Gulf Photo Plus 2008

Gulf Photo Plus (http://www.gulfphotoplus.com/), the annual photography event, has become a must-visit event for anyone interested in photography in the UAE. The 2008 edition runs May 29 to April 4th at Dubai’s Knowledge Village and it promises to be one of the best events yet, judging from the interesting line-up of presenters and sessions. Of special interest to Shuffle readers is probably the Apple Day on May 3rd. David Nightingale has two-hour workshops on iLife 08 and Aperture. If you are going to Apple Day, check out Gulf Photo Plus’ advertisement in this issue of Shuffle for 30% discount code for Apple Day. Take advantage of this great event and savings and go learn some more about how to manage your digital photography workflow. As an added bonus, EmiratesMac will be set up at the location all of Apple Day to help you answer any questions you may have, and to just chat about Apple and hang out with users. If you are a member of EMUG come along and help out that day. If you’re a participant of Apple Day, we hope to see you there.

Emirati Racing Team Completes 24hr Race

The Emirates Racing Team (http://uae24hrs.com) completed the 24hr endurance race at the Dubai Autodrome on January 11-12, 2008. The drivers were Mohammad Al-Abdooli, Khaled Al-Muttawaa, Mohammad Al-Falasi, and Omran Al-Owais. Omran (http://www.alowaismotorsport.com), a member of the EmiratesMac Apple User Group, said about his experience, “This was amazing. A group of us coming together like this to represent our country, and actually making it through all twenty four hours.” The team finished the 24hr race, completing 375 laps, and ending up in position 55 out of 84 finishing teams. That’s an improvement of around 30 positions compared to where they started on the grid.

The plan was to get EmiratesMac logo stickers onto the car, but unfortunately the team ran out of time and had technical difficulties which did not allow this to happen. But I’m sure EmiratesMac members were with Omran in spirit to cheer him on. If the team decides to do this again next year, and we hope they will, preparations will start earlier and hopefully it will make the team more competitive. It was a great first experience and the team did better than I think anyone expected. Congratulations to the team!

by Magnus Nystedt

Reflections from the Hayah Film Competition

Instead of a diary I decided to publish the two speeches given by Omran and myself at the press conference announcing the Hayah Film Competition (www.hayahfilm.com) winners.

Magnus
I would like to take this opportunity to give you some background information regarding the Hayah Film Competition and the EmiratesMac Apple User Group. This competition came up in discussions within our user group about activities that we could do that would support our members and the wider community. Since we are an Apple User Group, it seemed natural to focus on films in a small format, especially made for the iPod form factor. We have members ranging from professionals in advertising and media, to teachers, architects, photographers, and more. All of them have in common the elements of creativity and originality, which are also key elements for success in this competition.
EmiratesMac was started as a web site in 2005 and is the only registered Apple User Group in the United Arab Emirates. EmiratesMac arranges monthly meetings for its members, where we get together to share experience and knowledge.

Creating films for iPod presents a number of challenges. The most obvious one is the small screen. Filmmakers have to consider that small details will not show very well. Color and contrast are also important to emphasize shapes and movement on the small screen. The length of the film matters since people will probably not want to look at very long movies on the small screen. These types of films, especially when put on an iPod, are more likely to be viewed in locations other than a family’s living room, or a movie theater, which presents further challenges when writing the script, shooting, and when editing films for this format. Finally, it’s important to consider sound; the viewer may not have headphones while watching, so it is important that the film’s story can be carried through regardless of sound. All these challenges, taken together, make for an interesting mix in terms of creating films for the iPod format.

We partnered up with Abu Dhabi Women’s College because their Center of Excellence in Applied Media made them a natural choice. Also, the Higher Colleges of Technology system is the largest provider of higher education in the United Arab Emirates, potentially opening up this film competition to participation by many young talented students. When we heard about the Middle East International Film Festival we got in touch with them and gradually things developed into what we’ve experienced this week.

We have been very excited about the response to the Hayah Film Competition. With entries from across the Middle East and in all categories, we’ve seen the abundant creativity that exists in this region. We have also experienced a wide range of subject matter. From the religious and profound, to the funny and lighthearted, each entry has made us think, made us laugh, or even moved us close to tears. This new format presents new challenges and opportunities for filmmakers. No longer have aspiring filmmakers to go through the traditional studio system. They can make technically advanced films with relatively modest equipment and distribute them for even less through web sites like YouTube, FaceBook, and others. Even setting up their own film studio-like business is conceivable with the latest technology and a strong vision. We hope that the Hayah Film Competition has contributed in some small measure to encourage budding filmmakers to start their career or to spur on those already in the industry.

