Britain and The Red Poppy
Posted by: Amr on: November 8, 2009
..No!, its not freaking me out, and am not sick of seeing the badge all the day! But I want to be more creative and suggest they stick Tony’s face on their butts! and call it Tony Day! in remembrance of sending the british army to Iraq. and observe 2 mins of silence every hour!
Yet Another Thing to Ponder About..
Posted by: Amr on: September 18, 2009
Why the US POST employs MAILMEN but the British Royal MAIL employs POSTMEN?
..And I hate Right-Hand Driving!
Posted by: Amr on: September 16, 2009
I wonder why I always get confused with the terms (Right Hand Driving and Left Hand traffic) though both of them are the same. Regardless how they call it here, I still hate the whole idea behind it.
Things I really hate about right hand driving cars:
- Gear knob is on your left, and its hard to keep remembering the correct gear.
- You must overtake from the right side
- You must stick to the left side of the road unless overtaking
- On roundabouts, the driver on your right always closes you sight
- when driving toward roundabout you must yield right always while you are used to yield left
- watching the kerb and pavements is almost impossible, expect to change the tires every month
- traffic lights are confusing like hell
- driving in dark areas with dim on, would expose the other side and your side will be a blind spot.
- although a recent research shows that the accident effect is less.. but I still dont believe! they are looking for an excuse.
- when I have to drive in Jordan, I will make huge mess, because my ass got used to driving on the left-hand traffic.
Now, I have a reason to hate the UK system!
Looking For Sex in Amman?
Posted by: Amr on: September 10, 2009
Then you should call this guy (click on the picture!)
Good morning Amman.. and I’m proud of our freaks-of-nature citizens..
UPDATE 1: It seems half of our population are horny! .. hundreds of referrals from google with “Sex in Amman” keyword. I think the other half will show up very soon; after ramadan!
UPDATE 2: The GPD caught the driver (who happened to be pretty young lad), and he denied knowing the meaning of the sticker! (oh-my-fuckin-shit-how-I-believe-him), but using our up-to-date-irresistible-technology by our CID, he has been found guilty! — mabrouk!
Off-topic: mentioning the CID above; they remind me with saddam’s wife when she complemented her daughter’s private tutor, asking saddam to take care of the tutor in return to how he was helpful. Saddam asked his guards to take care of him, and he forgot to check due to the amount of work he has.. after couple of weeks,he remembered the private tutor, and asked the guards about him, and their answer was: we made investigations and he confessed, so we found him guilty and executed him!
SPF: Increasing Safety Online 101
Posted by: Amr on: August 3, 2009
Domain spoofing refers to the use of someone else’s domain name when sending a message and is part of the larger problem of spoofing (the practice of forging the sender’s address on e-mail messages). Domain spoofing can also be used by malicious individuals in phishing scams, which try to lure consumers into divulging sensitive personal information by pretending the e-mail is from a trusted source, such as a consumer’s bank. Disclosure of such information can lead to identity theft and other online consumer fraud.
The Sender ID Framework is designed to verify that each e-mail message originates from the Internet domain from which it claims to come based on the sender’s server IP address. Eliminating domain spoofing will help legitimate senders protect their domain names and reputations, and help recipients more effectively identify and filter junk e-mail and phishing scams.
Benefits:
- Improved deliverability of legitimate e-mail
- Increased protection of your brand and domain from phishing attacks
- Reduced false positives (up to 85 percent) for senders with good reputations
- Increased protection from spam and phishing, with a detection rate of more than 95 percent for phishing exploits
- Improved online trust and confidence
- Improvements in overall spam detection of 10 percent or more
- Easy implementation and management at no cost you
How it works?
1. A sender or user sends an e-mail message from an e-mail client or Web interface. No interaction or changes to the sender’s client or Mail Transfer Agent (MTA) are required.
2. The recipient’s inbound e-mail server receives the e-mail message. The server uses SIDF and calls the Purported Responsible Domain’s (PRA) DNS for the SPF record.
3. The receiving MTA determines whether the outbound e-mail server’s IP address matches the IP addresses that are authorized to send e-mail for the domain.
4. For most domains and IPs, sender reputation data is applied to the SIDF verdict check.
5. Based on the SPF record syntax, the pass or fail verdict, the reputation data, and the content filtering score, the receiving MTA delivers the e-mail message to the inbox, a junk or bulk folder, or a quarantine folder. If an e-mail message fails, the receiving network may block, delete, or junk the e-mail.
