Apr 23, 2007

Waleed Mohammed Shaalan

Thousands of Virginia Tech students and faculty filled the center of campus Monday to pay solemn tribute to the victims of last week's massacre -- pausing for two moments of silence for the 32 people slain by a student gunman.


Waleed Mohammed Shaalan
Doctoral student, 32



A doctoral student in civil engineering, Shaalan was from Zagazig, Egypt. He left behind his wife and 1-year-old to come to the U.S. to study civil engineering, following in his father's footsteps, the New York Times reported.
Randy Dymond, a civil engineering professor at Virginia Tech, told the Times that Shaalan had saved the life of a fellow graduate student during the shooting; Cho noticed the student, who was playing dead beside a badly wounded Shaalan, but before Cho could shoot the student, Shaalan distracted him and was shot a second time.

Sky News:
A survivor of the Virginia Tech massacre has been describing how a colleague died to protect others.
Although badly injured, graduate student Waleed Shalaan distracted gunman Cho Seung-Hui to save another person from his bullets.


The surviving student, who wishes to remain anonymous, told of Waleed's heroics through an email to his supervisor.
He describes how he was left uninjured after Cho's initial round of shots.
Meanwhile, Waleed had been wounded but was still alive.
However, when Cho later returned to the classroom to inspect for signs of life among his victims, the surviving student struggled to remain calm.
He believes he would have been shot dead were it not for Waleed's "protective movement" that distracted the gunman.

Cho turned and shot Waleed for a second time, killing him, before leaving the classroom.
Randy Dymond, a civil engineering professor, has said the student asked to him to tell the tale "so that the family of Waleed understands the sacrifice."
Shaalan's mother broke down when she heard Mr Dymond's account.
"He was trying to save someone else," she said repeatedly.
Dymond said Shaalan's body was taken to a Blacksburg mosque so classmates, teachers and friends could say goodbye before he was sent to Egypt for burial.

I hardly hold my tears when I'm imagining this. I'm sure you are among Shudaa'... And I'm sure god will support and help your family, and your son is going to grow up, knowing that his father died protecting others...

This reminds me of all those who died protecting others, not just nowadays... But nothing will stop, life will keep going on and on.... we might remember them tomorrow, but who knows what will happen next! May this simple post be in memorial of those who died and still die every day, everywhere, not just in VA tech, but also in Palestine, Sheshan, Darfur, and many other places...

Let's ask god for mercy!

Please consider making a donation to Waleed's family.
Go to:
http://www.msanational.org/finance/vt07donate.html

Apr 18, 2007

What Famous Leader Am I?

Responding to Myra's Tag...
:-) I'm not sure if that means I have a good impression on girls ;-)...

Apr 12, 2007

Wohooo... 3-2 Win!

Wohoooo! We won the second game in MSSL. We won the game 3-2 and I scored 2 goals and got a yellow card!!
We started the game and they scored a goal in like the 10th minute of the game...

We then pulled ourselves together, then Sean scored our first goal... By then I was the right mid-fielder. We then changed posictions, made some subs, and I became the striker...
Nikola played a long ball, I ran to it, same did Ahmed but I was faster, the goal was coming out, I just chipped it over the keeper... It was a really nice goal...

They scored the 2nd goal in the second half... It’s now 2-2

We have a corner, I played the corner but it came back to me again, Ahmed was there alone in the box, I made a good cross, the keeper couldn't get hang of it and the ball goes directly into the goal! :-) I scored our 2nd goal! Wohooo!

The other team was too aggressive... They were committing a lot of fouls against me, some of the fouls the referee doesn’t even whistle for a foul... Again a long ball, I ran to it, the other team's D pushes me really hard, and the referee didn't whistle or anything!! So I just shouted at every one in the field "COME ON!!! HE DOESN'T EVEN PLAY ON THE BALL!! HE JUST RUNS TO HIT ME!!".
Their D cleared the ball out to be out of the field, by the time I got it and came back, I found out that the referee is running towards me to give me the yellow card asking me to calm down and to take it easy! I just smiled notching my head!

