14
Nov
Posted by techlahore in Cyber Security, Law and Policy, Living in Pakistan, Politics and Society. Tagged: agosta, babur, cruise missiles, cyber warfare, Donald Rumsfeld, EMP, ghauri, india pakistan cyber war, IRaq WMD, john arquilla, nuclear war, pakistan missile program, pakistan nuclear program, pakistan vs. india, Rumsfeld, shaheen, US cyber attack, US in Afghanistan, US in Iraq, US in south asia, war in south asia, wired magazine. 4 Comments

Pakistan has developed the Babur road, sea and submarine mobile nuclear cruise missile. Mr. Arquilla's hypothesis assumes all these assets are centrally controlled and would go offline in the event of a cyber attack. Faulty assumption.
John Arquilla, writing for Wired magazine in its November 2009 issue, argues for a US cyber attack on Pakistan and India in the event that the US determines the two countries are heading towards a confrontation. The method of attack outlined by Mr. Arquilla involves US cyber warfare units ‘taking out’ command and control networks on both sides.
In its arrogance and almost stereotypical inability to comprehend the competence and capabilities of other nations, this preposterous notion advocated by Mr. Arquilla made me laugh out loud. And awkwardly so, since I was on a plane when I first read this story. In addition to contributing poppycock in print, Mr. Arquilla also becomes guilty of the pain I felt in my sides once I was done ROTFL‘ing! But truthfully, one would expect nothing less of an advisor to Mr. Rumsfeld, a man who will be remembered in due course as the worst SecDef the United States has ever had. Continue reading
10
Nov
Posted by techlahore in Hardware Industry, Product Design, innovation. Tagged: Amazon, amazon kindle, apple tablet, barnes and noble, bn.com, Boeye, digital paper, DRM, e-books, e-paper, ebooks, Kindle, Kindle 2, kindle clone, Kindle DX, nook, PDF. 4 Comments

Kindle clone. Even better than the real thing... child (apologies to U2)
I’ve been holding back. I told you about the Apple Tablet clone a couple of days ago, but now I’ll come clean with the whole story. Boeye doesn’t just do Apple Tablet clones… they also do Amazon Kindle clones! Both the DX and the Kindle 2. I tried both of them at GITEX in Dubai, and not unlike my reaction when I played with their Apple Tablet clone, I was pretty impressed.
The screen is exactly the same as a regular Kindle with an e-paper display. No reflections, no backlight and very easy on the eyes. The build quality, once again, was stellar. The controls are pretty much laid out as they are with the Kindle. Boeye does both the larger form factor DX clone and the smaller Kindle 2.
So, why would anyone want the clone in stead of the real thing, you might ask. Well, for one, the Boeye device is supposedly available for $190. Secondly, there is no DRM (Digital Rights Management) or copy protection on this device. After all, on such a true-to-life clone, DRM would be sort of ironic! Continue reading
8
Nov
Posted by techlahore in Hardware Industry, Product Design, SW Industry, innovation. Tagged: amazon kindle, android, Android devices, apple tablet, Boeye, capacitive touch, dubai, e-reader, GITEX, GITEX 2009, GITEX Dubai, Kindle, mac os x, MID 700. 24 Comments

The Boeye in TechLahore's hands. Apple Tablet clone or worthy rival?
It’s been a couple of weeks since I’ve been able to post much here. One of the reasons why – perhaps even the most pleasant one – was that I was away at GITEX in Dubai. GITEX has grown to be one of the largest tech shows on the planet, with attendees and exhibitors from all corners of the earth turning up to showcase their wares. Some of it is mundane, much as with any large tech show. For example, the 5,437 different kinds of USB disk-on-keys. But much of it is quite eye-opening. I’ll be focusing mostly on the latter with a series of GITEX updates.
I’ve been talking about the Apple Tablet with some anticipation. I think it could potentially extinguish the Kindle and un-hook the nook. With a colour screen, a broad range of applications, excellent e-reader support and integration with iTunes – soon to be tranformed into a bookstore too - it would be a worthy challenger and an excellent device to carry around on short trips. Continue reading
25
Oct
Posted by techlahore in Economy, Living in Pakistan, SW Industry, Telecom. Tagged: GITEX, ITCN, Lahore IT show, Lahore software, pakistan software, Pakistan software industry, pakistan software show, PASHA, PSEB, regional it show, regional telecom show. Leave a Comment

