Twitter 101: 8 Things You NEED to Do When You Sign Up

January 3, 2012 By 4 Comments

Everyone is signing up to Twitter these days, and many go down in flames after a few confusing minutes. Here are a few pointers from a Twitter addict such as myself. I hope it helps! And don’t just follow Saad and Mikati, follow real tweeps who are awesome.

1- Sign Up on Twitter.com

This should be fairly simple to accomplish by yourselves, if you find it hard, then please stick to Facebook and spare everyone the horror.

NO!

2- ADD A PHOTO

I never follow a twitter account without a photo. It doesn’t have to be your photo in a bikini, just not the generic egg thing twitter places by default. So, please, before you start following people and expecting them to follow you back, add a photo (I posted images on how to do that, just look for my mouse cursor) and fill your bio.

3- FILL YOUR BIO

Your bio should be somewhat revealing about who you are. Being funny is an added plus, being cocky is a huge minus. For example, calling yourself an “expert” or “guru” is sort of arrogant and makes you look silly. That’s for people to decide, not you. Being ambiguous is up to you too, but I’d rather get an idea what you’d be tweeting about before clicking follow.

As for location, it’s nice to add your actual city, like Beirut or NYC, but if you’re paranoid about your safety, then go ahead and put barf-inducing stuff like “planet earth” or “somewhere over the rainbow” and feel cute =P

4- Get Accustomed to the Vocabulary

  • Tweet – the 140 character message you send
  • Tweep – a friend you have from twitter
  • Following – if you follow someone on twitter, his or her tweets will appear in your feed
  • Followers – the people who follow your tweets
  • @ – The @ symbol followed by a username means you are addressing that person (mentioning him/her), for example @GinoRaidy will appear as a reply to me in my @GinoRaidy “mentions” tab
  • # – The # symbol is put before a word or name of interest, for example #GinosBlog, so when someone clicks that hashtag on twitter or a twitter-based search engine, all the tweets containing #GinosBlog will appear in a separate feed. This is super-useful if you’re following a particular event or story, like #jan25 for the Egyptian “revolution” or “#oscars” for the Oscar awards.
  • Direct Message – a DM is sorta like an FB message, which can only be seen by the sender and receiver. The catch is, they have to be following each other. Take your “chats” to the DM, people don’t like their timelines filled with chit-chat.
  • Trending Topic – is a topic being tweeted about the most around the world.
  • Lists – you or others can compile people you follow into lists, such as “lebanon” or “biology”  allowing you to see a feed exclusively from the people you add in that specific interest/location/etc.

5- Start Tweeting

Before you start following people and expect them to follow you back, you might as well post a few interesting tweets. “Hello” or “I don’t understand this” aren’t good examples. Why not share a nice post you read somewhere? Or a funny photo, or something that will actually make visiting your profile worth people’s time.

6- Find Interesting Tweeps

People who’ve been on Twitter for a while, tend to follow only the best accounts they’ve come across. I for one, routinely clear up my following list, removing inactive accounts, accounts that spam and just simply annoying accounts. So the 1100-something people I follow, are all awesome, so flip through it and follow the ones you find interesting too. That’s how you begin building up your following list, and eventually your follower list.

7- Follow-Unfollow Etiquette

Which means you don’t have to follow back, and the other person doesn’t need to follow you. But, general Twitter etiquette dictates you follow back users who follow you. Give them a chance, maybe you’ll enjoy their updates, if not, you can always unfollow.

8- Twitter Clients

Very few people use Twitter.com. That’s because most os us tweet on the move via our mobile devices. That’s where Twitter clients come in. They’re apps which replace Twitter and allow you to customize the way you tweet, read and interact. I personally recommend Tweetdeck (I used it on Mac and Android) it’s so awesome, that Twitter bough it =P. There’s also Hootsuite, Echofon and the official Twitter app for iPad and Android which I’d also recommend.

Now you’re ready to tweet! Follow me on @GinoRaidy and follow the blog on @GinosBlog!

Filed Under: How To, Tech

How to Download Music For Free Using Google

October 12, 2011 By 6 Comments

1- Choose Your Music

I for example, keep my iTunes up to date by checking out Beatport.com every now and then to see the latest hot tracks.