Thank god we have to wear shin guards; otherwise I wouldn't have been able to walk by now! Of course I was hurt all over my leg, but if it wasn’t for the shin guards, I think I wouldn’t have been able to walk at all! Especially my right leg, I hope it gets better by the next game, which is in 10 days from now… I'll try to go practice next Tuesday to keep myself in shape.
But of course, after scoring 2 goals, having a yellow card, plus hustling and causing problems to all their D, My team mates and the referee started to call me the "Naughty Player"!
The referee blew the final whistle, I shake hands with him and with the players from both teams, smiled at every single one of them, happy and proud by my performance in the game.

We were in a pretty good shape! I was doing well in the game. The referee took my name as one of the best players in the game! :-) Cool, I'm happy, excited and glad we won!

Apr 8, 2007

My First MSSL Match

This weekend, I played my first Microsoft Soccer League match. Before the official game we played two friendly games, :-) we lost the first game 6-2 and then lost 3-2 the second game! :-) We wear yellow jerseys, I’m hoping that I’ll be able to buy the Ismailia’s jersey when I’m visiting Egypt, I’m also hoping I’ll be able to buy Ahly’s red jersey and Egyptian’s national team red and white jersey! Anyone knows where to find these jerseys?
Anyway, we wear yellow jersey's, but really I'm the only one wearing Orange! I was very distinguished, the other team's goalie always used to shout at his D line to watch out from this orange guy!!

We started the first game in the league, I was a striker... I played most of the game, maybe more than 70 min of the game, during the game I changed positions from a striker to a right and then left mid-fielder.

During the game I've been told that I can control the ball pretty well, and I have some skills. The same comment was said about another mid-field player called Michael.

We were leading the first half 1-0 by a good shot by Ed, our team's striker... we started the second half, that's when they scored a goal by a follow up ball bounced from our goalie... We held our team back together; we scored our second goal from a very good shot by Scott, a defensive mid-fielder, maybe from more than 35 meters... We had another striker on the bench, He came into the game, and he took my position while I played as a right mid-fielder. We then scored the 3rd goal by the substitute striker. I then moved to be the left mid-fielder.

I got the ball, I took over two players, and then I changed the field by a crossing ball to the other side of the field to the left mid-fielder who was completely free, who passed it to a centre mid-field who was alone with the goal by then and scored our 4th goal. My team mates really encouraged me for the good field vision I had... Then one of the strikers got really tired, so he went out and a mid-fielder came into the game, he took over my position, while I played as a striker again.

I was in a very good position when Ian passed me the ball, my back was to the goal, I turned and shot, the ball hit the post, moved on the line and then went into the net! :-) I scored my first goal in the league, our fifth goal in the match. :-) Of course I had to score! We are only 10 players on the field, and we scored 5! I play in the forward line of the field, :-) which means that if each of us scored one, I had to be one of them; it really doesn’t mean that I have a talent or anything!

:-) It was a really nice game (since we won of course!). My next game is next Thursday, wish me luck! :-) And I’ll tell you about the next game, wish you guys can all come and watch it live ;-)

Apr 7, 2007

I'm Making A Difference

The people who work for Microsoft are the most generous charitable givers per employee in the world, and that spirit is at the center of how we work with governments and NGOs. Learn more.

I've been seeing this ad on couple of my friend's MSN nickname...
I've searched to find information about it... and here it is.

i’m is a new initiative from Windows Live™ Messenger. Every time you start a conversation using i’m, Microsoft shares a portion of the program's advertising revenue with some of the world's most effective organizations dedicated to social causes. We've set no cap on the amount we'll donate to each organization. The sky's the limit.

i’m is about making a difference. Not in a huge expensive way, not in a time-consuming way. But in a simple, effective way.



How it Works
1. Download the Windows Live Messenger instant messaging service. There's no charge and it's easy to download and use.