Omran
When I first heard of this idea from Magnus I was a bit skeptic. Why would anyone want to watch a film on a small iPod screen, and why would anyone want to make a film for that format? After seeing this project progress, I was surprised to find myself becoming more and more intrigued. As a member of the EmiratesMac Apple User Group I started to see opportunities for our members and others to try out something new and exciting in combination with the latest in technology.

My professional experience as an architect means I have a strong interest in design. I apply this every day in my work, and I have even made short films before, so when I was asked by EmiratesMac to be their judge in the Hayah Film Competition, it was something I accepted with honor. On behalf of the judges I would like to say a heartfelt thank you to everyone that submitted a film to the Hayah Film Competition. The variety, quality, creativity, and dedication astounded all of us. We would also like to say congratulations to the finalists. In our mind you are all winners. It was very hard seeking out the finalists in general, and the winners in particular. From a very strong field of competitors you managed to stand out in various ways and you all deserve to win.

What we as judges were looking for were four main things: creativity, originality, technical proficiency, and suitability for the small format. And indeed all the finalists in various ways display aspects of life at the size of an iPod screen, as the tag line for the Hayah Film Competition says.

If you allow me, I would like to add that I am very proud that so many entries came from Emirati filmmakers. Even though I didn’t know it at the time of screening and judging, it was very moving for me to find out that many films I had watched and enjoyed, were made by people from my country. The film industry in this region is booming and more and more Emiratis are making their mark on the world stage. Hopefully, by participating in the Hayah Film Competition, these filmmakers can start a successful career in their chosen field.

It is also very moving to see so many students taking part in the competition. While I was a student I would have loved to be a part of something like this, so it’s comforting to see today’s students making the most of the opportunities afforded to them. We felt this was a perfect fit for students to display as well as develop their skills and knowledge.

Winners of the Hayah Film Competition
In the Student Category, the winner is Fatima Al Shamsi with “Ramadan”. In the Amateur Category, the winner is Kamil Roxas with “Celebrate Life”. And in the Professional Category, the winner is Ziad Oakes with “For No One”. The People’s Choice Award was won by Lolouwa Al Mehairbi with “Tourist”. You can watch all the finalists in the Hayah Film Competition at www.hayahfilm.com. Congratulations to all the winners!

by Magnus Nystedt

Special Report From Apple TV Event

EmiratesMac User Group arranged our first major event on March 29 2007. A Senior Engineer at Apple Inc. talked about and demonstrated the Apple TV. User Group members got a chance to try out the Apple TV and ask questions of the Engineer.

1. The event took place in the Auditorium at Knowledge Village Dubai.

2. A Senior Engineer at Apple Inc. demonstrated the Apple TV.

3. The attendees were treated to a live demo of the Apple TV from one of the engineers at Apple who designed it.

4. The presentation took the audience through what it’s like working at Apple, what the culture is like, and some of the things that the employees do at Apple to have fun.

5. Magnus Nystedt, President and Ambassador of EmiratesMac User Group gave a brief introduction to the user group and its activities.

About the photographer
Mickeymouse is a creative brewery of sorts. Armed with an arsenal of color swatches and a penchant for harmonizing fonts and images, he has built an extensive portfolio of works in broadcast and print design. He also seeks to collaborate with creative individuals, groups and clients on various communication and design projects. He contributes photos to the Emirates Mac Users Group, and will soon contribute design, illustration and other strange creations as well. Mickeymouse is pretending he didn’t write this. You can reach him at kamil@fluxnewmedia.com.

by Magnus Nystedt

MJ Visits the Mother Ship Part 3 of 3

Two days later I took the same bus and went back, trying to follow the same tracks that Misho took to see if I could get to the Mother Ship my self. And guess what? I made it. I was in front of the Mother Ship taking pictures of everything I see. Misho was at a meeting, but my other friend was not, he called me the same time I was there, and commented on the note that was stuck on his screen. He asked me how did I get inside? I told him to come down and meet me, cause I was in front of the Mother Ship. So he came down and we chatted, and took pictures with him, but then he had to leave cause of some meeting he had to attend. The same time my friend went back to work, Misho called and told me he just finished from the meeting he had, and that he has time to see me. So we met up at the company store, which was located in building one. Misho and I did a lot of shopping at the company store. I spent over $300 in Apple gear alone. I got stuff like mugs, books, t-shirts, sweaters, baby cloths, ID holders, mouse pads, and so much more. Misho, cool as he is, just flashed his ID badge to the sales person and I was given discounts. You should have seen the smile on my face that day. I must have looked like a baby boy in Toys-R-us for the very first time.

