Arabic Video Tutorial for Adobe Photoshop

I had been contemplating for a while blogging with videos when my dear friend Ziad Aly talked me into considering putting together some YouTube webisodes for people to make use of. There are many advantages to talking about design and technology through a series of episodes on YouTube:

• Easier to portray information: It’s easier to share step-by-step tutorials with videos. Not to mention that it has become more effective (fewer people are willing to read articles)
• More exposure: Videos are much more likely to go viral than articles
• The Arabs on the Web: Which is by far the most important aspect. While there are more and more Arabs online, very few take part in providing content. In fact, most tutorials and resources are in English, making it difficult for Arabs who aren’t comfortable with the language. It would be great to help place the Arabs on the Web 2.0 map, and facilitate the exchange of information between them

A quick search through YouTube got me to Ana 3rby’s channel (an Egyptian as well). He has a very informative series on learning to use Photoshop. This is the first video:

I personally think it’s a great initiative, and hope to be able to partake in the near future.

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My Disastrous Experience with GigeVPS (formerly Host Latch)

I think it’s my duty as part of the open-source community to share the nightmare that was GigeVPS.

I first came across Host Latch and was impressed with their low prices and advanced features, which is why I thought I should sign up. In the first few weeks, there were problems every once in a while, but it wasn’t catastrophic.

One day, I receive an email saying that they’ve been acquired by GigeVPS. Subsequently, my server was down and I had to update the configuration so that everything worked on the new IPs.

In a period of just under 3 months, the server was down at least 5 or 6 times. Every time that would happen, I would find out by chance (never notified), and it had always been GigeVPS’s fault. Their response was that either the server was about to restart automatically (which is hard to believe), or that everything’s fine (I would always restart the server myself).

Overall, the service was poor and the VPS was unstable and causing constant issues.

I didn’t get around to setting up an automated backup system with my Amazon S3 subscription because I was too preoccupied with trying to get the mail server working properly (which, by the way, is an almost impossibility with GigeVPS’s Kloxo control panel). Just as I was about to work on that, disaster struck.

I paid my invoices on time every month (due by the 13th). This time though, it slipped my mind. On the 14th (a few hours after the payment deadline) my server was down and none of the websites were working.

I logged on to the billing control panel, and found that my VPS wasn’t there, and my latest invoice was canceled. There was no way for me to access or restart the server, and I couldn’t even pay the invoice if I wanted to.

I opened a support ticket showing extreme urgency, and literally got an answer a few hours later with “We’re looking into this and will let you know”. It went back and forth for 9 hours before I was told that the VPS was removed because I hadn’t paid.

At first I could fathom that the entire VPS was terminated because I was a few hours late. I keep adding longer and longer updates to the ticket with no answer.

It turns out that, a few hours after my invoice was due, everything was erased. They completely removed the VPS and everything was gone. I couldn’t pay the invoice, restore data, access any part of the server – nothing.

After getting over the shock, I asked them to have the manager call me. It literally took about a day to get any sort of response, and it was of no use whatsoever. All I got was “You didn’t pay your invoice on time, so your account has been terminated. We’re sorry for the inconvenience. We can offer you a 50% discount on the first month of a new VPS.”

Needless to say, I was completely furious. They had erased everything without the slightest of warnings only a few hours after the deadline. And all they had to say, after torturing me with endless hours of delays in response and completely inadequate tones and attitudes, is that they can give me a 50% discount for the first month of a new VPS.

After another day waiting impatiently for them to call, and updating the ticket every half hour, I get a call from a young man who seems to be handling the entire business on his own.

He refused to apologize, and would not even recognize that they have committed a serious error. All he said was that they “might’ve been a little too fast terminating the account after the invoice was overdue”. I clarified the following points to him:

• I’ve always paid my invoice on time
• This is the first time I was late, and it had only been a few hours
• I didn’t receive any warning whatsoever
• I couldn’t even pay the invoice on the 14th – it was immediately canceled
• Everything was erased with no backup
• They would not recognize the error
• All they could do to make up is to offer a lame 50% discount on the first month of a new VPS

It has been an absolute nightmare. Whatever you do, DO NOT sign up for GigeVPS, you will certainly regret it.

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Open Egypt: Free XHTML & CSS design template for download

The Open Egypt HTML/CSS theme

When you’re freelancing, you don’t have a supervisor or manager to tell you how good or bad of a job you’ve done with your work. So many-a-times, you’re left in a bit of an imaginary self-critique that makes you feel like a superstar.