Lahore's hotels, including the Pearl Continental shown here, will welcome visitors to the IT and Telecom show in November
I just got back from GITEX Dubai a few days ago and still have to share my views on that show with you. I saw plenty of interesting stuff, so I do intend to do a couple of posts on that topic…
But, to tide us over in the meanwhile, here’s some good news about Lahore hosting a regional IT and Telecom show. The event will be held on the 17th and 18th of November and features executive presentations by local and international executives.
Here’s more from TradingMarkets.com: Continue reading
14
Oct
Posted by techlahore in Media and Animation, Product Design, SW Industry, innovation. 13 Comments

Awesome graphics and an unprecedented level of sophistication are hallmarks of Mindstorm Studios Cricket Revolution
Lahore-based Mindstorm Studios have been working on this project for a while now… but the wait is finally over! Mindstorm Cricket Revolution is OUT (no pun intended). As will be amply evident from all the screenshots I’m posting here, the game looks absolutely amazing. There is great attention to detail, a rich team selection, multi-player mode, realistic action and a variety of controls to make gameplay incredibly interesting.
The potential for this game is massive… Cricket is the world’s second most popular sport with over 2 billion fans and watchers internationally. And the numbers are growing. In fact, China is becoming increasingly serious about developing an international quality cricket team and has been seeking Pakistan’s assistance to train its local talent. None other than Pakistan’s legendary batsman, the indomitable Javed Miandad, has been appointed as the Chinese governments’ advisor for Cricket. With China’s inclusion in the world’s cricketing nations, Cricket would rival Soccer as the most loved sport on earth. So, with that sort of market, Mindstorm Studios really have a behemoth of an opportunity looking them square in the eye. We certainly hope they are able to capitalize on it. Continue reading
7
Oct
Posted by techlahore in Hardware Industry, Product Design, innovation. Tagged: amazon kindle, Amazon.com, apple, apple tablet, barnes and noble, Borders, Color Kindle, Colour Kindle, digital reader, ebooks, email on the iphone, ereader, iphone, iphone email, iphone os, Kindle, mac os x, plastic logic, steve jobs. 4 Comments

The Apple Tablet - I'll buy it! (Image courtesy Gizmodo.com)
Generally speaking, I don’t like Apple. I’ve made that pretty clear. That said, there is one Apple product I am interested in. And yes, if they come out with it soon enough, I’ll buy it. If you haven’t guessed already, that product is the yet-unnamed Apple Tablet.
True, the Apple Tablet has been a famed beast of legend for over a year now. Much has been written about it, but little has been seen. Stories emerged recently that Apple may have actually built prototypes of tablets as far back as 2003, only to kill the project when it became clear the alphas didn’t work well. It was around this time that Steve Jobs’ gave us his, “We don’t know how to make a $500 computer that’s not a piece of junk”, spiel. Continue reading
3
Oct
Posted by techlahore in Living in Pakistan, Politics and Society, innovation. Tagged: alchemy technologies, Amir Husain, CIO Magazine, CIO Pakistan, in the line of wire, ITlow, Jehanara, LUMS, P@SHA, Pakistan Association of Software Houses, PASHA, umair saif, vdiworks. 4 Comments

PASHA's Jehanara deserves a lot of praise for her efforts
Jehanara is not unknown to anyone familiar with the Pakistani IT scene. She has laboured and toiled for years to promote IT in Pakistan, in both her official capacity as the President of the Pakistan Association of Software Houses (P@SHA) as well as in her individual capacity as blogger, journalist and interviewer.
One of her most recent endeavours, the ITLoW project, or “In the Line of Wire”, is fast becoming a wonderful resource for entrepreneurs, students and technologists in Pakistan. I particularly enjoy her interviews focused on promoting entrepreneurship in Pakistan. Here’s a selection of some interesting interviews: Continue reading
23
Sep
Posted by techlahore in Economy, Education, Infrastructure, Law and Policy, Politics and Society, innovation. 12 Comments