After buying all these fabulous toys we went back into his office, where he gave me loads of Apple stickers, which are hard to get, and he introduced me to the rest of his group that worked with him. They were all very nice iMen. Very welcoming people and all of them had sense of humor. Then he took me to see another friend, but unfortunately he was not in his office. He must be somewhere doing great job on something new. But the main reason why he wanted me to meet the guy, is because this iMan had Steve Wozniak’s metal business card. Steve Wozniak better known as iWoz is the father of Apple. Without him and Steve Jobs all this would of never been possible. iWoz is the creator of the personal computer, and he is a man that the whole world is indebted to. With out him, Computers would never be the way they are right now. Thank you Steve for your achievements in life, for being the greatest Electrical Engineer on the face of this planet.

Anyway, back to my story. When Misho took me to his friend’s office, Misho showed me the iWoz business card and gave me the opportunity to take a picture of it. This card could be found on eBay selling for not less than $600 a piece. I was honored to hold it, see it and even take a picture of that card. I thank you again Misho for all that you have done for me. Misho then drove me back to the train station where I departed for the last time. I don’t know when will I ever see this great friend again, but I am hoping soon. It was painful being separated from the Mother Ship after two amazing day in it. But the only thing that kept me going after that was the amazing product I purchased from the Apple Store in San Francisco. I have spent almost $4,000 on Apple products alone during that trip. The coolest product and most expensive one that I spent on was the new 17” Core 2 Duo Macbook Pro. This is the sexiest, most powerful Apple notebook ever made. And I am writing you this article using this one heck of a machine.

This is the story of my abduction but this is not the end. This is only the beginning of a journey, a start of a new life for me. A life of being a dedicated Appleholic for the rest of my life. I hope to bring you more stories of my Apple-travels in the future. This was not the last, I can assure you. I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed visiting Apple.

by Mohammed Jawad

MacWorld Expo 2007

It’s over for this year and as usual Macworld Expo leaves us with a line of product announcements and other news that it takes some time to take in and digest. in this article I will try to bring you a summary of the main news from Steve Jobs’ keynote address.

by Magnus Nystedt

New name
Possibly more important than any of the other announcements is the change of name for Apple as a company. They’ve been known for 30 years as Apple Computer Inc. but they dropped the computer part and from now on they’re just known as Apple Inc. This probably means it’s even easier for people to mistake it for a fruit company but it also means a broader change of directions, I think. Apple announced on their web site some time before the keynote that the first 30 years of the company’s history was only the beginning. We understand now that what they referred to was this change in direction. The company that has had the Mac line of computers as its core for 30 years is ever expanding into other consumer electronic devices, most recently with the iPhone. I don’t think the Mac will disappear anytime soon, but we will probably see more emphasis from Apple on other product lines. And it probably makes sense in a broader context. I believe personal computers as we’ve known them so far are gradually morphing into other devices, more integrated with other things, making them a more natural part of our lives.

Apple TV
We found out that what was previously known as the iTV is now going to be called the Apple TV. As you probably know by now the Apple TV is a small device that hooks up to your TV and lets you send video from iTunes on a Mac to your TV set. To use the Apple TV you a “widescreen TV” and that it works with “widescreen, enhanced-definition or high-definition TVs capable of 1080i, 720p, 576p, or 480p resolutions”. So if you have not invested in an HD-capable TV set yet, once the Apple TV is out, it may be a good time to do so. All this glorious HD-content can be sent to the Apple TV using 802.11n wifi networking, supported by the new Airport Extreme Base Station and most recent Macs. The Apple TV has a 40 Gb hard drive but you cannot store things to it like on a Mac. That space is only used to temporarily stored media that is streamed to it. It can temporarily store media that is synchronized from a Mac. That way your Apple TV can always be up to date with the movies, TV shows and more that you purchase and download with a Mac. You can also stream content from up to five Macs. On the Apple TV’s hard drive you can store up to 50 hours of video, 9,000 songs, 25,000 photos or a combination of each. The interface of Apple TV is basically FrontRow and you control it with the same Apple Remote you use for Macs and other things. It comes standard with most any connection you would want, including HDMI, component video, analog and optical audio ports. Steve Jobs said about the Apple TV that it is “like a DVD player for the 21st century, you connect it to your entertainment system just like a DVD player, but it plays digital content you get from the Internet rather than DVDs you get from a physical store” The Apple TV will be shipping in February in the US for just $299. When it will be available in the Middle East and what the expected price, we don’t know at this point.