After throwing in a reasonable chunk of creative wit in a design for one of my clients, I was surprised to see them reject it. Even though almost everyone I spoke with was very impressed (albeit partially to help me feel better), the client thought it wasn’t top notch.

For that reason, Idecided to invest many hours converting the design into XHTML & CSS (and much more to make it compatible with Internet Explorer) for everyone to use. I feel proud to contribute something to the beautiful open-source community.

I’ve tried my best to make it clean and future-proof, so you shouldn’t have any problems digging into the code and make your alterations.

This could be ideal for converting into a CMS theme (like WordPress).

Features

• Built on the 960 Grid System: Therefore fully compatible and very easily changed for your needs
• Lightweight: Besides the three sample images used for the slideshow (you can place your own light-weight versions), all files amount to about 300kb
• Cufon font: Has a unique look with a non-system font
• jQuery Nivo slideshow: One of the coolest slideshows I’ve come across
• Social Media integration: Easy to add social media profiles and facilitate content going viral
• Sidebar UL CMS/widget-ready: Used ULs and LIs for the content of the sidebar which makes it easy to integrate with CMSs and any web applications using widgets

Preview the Wild Egypt theme | Download the Wild Egypt theme

Content

• index.php
• js files: For cufon and the jQuery stuff
• images: Placeholders and social network icons
• css: 960 GS and the main one

You can use it in anyway you want, and link backs are highly appreciated, but certainly not mandatory.

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Interesting illustration of how motivation works

The design aspect of this video is so impressive, it’s almost over-whelming. Make sure you focus on the actual message as well, and not just get carried away with the cool hand-drawn graphics

I’d like to see where we can go from here. One thing’s for sure, and it’s that the open-source movement is a win-win situation for everyone, so it’s time we all got on board.

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GeekFest Cairo 1.0

The reason why the web is the ideal tool to give power to the people, is because it allows us all to connect with each other directly across space and time, sharing knowledge and experiences. That is why the web should always act as a mean to an end that will benefit us all, and it is events like this weekend’s GeekFest in Cairo that allow us to take interaction and engagement to the next level.

Cairo’s version of the GeekFest is a Creative Commons event that brings techies of all sorts together to learn from each other and share ideas. Whether you’re interested in tapping in on the twitter community in Cairo, learning about start-ups, open-source, expression via the web and new media, or anything related to our beautiful information super highway, stop by the GeekFest at the Sawy Cultural Wheel in Zamalek.

Event Details

Saturday, May 29, 2010
4:00pm – 9:00pm
Al-Sawy Culture Wheel
26 July St, Zamalek

More details at the Facebook Event page. You can also check out Maggie Osama‘s blog post.

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My Failed Attempt to use a Skype Phone in Egypt

I took a bit of a risk when I saw how easy it was to order a Skype phone from their official online store and have it ‘delivered to my door’ in Cairo, Egypt.

Little did I know that there’s much more involved than entering my credit card details and clicking a button or two.

Skype logo

They say it’s not only about having a good product, it’s just as important to make it extremely easy and comforting for customers to purchase. I’ve had my eyes peeled for a Skype phone before I moved to Paris for a few months last year. It’s the logical choice, given that I’m frequently on the move, and want to be able to stay in touch with people worldwide at low prices.

I had written a blog post about the Skype -- Vonage rivalry, with the latter having the edge, mainly due to its simple plug-and-play, computer-independent setup. However, now that Skype phones are more affordable and widely available, it’s cheaper and much easier to use the cross-platform Web 2.0 application for long distance calls. Some of the advantages of a Skype phone include:

• Free calls to all Skype contacts, something Vonage does not offer
• Plug an ethernet cable into the phone (or connect wirelessly via some models). No need for a computer, just a constant internet connection
• Enjoy much more competitive packages, suitable for all needs
• Easy to carry around with you and plug into any internet connection

Egypt isn’t considered one of the ‘internet shipping’ friendly countries. Some services, such as Aramex, provide a US postal address so that Egyptians can purchase from the likes of Amazon and have it delivered to the US. The 3rd party postal provider would then charge them for bringing the packages to their doorstep. It is both expensive and time-consuming, but the best option out there nonetheless. Rumor has it you’re less likely to come up against any trouble with customs via Aramex.