2- Open Google.com

3- Punch in: Song Title + Artist + Zippyshare

4- Choose Results that Start with “Zippyshare.com”, Listen to it then just click “Download Now”

5- Enjoy Your Music and Share them with us!

PS, if you’re in a country where the rule of law applies, please note this is illegal. I wouldn’t want you to end up behind bars cause of lil’ol’ me!

Filed Under: How To Tagged With: , ,

10 Android Apps You MUST Have

April 1, 2011 By 6 Comments

I’ve been an Android user for some 8 months now, and I’ve tried out dozens if not hundreds of apps on my Samsung Galaxy S. The open-source nature of the android provides almost limitless possibilities on the one hand, but a fair amount of bugginess on the other. Here are the apps I believe every android user should have after testing them and using them myself.

With android on the rise, the Google OS has already overtaken RIM’s BB and Apple’s iPhone, and is poised to take 45% of the smartphone market share by 2016

1- Mobile Guard

To enjoy the full-potential of your android OS, you have to be in constant control of every aspect, from what apps are running, to how you’re battery is being used up, to how the files are managed, software is maintained and your network and data consumption. This app does all that, and more!

Besides being an amazing app killer (the best I’ve used), Mobile Guard is also a quick and easy uninstaller, for the buggy apps you need to get rid of. So, it helps you shave off the apps that are running without you knowing. It also allows you to set your GPRS data limit, and helps you keep track of it in realtime, so you know if you could attach that 1.5 mb photo or not… NetQin have even managed to cram in a file manager, that helps you delete, create and organize folders and files on your mobile. The widget is beautiful too, with a simple “optimize” button that you customize beforehand to speed up your phone’s performance, and buttons to turn on/off your WIFI, GPRS and Bluetooth!

Definite 5/5. It does everything you need, and is absolutely free

2- Opera Mini

I live in Lebanon, the country with the world’s worst and most expensive internet, so I count kilobytes and not megabytes when I’m keeping track of my data plan limit. That’s why, I use Opera Mini for Android. This beautiful browser has all the features you need, but offers you the fastest, least data-consuming mobile internet surfing. It renders the images on its own servers, and sends a watered-down version to your mobile, sparing you the time and kilobytes. What’s awesome too is that when you hit “back” or “forward”, you don’t need to wait for the page to reload… So, this needs to be your mobile browser on Android, love it!

I also use it to access Facebook, cause their app is super-sluggish on Lebanese internet connections =(

I give Opera Mini a 5/5 for speed, reliability and simplicity

3- Tweetdeck

This is my absolute favorite Twitter client. The only platform I prefer the official Twitter Inc. app on is of course the iPad, where Twitter truly outdid everyone else.

Tweetdeck encompasses anything you need to tweet photos, locations, videos, shorten urls, deck.ly long-tweet support, very customizable notifications and in-app previews of images and embedded media.

What’s cool is that you can also integrate your Foursquare account, and Facebook. I’d recommend you dont use Facebook on TweetDeck, notification over-load, especially if your timeline is active and your FB notifications are too much.

So, I give TweetDeck a 4.5/5, cause no “reply all” option yet

4- Shazam Encore

I club a lot, and listen to a lot of good, and bad, music. The technology gods have given us the ability to find out any song’s name and artist, to either glorify, bash, or just download illegally from somewhere!

For this, I use Shazam Encore. Why the “Encore”, well, the Shazam guys decided they’re gonna be greedy and charge 5$ if you want to tag more than 5 songs/month, which I think is absurd. To by-pass this annoyance, just go to www.4shared.com from your Android’s browser, and punch in: “Shazam Encore.apk” download, save, and voila! Fully functional paid app, for free, with no rooting or other jail-break-ish procedures needed.

Simply tap on the blue screen when the app is open, and let the app “listen” to the song. It will then match it and save it as a “tag” with full details about the song, genre, artist, remix, etc. It also has a cool widget which shows you a “tag stream” from users near you.

I’ll give it a 4/5, cause it doesn’t always get it right the first time, and gets remixes mixed up!

5- Google Goggles

This nifty app is pure Google genius. Your phone has eyes, can read, compute and even solve sudokus using your phone’s camera. If the person you just met’s name is too long, simply Google Goggle it, and it will be scanned, analyzed and become savable as a contact with a tap!

