Making money is no fun. changing the world is a lot more fun.

It was one of these nights, full of excitement, anxious-ness and guilt. I was high on adrenaline alone. So, it was a wonderful morning al7amdullah, started with an easy smooth beginning and ended up with finding a dear friend that i have not seen since i was in junior school. But putting aside this wonderful event, Actually before I ended my night, I was struck by another gift.

It was TEDxNile and my friend Ahmed Hayman was the guest speaker. I always knew Ahmed was an exceptional character, so vivid, unique and full of life. I never knew specifically when did it click with him, for shame I was not there. This is not about Hayman as a person, but the message he is conveying, I was touched and ashamed, I was touched by the fact one truthfully captured photo can change the world, I was touched by the positive attitude towards change, instead of following our excessive nagging about what the government or other organisations did or didn't do, he got out and he did what needed to be done without shying away, and continued to aware other to follow his footsteps, Allah would not let men like him down. And I was ashamed that despite I allegedly call myself a community person, I really never did anything to my community, maybe pinched here and there, but not with an effective magnitude, and here it was the realization of truth.

I realized that what do all these technologies, information and education mean if It was not for the sake of others, for the sake of changing unfortunate lives, contribute in building the infrastructure of mis fortunate villages and meeting the people basic needs of food, clean water, health care, encourage micro-businesses and finding new opportunities of investment for others. And then I realized I don't have artistic talent, nor am I a tycoon or a government official to inflict change, I am an engineer, a technology geek who will be slash entrepreneur soon. What can I do?

I turned to the internet and started looking for how others contributed, and I was looking to get inspired, this is where I stumbled upon India and The Grameen foundations, Bill Gates Foundation, UNICEF and Reports about mobile technologies, video conferencing, water contamination sensors, it hit me, the imagine cup themes and all other similar organisations and events I saw before, started to make sense.

How did I go so wrong, how did my university and school work became so shallow and self centered, why can't I go and set real life targets and do real solution that would add value to my society and why did nobody told me anything about this, where was I ! Then I remembered my friends Hussein's fascination with the concept of the software park build in a remote village called Hagen-burg, Austria, and I remembered a  quote by Grameen Bank Founder

Making money is no fun. Contributing to and changing the world is a lot more fun.

and it all clicked (0_o).

Like a movie with a really good twisted ending I was struck, and then I went to sleep like 3.00 AM to wakeup at 6.00 AM on the voice of microbusinesses and teleclincs, schools, children and university students. I am still in shock as I am writing this now, I wish this is my TRUE calling.

Thank you my friend for this inspiration.

See these references

• http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/05_52/b3965025.htm
• http://hptruth.info/2010/11/18/bill-gates-mobile-health-technology-will-save-lives-help-overpopulation/
• http://mobilephone.firstblogfirst.com/2010/10/17/can-mobile-phones-help-people-in-previously-unknown-ways/
• http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE69D4XA20101014

Ahmed Hayman @ TEDxNile

• Part1
• Part2

A friend asked me : How can I think out of the box ?

I have heard this term thousand of times before, think outside the box... and I keep trying to think but it seems that this thinking is inside the box, proof ? all these thoughts are neither applicable nor creative.

So creativity, how can somebody be creative, what is creativity... well, when I viewed over the past models of success and creativity, I find that these ideas are indeed creative, some are very complex, others are just too simple that you can't help but yelling why didn't I think of that, but what I actually found in common, these guys knows what they are talking about, they know their problems, they know their target, and they know too well about the boundaries and obstacles surrounding them.

So what is really thinking outside the box,

"It is in the question you find the answer"

Think outside the bad practices, physical boundaries, social-norms all these factors that force our limitation and stop us from reaching our ultimate goal.

So what do you do ...

you have to define the problem, and then the box...

Knowing that the box is the limits and the boundaries that are forced by habits, bad practices or maybe physical or mental obstacles that stand in front of you and your ultimate target.

So once you know & understand the box pretty much, these limits and obstacles, you can actually try evading or eliminating these obstacles in your model. thus thinking out of the box, that invisible boundaries people surround themselves with.

Remember the box is ever expanding and is never defined by true boundaries we can only try to move one step ahead of it.

The more you know and get familiar with your problem, the more you know it's weaknesses and the more you can "become" creative in solving it.

It is a gift I can not deny that, but we all have it... it all depends how much are we dedicated to our cause.

Why I respect Andorid ...

Image via CrunchBase

Note : This is not about dissing IPhone or Apple, actually I do not care about either, they are good at what they do, I have no problem. But then come someone and start comparing and then things must be clear.

Again, this is not dissing IPhone, it's a reply to somebody who thinks that IPhone is the only real phone, and Android is just a fragmented weak platform.

And This is my reply :)

This is the problem, you probably did not try it.

If  I could remember one of Steve Jobs old speeches he decided that his users did not need to multitask and now, they do, and while they are not doing it elegantly on Iphone, Android is built for this, built for customization and built for freedom.

Same with notifications, and despite all the glamorous of IPhone, still you do not navigate freely and as if Apple is dictating your navigation.

while Multitasking comes intuitively on Android, Apple seem to be very happy as if it's a feature, "inventing" IOS, news flash, it's not, Embedded Systems has always been multitasking.