After following my instinct and burning LE1,000 on Skype’s website for a Dual Phone, I quickly regretted it. I’d never ordered something from Egypt to be delivered to my door. And after three weeks and no show, it was clear that it was not a simple walk in the park.

Indeed, about a month after ordering, I get a handwritten envelope and a printed letter saying that my package was there and that I needed to go pick it up. Skimming the letter quickly, I fooled myself, albeit momentarily, into thinking that all I needed to do was stop by the local post office (the guys there are pretty chill -- we go way back) and pick up my VOIP phone and talk away.

Yeah…..about that. It turns out my package is held by customs and requires ‘experts’ inspection’, followed by an evaluation of the price (the actual price, which was included in the package, obviously, is no document the authorities go by) which I’ll pay and leave.

So I take the subway and get off at Ramses sq, and make my way to a huge communist block known as the Central Post Office. Funny enough, the entrance was hidden. The entire area is an architectural disaster, but with experience, you can find your way around things.

I went up to the 4th floor, where packages are received, and got to an enormous storage area with government employees scattered all over. After asking 4 or 5 people, I reached my destination where I gave them the form I received, and they gave me the catalog (pulled out of my package), and an official letter. I was told I need to hike to the other side of town and pay a visit to the official ‘Technology Management’ office where they can give the go-ahead for the phone to enter the country. After my 2nd question, the lady at the desk made it clear that she did not see it as part of her responsibilities to answer my queries, and that I should move on.

I took a cab through prime time traffic with a handful of papers and eventually made it to a modern, air-conditioned office where I wasted 10 minutes filling out a form before meeting the guy with the authority to sign my original form. He was on the his cell phone and wouldn’t even hang up, “This isn’t going to enter. I’m not going to let this through. That’s final”, and then he continued with his phone call.

Needless to say, I tried everything possible and could not get him to give me permission to let the Skype phone into Egypt.

As it turns out, any VOIP machine, of any sort, is completely forbidden from entering the Arab Republic of Egypt. That is mainly due to Telecom Egypt wanting to openly monopolize on all of the international calls made form within the country, but much more importantly, it allows the government to be able to track all of the calls made, and to review the log if there’s suspicion of any sort. They are so strict about it, that you can’t even bribe your way through it. True story.

I got back home and told my mother about it, which is an indirect way of asking for the highest connections that can do us a favor or two. We finally got to the assistant to the minister of technology, who said he’ll try his best. He came back saying that he couldn’t do anything, and that there’s absolutely no way around it.

We’re in the process of trying to get it somehow, but it looks like I’ll have them reject the package and return it, and hopefully get an almost full refund.

Bottomline is this: buy yourself a Skype phone from abroad, and smuggle into Egypt so that you can make all the calls you want for close to nothing. This old-fashioned government is trying to use outdated techniques to control the people. But as we all know, they will inevitably fail. The web, with all its protocols, is power to the people, and no authority is big enough to contain it, nor control it. We have the saying, and we decide what to bring up, and what to demolish.

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Manage Your Freelance Projects with ProjectPier

Starting off your web design freelancing career might not require advanced tools and applications, but you’ll soon realize that’s organization is key. Thankfully, many entities have reached that same conclusion, and therefore there are numerous tools on the table for you to make your pick.

Project management tools help freelancers and agencies collaborate and organize tasks between the different members to meet milestones and sign-off projects with their clients. It might seem like a bit of a luxury to have at the beginning, until the 3rd or 4th client gets angry due to late work and brands you unprofessional. That’s when it becomes the kind of tool you simply cannot live without.

A quick Google search will inevitably lead you to 37 Signals’ hot shot, Base Camp. It is by the far the most popular project management and collaboration application in the market. Its fame is not unfounded; Base Camp’s sleek interface makes it a breeze to create milestones, assign tasks, share files and more. The main problem is that Base Camp’s value is a function of its add-ons – from billing, invoicing and financing, to time-tracking and aiding widgets, it’s a growing list. In theory, the concept behind plugins is genius, but when you consider how much you have to pay for Base Camp alone, and then the individual add-ons that make it sufficiently comprehensive, the package becomes rather hefty. Realistically, you’re looking at about $50 a month, which will only rise as you gain more clients and projects.

Even if you find Base Camp the ideal solution, chances are it doesn’t need to be your starting point. Enter ProjectPier, the “free, open-source, self-hosted PHP application for managing tasks, projects and teams.”

