speak up

satu lagi bende yang kena banned di UAE ni
adalah Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP)
samada menggunakan Skype, MSN or Yahoo Messenger
all banned and blocked !!!

why ?

as i mentioned earlier..
Etisalat is the only telco.. they own the monopoly
thus.. there is only one option and rate
to call/talk with your families/friends abroad
which.. neither that cheap nor too expensive

but.. if one got other cheaper option
of course one will go for it.. right?
which in this case.. VoIP

jadinya.. once again..
there has been strong rumours and words on the street
that Etisalat and du (the first and second/new telcos)
will allow and introduce such facilities.. soon..

hmm.. sebenarnya..
it was du yang nak allow.. hehe
so.. etisalat pun kena follow the pressure..

well.. until that day arrive..
kalau yahoomessenger dengan aku tu
jangan nak menggatal tanya kenapa tak leh 'Call'
or ajak aku.. 'jom la Skype?'...

hampehhhhhh.... hehehe..

no can do

di UAE ni.. jika kita browsing the internet
dan 'ingin / cuba' untuk ke website tertentu
yang mengandungi bahan-bahan lucah khususnya
yang mengandungi bende-bende yang dilarang
di bawah undang-undang di UAE..
pastinya kita tidak akan dapat ke website tersebut

the authority (through the telco)
will block the net users from viewing such websites
those contained porno, religious issue that is against Islam,
criminal skills, and the like

in short...
if the websites title ada perkataan seperti
sex, nude, lesbians, gays, xxx, hate-islam..
that's it.. i think and hope you got the drill..

contoh lain.. even youtube.com
(only until recently.. or at times..) have been blocked..
kalau/sebab mempunyai unsur-unsur dimaksudkan..

hanya di beberapa area / zones sahaja di UAE
where the internet browsing will be as free..
i.e. free trade zones, Dubai Internet City (rival to our MSC)
Dubai Media City, etc

apapun.. bila sebut pasal blocking ni..
teringat dulu.. Malaysia pun dengarnya ada nak buat kan?
but.. 'optional'... iaitu pengguna 'dinasihatkan'
membeli the software untuk block such websites..
instead of blocking them right from the source (the telcos)

is it still on ?

new and rival

di UAE.. up until recently
there was only ONE telco company
by the name Etisalat

Etisalat provides;
land telephone, mobile phone lines, internet lines
and other telecommunication-related services

however.. now.. UAE has two telcos..
the second company.. goes by the name.. du..
yuppp.. you heard me right... it's du..
jadinya.. sekarang ni..
no more monopoly..
it's now.. etisalat vs. du

dulu.. with etisalat
mobile phone users use only 050
now.. with du
mobile phone users will have 055

however...
du has not yet being 'activated'..
sekarang ni.. (well.. for the past 6 months)
negotiation is in progress between these 2 telcos
and the relevant government agencies
on how and what between these two giants
and du only doing marketing and promo activities

in short..
etisalat ni dah lama in business
so.. of course naturally.. wishes not
to lose up and let go their monopoly and their profit
that easy.. to this new kid on the block..

nevertheless..
for the ordinary consumers.. like myself.
competition between two rivalries
always good (i hope) for us..
vis-a-vis cheaper rates will be made available
and better services will be offered

"competition is always good for the costumers
but not for the companies"

well.. again.. only time will tell
whether history repeats itself

buying frenzy

apa yang hebat sangat Dubai Sale Festival ni?

hmm... well.. to be short..
ada jualan murah
ada macam-macam acara hiburan
ada pelbagai event untuk famili dan umum..

jualan murah time DSF ni..
kalau sesapa yang pernah
ke The Great Singapore Sale in August
ke Boxing Day in UK in December
probably you will get the idea..

in my own word and experience
DSF ni jenis sale.. kalau kita dah nampak
and try satu baju kita berkenan tu
kalau kita letak je balik or tak amik..
surely orang lain ambik dah terus..
hehe.. memang murah.. diskaun till 75 and even 90 per cent..
even branded items.. yang mana kalau kat KL..
only up till 30 per cent je..

events untuk famili dan umum ni pulak
memang pelbagai.. ada fun-fairs.. ada tema itu-ini
ada concerts, ada tarian, ada nyanyian..

enough being said and illustrated..
in short.. there will be SALE and FESTIVAL
in DUBAI only..

meaning.. in Abu Dhabi or Sharjah or other emirates
ada jugak sale.. sempena DSF..
tetapi.. di wilayah lain ni..
they can't call or attach their 'sale' with DSF...
it would only.. be.. just another.. SALE..

ok.. i'm off to the malls...

hehehe...

selling festival

hari ini.. bermulalah.. the infamous
DUBAI SHOPPING FESTIVAL 2007
dari 20 Dec till 4 Feb

well.. sebenarnya.. originally
DSF ni.. hanya sebulan (30 hari) je setahun
iaitu from first weekend in January
till first weekend in February

bagaimanapun.. for 2007..
ianya ditambah jadi 45 days..
dan diawalkan...

sebab?

sebab untuk tahun 2006
DSF yang sepatutnya berlangsung
dari 4th Jan hingga 3rd February
telah dibatalkan...

sebab?

pada 4 Januari 2006 yang lalu
Sheikh Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum
Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE
and the Ruler of Dubai.. telah meninggal dunia..

(Almarhum telah digantikan oleh adik beliau
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum)

jadinya.. tempoh berkabung was 40 days..
jadinya.. segala majlis keraian/hiburan tidak boleh diadakan
termasuklah DSF itu tadi.. termasuklah apa jua events lain..
termasuklah juga any weddings reception..

so.. macammana dengan
tempahan dan persiapaan segala tu?
takde compensation ke?

errr.. sendiri mau ingat dan bayangkan la..

hehe..

come rain come shine

lama gak tak menulis

the reason?
hmm.. i would be lying if i said 'i've been busy..'
hehe..

well... nevertheless
blogspot pun dah ada new features and facilities
so.. here we go..


sekarang ni dah masuk musim sejuk
di kebanyakan negara-negara hemispera utara khususnya
termasuklah juga di UAE..

well.. tidaklah sampai ada snow or salji or salju
but.. cukup dingin dan menggigil la
kalau tak cukup panas pakaian tu..

the temperature already down to 17 - 20 celsius at the moment
malam pula between 12 - 15 celsius.. chilly and windy too..
pendek cerita.. it's a pleasant weather.. compares to summer..

winter season di UAE ni
hotel rates jadi tinggi.. macam-macam event diadakan..
especially outdoor activities
especially between December and January

cumanya.. surprisingly..
since 18 November yang lalu..
banyak betul hujan turun..
almost.. al least twice in a week..
which is.. jarang-jarang berlaku..

(the last rain that Abu Dhabi had was 18 months back)

dan yang paling lama..
was for 2 hours hujan turun
on the 20th November

and since then as well..
kengkadang tu.. terasa macam kat Malaysia lak..
ye la kan.. asyik hujanggggggg je.. hehe..

anyway..
bak kata orang ganu...
'mujo hujang je.. kalu ribuk segala.. baru mung tahu'

alhamdulillah...