2. Within Windows Live Messenger, click Tools and select Options. Place the text code corresponding to the cause of your choice into your Display Name. -->

Text CodeCause
*unicefThe US fund for UNICEF
*komenSusan G. Komen for the Cure
*nafNational AIDS Fund
*9milninemillion.org
*helpStopGlobalWarming.org
*red+uAmerican Red Cross
*bgcaBoys & Girls Clubs of America
*mssocNational Multiple Sclerosis Society
*sierraSierra Club

3. Keep having i'm conversations so you can keep funding the cause doing the work most important to you.

Mar 28, 2007

WOW!

I kept on playing this game for more than 10 min in TechFest! It's amazingly fun! No words could even describe it!

This will change the whole gaming experience soon, the game play, and the interaction in multi-player games... :-) which means more fun fun fun!

Watch this... What do you think?

Mar 26, 2007

Today: Egyptian Referendum

Today Egyptians are to vote in a referendum on a set of constitutional changes, which pave the way for a police state. The changes will allow the drafting of a new anti-terrorism law to replace the emergency legislation in place since 1981, giving police wide powers of arrest and surveillance.


And of course, the majority of voters will magically say YES! and the constitutional changes will be a real fact that we have to live with for the rest of our lives. I assure that those who understand the constitutional changes would like to say NO for the changes, while others don't even understand the changes!

People in Egypt are very poor to think about the constitutional changes! President Mubarak, I just have one question, Why do you still choose to stay as a president after more than 25 years?! Do you really think that you can add anything after all these years?! After 25 years and you want to tell me that you still have something to help Egyptians with?! 25 years, ended now by the poverty and the difficult life that every Egyptian is complaining about, and you think you can still give something useful to Egyptians?! Or are you afraid that someone even worth is going to be in charge after you and make things worth?!

Now, Mr. Habib Al Adly, minister of internal affairs. I have read in FilBalad that you mentioned that the security is going to be on the highest levels to match this important event! I just’d rather that you are more concerned with the Human Rights Watch statement "Torture is endemic in Egyptian detention facilities. The most common torture methods include electrocution and beating."

I had a friend of mine; I used to work with him at Harf Information Technology. I came to work one day, and he just didn't show up, after 90 days, we found out that he was arrested while coming to work one day, without doing anything, accused of being with the “Muslim Brotherhood" party, and spent 90 days without doing anything, without having an investigation, with absolutely ZERO evidence that he's even have a relationship with the god forbid, the restricted party! Mr. Habib Al Adly, I think you have a lot to do! Or, a lot you should stop doing!

I'm a good soccer player, I play as a striker, but when there is a game, where I seem to lose the ball a lot, or just have great chances yet I still can't score or even create a good chance, I'd rather to leave the game and give a friend of mine the chance, maybe he'll be more suitable for this game, Even though I'm the main player, and I know I'm good at soccer.

Mar 22, 2007

Introducing iRack and...

Not only iRack… But news about the newest product too!



A video making fun of the US government and Bush's administration

Mar 19, 2007

:-) Real Life Photos 2

:-) A monkey, an elephant and a shadow of an unidentified animal in an Ad for teaching Excel! Which of course allows you to have complete confidence in the instructor!
Ed3olo y7'wana ywsal bel salama! el 3arbyat de btt3eb gedan ya3ny! t7'ayal t3ood tebadel keda l7d el beet!!
I'm quite sure that he started driving with a full car; most probably it started to fall apart in Cairo streets! Let's just pray that he'll be able to arrive home with at least one wheel!



Been el Sama w el Ard
:-) A guy hanging like that, instead of going to make sure he's OK, we just decided it's gonna be much cooler to take pictures of him! Could you give us a better profile view please?

Aslaha 3arabya mashya be dera3at el play station!
Exact Translation: Watch Out. Put the gear shift stick on slow speed... I guess they were talking to the Ferrari's driver in the photo above...