Goggles can also search the terms you scanned, or if it’s a famous painting or piece of art, identify it. It can also work in-sync with your GPS, to identify restaurants and link you to their Google Map entries or wikipedia pages. The app can also scan barcodes and QR codes, but I wouldn’t recommend you use it for that, instead, use the next app in line.

Recently, with Android’s Froyo OS 2.2, it can even solve Sudoku puzzles!

I’ll give the goggles a solid 4/5, cause even though the art and venue features don’t work, the text analysis works charmingly and has proven itself very useful.

6- Barcode Scanner

If you’re wondering what that code on the right side is, it’s a QR code (Quick Response Code). It can contain your choice of information and/or commands for your mobile. You just scan it with your camera, and it either gives you some text, redirects you to a webpage, or makes the information savable as a contact. It is much, much faster than Google Goggles and better than its iOS counterpart. I loved using it, and believe it will one day replace business cards…

I’ll give it a 5/5 for doing its job perfectly and swiftly

7- WordPress

If you use WordPress for your website like me, WordPress apps usually suck. The iOS one on my iPad is virtually useless, and most importantly, does not show you stats! The android app though is surprisingly fast and includes everything you need to moderate comments, create complete posts (several posts, especially Fashals, were posted here by my Android app) and most feed your addiction with stats =P

I give this a shiny 5/5 for being so awesome


8- Google Translate

This app recently gained voice! You can now speak Spanish into it, and it’ll translate it by voice into English, then reply to your Spaniard friend in English, and it’ll talk Spanish for you! For now, this feature is still in Beta, but soon, more languages will be added!

Apart from that, it is a perfect translation app, dictionary and thesaurus. It’s fast, not glitchy, and provides an audible pronunciation of the word (so you never have to argue with anyone over how to pronounce “develop” or “police”)

I give this app 5/5 because it allows you to speak any language, literally!

9- Spaghetti and Marshmallows

My favorite mobile game… You need to combine marshmallows and uncooked spaghetti to build elaborate structures to get to your destination. Watch out for the frogs though. Endless fun, but use 4shared.com to download the full version with all the levels!

It definitely gets a full score of 5/5

10- Dropbox

We all juggle between desktops, laptops, mobile phones, tablets and a million other devices. Unfortunately, USBs never contain everything we need, and for handicaps in certain devices, like no USB port in Apple’s iPad, storage devices aren’t the answer. Dropbox is a simple-to-use cloud-based storage area, where you can “drop” files such as photos, text and even programs and reopen them from any other device which also has dropbox. It is also perfect for sharing files too big to be attached on Gmail (+25 MB)

It is sometimes unresponsive and you cannot cancel an upload, so, it gets a 3.5/5 from me

I hope this helps! And please feel free to add any apps you think I should’ve mentioned too!

Filed Under: Extras, How To, Tech Tagged With: ,

iPad “Review” and Apps You MUST Have

February 17, 2011 By 8 Comments

I’m tired of people whining and acting too hot for an iPad. “It’s useless” “too expensive” “too big” “too bla bla bla”. Well, I’ve had my iPad for over 10 months now, and I absolutely adore it. True it doesn’t have a USB port, no bluetooth, no built-in camera (I have the Wifi 16GB iPad). True it’s not the absolute first, or absolute best. But, as usual, Apple saved the day and made a new concept go viral. Just like it did with the iPod and digital music, the iPhone with mainstream smartphones and now the iPad with tablets.

Even though Apple might be the trend-setter, it’s not always the dominant one. After the iPone and iOS’s immense success, Google’s Android has surpassed the iOS as the biggest smartphone OS. The preferences are debatable, for Apple’s close monitoring and filtering of apps and it’s refusal to go open-source, and Google’s ultra-liberal open source policy, both have their ups and downs. I’m more partial to the Google mantra, cause even if the apps and software is buggy because anyone can do it, the sheer potential produces the envelope-pushing developments, that Apple then perfects tweaks.