With ProjectPier, you can add client companies (with members), projects, milestones, task lists and tasks. Together, these features qualify it as a reliable project management system. Moreover, you can share files, start forum-like messages, and collaborate with co-workers and clients.

ProjectPier message details

What makes ProjectPier special is that it’s free and open-source, meaning with updates, it can only get better and offer more powerful functionality. On top of that, it is hosted on your own server, which gives you complete control (and privacy). The installation process is a straight-forward one, with your standard shared hosting supporting PHP and a MySQL database doing just fine. I’ve personally installed it at http://manage.tarekshalaby.com

ProjectPier with a nicer theme

Don’t be pushed away with its 90s Geocities-style interface – thankfully there are alternative themes. I personally prefer the Zura Blue Steel (shown here). You might also notice its email notifications’ feature is not complete, and there’s no way to view all of the upcoming milestones in a traditional calendar, but it is still the number one choice in my book.

The part I like most about ProjectPier, is that my clients actually find it very user-friendly and easy to use. It doesn’t take me the standard ‘technical courses’ to get the clients to add files to it, check out and comment those that I post, and follow up on the tasks as they are being completed. A must-have for any freelance web designer/developer, and I would go as far as saying the same to agencies and small to medium companies in the field.

NOTE: Credit to Omar Mohamed from Hadaye Helwan, Egypt for hand-picking ProjectPier when we were looking for a project management tool for our startup touringa (which is my next post’s topic – stay tuned!).

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No More, thanks to KnowMore.org

When non-profit organizations and foundations made the realization that, despite their limited budget and resources, they could reach their target audience effectively (all thanks to the web), their objectives suddenly became much more attainable. Carrying out the tasks of a given development program might be costly, but at least spreading awareness of the issue, and reaching out to volunteers and doners, has become significantly easier.

KnowMore.org is a community-driven wiki that aims at aggregating corporations and entities to a publicly-accessible database to raise awareness about human-rights violations. It does so by researching and finding the companies and multi-nationals that are responsible for “attacks on democracy, worker’s and human rights, fair trade, business ethics and the environment.” It’s a brilliant initiative that brings valuable information in a centralized location for everyone to benefit from.

Not only is KnowMore.org impressive because of the initiative and online presence, but also  because of the way in which they’ve exploited the web (no pun intended). First of all, the look and feel of the website puts it way ahead of the rest (including many corporate websites). Secondly, the fact that it’s very easy to use (spin off from the widespread Wikipedia) inevitably encourages anyone with interest in the field to take part and add to the extensive database.

That’s not all. They’ve actually taken it to the next level by offering a Firefox add-on called KnowMore Extension. What this does is bring up a notification underneath the toolbar of Firefox whenever you are visiting a website of a company that has violated human rights one way or the other. And in order to avoid being what opposition would rush to claim generic, or over-generalizing, they actually indicate the exact rights that have been violated, as well as providing the link to learn more about the illegal activities of that particular company.

KnowMore.org notification bar

It’s like having the community do all of the work for you while you’re browsing.

There are many organizations and non profit entities out there that are striving to make this world a better place. KnowMore.org is like many of them in principle, but far more effective in practice. That is because they have managed to reduce their costs by making the entire platform online, engaged with visitors via the attractive interface and the easy, familiar wiki system, and reached out to many more via the effective Firefox plugin.

If you are part of an NGO or a social development initiative, then the standards set by KnowMore.org should be your immediate goal. That is partly why our beautiful web is power to the people.

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When Old School Propaganda Fails To Be As Effective

As brutal and corrupt as many governments can be nowadays, some are oblivious to the fact that the Web empowers the people beyond control. Dictators like Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe, Teodoro Obiang of Equatorial Guinea, and Hosny Mubarak of Egypt might like to think that they rule with an iron fist that is virtually impossible to dismantle. While that is certainly close to the truth, little do they know that their technological incompetence and their underestimation of the power of the web is a potentially serious threat.

Egypt, for example, has opened up the press freedom over the past decade, which has encouraged a number of independent newspapers to take the stage. That, along with the exponential technological advancements that the world as a whole has experienced, has left the government thinking that perhaps it has bitten off more than it can chew. In the 80s, the three main papers were all governmental, and any story shared between the three, regardless of it authenticity, become true to the masses. Not only that, but propaganda posters and cartoons were highly effective.