:-D de msh ba2dar abtal de7k lama ashofha! 7amamat seya7ya! tb de ya3ny a msh fahem?! El gameel ba2a, :-D en e7na bntswar gambaha! 3lshan keda heya seya7eya! msh b3ed yomen w nla2y film tasgely 3n el mawdo3!

Yes, It's a tourist WC (whatever that means). I guess maybe a VI person peed in there! And that's how we discovered this monument!


Ana bardo awel ma2retha a3dt 22ol ezay b3d ma y2roha hayro7o l7d el madena el gam3ya lw7dhom!!
This is an Ad for blind students instructing them to go to the social worker's office without giving them the directions!!



b3'd el nazar 3n el clean first... ana mot2kd en el yafta de hatb2a fe 7amam mn el 7amamt elly msh seya7eya!
Yes, the sign after that was "The Wash Second"

Mar 14, 2007

Real Life Pics









Mar 12, 2007

Tagged!

Thx Myra, although it's a shame that my last 2 posts are Tags, But hopefully I'll get my blog rolling with posts soon! Now here I'm...

SECTION 1 - Last 1s?
1. last beverage? Homemade lemon juice!
2. last phone call? Radwa
3. last instant message? Radwa
4. last cd played? I guess last album was… Music Now – 2nd Generation
5. last time you cried? I really can’t remember! Why’d I?!
6. last text message? Radwa! :-) Actually no one sends me anything except her now! She fills my life!

Section 2 - 6 Have You Evers:
1. dated someone twice? You mean have the same girlfriend after breaking up? Nope!
2. been cheated on? :-) No!
3. kissed someone & regretted it? Yes!
4. lost someone special? Akeed (Akeed is a big Yes)
5. been depressed? Akeed bardo!
6. been drunk and threw up? I don’t drink

Section 3 - List 3 Favorite Colors
1. Blue
2. Green
3. Maybe Grey, red…


Section 4 - This month have you
1. Made a new friend? Yes
2. Fallen out of love? Radwa would have killed me!
3. Laughed until you cried? Nop, I don’t think so
4. Met someone who changed your life? Nop
5. Found out who your true friends were? This month! Nope
6. Is there something you want to tell someone? Nothing in my mind now!
7. Would you kiss anyone on your top friends? :-) I’d kiss anyone, anywhere, anytime ;-)
8. How many people on your top friends do you know in real life? All
9. How many kids do you want to have? 2 be ezn Allah
10. Do you have any pets? A cat, Weby! I call him Otta!
11. Do you wanna change your name? :-) Why?! To confuse my friends?!
12. What did you do for your last birthday? That’s interesting! Well, on my last birthday, I went out with Radwa, I had my hair cut, I sold my PC, then I took a plane, left my home, my country, my fiancée, my friends… It was my first day in Seattle, my first day going to a new place, new life, new home, new everything!
13. What time did you wake up today? Round 11:00 am or something
14.What were you doing at midnight last night? I really can’t remember! But I guess I fell asleep
15. Name something you CANNOT wait for? Bringing Radwa to live with me, share our lives, live, laugh, cry, and hang out together!
16. Last time you saw your father? About two years ago. He passed away.
17. What is one thing you wish you could change about your life? I’m ok, thx for asking!
18.What are you listening to right now? Mahmoud El Essily – El Fostan Al Abyad (The white dress)
19. Have you ever talked to Tom? :-) Nop ,But I did talk to Nihal , till I was 6, then I moved on with my life with real people!
20. Have you ever talked about someone behind their back? Yes
21.What’s the last piece of clothing you borrowed from anyone? Can’t really remember anything!
22. Who’s getting on your nerves right now? No one, It’s just I have a lot of work load on me…
23. Most visited webpage? Not sure
24. Coke or Pepsi? Pepsi
25. Have you kissed or been kissed by anyone in the past week? Mmmmm… :-) Nope!! Are your trying to get me killed?!! Radwa honey, :-) I’d never do that! :-) You know that… Right?!
26. Mac or PC? :-) You are defiantly asking the wrong person here! :-) I’m in the Windows team!

