the blog
This is Why Startups Fail in The Middle East
Mar 1st
The startup scene in the Middle East is nothing when compared to that of the United States or Europe. Apart from a few success stories, startups here often fail in their initial stages, or at best, they fail to scale and expand and just freeze at some point. Long story short, I came across a resignation letter of a co-founder of one of the startups in the Middle East that was alive for two years and thought I should share it here as I find it a bit interesting. More >
How Websites Looked Like in The 1990s?
Apr 11th
Here’s how some major websites from around the world looked like in the late to mid 1990s. It’s very interesting to see how design has improved since then and how complex and sophisticated today’s websites are.
Animated GIFs, table-based layouts, and rainbow themes are among the characteristics of web design in that period of time which make it look hilarious when compared to what we have achieved these days.
In case you are wondering, I used the Internet Archive Way Back Machine to extract these. It’s a free service that let you browse through over 150 billion web pages archived from 1996 to a few months ago.
Google (02.12.1998)
Flash Sales Websites: The New E-Commerce Trend
Sep 9th
Here we go again. After analyzing the success of Groupon as an e-commerce model based on group purchase, and how the Arab World got filled with similar clones, yet a new trend in e-commerce is surfacing in the Middle East. And it’s succeeding. Big time!
Flash Sales websites are invitation-only social-friendly e-retailers who provide significant discounts that can reach 70% on top luxurious brands available for a brief window of time. This definition sums up the success factors of similar models. Below is a break down of these factors:
Google Special Features You Probably Didn’t Know
Mar 26th
Google Search is definitely the most used search engine on the web. Beside the regular search capability, google provides some cool features to present to you on the fly inside your daily used search page. I will list here some of the best features Google Search provide and I bet you will be using them from now on.
Weather
Weather feature gives the ability to check current weather in your city. Just enter “Weather City Name.”
Japan’s 8.9 Earthquake and Their Preparedness
Mar 15th
The headline you won't be reading: "Millions saved in Japan by good engineering and government building codes". Buts it's the truth.
Mar 11, 2011 @ 11:49 AM from Echofon
I was searching twitter for tweets related to Japan after the 8.9 earthquake strike to find out the above tweet on top of my search results with more than 3000 retweets. It got my attention and made me think I should do some research on how this most earthquake-prone country in the world is prepared for such earthquake and if they were successful in their preparations. So here is what I found -and it is impressive!
Household
First thing I came across in my search is this advice from Japan Guide website on preparedness to earthquakes: “Every household should keep a survival kit with a flashlight, a radio, a first aid kit and enough food and water to last for a few days. Avoid placing heavy objects in places where they could easily fall during an earthquake and cause injury or block exits. Have a fire extinguisher. Familiarize yourself with the designated evacuation area in your neighborhood.”
Top 5 iPhone Hidden Features and Shortcuts
Mar 5th
iPhone is one of the most used smartphones worldwide with the best and the most intuitive and easy-to-use interfaces. But still the iPhone is full of hidden features and shortcuts that you probably never knew about. Here are the top 5 features and shortcuts not widely known.
Portrait Orientation Lock and iPod Controls
Ever been disturbed by iPhone auto rotation when turning your iPhone? I always suffered this when lying on my bed! Didn’t you too? Just double tap the home button and scroll right to get the Portrait Orientation Lock feature in addition to iPod controls.