Anyway, enough techie-politics. Let’s get to the chase: What I use my iPad for:

  1. Notes. At university
  2. Books. Both from the app store, and pdf files of my AUB textbooks (which Ghali Bookstore in Hamra would gladly scan and convert to pdf for you)
  3. Games. Need for Speed series, Red Alert and about two dozen other games, both first-person action games, and god games
  4. Music. In my experimentation with mixing and producing, the iPad acts as an invaluably versatile tool to both produce and mix music and light effects
  5. Work. I use it to jot down notes from interviews and events I cover for Beirutnightlife.com
  6. Internet. I browse the internet from the comfort of my bed, through elegant apps for portals such as the Huffington Post, the NYTimes and even Tayyar.org
  7. Social Media. Even though Facebook fails at creating apps for itself, there are plenty of awesome FB apps for the iPad. Twitter apps are also fantastic.
  8. Videos. Despite the fact iOS doesn’t support flash, YouTube and most video sharing websites have special iPad versions.
  9. Scouts. I use it to present my sessions, preferring the HD, interactive, colored, energy-saving screen versus environmentally un-friendly photocopied papers.
  10. Navigation. After I traded in my Nokia N97mini for a Bold 2 (horrible mistake) and then an Android Galaxy S (best decision of my life), the GPRS connection was way too slow, on the iPad, Google Maps is built-in with full navigation options that are incredibly accurate, and need no internet connection. There’s also several Lebanese apps that provide superb navigation services while offline.
  11. Stalking people. Like anyone with an iOS, crank callers and stupid drivers can no longer stay anonymous, with the Lebanon number and license plate directory apps, no one’s anonymous, thanks to our glorious government who somehow believes it will help with security =\

So, spare me your whining of “it’s useless” and “i’m so hot”

Now, why not a Galaxy Tab? Well, I tried it, and it’s no iPad yet… I’ll wait a little before switching to an Android tablet. Plus, with an iPad and Galaxy S, I have the best of both worlds =)

Now, you might be wondering if I buy or illegally download these apps. I do both. Some apps I buy off the App Store, others through Installous. Here’s a YouTube that’ll help you learn how to jailbreak your iPad and then install Installous through Cydia

Now that you’ve done that, here are a few apps I downloaded, tried and loved myself:

Games


  1. Need for Speed Hot Pursuit    : this is the latest version. Beautiful HD, plenty of levels as both a cop and a racer. I LOVED this game. Do NOT download shift, it sucks! And NFS Undercover is just for iPhone, so graphix on iPad are not so good.
  2. Angry Birds: Need I say more? The beloved game, on a 10″ huge screen. Enjoyed it a lot on both my Android and iPad
  3. Cut the Rope: *nom nom nom* feed the kyoot creature the candy, using elaborate gestures and pure physics. Lovely game
  4. Ninjump: incredibly addictive. You’re a ninja running up an infinite wall. You need to avoid obstacles and get power-ups. My highest score is 6776 meters, beat that!
  5. World of Goo: If I ever designed a game, graphics and storyline, this would be it! It’s a very entertaining game, enough said, download it and play!
  6. Tycoon Millionaire: This is a blend of sims with monopoly, super-addictive, very fun
  7. Red Alert: It’s impressive, but takes a while to get use to the controls. Challenging nevertheless, a must-try for any Command and Conquer fan

Music

Looptastic

  1. Shazam: You can tag music with it, handy. SoundHound sucks btw, don’t try it
  2. Looptastic: I bought this app for 12.99$, worth every penny! Create music in a very simple, yet efficient way, with loops, effects and synth pads in a beautiful multi-touch display
  3. Loopesque: my less electronic-music-savvy friends drool over this game. It’s basically a circle with several partitions, each with a distinct sound and frequency. Creating patterns and overlaying them will create awesome music every time.
     

    Loopesque

  4. RJ Voyager: Extremely fun way of combining technical music features, with a more visual control interface. Lovely, and doesn’t just create a loop, but can be used to create dynamic tracks, live.
  5. TouchOSC: create your own knobs/faders/dials/pads/push buttons and hook them up to your TraktorPro laptop and DJ decks. FREEE. James Zabiela uses it =P

Social Media

  1. Friendly for Facebook: these guys did a better job than Zckerberg
  2. Tweetdeck: My favorite Twitter client, use it on my mac, iPad and Android
  3. G-Whizz: the solution for your several google services, all grouped into one neat app (gtalk, picasa, google docs, gmail, etc.)
  4. Stumbleupon: the reason I don’t sleep anymore…

