets. ↩

(Via 52 Tiger)

Tagged as: No Comments
3Dec/116

#noshaya: Demanding a better return policy

If you bought something you didn't like you get to return it to most stores for a replacement or refund. In Saudi Arabia we have the "البضاعة المباعة لا ترد و لا تستبدل" policy, sold items cannot be returned nor replaced. It's thanks to the lack of any real consumer protection.

"Alshaya" is a well-know retailer in the region with many franchises such as Starbucks. Alshaya's previous return policy allowed for return or replace (limited though). They have changed it to be strictly "no refund" and if you want to return an item you will be given "store credit". People are upset and I simply can't blame them. Why? Let's compare with how "major" brands deal with "product returns" around the world:

Walmart:

Most store items can be exchanged or refunded with a receipt within 90 days of purchase

Amazon has an extensive policy page

Home Depot, not related to Office Depot:

If you are not completely satisfied with your purchase, please follow the guidelines detailed below and we will be happy to help you to return your purchase.

Staples:

If you’re not 100% satisfied with your Staples purchase, return it for any reason.

I love this bit:

No matter when you made your purchase, you can return office supplies to us for a full refund, including Staples® brand office products.

Kmart

Just search google for "return policy" for many examples.

There is a movement on twitter to boycott alshaya, simply search for this hash tag: #noshaya.

Alshaya "brands" are:

debenhams mothercare next Bhs H&M Topshop Topman River Island Oasis Coast Oltre Motivi Claire's Limited Too Evans Dorothy Perkins

Update: Sorry about the repeating text. I blame STC.

Tagged as: , 6 Comments
1Sep/110

New TV Shows (September 2011)

Here are the new pilots airing this month, with trailers and a quick note:

Any new show you're interested in?

And now returning shows that I watch and by watch I mean care about queuing them up as I am still behind on some of them.

  • Archer S03E01 - Fri, 16 Sep 2011
  • The Clone Wars S04E01 - Sat, 17 Sep 2011
  • How I Met Your Mother S07E01 - Tue, 20 Sep 2011
  • Two and a Half Men S09E01 - Tue, 20 Sep 2011
  • Castle S04E01 - Tue, 20 Sep 2011
  • Hawaii Five-0 S02E01 - Tue, 20 Sep 2011
  • Body of Proof S02E01 - Wed, 21 Sep 2011
  • Modern Family S03E01 - Thu, 22 Sep 2011
  • The Big Bang Theory S05E01 - Fri, 23 Sep 2011
  • Community S03E01 - Fri, 23 Sep 2011
  • Greys Anatomy S08E01 - Fri, 23 Sep 2011 (sue me)
  • Fringe S04E01 - Sat, 24 Sep 2011
  • Rules of Engagement S06E01 - Sun, 25 Sep 2011
  • The Simpsons S23E01 - Mon, 26 Sep 2011
  • Family Guy S10E01 - Mon, 26 Sep 2011
  • The Cleveland S03E01 - Mon, 26 Sep 2011
  • Mike & Molly S02E01 - Tue, 27 Sep 2011
Filed under: TV Shows No Comments
25Mar/115

Weird Soviet Folk Video فيديو شعبي سوفييتي عجيب

هذا فيديو من عام 1981 من السوفييت لأغنية شعبية على ما يبدو‫.‬ كأنها زغاريد‫.‬

Weird folk song from Soviet era, I can't even describe it. So go ahead and watch:

[Via Angry Mac Bastards Podcast.]

Tagged as: , 5 Comments
21Mar/112

Hopefully Good News for Gitex Saudi Arabia 2011

When was the last time I talked about Gitex Saudi Arabia? Probably back when I posted that Gitex Riyadh isn't recognized by GITEX.

So what's special about this year's Gitex Saudi Arabia? For starters it won't be in April but on 16 - 19 May 2011, right after my birthday... It's still an "all in one" event combining:

These 3 events will be held at the "new" Riyadh Expo Center (gowalla link). Let's just hope it rains because the new building is well made and can handle a few rain drops.

Oh. Guess not. From the last day of Riyadh Book Fair.

Anyway back to the "good news".

I got my hands on the floor plan for Gitex Saudi Arabia 2011 and I was shocked at what I found... or did not find. Here's Gitex Riyadh 2010 floor plan:

Dominated by STC and Mobily, the biggest telecom companies in Saudi Arabia.

Now compare it to Gitex Saudi Arabia 2011 floor plan:

Just what is going on? Has STC and Mobily finally started to think that it's better to spend money on improving infrastructure and services than marketing and wasting valuable floor space?!

I am actually looking forward to visit Gitex Riyadh this year!

Tagged as: , , , , , 2 Comments
14Feb/112

#SaudiValentine and overreactions

I really don't care about Valentine. But I find the reaction to it in Saudi Arabia is excessive, on both sides.

The color red is banned and apparently Baskin Robbin's Love Potion 31 icecream is also banned. On the other hand you got the people who think Valentine a big deal.

These reactions are interesting and being posted on twitter with the tag #SaudiValentine, make sure to share your tweets there.

It will be just another day, just don't wear your red shomag (head gear).

Found image via Rami Taibah's Blog.

Tagged as: , 2 Comments
1Feb/113

Restaurant Sues Blogger in Kuwait, Could Set a Bad Precedent for the Middle East

A blog from Kuwait, 248am is being sued by a Japanese restaurant named Benihana because of this review.

If the restaurant win this would set a bad precedent in the blogging world in Kuwait and possibly the rest of the Middle East. Will we see restaurants sue anyone who writes an unfavorable review on Qaym? (Qaym is an Arabic restaurant review site).

I do have one thing to say to benihana's management:

Hmm, so when are you guys planning to open in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia? hmm?

Seriously though, stop this silliness, benihana and improve your restaurant.

Tagged as: , , 3 Comments
   Older Entries »

Tags

Categories

Archives

Better Tag Cloud