There is no single solution that will stop all spam and online fraud. However, Sender ID is a significant step, and more than 12 million domains worldwide are using it as a means to counter spam and online phishing attacks. Other complementary technologies are also being developed and will coexist with Sender ID.
BMW E38 A/C Troubles DIY
Posted by: Amr on: March 29, 2009
- In: Amman Bmw| BMW| bmw 740| bmw in jordan| how to
- 5 Comments
If your windscreen and footwell vents always blow hot air then check the hot water valve, wiring harness and A/C control module. If the water valve is identified as faulty, then read on.
It happened not to find a brand new water valve but at OLE Jordan, and the cost of it is approx. as same as a used car in jordan!!! and to avoid buying a second hand one (which may do the same after a while), I decided to fix it myself..
Below are the instructions (valid for BMW e38, 1999, 740iA with 4.4 Ltr Engine V8)
Remove the water (Heater) Valve as shown below:
Once the water valve has been removed from the car, undo the six screws holding the upper part of the valve to the rest of the valve/aux pump frame.
In my case one of the water valve solenoids went into open circuit. In the following I will describe how I managed to fix the problem. I was lucky because the solenoid coil wire corroded away in a place that I could access. However, with a bit of patience it should even be possible to completely re-wind the coil, if necessary.
With the screws out, lift off the upper part of the valve body. As the next step, detach the faulty solenoid with its housing by pulling it sideways away from the plastic frame with the connectors. The fork shaped contacts to the little windings should slide off; in my case I actually had to apply a fair bit of force.
Lift out the faulty solenoid from its housing, once removed from its housing, it was obvious where the solenoid winding became corroded with the broken wire clearly visible:
Remove the little winding from the contact pin and extend the broken wire by soldering a short length of similar wire to its end:
Finally, remove and clean the plungers and seals, then reassemble in reverse order.
I also smeared a little silicone sealant on the mating surfaces to prevent any leaks.
Before fitting the valve in the car, it might be an idea to test it on the bench by applying 12V to pins 1-2 and 1-3, and listening to the clicks of the plungers.
What If Our Banks Say The Truth?
Posted by: Amr on: October 12, 2008
- In: 3mrism Rants| reviews
- 1 Comment
Something to ponder about..
What happens if our banks (in Jordan) disclose (based on ASE/JSC rules and regulations; transparency requirements) to our securities commission about their foreign investments in the US?
My Third grade level mind answers: We will be able to buy apartments in Jordan at only JD 30K!
The Worst Time To Invest!
Posted by: Amr on: October 11, 2008
Disclaimer: I’m not an Economist. The article below is based on my experience (ups and downs) in the market; hence, I take no responsibility for the following post.
Although the knowledgeable, professional investors can and do make money regularly on common stock, average investors are not equipped to accurately speculate on which stock will do well and which will not. If the average investor would invest in a common stock, leave it for 10 years, and not touch it, it probably would keep up with inflation and perhaps even gain 3 or 4 percent. But seldom do average investors do that. They generally try to move their investments from stock to stock in order to reap the maximum benefits. Since they are not professionals and their knowledge is limited, most end up making little and, in many cases, losing their initial investment.
Nowadays, we are on the edge of economic recession, and it will take more than a year to wake up from this crisis, hence, it is strongly recommended not to invest in real estate, free fall indexes (stocks) and oil.
In the very near future, at least when our index begins to go up and stabilize at normal points (i.e: Amman, ~ 7000), it will be strongly recommended to invest in the market, especially in a country like jordan.
In 2009, my prediction, real estate prices in Amman will fail miserably, also the market will go down to hell. In such situation it is really recommended to invest in and make a good profit in very short term investments.
Also, very soon (NOT NOW!), when the stock begins to stabilize especially after watching our big monsters in the market getting rid of their fear and put some cash in the stock market, at that time it is strongly recommended to invest in the stock, but not real estate companies, putting in consideration the profit announcements to be held in April 2009 where you can gain good profit and share prices will raise especially when buying shares at very low prices. so short term investors will make a very good fortune for the first time in the traditional stock era in hit-and-runaway methodology.
Blackboard and WebCT Announce Agreement to Merge!