Also the variety of vendor, gives you so much freedom, such as some vendors add good sound and music features, others add physical keyboard, some are small others are big.

it's freedom.... it's individuality something Apple do not understand, apple may have consistent platform, but because it's the only platform, does not mean it's good, it means it's afraid. and even Windows Mobile 7 is open for other vendors to port on their phones, despite MS standards for hardware vendors.

Despite all that, still vendors like Motorola and models like the Droid took the Android power and turned it to a true useful Consumer product, with a very powerful browser, that would defy anybody even Apple. and this is not my words only. integrating wonderfully with Google services, and utilizing the cloud for backup and processing. and for development, Android apps are java apps. and Eclipse is your IDE, which means you can develope Android every where :)

it's not only about the resolution, or the look or the glamorous  UI. it's about diversity, reliability and power. and Android is stable, powerful and reliable, and best of all, DOES NOT NEED TO BE JAIL BROKEN.

enough... for another time. :)

Related articles

• Who has the best toy? (crazzycool.blogspot.com)
• Open Vs Fragmented (lockergnome.com)
• Steve Jobs Disses Google and RIM as Apple Profits Rise (trustedreviews.com)
• Can Apple's iOS really beat Google's Android? (zdnet.com)
• Android Generates More Ad Revenue than iPhone (Or Does It?) (readwriteweb.com)
• What is Steve Jobs so afraid of? (betanews.com)

What can I say ...

Have you ever been in love with something or someone who keep disappointing you, you keep on fixing and persisting while everything breaks apart.

you keep on going on the hope of far reached success, when failure seems to be one step ahead.

I am very disappointed, I have done everything, I have read every book, scrapped every forum, asked every expert, but human wants is something and Allah destiny is another.

I just keep on fixing on the hope of better days, and every time my disappointment gets bigger and at the end what can I say.

I worked, and followed the earthly logical reasons.

at the end what can I say :'

لا حول ولا قوة الا بالله العلي العظيم.. وانا لله وانا اليه راجعون ...

Open Source in Higher Education

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Open Source in Higher Education

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My Daily life with ubuntu

Image via Wikipedia

I am a .net developer with a guilty concessions,
I always dream to ride the Java, Open Source and Linux wave. But sometimes I used to make open source .net projects, or clone applications to .net platform for others. but for me that was never enough.

I loved .net, but not windows, this is not a .net article, but you can say I am an interoperability guy, I am on the boarders between different platforms, I am not a guru, but when it comes to interoperability, communication protocols and SOA (Service Oriented Architecture) I am your guy isA.

So, I took a great jump, I installed Ubuntu 10.04 on my Toshiba Satallite pro since 6 month ago and I am willing to stick with it, I removed windows XP. I will not tell you I am very happy :? but I can tell you initially, it loads much faster despite I am having like Oracle Db, mySQL, Apache server services running, and bunch of IDEs Eclipse, MonoDevelope, CodeBlock... more, opening them is a breath on Ubuntu.

I love Ubuntu Software Center, Ubuntu official software repository similar to Apple appstore.

I must be fair, I had a pain installing my HP Deskjet d1663 Printer, before I knew the HP Linux Imaging & Printer :), it put a smile on my face. all you do install the script and run "sudo hp-setup" and you are all set. it is far more simpler, and far less hectic than installing on windows, all you need, is to get familiar with cups and Ubuntu administration tool, and patients.

more on development tools on Ubuntu.

Join me on my voyage.

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• Plug for MonoDevelop (affy.blogspot.com)

The Cup Half Empty

One of the problems I face as I dive in the soical internet fiesta, is that I never seem to be good enough, alot of information, alot of action, and I find my self more of a passive reader, than a real contributor to the society, to the network.

It always seem I have not gone too far, did not read too much, did not know too many, maybe the network suppose to empower me, helping me to mend my faults & my gaps.

From the positive point of view. I suppose to be completed, complemented, and taught by the people around me.

But why can't I shake this feeling, this side feeling, that by exposure to this experience I feel less not more, I feel passive not active, I feel ashamed of my pity shares to humanity.

You see people of artistic senses sharing their vision, people with good souls sharing insights & inspirations, and people of science sharing knoweladge, and you just can not shake the feeling of you being on the sidelines.

Between me and you, inspiring articles and media that I get expose to, make me more depressed, strong word, I get more demotivated than inspired, I do not know but deep down I just keep beating myself for being so passive, so inconsiderate, so defective. And I feel like the pressure is adding on me, as the bar of  Social interaction & human contribution keep raising up, I just can not follow any more.

And I can not help but to watch and tell my self just another idea gone.

API's, Freebase, and the Collaborative Semantic web

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API's, Freebase, and the Collaborative Semantic web

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الكتاب المختصر في حساب الجبر-الخوارزمي

The Barber & The Client ... and the Truth

Done By Nayzak

You can find the link here

Because he is a muslim

Done By Nayzak

You can find the link here

Open Source, Open Mind, Open Heart

10 Minds is better than 1 :), 10 Egyptian gondi (جنية) is better than one, 10 Distinct Systems is better than one.

Yap, An Entity (institute) with multiple system, is better than one, what-ever anybody is saying, the fact to have hybrid IT Solutions is every IT Manager nightmare, if done wrong and every client non expensive, literary free dream, if done right .