Tagging... Rain, Ramy, Mohamed Nabil and Ali...

Feb 18, 2007

وطنى لو شغلت بالخلد عنه

Last but not least... A post that I'm going to link to... Amr's post:
من أسابيع قليلة ماضية كنت فى طريقى إلى المنزل فى حوالى الثانية عشر بعد منتصف الليل, كنت عائدا من بيت أحد أصدقائى و قد أرتدت أحدى الميكروباصات المتجهة إلى ميدان رمسيس, كان من المفترض أن يوصلنى هذا الميكروباص بالقرب من منزلى لكن شعور ما قادنى إلى عدم النزول بالقرب من المنزل ربما هو الملل أو الرغبة فى كسر جمود الروتين اليومى لم افكر فى السبب فقط نظرت إلى حيث كان المفترض بى أن أنزل و أكملت راكبا و قدد قررت أن أنزل بعد قليل و أعود هذه المسافة مرة أخرى, و لمرة ثانية فوّت عامدا حيث كان المفترض بى أن أنزل!. و قررت أن أنهى طريقى مع نهاية الخط المحدد؛ فى ميدان رمسيس.

شهرزاد.. والكلام غير المباح!

:-) Amr's amazing post about a tv channel...

دائما ما كنت أتصور أن القنوات الفضائية المخصصة للأغانى المصورة هى أكثر القنوات مخالفة للعرف والشرع. وعادة ما كنت أشفق عن أصحاب هذه القنوات الذين قد خصصوا ثرواتهم لعرض الأغانى المصورة العارية التى لا يختلف أحد –حتى بعض الملحنين أو الشعراء الذين ساهموا فى كتابة بعض منها- على عدم شرعيتها و على تأثيرها السئ فى الفرد و المجتمع ناهيك عن عرض الأغانى المصورة المحترمة (مش عارية أوى).كان لاشك عندى أن هذه القنوات هى أسوأ القنوات العربية حتى قادنى الملل إلى تصفح بعض القنوات الغير معروفة الموجودة على جهاز الإستقبال وقد لفت نظرى قناة اسمها شهرذاد. استوقفنى هذا الإسم وتوقعت أنها قناة لعرض الحكايات للأطفال (حواديت) ولكن كم كنت مخطئا.بدت للوهلة الأولى أنها قناة من قنوات الأغانى المصورة الكثيرة ولكن لم يمضى وقت طويلا حتى بدأت شهرزاد بالكلام غير المباح.

Read more...

لعنة الوضع الوسط !

:-) Another amazing post posted at Amr's blog...

قناة ناشيونال جيوجرافيكس هي أربع وعشرون ساعة من الفن الرفيع الراقي. إنها تريك معجزتين في آن: معجزة الظاهرة الطبيعية، ومعجزة أن ينقل لك إنسان هذه الظاهرة بهذا الجمال . أي انها تريك معجزة تصوير المعجزة !.. من ضمن برامج هذه القناة الأثيرة عندي برنامج اسمه (الذهاب إلى النهايات القصوى Going to extremes).. بطل البرنامج صحفي بريطاني اكتشف في منتصف العمر أنه لم يعش حياته وعلى الأرجح لن يعيشها .. يقول إنه في سن متوسطة، يتقاضى راتبًا متوسطًا، ونجاحه متوسط وبيته متوسط وشكله متوسط .. هكذا قرر أن يطلق العنان لجنونه ويجرب الحد الأقصى من كل شيء : يرتحل إلى أبرد مكان في العالم في سيبيريا وأسخن مكان في العالم في أثيوبيا .. يجرب أكثر البلدان جفافًا وأكثرها رطوبة .. أكثرها ارتفاعًا وأكثرها انخفاضًا ..

لماذا لا يشم عاااااادل الورد

Another amazing post in Ahmed's blog!