Now the times are-a-changing.

After the horrific sectarian clashes in the south of Egypt, the entire Egyptian blogosphere was talking. Twitter was on fire. Facebook was flooded. And the blogs discussing the issue were scattered all over. That is when Al Ahram, Egypt’s main government-run newspaper, decided to weather the storm. Besides the fact that their website, when it actually works, looks like cow manure reshaped to fit within a computer screen, their approach was older than the president himself:

The ridiculous propaganda cartoon by Al Ahram

The “illustration”, which seems to have been scribbled and slapped together by a six year-old with mental illness, depicts the happy Egyptians together celebrating peace and prosperity. A Muslim coming out of a minaret shouts out simultaneously with his Christian counterpart standing on a church tower, “our shared enemy is the devil.” If that’s not enough, the “doves” in between are carrying hearts back and forth to imply unconditional love exchanged by all the peoples. The worst part of it all is that it’s not a joke – Al Ahram genuinely thought they would indirectly fool the crowds into believing that the all is well at the land of the Pyramids.

20 years ago, the cartoon could’ve stood a chance. Now, it could only make matters worse. The main reason being that with access to unlimited and uncensored information between the different people across space and time, old school propaganda has become ineffective. People no longer fall for the idealizing images of brutal dictators, nor photographs of happy citizens enjoying life. Not only does it need to be far more sophisticated, it also needs to be significantly more convincing. After all, there’s a lot of competition, and the web is anyone’s to create and share.

Dictators with over a quarter of a century under their belt might feel safe, but few have hopped on the fast-track trail of the internet and are therefore are not in as much control as they would like to think. For that reason, along with education, health care and infrastructure, internet access should be one of the aspects in the developement of over-exploited nations. Since effective communication is key to any change, the web is absolutely crucial in connecting the people and giving them the power they need to gain equality and justice.

The web has been, and will always be, power to the people – nothing can take that away from it.

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Web Developing on Mac OS X with Panic’s Coda

Out of Adobe’s undisputed Fab Four on any web designer’s desktop (Photoshop, Illustrator, Flash and Dreamweaver), the one specifically for HTML and CSS is probably the most threatened. Indeed, replacing any of the first three is almost an impossibility (see my post on GIMP’s attempt to overthrow Photoshop). Finding an alternative to Dreamweaver, however, has become more of a reality.

And why not? After all, when you’re cutting up the design, laying out the XHTML, and writing up the CSS on your framework of choice (see my reviews on the 960 GS, Blueprint CSS, or 1kb CSS Grid), you don’t need an application for rocket science. The main reason why many designers stick to Dreamweaver, as oppose to opting for any of the open-source alternatives, is because a) it tags along other essential Adobe products in a Creative Suite, and b) it boasts some neat features. However, it remains an over-priced product for a relatively simple task.

Panic Coda

In comes Coda: a web development application that brings everything you need in a single window (Mac OS X window, that is). Firstly, at $99, it’s not the priciest of applications, given that you develop websites professionally. More importantly however, it packs some top-notch features:

• Subversion integration that allows you to synchronize your files
• An emotionally touching FTP client built into the sidebar. Browse a remote server, click on the file you choose to edit, and save to instantly update the remote file. No need to use a separate FTP client, a text-editor, or endless hours
• Live collaboration. That’s right! Who would’ve thought that you’d be able to work on the same code with someone else at the same time (granted the other person bought his or her own copy of Coda)
• Live preview that is built into the application, but is actually using Safari. Unlike Dreamweaver, you are viewing the page in a full browser, but without actually changing windows
• Built-in terminal if you ever need (doesn’t get in the way if you don’t)

The most important aspect is that it’s sleek. The interface makes you feel very comfortable as you’re creating color-coded magic. Doing everything locally is a breeze, and then editing remotely on the fly saves a lot more time than running around your FTP client and temporary text editor. Its performance is also more impressive than its Adobe counterpart.

FTP on the left sidebar, colored code in main area

The biggest disadvantage must be in its price tag. Even if it is cheaper than Dreamweaver, thus making it the clear winner, it is still $100 more expensive than the second best open-source option. When the likes of Aptana Studio learn from Panic’s baby and step up their game, then no one will have to pay anything to live a proper web development experience. Until then, we’ll take the money out of our savings. My condolences to Adobe Dreamweaver, you were great, but now it’s time to move on.

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