News

  1. AJA Live: Al Jazeera live, perfect resource for live feeds, especially with all the turmoil in the arab world at the moment
  2. Huffington Post: Biased, but love it. Very diverse and very nice “gliding” app
  3. NYTimes: editors’ picks which are always interesting
  4. Tayyar.org: Not the greatest app, but a lovely initiative by a Lebanese website. Handy for live news about Lebanon

Medical/Science


  1. 3D Brain: perfect app of the 3D brain, free-moving, and with multiple labels and shading to show you specific areas, circuits and a anything you need for neuroanantomy
  2. Brain Tutor: see the brain through MRI slices, dorsoventrally and longitudinally
  3. Molecules: interactive ball-and-stick, space-filling and cylindrical models of any protein. Amazing for visualizing and understanding biochem and organic chem

Lebanon-Related

  1. Lebanon Directory: punch in any mobile or landline number, and know who it is registered to instantly (not always accurate, especially for post-paid and newer lines)
  2. Lebanon Car Directory (LCD): punch in any license plate number and find out if it is registered, and to whom
  3. NRJ Lebanon: awesome app, with 6 streaming radios and lots of other interactive interfaces for NRJ Lebanon, such as charts, social media, etc.

Hope this helps =) Any feedback and recommended apps much-appreaciated

Filed Under: How To, Leb Tagged With: , , , , ,

GoNabIt.com: Deals That’ll Make You Get an Online Credit Card

January 12, 2011 By 5 Comments

Gonabit.com gives a whole new meaning to “safety in numbers.” The group discount website is one of several that have sprung up in the Middle-East region, bringing the “groupon” movement to the Arab world. To be fair though, gonabit.com was the first to get there.

Basically, the site partners up with local businesses to offer deals you can purchase online. They can be anything from a manucure or pedicure, to delicious meals, dance lessons, days at the spa, massages and even extreme sports. Today’s Nab is 45USD worth of food at Estancia in Gemmayzeh, for just 20USD. The catch is though, that if not enough people buy the deal, the nab will not be valid! In today’s Estancia case, at least 10 need to be purchased for the deal to stick, hence, “safety in numbers”

GoNabIt.com already has 6 sites, for Beirut, Amman, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Al Sharja and Kuwait City, with another 6 Arab cities on the way.

The main obstacle is of course the limited number of people who actually shop online in Lebanon, with people barely having a usable and online-compatible credit or debit card. I myself saw no need for the online credit card till I had to register for my MCATs and pay for some blog fees, otherwise, I doubt I would’ve realized how useful online shopping can be. So, next time you’re at your bank, open up an online credit card, get access to it online so you are able to transfer ONLY the exact amount you need for a given purchase (just in case, and in any transaction) and you’re all set!

I personally have bought one previous nab, and I definitely plan on buying today’s deal =P So try it out, they send you an email every time a new deal is up for grabs, who knows, you might be able to do some kitesurfing with friends for less than 50USD, or get a full-body massage for just 25USD. Rumor has it movie tix might be up for grabs on a regular basis too *halo appears*

So, check it out below and make sure you sign up so you get the daily deal

Filed Under: How To, Leb Tagged With: , ,

RockMelt Review

December 16, 2010 By 5 Comments

Facebook, twitter, foursquare, multiple RSS feeds, several chat platforms and of course a couple of websites to moderate, makes my Google Chrome’s tabs tend to infinity. Third party applications help, like taking twitter off to tweetdeck. Unfortunately, that takes way too much time (a few extra seconds =P) and is still a hassle. Managing the notifications alone becomes a nuisance.

That’s why RockMelt was created.

RockMelt is a Google Chrome-based browser (so it’s fast, secure and just awesome to start off with) But integrates a few social media valuable tools.

For one, the left and right sidebars that flank the browser are godsend. The left side shows you your online Facebook friends. You can drag any link or media file onto their icon, and share it with them. You can also access their profiles, write on their walls and of course chat.

On the right side, you can add RSS feeds from your favorite sites (like Gino’s Blog) which shows you the recent activity and new posts there, without taking you away from your current page, unless you click something there. Your FB Newsfeed, Twitter Timeline, Gmail inbox and even individual pages (that are RSS enabled) can be integrated there (RockMelt suggests to you if you want to, it’s that awesome)

Searching is also great, with a separate search bar that also opens a dialog box with the results, allowing you to browse through the results faster (like flipping pages with the index on your right)

I loved RockMelt, and it’s now my default browser. When you open RockMelt, you sign in to your Facebook account, which integrates all your preferences and feeds and friends. If a separate user is using your machine, they can log in with their own username and password and load their own preferences.