امتحانات التيرم الأول للصف الثاني الابتدائي .. أشق طريقي وسط الزحام نحو اللجنة ممسكًا بكف (مريم) ابنتي الصغير إلى أن أصل للبوابة، فأدفع هذا وذاك من أولياء الأمور الذين يصرون على الوقوف أمام البوابة ليسدوها كأن هذا يجعل أطفالهم أذكى .. وفي النهاية أترك (مريم) لصف من العاملات مخيفات الشكل يناولنها لبعضهن يدًا بيد حتى تغيب في قدس الأقداس بالداخل، الأمر الذي يذكرني بمشهد الأب الذي ترك ابنته رهنًا لدى عصابة المخدرات في فيلم (الباطنية) إلى أن يجلب ثمن الحشيش الذي أخذه..

الأمير فوق من ذكرت

Amazing post written in Ahmed's blog...

لست أذكر المناسبة بالضبط، لأنني كنت مراهقًا في المدرسة الثانوية أجلس أمام جهاز التلفزيون، أتابع ما أذكر أنه حفل تكريم أو عيد للعلم .. شيء من هذا القبيل .. على المنصة يجلس الرئيس الراحل (أنور السادات)، واللحظة هي تكريم أحد أستاذته السابقين في المدرسة .. كان الرئيس الراحل يحب هذه المواقف لما فيها من مسحة درامية .. (هل تذكر الحطاب الفقير الذي آويته في دارك وأطعمته في تلك الليلة ؟.. لقد كان هو الخليفة متنكرًا ! .. وقد خلع عليك قصرًا وزكيبة من الذهب).. وقد سبق هذا تكريم مماثل لمن يدعى (سائق دمرو) الذي ساعد السادات في ظروف مماثلة ..

Feb 11, 2007

:-) Aliiiiii... The Goaaaaaaaaaaaal!

:-) Well, that's a funny story! There is a big soccer tournament called "All Nations Cup" going to be held here in the Seattle area... We were planning to start a team with other Egyptians working also at MS... We even had a couple of practices all of us together, almost 10 Egyptians, one from Jordan and couple others from different countries... Anyway, we decided today to let it go and try to join a less competitive tournament...

The reason we let it go, is that a lot of the players are really not in the good form to play for a full game... :-) If that happened we would see a lot dropping dead from our side just in the middle of the game :-)... This actually almost happened today in the practice!

:-) So we were playing, we were 12 players, 6 players a team playing against each other... :-) Ali was in the opponent team and it was really not even a close competition... All of Ali's team got really really tired... So, we decided that Meshref (he was in Ali's team) and I to switch so that it might get a little better and be more as a competitive match!

Right after I joined the team, we were starting to look better, we were attacking but we lost the ball, it was a counter attack! Coz Ali had a tired muscle and he was really tired so he was our goal keeper... He was the last player in our team... There is no really a goalie coz no one is allowed to touch the ball with his hands, and we have to strike the ball low to count as a goal...

Back to the counter attack, the guy with the ball went direct to our goal, It was noway I could get him, but one of my team mates was at least trying to do so... So, it was all on Ali's shoulder to save the ball... OK, who's shoulder?! Ali! Aliiii!! Where are you maan!!! I thought for a sec that Ali just left us and went home... that's when I kind of noticed someone standing just beside the goal... Ooh! He's Ali, and he can see that we are under attack, he'll run and save the ball now...OK, maybe now... Ok really he can't wait any longer! Maybe now!!! No way, Ali was not moving... he was right there, standing just beside the goal... leaving it empty without a goal keeper... and drinking Juice!! :-D Yes! He was right there beside the goal drinking Juice! :-) Of course the guy with the ball scored, and Ali was still there drinking his juice! :-D

Of course there was nothing we could do, except making fun of Ali... What were u doing man?! Do u think this is a school trip! Do u need a chair or something? :-D Did you bring your sandwiches with you?! :-) Yes Ali was really tired and he has kind of a muscle cramp, but still, :-D at least drink the juice and stand in the goal! It's just small goals and we have to strike the ball low anyway to count as a goal!! :-D It was very funny... Most important even after deciding that we r not going to the tournament, is that we had fun, played, practiced and most important is that we met new people... Many of them were Egyptians... :-) Good game guys... I'll be joining a team in Microsoft Soccer League (MSSL)... :-) Hope we play better and have fun in this league!