A futuristic classroom at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology. KAUST is becoming a jealousy magnet.
TechCrunch just published a piece about the inauguration of the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology(KAUST). This institution is absolutely marvelous by all accounts. Not only does it have a $10BN endowment, one of the largest of any institution in the Islamic world, it also has state of the art facilities, ranging from the world’s 15th most powerful supercomputer (Shaheen), to a nano tech fabrication lab and the world’s highest resolution immersive visualization display. And these wonders are just the beginning. A lot more lies in wait for students and researchers. Shaheen, for example, will continue to be upgraded and will climb the world supercomputer rankings rapidly. Last but not least, the campus itself, built on 30 sq km, is beautiful.
So, when TechCrunch sent a correspondent to cover the launch of the University and King Abdullah’s inaugural address, I expected that the event would attract the right sort of attention; folks interested in education, and happy to see progress and development. Unfortunately, the reactions on TechCrunch have been largely ugly, to say the least. Continue reading
18
Sep
Posted by techlahore in Product Design, SW Industry, innovation. Tagged: Cloud computing, dual monitor, microsoft cloud, microsoft live, microsoft office, octo monitor, office 10, office live, online applications, quad monitor, web based applications. 3 Comments

Wanna use Microsoft Office on the web? Ok. But you can only use half your screen to see the stuff you care about. The other half will be eaten up by our GINORMOUS new menu.
Microsoft’s been talking about their plans to release a web version of Office for a while now. They obviously weren’t too hot on the concept of browser enabling one of their core revenue earners because it could potentially de-link Office from Windows on stock x86 machines. But, ultimately, it became clear that the only choice they had was either to cede the web based productivity app market to the likes of Zoho and Google, or to wet their toes and see how things shape out.
Of course, they still aren’t quite web enabling Office in earnest; there are enough serious limitations that, frankly, you would want to continue using the desktop version for pretty much everything other than viewing documents. But that’s to be expected. Microsoft is taking the position that Cloud based offerings are extensions to the desktop app, not a replacement for it. Something to be said for that…
But here’s the thing that gets to me. And yes, I will confess it may sound like wee little trifling of an issue in contrast to all the Cloud “strategery” we just walked through. Yet, it’s bugging me enough to want to point it out. So here I go… Continue reading
13
Sep
Posted by techlahore in Hardware Industry, Product Design, SW Industry. Tagged: apple computer, apple in pakistan, build a hackintosh, case modding, case mods, cupertino, hackint0sh, hackintosh, mac, mac os x, macintosh. 9 Comments

Lifehacker and other websites have plenty of tutorials on how to concoct a better-than-Mac clone
I’m just not going to buy a bloomin’ Macintosh. That would be against every fibre of my being. I’ve railed and ranted about the deeply philosophical issues I have with Apple, so I don’t want to make this another flame. Let’s just say that TechLahore ain’t no black polo neck wearin’ hippie. Now that we’re five sentences into this post, many of you probably can’t help but wonder why the heck I would want a Mac clone if I feel so strongly about the Cult of Cupertino… and that would be a fair question.
Unfortunately, I need access to a Mac because of some of the development projects I’m involved with. I’d like to be able to run Mac apps in their native environment. And that’s pretty much the only reason I’m even embarking on this project. Yes. To set the record straight, no time soon will you find me attempting to draw pretty pictures with Mac Paint or whatever the hell they call it these days, or move my mouse across the dock gleefully as icons expand and contract proclaiming, “Ooooo… dancing colour picture. Me like!”.
In short: I’m too manly for a Mac. Too manly for a Mac, don’t care if it’s in blaaaaack [to be sung to the tune of Right Said Fred's famous anthem from the '90s] Continue reading
Recent Comments