The one annoying thing is that if you’re on a secure wifi connection similar to that in AUB (dot1x) the “signing in” process at the launch of RockMelt might fail, due to the fact you need to log in using your wifi username and password before being able to establish an internet connection. To bypass that, simply wait till the login fails, and an “empty” RockMelt page opens. Go to some url (google.com) and when the wifi network logs you in, simply click on “log in to facebook” button on the top-left corner of your “empty” RockMelt browser, and voila! Your RockMelt is back.

All in all, this new, free, very social browser is fast, doesn’t crash and makes life a lot easier, streamlining the many portals we flood ourselves with today. It has all the hallmarks of a simple, neat, fast and secure browser, with the added value of being more social-media oriented.

RockMelt is still on invitation basis, and I have to thank Wissam Khoury for sending me the invitation several weeks ago =) To get an invite, go to the RockMelt website and connect with your facebook for the invitation, and spread the word to your friends and family.

Here are a few screenshots I took to better elaborate =)

 

The left-hand bar with your friends' icons, allowing you to take a look at their newsfeed, profile, start a chat and share with them what you're browsing

Simply drag the image (or any file) towards your friend's icon, RockMelt will ask you how you want to share it (wall, message, chat) and it's simple as that

 

Here are your feeds. There's my FB profile, my Twitter Page, Gino's Blog FB Page, Ginosblog.com and my Gmail in mine for example. Whenever you go to a new site/blog/email account, it gives you the oportunity of adding this feed-enabled site to your bar

 

Just type your search query, and a drop-down cloud shows you instant results. Click on one, to open it in the browser (to the right) with the cloud still open, you can click another query and immediately change the page on your browser's right to whatever you just clicked (flipping pages =P)

 

Filed Under: How To

Avoid Speed Traps: Don’t Give the Government Your Money

November 11, 2010 By 3 Comments

Last Thursday, our glorious and indomitable police forces stopped me in Beirut and slammed me with a 50,000 LL fine and took away my driver’s license to reclaim it from the very clearly indicated spot of “Tayyouneh”

“Geofany, kinet meshe sab3een” which translates into pronouncing my name horribly and telling me I was “speeding” at 70 km/h, on 2:00 AM on an empty stretch of highway.

I’m all for better road safety, but this was absurd. Try to drive at 20km/h where it says so sometimes, I tried to do that in front of the Interior Ministry, I had to put my foot on the break even when I hadn’t stepped on the gas…

So, in the future, to deny part of the $166,000+ the government ripped off on Monday November 8, 2010, here’s what you can do for now:

Trapster. Trapster is an application for Android, Apple, Blackberry, Windows and Nokia phones that allows users to “mark” speed traps and other road safety “annoyances” like fixed radars or police checkpoints.

Basically, when you spot a speed trap, you specify its location on your Trapster app to notify other Trapster users. For example, If I mark a speed trap on Bliss for example, and you are headed to Bliss, your phone will alert you of the upcoming danger (of course, you need the app to be open and your GPS enabled as you’re driving). If you indeed find a speed trap, you “confirm” my entry and it becomes more “credible”.

Now, as with any app, if it’s not used by enough people, it’s absolutely useless. Fortunately enough (or unfortunately) most people have Blackberries or GPRS-enabled phones with GPS. As a result, many Lebanese people have already downloaded and begun using Trapster.

You should too. Just go here, or use your Market/App Store/Ovi Store to download the app

Good luck, and always update us on the sneaky speed traps =)

Filed Under: AUB Affairs, How To, Leb, Thoughts Tagged With: , , ,

Kik: Better Whatsapp Alternative?

November 8, 2010 By 16 Comments

Like everything awesome, something more awesome always comes along after the originally awesome thing loses some of its awesomness.

In other words, Whatsapp’s godlike ubiquitousness and ease of use is now hindered with registration fees after a period of time (a dollar isn’t much, but not everyone has an onlin-ready credit card). Also, I’m completely unsatisfied with the Whatsapp Android app performance on my Samsung Galaxy S.