Feb 10, 2007

Wondering!

I have been listening to Alanis Morissette’s song “Hand in my pocket” (I’m a fan of her songs) and I watched "In her Shoes" and they both touched me. I felt down in my heart a lot of the song’s words, sometimes I just feel that I’m just OK, thank god of what I have, I’m in a good position in a good place, I learn a lot of things every day, I just hope that I can transfer this knowledge to others... It’s kind of funny, weird... I don’t know! It's really OK that you say that you don't know... I believe one of the greatest things in life is to feel what others feel, to make someone else happy, to know that u r just a human with nothing to lose, and that u share this world with a lot others just like you, u r not better than anyone! U never are, everyone is just like you... U just need to go out, wander the streets, smile to everyone walking by, think about him, think what he’s doing, what he’s thinking, how is his life?

Everyone, no matter what his position is, no matter what he does, or how much he earns, is missing something always... that’s the human nature, no one is ever complete, no one will ever be... You are only OK when deep in your heart you feel that you have everything you want, there is nothing you are afraid of, nothing harm could ever happen; God is always around, really what could ever happen! Try to take a moment to look at yourself, look at your life, thank god for what you have, ask god to help u in what u fear. I was reading a friend's blog recently and everyone was talking like they all know it all! No you don't! No one will ever will, you are only OK when u admit that u still have a lot to learn and to know...

I'm sane but I'm overwhelmed, I'm lost but I'm hopeful, what it all comes down to… Is that everything is gonna be fine fine fine, I've got one hand in my pocket and the other one is giving a high five… What it all comes down to, is that everything's gonna be quite alright… Is that I haven't got it all figured out just yet… I've got one hand in my pocket, and the other one is giving the peace sign…
I'm free but I'm focused, I'm green but I'm wise, I'm hard but I'm friendly, I'm sad but I'm laughing, I'm brave but I'm chicken, I'm sick but I'm pretty… And what it all boils down to, Is that no one's really got it figured out just yet, I've got one hand in my pocket and the other one is playing the piano… And what it all comes down to my friends, Is that everything's just fine fine fine… I've got one hand in my pocket and the other one is hailing a taxi cab.

Jan 29, 2007

Breaking News! The "Wow" Starts Now!

Windows Vista has been launched today to customers... The new Microsoft Operating system comes in 4 editions (Home Basic, Home Premium, Business, Ultimate). From the first logon page, moving the mouse, touching the keyboard and entering your user name and password you'll know it's a whole new experience. Since of course I had the opportunity to install and test Vista as a WinSE dev, allow me to take print screens from my experience and talk about new features of the OS.
The first thing you'll notice is a fresh new user interface; All applications and windows are surrounded by glass, which gives you a sense of depth, while you can use a window/application you still can see behind it. Also switching between applications has been improved, in fact if you just hover with your mouse on any of the taskbar minimized windows, you'll get live previews of the applications including motion video.
Flip 3D. It's a new and very cool feature which allows you to switch between applications in a 3D space, allowing you to scroll throw them with the arrow keys, or quickly with the mouse.

A new feature is the Sidebar. The side bar is a new feature which allows you to show or run small applications (Gadgets) to do a specific task for you. For example I have the prayer times, a slide show of my pictures, my processor and memory stats, weather and calendar. Other gadgets may allow you to view RSS feeds from your favorite websites and others play your local FM channel. If you want more information from a gadget, you can drag it to your desktop and that way it will expand showing you more information.
A new innovation is the new windows slide show, it’s some kind of a LCD or a device attached to your laptop, allowing you to show gadgets as the calendar, your upcoming appointments and/or your contacts without even turning on your PC. That's what you should expect from the new Windows OS.