Posted by: Amr on: September 27, 2008
- In: reviews| web
- Leave a Comment
Two leading providers of enterprise software and services to the education community, Blackboard Inc. (Nasdaq: BBBB) and WebCT, Inc., today announced a definitive agreement to merge. Under terms of the agreement, Blackboard will acquire WebCT in a cash transaction for $180 million, which values the offer at approximately $154 million, net of WebCT’s August 31, 2005 cash balance of $26 million. The ultimate value of the offer will vary depending on WebCT’s cash balance at closing. The transaction will combine two pioneering academic e-Learning organizations into a single company with the client base, resources and expertise to uniquely meet the rapidly evolving needs of educators around the world.
The merger of Blackboard and WebCT marks a major milestone in the build- out of networked learning environments by colleges, universities, schools and other education providers. It creates a large, collaborative community of academic institutions-a global e-Learning “Community of Practice”-supported by unsurpassed resources for innovation and support. Currently, more than 3,700 higher education, K-12, corporate, government and commercial academic institutions enhance their learning environments with solutions offered by the two organizations. Bringing Blackboard and WebCT together provides a powerful platform for innovating and supporting what at many institutions is the least developed, yet one of the most strategic segments of their technology infrastructure. Further, it will break down barriers and enable collaboration across institutions by developers and end-users at a critical time in the evolution of e-Learning technologies.
Both companies’ Boards of Directors have approved the merger. Subject to regulatory approval and other customary closing conditions, the transaction is expected to close late this year or in early 2006. The combined companies will operate under the Blackboard name and brand with corporate headquarters located in Washington, DC. Operations will continue in WebCT’s facilities in Massachusetts and Canada. Michael Chasen will continue to serve as President and CEO.
WebCT offers many of the same financial characteristics of Blackboard’s business model, including an annual recurring subscription-based licensing model, ratable revenue recognition, a stable educational institutional client base and historically high renewal rates. As a result, the combination is expected to enhance growth and profitability over time. Blackboard expects the acquisition to close late this year or in early 2006. Assuming the merger closes by early 2006, Blackboard expects the transaction to be moderately accretive to earnings on a non-GAAP basis and dilutive on a GAAP basis for calendar year 2006, and significantly accretive to earnings on a non-GAAP basis and dilutive on a GAAP basis for calendar year 2007. The combined company expects to realize significant efficiencies by leveraging shared development infrastructure, and mitigating duplicative marketing initiatives and administrative expenditures. Blackboard retained Credit Suisse First Boston as its financial advisor and Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale & Dorr and McDermott, Will & Emery as its legal advisors. WebCT retained Goldman Sachs & Co. as its financial advisor and Choate, Hall & Stewart and White & Case as its legal advisors.
Zawareeb: Books@Cafe!
Posted by: Amr on: September 24, 2008
An interesting passage written by Al-Ghad Daily Newspaper, mentioning implicitly books@cafe in their last passage/zawroubeh is here
Interesting ha?
P.S: Pervious posts about books@cafe issue are here and here.
Beware of Google Chrome!
Posted by: Amr on: September 7, 2008
- In: 3mrism Rants| review| reviews| web
- Leave a Comment
The Chrome EULA reads like a lot of Google’s other EULAs. It requires users to “give Google a perpetual, irrevocable, worldwide, royalty-free, and nonexclusive license to reproduce, adapt, modify, translate, publish, publicly perform, publicly display and distribute any Content which you submit, post or display on or through, the Services.”
Originally, the Chrome Terms of Service were very controversial as they could reasonably be interpreted to grant Google a right to use/modify/reproduce any content a user passed through the browser on a royalty-free basis. Google has amended the EULA and the issue has been resolved.
Apparently, some people have misconstrued this to be saying that Google owns everything you pass through Chrome. That’s incorrect. 11.1 clearly states that you keep all your rights to everything passing through Chrome. But, Google does get permission to use anything you do pass through Chrome. The end part of 11.1 limits that permission to the scope of promotional reasons, but then 11.2 and 11.3 extend that (or “clarify,” take your pick) to mean that as long as Google or one of Google’s affiliates use your IP in connection with Chrome, they can do whatever they want.
The worst part is the software guys over at Google saying that it’s no big deal. Well, if it’s no big deal, and they’re not going to enforce it, then why is it in this contract? Take it out, and don’t put it back in. “Do no evil,” remember? I’d like to think that this is just the software guys moving faster than the legal guys and they boilerplate copied/pasted from the other ToS, but Google has an army of lawyers. Someone should have seen this. I can’t stress it enough that I don’t think Google intended for everything passing through Chrome to automagically create a license for Google, but you’d think someone with the resources of Google would have fixed this.