Last night though, whilst browsing through the Android Market, I saw 4.5 stars for Kik Messenger and loads of very positive comments, so I said why not since the size wasn’t much (less than a megabyte I believe)

Today, thanks to the status by my dear friend Dima Hajj, I realized that some of my friends have Kik, including non-Android users.

Now, here’s what’s nice about Kik

  • Incredibly fast, unlike Whatsapp which crashes a lot and can be sluggish
  • Much better graphics and organization of conversations and contacts
  • S, D and R labels next to your IMs (sent, delivered and read) just like the BBM and an upgrade from Whatsapp’s notrious double-checks (which do not signal that the message has been read, or in fact received for that matter, only sent)
  • Finds contacts from your existing contact list (just like whatsapp)
  • Completely free

Disadvantages?

  • Versions for Android, BB and iPhone/iPod are already available, but no Nokia version (unlike Whatsapp)
  • No sending images/location/files/contacts etc.
  • Does not check phone numbers to automatically add contacts (like Whatsapp) but uses emails if stored in contact list

So, why not download Kik from your App Store/Market or through this link on your BB

UPDATE: As I’m sure many of you found out, RIM (Blackberry maker) has banned Kik from the BB, dealing a heavy (and very unfair) blow to the Kik application. You might want to consider that in addition to the above =)

Update 2: Kik is back on BB! Read more here. Thanks Sh4do3

Read more with:

Whatsapp vs Kik vs LiveProfile vs Kakao

Special thanks to Wael Toutoungy for pointing out some disadvantages I had so clumsily missed =P

Filed Under: Extras, How To, Tech Tagged With: ,

Study for the SATs, GREs and GMATs while Fighting Hunger

October 16, 2010 By Leave a Comment

After noticing several fellow bloggers that have signed up with the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) to become “Bloggers Against Hunger,” I decided to sign up as well. The banner above says it all, and even though it might seem useless or farfetched, you and I can indeed directly impact the world’s 1,000,000,000 hungry people by answering a few simple questions…

www.freerice.com is a website by the WFP dedicated to providing two free and essential needs for humanity: education and food. You can go to the site, and by answering simple questions in English, Chemistry, Math, Geography, Arts and other languages, you donate 10 grains of rice to the WFP.

Why? Well, advertisers pay to have their banners appear. Every question has a different banner, and the revenue generated by this ad will go to buy the 10 grains you just ‘earned’.

Questions are extremely simple, and are in the format:

small means:

  • little
  • old
  • big
  • yellow

However, they do go up in difficulty, and the 12,000+ words will most certainly help you with your SAT, GMAT, or GRE English or Math sections.

The average person’s diet needs around 400 grams of rice per day, that’s some 19,200 grains. That’s a huge number, and no one expects you to answer almost 2000 questions per day. However, if 20 people who read this blog answer 100 simple questions, their contribution will total to some 200+ grams. That’s half of what someone needs to stay fed for a day, which is an enormous contribution to someone’s life in one of the 75 countries the WFP helps feed.

So, go to FreeRice.com and help the 1,000,000,000 people online feed the 1,000,000,000 who go to bed hungry every night. And of course, improve your chemistry/math/geography and most importantly, English!

 

 

 

Filed Under: How To, Thoughts Tagged With: , ,

Foursquare Much?

October 7, 2010 By 2 Comments

Foursquare is a location-based social network. It allows you to ‘check-in’ to venues using your mobile, or ‘add venues’ if they do not already exist on the directory. It keeps friends updated on everyone’s location, facilitating real life interaction. Before you freak out and dismiss this as an invasion of privacy and stalker heaven, it is your own choice whether to check-in or not, and for that matter, share that check-in on Twitter or Facebook.

Every time you check-in, you are awarded points, or sometimes badges. International companies, restaurants and retailers often reward people for checking into their venue on foursquare. In Lebanon, we are very far from using Foursquare in that manner, but with Twitter’s growing popularity, Foursquare is looking very promising.

In my case, Gemmayzeh nights become a lot more interesting when I check-in into Treesome for example (which I am Mayor of =P) and a few minutes later find a tweep or two stopping by to say hi. If you’re wondering what a mayor is, you are awarded that title if you visit a certain venue the most among other foursquare users over a period of time.

