Year: 2007

Google Introduces Presentations To Its Online Office Suite

After a long time coming (long in terms of our internet era time) Google has finally launched the third piece in their online office suite: Google Presentations (or Presently as some people are calling it), a presentation product that targets the needs of the audience using Microsoft’s PowerPoint.

Presentations can be imported from existing files or created using the new slide editor. They can be edited, shared, and published using the familiar Google Docs interface, with several collaborators working on a slide deck simultaneously, in real time.

When presenting the slides, participants can simply click a link to follow along as the presenter takes the audience through the slideshow. Participants are also connected through Google Talk and can chat about the presentation as they’re watching, which I found to be a really cool feature.

Personally, I really like its simplicity. It is a stripped down version of a presentations product with only the essential features needed to put together a number of slides, organize your content and then present it; and that’s exactly what I need for my presentations.
All the additional bells and whistles that PowerPoint has, I rarely ever use.

Will this take the place of Microsoft PowerPoint? I don’t know really, maybe not right now, and maybe never for power users, but for people who are connected most of the time they’re at a computer and who need simple basic essential features, I think this is a great option.

Check it out at Google Docs.

Indian Doctor Develops HIV Destroying Enzyme

Great health news from India…

Dr Indrani Sarkar has has every reason to be excited. Her PhD thesis, which started in 2002 at the Max Planck Institute in Dresden, Germany, has thrown open the doors for developing enzymes that can destroy the dreaded Human Immuno-deficiency Virus or HIV within infected cells permanently.

Indrani and a team of scientists have developed an enzyme called Tre. Tre is a custom enzyme capable of detecting, recognising and destroying HIV, much like a pair of molecular scissors.

[Source: IBN]

This is really great news…

It’s a shame though that it might take from 5 to even 20 years for this cure to make it to the clinics and actually be used to cure people suffering from HIV.

Hopefully, things will move on faster than that and rid humanity of HIV/AIDS for good.

Seras-Tu Là ? (Guillaume Musso)

This morning, before going to work, I finished reading “Seras-tu là ?” (Will You Be There?) by French novelist Guillaume Musso.

The idea of the book revolves around an essential question that almost everybody must have asked themselves at some point in their lives: If you had the opportunity to, what would you change in your life? If you had to do it again, what remorse, what regret would you choose to obliterate?

The story follows Elliott, a successful 60 year old surgeon, who lives in San Francisco and whose life is illuminated by his daughter Angie. He would be perfectly happy if only Ilena, the woman he was passionately in love with, hadn’t died thirty years before.
One day, by a strange combination of circumstances, he is brought back to his own past and meets the young ambitious doctor and man he used to be thirty years earlier. Since then, the two Elliotts weirdly face off in a struggle on whether they should mingle with past events and change destiny or not.

The idea of the book is a very interesting one, and I really liked the way the whole story and approach was handled, and how the concept of time travel was integrated into it all.

Thanks to my friend Bilel, who recommended and lent me this book. I too recommend it, it’s a light quick enjoyable read that tells you a nice story but also makes you think about what you’d do if you had the ability to go back in time and change something in your life.

[Amazon.fr: Seras-Tu Là ? (Guillaume Musso) (FR)]
[Amazon.com: Will You Be There? (Guillaume Musso) (EN)]

Fifth Wedding Anniversary

On a day like today, exactly five years ago, I got married to the one girl I ever fell in love with and who actually made me feel like settling down; my one and only Eman.

Before meeting her, I never even thought about marriage; I was very happy on my own, having all the fun in the world; And then, we met, and it just hit me: I want to spend the rest of my life with her.

Now, five great years after our wedding day, I’m even more sure of it; we’ve come a long way, we’ve gone through many events, we’ve accomplished many things, and we now have a handsome one-year old baby boy who, even though naughty, makes this life even more worth living.

To my sweet and lovely wife: “Love” is but a fraction of the feelings I have for you. Thank you for making my life as beautiful and complete as it is today.

Google Offers $10M To Boost Green Transportation Technology

Google.org, Google’s philanthropic arm, has announced that it will offer $10M to start-ups offering the best ideas for advancing “sustainable transportation.”