Information when you need it; search is now on your finger tips, open start menu and start typing the name of the document or the application or part of the content of the document and automatically files and application matching your search criteria will be displayed.

IE Tabs allows you to view all tabs and the ability to choose and close which ever you don't like.

Windows photo gallery is now easier with features like fix (color, brightness, red-eye... etc.). The more amazing about the photo gallery is that you always have a saved original backup of the image no matter how many times you edited it, so from now on feel confident to edit and try to change whatever you want; you always can go back and remove everything even after years! Another feature in the photo gallery is the ability to play both image and video files, so whenever you preview your album, you don't need to close the photo viewer and run the Media player to run the videos, It's all in one now!

Windows Vista is full of new and cool features. It's simpler, more secure and more user friendly.
To know more about features in Vista go to:

Jan 27, 2007

Scrum Development

I’m working on a tool going to be launched with next Windows Server OS... We are using a project management process for development called Scrum process... I really liked it, so here is what is all about, try to understand it; it’s really interesting.

Scrum believes that a development team should perform as a sport team, every team member working independently but towards the same goal. Scrum suggests that a team has a maximum of 6 - 7 members. The team facilitator is called the Scrum master (project manager in most companies). His/her job is to implement and manage the Scrum process in the project. Scrum masters focus most of their time in managing outside interference for the Scrum team and solving outside impediments or ‘Blockers’ that cannot be solved by the Scrum team (Not managing the project budget like in most companies).

A project can start with any activity; analysis, design, implementation and testing and can change between activities at any time. This increases the project's flexibility and productivity. Scrum assumes that the software development process is complicated and unpredictable and treats it as a controlled black box. Scrum takes into consideration that:
- Requirements are not fully understood at the beginning of the process.
- Requirements change during the process.
- The process becomes unpredictable when new tools and technologies are used.
They say that scrum is also a way of playing the rugby (the game). Characteristics that Scrum shares with rugby are:
- The environment determines the process (the game)
- The environment (functionality, timetable, business need and competition) dictates the ending of the process (the game).
- “Rugby evolved from breaking soccer rules – adapting to the environment.” (Schwaber, K.)
- “The primary cycle is moving the ball forward” (Schwaber, K.)

The whole project gets divided into periods of time with a maximum duration of 4 weeks. One period is called a Sprint and every team member gets tasks to execute within the given Sprint. For example in our project the sprint is 3 weeks time period, during which we should come up with a complete phase of the project. During the sprint, the team conducts regular scrum meetings (2 days per week in my team, other teams do scrum meetings every day). The meetings are held in the same place at the same time every specific period of time. The meetings don’t last for more than 30 minutes. The scrum master is responsible for asking every team member the following three questions:
1. What have you done since the last scrum meeting?
2. Is there any road blocks?
3. What do you plan on doing between now and the next scrum meeting?

Conversation is restricted to the team members answering the above questions. Meetings can be established for immediately after the scrum meeting based on answers to the above questions. The scrum master is responsible for making decisions immediately, if required to remove impediments to progress. The scrum master is responsible for noting impediments that must be resolved external to the meeting and causing them to be removed.

In my opinion, I feel the scrum development management is very effective, makes the developer free to decide what he needs, which reflects on his creativity. It also identifies for the management the role of solving any blockers facing the team, not controlling the team like what really happens in many companies! It’s an amazing experience and a new thing that I’m learning in Microsoft. It also made me feel that my project manager now, is actually part of my team, we are all working to get the product done, he’s not ordering anyone to finish, he’s one of us, we are a team! But he’s the one who points out that we are late in schedule, or that we need to ramp up a little... etc.
I Hope I have transferred some of my knowledge to u in a good and effective way, I really do hope that some managers really read this way of management and try to implement it in their own companies. Just give it a try, really it’s all about the team, managers should be part of the team!

References