Every ERP Systems in my case, SunGard for Higher Education ERP Systems are very afraid, ( I can tell you it is an inferiority complexity issue) wants the customer to do everthing at it's end.

Take for example, to use a Document Management with SunGard ERP System, use SunGard Doc Management System for better integration and to use the SunGard Native Interface. For a Work Flow Management System, SunGard WorkFlow System, For Student Loans and Finance, SunGard Finance.

While in an open source, open format, SOA Enviroment you would have different systems, providing different services with an open API, open Format for better integration with other non vendor related products, think a standard communication protocol that decouple system dependencies on each other, hence better customization and expense saving, using closed, open, free or non free products, smoooooth integration.

But this is in LA LA Land :)

Another is our beloved Microsoft, it is example of a vendor who sometimes integrates well, with it's own technology (not without pain), and does not play well with anybody else. Shame One You :(

You find MS SQL, does not work except with .net and windows platform, existing solutions are a joke believe me I tried, despite the mono project and mono developer, any .net developer who can not afford windows and visual studio as his work station and IDE can not develop .net products, and this is not right, Take all open source languages: JAVA, Python, Perl, PHP, GTK, Qt, Databases like MySQL, Oracle, sqlite, and IDE's like NetBeans, Mono Developer, Eclipse.

Image via Wikipedia

Image via CrunchBase

Image via Wikipedia

For every Big Propertary non Free Solution for you school, Business or virtually any entity, you find an open source, community based alternative.

The only big problem, is lack of education, lack of knowledge and awareness about these solutions, Open Source is perceived as a risk by IT because they were brought up on other different rigid systems. Open Source maintenance, is the community (alot of people 1000+) and the Enterprise addition, and it cost less, as you get the server OS for free, client desktop for free, the solution sometimes is free, if not, only cost of maintenance is your concern.

A lot of closed pricey Systems comes with un-needed, bloated packages that actually cost a lot, and you have to pay sometimes for things you do not need.

With open source if you invested some time, or out sourced to some company this task, you can shave a lot of features you do not need and add things you need. it's not easy, but is do-able, and if you are lucky the community may have already built a solution for your problem.

So, the problem is the fact, open source solutions are not promoted well in this part of town, while it is the best alternative to pricey stolen OS, and Some Office package. use Ubuntu and open office instead.

The problem is as you keep using these proprietary solutions more and more, the risk factor and integration time for you to migrate to a more open solution becomes very difficult, as more information, more complexity, and more time to migrate these information from their proprietary format.

I will leave you with this example, I faced a problem one time, we had people who use windows for office applications only, a thin client need, so I suggested instead of paying $140 per client in 10 clients, what about Ubuntu Desktop and open office ( as I said before ) the problem it was too late, actually I found like 400 sheet per excel workbook, I found a lot of referencing and macros, it was too late, the fact that to take these sheets as it is is impossible, and my migration pain started, you find open office does not support more than 100 or 200 sheet per workbook, you find references not migrated with the sheet, you find a lot of quirks and formats, and actually xlsx is less compatible with open office than the old xls format, weird I thought the open XML was for interoperability.

So if we would have started with open office or any standard spreadsheet solution, we would have not been in this pickle we are in now.

To Be Continued ...

Thank You and good Bye

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Techi at the AUC

YAAAAA, been a while, somebody told me before, the term of a blogger is not for everybody who blogs, but actually most of the people who tried blogging stops after two blogs, for me after 4.

A friend of mine, who is a hardcore blogger, he blogs every minute, is reaching like is 100th or maybe 200th blog. this is a blogger.

I tried blogging but I failed, It's just not in me, I like to leave comments, to write an article or two, but blogging.

Never mind, actually I am here cause I am really not in a good mood at all, and I got no body to talk to, so what about a complete stranger. sounds fun !

Well, this is like my fifth month at the AUC, as part of a department called Student Service Online, actually I like the ambition of the people there, but the means is very distorted, bureaucratic , no plan, no vision. just unrelated floating goals with people hungry for power.

Strange all governments just like that, does it come with the territory.

So, in this mess, and actually I am talking about the informational mess only, I can not dare to imagine about other messes, and I do not know if somebody would sue me for this, but I am not letting out any confidential informations, just my experience with the ruling party.

And it's not a secret that at the AUC, there are departments and employees who are 70 years old computer illiterate in the digital age the university want to enter.

And this makes you think, is technology that ruthless, that harsh...

What if I was that 70 years old, in fact I do not know if I am going to survive to finish that blog :) but let me contemplate on that, What if I was that 70 years old, will I resist change, will I resist new school vs Old school, we are not talking about morals or customs or any social aspect.

It is technology, it is progress, if people kept resisting cars for carts and donkeys, we would not be in this revolution. So what should be done.

This is one of many other situtation, that does not reflect the AUC only but all other places here in Egypt.

For another time, for another Article

S3,