Recently, mobile online presence amongst AUB friends is growing. That is why I started adding individual venues within AUB, to help us keep track of where everyone is (saving money and time). West Hall, Cafeteria, Biology, Chemistry, Physics and CHSC were added to the already existing Bechtel, OSB and Nicely Hall. Soon, the whole of Bliss and AUB will be covered, allowing anyone on twitter and foursquare to see where everyone is (provided they share that information).

So, if you’re new to Twitter, or planning on signing up, make sure you also get a Foursquare account and follow me on Twitter (@GinoRaidy)

For more help, make sure you ask someone in the AUBOC =)

Filed Under: AUB Affairs, How To Tagged With: ,

Introducing the AUB Online Collaborative

October 3, 2010 By 1 Comment

Whether we like it or not, use it as often or not, or pretend to ignore it, the effect of social media and networking has forever changed our lives and society. Today, who we know, what we do and who knows about it is on Facebook, Twitter, Myspace, Foursquare, Google Buzz, Flickr and YouTube. What we like and would want to recommend to other online folks is on StumbleUpon, Reddit and DiggIt. I only mentioned these because they’re the ones I personally use most.

Five years ago, meeting someone would’ve taken several real life interactions over period of time before skipping the awkward phase of not being sure about the person. Today, a few clicks later and the person’s photos, personal information and friends are at anyone’s disposal. This might seem scary to some, but remember, you decide what to show and who to share with. However, personally, and I’m sure many of you will agree with me even though you will not say it out loud, Facebook and other social networking sites have made life easier.

Some of my closest friends today are a result of a friend request button. Many of my dates are also originally Facebook friends or Twitter tweeps. Meeting friends on the internet was taboo and dangerous in the chat-room and IRC days. Any creep or pervert could’ve been posing as a gentleman or lady worth meeting. Today, even though we can never be 100% sure, the friends and network of an individual help us understand who he or she is in real life. For example, I can rest assured that one of my friends on Facebook who is also friend with 20 or more of my friends should be safe enough to talk to and maybe meet.

I’m straying from the subject, and this will probably highlight the complexity and novelty of social media and how hard it can be to properly handle and manage that many portals in an ever-demanding social and business world. From dates to college acceptances and work applications, what you share and how you share it is a fairly new and tricky terrain. It can make or break careers, products, events, political causes and so much more in an easily accessible and candid fashion…

The AUBOC seeks to group social media enthusiasts and experienced individuals in the digital media world to help promote proper digital citizenship through making the most of social media in the best ways possible. Here’s our FB page and blogger blog. Stay tuned for an awesome year online and in real life!

So, make sure you pass by during the club days at AUB. It’s this Tuesday and Wednesday =)

Filed Under: AUB Affairs, Extras, How To Tagged With: ,

Nisbiyeh: Proportional Representative System

April 12, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Municipal Distribution of Lebanon

For some reason, someone failed to ever elaborate what ‘nisbiyeh’, or proportional representative system (PRS) exactly meant. Or at least in what context it was being so vigorously debated by Lebanese politicians (most of which I doubt fully grasp the concept of PRS)

Here’s the RPS put in super-simple terms:

If the dog-lovers decided to run for elections, and so did the cat-lovers, each of the two parties would put a list of candidate names, by order of rank preferably.

On the day of voting, people vote for one of the lists, and not individual names. At the end of the day, if the dog-lovers got 60% of the vote, and the cat-lovers 40%, the parliament of 100 representatives would be split into 60 dog-lovers (the first 60 on the 100-list of dog-lovers) and 40 cat-lovers (the top 40 on the cat-lover list)

Another version of the RPS would allow voters themselves to rank party candidates (you could put whoever you want on top)

Many other modified forms existence, but that is basically the main idea. Here’s one:

What this would mean in Lebanon is that minorities would now have a voice in being represented. For example, an area with just 10% dog-lovers would still get 1 of the 10 seats their district has. In today’s laws, these 10% would never have a chance.

Whether or not this is the wise choice for the demographically-sensitive Lebanon is a question that has been and continues to be (and will be for quite some time if it goes down Lebanese-style) highly debatable.

At least now I hope you can have some ammo when discussing local current affairs and politics, especially with the disputed municipal elections coming up less than 3 weeks for now (or are they?)

A BIG thank you to Vix for his valuable insight and elaboration!

Filed Under: How To, Leb, Thoughts Tagged With: , , ,
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