iPhone
Without doubt the big news at Macworld was the announcement of the iPhone. When Steve Jobs started talking about three devices, a mobile phone, an iPod, and an internet communication device, but in one physical device, the audience in the Moscone Center seemed to go wild. And certainly those of us that followed it live via IRC and other means also were very excited. At the heart of what is so special about the iPhone is the software and the interface. Everything is controlled by a touch screen that covers almost one entire side of the device. There are no physical keys or stylus, like in most other devices, which makes the iPhone something very new and exciting. It means a more natural interface, and an interface that can be software upgradeable in the future. And the interface is multi-touch meaning you can use more than one finger to control it. For example by moving two fingers closer together or further apart, you zoom in or zoom out. The iPhone will sync with a Mac with iTunes, and other desktop applications such as iCal and Addressbook. It also comes with a full version of Safari which is a first for such a small handheld device. Since the iPhone apparently runs a scaled-down version of OS X, it should be fairly easy for Apple to port applications to it and make them talk to their Mac OS X counterparts. Whether users will be able to install their own software on the iPhone or if it’s restricted is something we don’t know yet. Personally I hope Apple will open it up to third-party developers. For communications the iPhone should have most everything you would want, including GSM, Bluetooth, wifi, and EDGE. EDGE is for data communication over a mobile phone connection and speeds seem to run around 100-150kbps. It’s far from as fast as what’s referred to as 3G mobile phone networks, but there are already speculations that 3G is on its way to iPhone. With all this communication wouldn’t it be cool to be able to purchase stuff from iTunes Store straight from the iPhone? Many questions remain and since Apple still has six months to develop the iPhone before first sales, I’m sure there will be many more announcements before then. Some concerns I have are will the storage be enough since there is no way to expand it via more memory cards or anything, will the screen hold up to constant touching, and what will the battery life be like in everyday use? We’ll see when it makes it to the Middle East, since it will be available in the US in June 2007, in Europe toward the end of 2007 and in Asia in 2008. In Apple’s worldwide organization Apple IMC ME is a part of Apple Europe which then should mean we’d get the iPhone here later this year. But this is of course not at all for sure and at this point I don’t think anyone knows when the iPhone will be available here. No doubt we’ll start to see iPhones here as soon they are out in the US though, so hopefully we can get our hands on one to review it.

Airport Extreme
Last, but by no means least, is the new Airport Extreme Base Station. The big news is that it now supports 802.11n which most recent Macs also do. The new Airport Extreme is up to five times faster than the previous model and it can achieve up to twice the range. Both are important factors for any wireless network users. But when we talk about speed, remember that you will still be restricted by your internet connection’s speed when accessing anything outside your network. Not wanting to settle with 802.11b and g, Apple also throws in 802.11a into the mix, a standard not very widely used but that has definite benefits that will appeal to some users. A really cool new feature is that you can plug in any external USB hard drive to the Airport Extreme and it becomes available to all users on the network. Apple includes the Airport Disk Utility with which you can control what will be shared and who has access to what. This instantly turns almost any hard drive into a NAS (Network Attached Storage) something that you previously had to pay quite a bit extra for when buying a hard drive. It’s easy to imagine that the new Airport Extreme base station is much more important to Apple’s future strategy than we think right now. It’s much faster than the previous Airport Extreme and you can connect a hard drive to it. With those features it’s possible to integrate various devices more closely in our homes, like the Mac, the Apple TV, and indeed the iPhone since it does wifi. My guess we’ve only seen the beginning of what Apple is going to do with the new Airport Extreme.

The final word
Macworld Expo was a bit of an anticlimax in a way for me. I had certainly expected some Mac news, at least iLife 07, an updated Mac mini, and perhaps iWork 07 too, but that was not to be I guess. Looking back that was of course because the news about the iPhone was much bigger than anyone had anticipated and Apple didn’t want to steal thunder from it. But it is after all “Macworld”, not “iPhoneworld”. I think we all forgive Apple for this though and we look forward to some exciting Mac news in the near future.

MJ Visits the Mother Ship part 2 of 3

This amazing tour that I had all day, was given to me by one of the iMen working there, a friend I am in debt to for the rest of my life, and don’t know how to repay him back for what he has done. Misho is his nickname and Apple is his game. This iMan, like no other, has given me a bite out of Apple, and made all my dreams come true. I thank you Misho, and appreciate the effort and time you have given me to see this wonderful place. I felt like a little kid, seeing Disneyland for the very first time in my life, and playing in rides like no other. After riding in a train for an hour from San Francisco to Cupertino, Mountain View area, Misho was their waiting for me in the Applemobile. Yes, his car did have an Apple sticker, if you were wondering. We had never seen each other before, just spoke on the phone, but he knew me immediately when he saw me. Obviously I was wearing Apple gear on me, that’s pretty much how he knew it was me. Then he went along with his mission of abducting me. We drove to The Mother Ship, and talked the whole way about my trip and Apple.