One thing that’s different in the software engineering world from the legal world is that in software engineering, we deal in discretes — anyone can test algorithms and instantly get absolute answers (I was a software engineer before I got into IP law). But in the legal realm, a lot of what goes on is interpretation, argument, and lots of grey areas (and even then, the question is “how grey is that grey?”). So you can call this conspiracy theories or a mistake if you want, but I’d rather think of it as misunderstanding between what we were interpreting and what Google was trying to convey. I wasn’t trying to induce some conspiracy theory or promote any ill will towards Google (I’m a faithful user of google search, gmail, analytics, and adsense), but I wanted the record straight.
Some have argued that one of the basic tenets of contract law is violated by Google’s clarification – a modification of an agreement typically requires additional consideration (consideration in lay terms is generally “something of legal value”, and there are a million caveats to that). To dispose of this issue, it’s important to note how EULAs/ToS are treated in virtually every consumer service business — continued use is sufficient consideration for the modification, because these companies are under no obligation to continue giving you service, and you are under no obligation to continue using it.
I think google updated their EULA for chrome, but for some countries has not yet been updated. As a number of IP, consumer protection, and contract laws are much more vigorous (especially in the EU) than their US counterparts, I foresee that this change will filter down through Google’s international legal departments. At the moment, there has yet to be any harm caused by this issue, and Google is busy translating this disambiguation to the 40+ languages in which Google offers services.
To Whom May Have Primary Teeth!
Posted by: Amr on: August 31, 2008
Why when people grow up and have primary teeth, they begin to bite everybody around?!
Don’t they know that primary (baby/milk) teeth are the first set of teeth in the growth development of humans (if we can barely call them humans!) and many other mammals (like many I know!).
Free of Charge Advice: They will NOT last long!
الاقليمية اللعينة
Posted by: Amr on: August 31, 2008
سؤال أثير في الآونة الاخيرة: هل صحيح ان الذين يكتبون عن الفساد يميزون بين “منسف وملوخية”؟.
Apple iPhone for Landlines?!
Posted by: Amr on: August 22, 2008
OpenPeak’s iPhone clone for homes is production ready and could be in the market by the first quarter of 2009.
This information comes via a Wired report which indicates that the slick IP media phone, called OpenFrame, has been in design for about a year and a half.
Third party software developers will be able to create applications for the device, similar to how developers do for the iPhone. The phone will come with certain applications, such as calendar, news, weather, etc.
One of the beauties of the product is that it is dynamic, It is really a blank screen of opportunity. It could be used as a digital picture frame or even as a internet radio receiver.
Most likely the phone will be available through telecoms such as AT&T and Verizon (Confusing; Why does one need to go to Verizon or AT&T for an IP phone?!! HELL). OpenPeak is hoping to set a price inside the $200 to $300 price range.
This would be cool if the iPhone would connect to it and the iPhone would use the land line while in range!
iPhone: How To Activate/Deactivate/Enable/Disable (Visual)VoiceMail Tap!
Posted by: Amr on: May 27, 2008
- In: Amr Hourani| how to
- 13 Comments
UPDATE 1: The (*5005*86*) way doesnt activate your visual vociemail! BEWARE! and if you have tried it before and want to DEACTIVATE voicemail tap, type: *5005*86*#
UPDATE 2: To activate your Visual Vociemail, try to dial your own voicemail on your iPhone (i.e: dial your cell’s phone number from your iPhone itself). Setup the box when prompted.
Now, 99.9% of my iphone’s functions are working perfectly!..
For those who’ve unlocked thei iPhone and have a non-functioning Voicemail button, here’s how to fix it:
1. First, take note of what your voicemail number is with your current provider (for example, in Jordan, ZAIN voicemail number is 1717).
2. Click the phone button in your iPhone.
3. Click the keypad tab.
4. Type the following code: *5005*86*xxxx#
(Where xxxx is your voicemail number, using Jordan Zain example, you would be typing *5005*86*1717#)
5. Hit call.
6. Give it a bit, and the code will be set.
7. Hit the voicemail button, and it will now call your voicemail.
This hint is applicable worldwide 
and to restore your voicemail tap (deactivate/reset voicemail tap in your iphone), just type: *5005*86*#
enjoy!