The company has issued a request for proposals (RFP) from entrepreneurs and for-profit companies for ideas to support the technologies, products and services needed to accelerate plug-in hybrid electric vehicle commercialization while promoting societal and environmental change.

“The severity of global warming requires solutions from NGOs, governments, individuals and (very importantly) the private sector,” the company said in a statement. “While $10 million is a fraction of the total investment needed to transform our transportation sector, we hope this RFP will help catalyze a broader response.”

Google.org has already given away $1 million in grants to a number of nonprofit organizations and now wants to expand its reach into the private sector.

This round of grants is part of Google.org’s RechargeIT initiative, launched in June, to help stop global warming.

[More: RechargeIT RFP, RechargeIT]
[Source: ComputerWorld]

Green Ifriqiya 2007: The First International Environmental Investment Forum

Green Ifriqiya 2007The first International Environmental Investment Forum also dubbed “Green Ifriqiya 2007”, will be held in Tunisia from November 9 to 11, 2007 at the El Kram Exhibition Hall.

The event which is jointly organized by the Tunisian Ministry of the environment and sustainable development, as well as the German Technical Cooperation Agency (GTZ) with the help other regional and international organizations, will be attended by 300 Tunisian and foreign enterprises.

“Green Ifriqiya” aims to stimulate new economic opportunities through green investments, as well as developing technological innovation and cooperation for environmental protection and explore new business opportunities on the African continent based on environmental protection and sustainable development.

It also aims at promoting partnership between European firms and African countries in the field of environmental technologies and natural resources preservation.

Among the targeted areas of activity the forum purports to explore are: natural resources protection and conservation, water management and saving, solid waste management and recycling, renewable energies, bio- agriculture and bio-products, green tourism, environmental information, communication and education application of ICTs in environmental protection.

[More: Tunisian Green Pages (FR)]
[Source: Tunisia Online News]

Zitouna FM – Tunisian Koran Radio Station

Zitouna FMZitouna FM, a new private Tunisian radio station for the Holy Koran was launched today, September 13th 2007, the first day of Ramadan, 1428 of Hegira, broadcasting its programmes non-stop, covering more than 90% of the Tunisian population.

The radio station is based in Carthage, where it will be broadcasting from. Its programmes will be 80% focused on the Holy Book, with you Tunisians reciting the Koran.

The other programmes will be devoted to the Sira of Prophet Mohamed, accounts of the prophets and invocations, in addition to courses in phonetics and Koran psalmody, as part of interactive programmes with the listeners.

The radio station will broadcast continuously the five daily prayers, from the El Abidine Mosque. The “Tarawih” and Friday prayers will also be broadcast from other Tunisian mosques.

Zitouna FM is now Tunisia’s third private radion station, after Mosaique FM and Jawhara FM, it was created by Mr. Mohamed Sakhr Materi, and is headed by Mr. Kamel Omrane, a university professor.

The have quite a good website too at ZitounaFM.net, where you can find the FM frequencies depending on where you are in Tunisia, prayer times, the show schedules, and more information.
You can even listen to the radio station live online: Zitouna FM Live

Musiqat – Traditional and Neo-Traditional Music

affiche_musiqat.jpgOther than the abundance of great food and sweets, Ramadan in Tunisia is also marked by the great music festivals and cultural events that take place after the breaking of fast.

One of these events is Musiqat, a mix of traditional and neo-traditional music by musicians and groups from around the world.

This year’s edition will be taking place from September 19th to October 6th at the Ennejma Ezzahra Palace in Sidi Bou Said.

The event programme is as follows:

19/09 : Zohra Lajnaf : Tunisia : Traditional songs from Gafsa
20/09 : Halil Karaduman : Turkey : Instrumental Turkish Music
21/09 : M

Ramadan Mabrouk

Ramadan starts tomorrow in Tunisia, and in most Arab & Muslim countries as well.

It’s a month of fasting, praying, reading the Koran and worship for some people; and a month of eating, sleeping, watching TV, and eating some more for others.

So to everyone, no matter what this month ahead means to them exactly, I’d like to wish you a blessed Ramadan; and may it be a happy and great month for you all.

I’ll be fasting as usual, and again I’ll be trying to start and stick to praying, hoping that this time it will work.

Take it easy on the food and TV everyone.