When we reached the Mother Ship, we drove around the surrounding buildings. He showed which is which, but we only got to go into the iGym. Their gym was nice and simple, all the equipments you need to get in shape was available. Plus they had a lot of iMacs on the sides for you to log on and check mail, or browse the net. They also had a slide show on their iMacs that showed pictures of sporting events they had held in the past.

When we were done with that we headed off to the Mother Ship. Misho parked in the underground parking that was designed for the employees. Building five was where we started our journey inside the Mother Ship. I logged in to one of the iMacs in the front desk lobby of the building. I have put my name, company and person I am here to visit. A printed ID was instantly made with an ID number; I took it and walked in. I still have that ID and stuck it on my 17” Powerbook G4. It was amazing, no one was at work for it was a holiday, but security was tight and around the clock. But was Appleholic scared? No way, I had my main man here, an iMan in the flesh. I felt like I could run around like a kid and do anything I want and he would protect me if I got in trouble, it felt so much fun.

We went upstairs and into his Office. We sat down and I started asking so many questions, I had so much to say, yet I was speechless cause I couldn’t believe I was where I was. I still thought it was dream, and told Misho to pinch me. He told me about their work system, and his line of work at Apple, the things he do and how he does them. I told him it must be amazing to work for one of the most innovative companies in the world. But being an iMan for so long, doesn’t seem like it means so much to them as much as it does for us mere mortals.
He told me, Appleholic, yes, Apple is amazing, and their gadgets are so cool and some products are way ahead of their time, and advanced. Being a simple user of Mac as myself, it does sound amazing to work for the most innovative company, but working for the company is whole different ball game. It’s nice, but it’s also tough and time consuming with loads of deadlines, where you really will have to learn and cope with how to work under pressure. Expect anything! The CEO Steve Jobs can walk in any time and say “I need something of this and that sort and with these capabilities on my desk in a short period of time”. So the clock will be ticking and your deadline has to be met or else the consequences could be unpleasant.
He also told me about their work schedule. They start work at 8am, but then their working hours are so flexible as long as you can get your work done. So you can walk in and out pretty much as you please, and that explains how sometimes when Apple fans that tend to sneak around the Mother Ship would see lights on at 10pm, or 11pm or even 12 midnight. They have a 24-hour access to their offices and labs. They want the best results on their products so they have to offer the best facilities. They do pay for some of their food if your working over time at night, they got names of restaurants that would deliver to the building they are working in. They have a large cafeteria that makes almost everything, with slid down projector screens for the employees to watch special keynote presentations presented by Steve Jobs at the special events like Macworld and WWDC. Doesn’t that sound neat? I wish I could attend one of these events in the near future.

They already had a huge Christmas tree in the lobby of building one with iMen being able to donate something by placing gifts under the tree. I have actually seen one of the big shots at Apple while I passed by the Christmas tree; he was chilling with a friend and talking to him. I couldn’t help but stare at him like a weirdo. It was Bertrand one of the VPs if I am not mistaken. He was the iMan that got on stage on WWDC 2006 and showed how Microsoft’s new yet unimpressive operating system Vista is a replica of Tiger. He was funny; he cracked me up that day. Anyways, as we walked all around, I even got the privilege to use the iToilet! How cool is that! Using the iToilet of Apple was a tight experience.

I also reminded Misho that I have an iMan friend that I knew from college. We both graduated together as Electrical Engineers, but he got the opportunity to work as an intern at Apple. When I mentioned his name, Misho knew him immediately and told me where he worked; which was one floor above him. He showed me his cubical and I wrote my college friend a note on a posted and stuck it on his Apple display for him to see when he gets to work on Monday. After spending most of the day at the Mother Ship we gave some time for the surrounding neighbor companies that co-existed with Apple. Silicon Valley was rich with most of the big innovative companies. We visited Intel, and checked out their museum. We visited NVidia and passed by Sony. I saw a lot of companies like Tivo and other big shot companies that have acres of land in that area. Misho then finally took me to huge electronics store in that area. It was like a huge supermarket made just for electronics. How cool is that? We browsed through it very quickly and left. He then dropped me off at the train station at night and said “Mission Accomplished”.

In part three I will finish up my story about the stay in California, and tell you the final chapters of what I did at Apple.

by Mohammed Jawad