Sharp Actius MM10 is thinner than the MacBook Air

“Apple boasts that the MacBook Air is the world’s thinnest notebook. The trouble with boasting is that people like to prove you wrong. We reported on the Mitsubishi Pedion, which, ten years ago, came in at 0.04 inches thinner than the Apple notebook.

CNET has since dug up an even thinner machine, the Sharp Actius MM10, which is an unbelievable 0.54 inches thick, soundly beating the MacBook Air’s roly-poly 0.76 inches, and managing to squeeze in an ethernet port, a PCMCIA slot and two (2!) USB ports.”

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I guess it is a question Aesthetics vs. Functionality… but the MacBook Air looks far better, however Sharps 2 USB slots and ethernet port gives it better flexibility.

Also, the “AirMail” – a vinyl Manilla envelope developed by various suppliers to carry the MacBook Air also kicks ass (See Picture Below)

I guess it will all boil down to preference and what you’re going to use the hardware for. For my needs, the Macbook Air should be fine, despite the high price… like many of Apple’s products, it just seems worth it.

Technorati Tags: MacBook Air, Sharp Actius MM10, Thin Laptops, AirMail

g33k Coffee.

Handpresso: bike pump espresso machine works without electricity
The Handpresso marries a bicycle pump with an espresso machine. You pump it up to 16 bars, pop in an espresso pod (ick — I hate those things), add hot water and hit the release and the water is driven through the ground to make an instant espresso at a picnic, on the road, or wherever (assuming you carry around a thermos full of hot water). Runs about €100, which is the cost of a mid-range home machine — but I suspect you wouldn’t want to replace the kitchen machine with this

Spycam cappuccino machine
This Amanti espresso setup in the Melbourne airport in which each machine was equipped with a little webcam on the barista’s side and a small color LCD on the customer side, so that you could watch the barista’s hands dance and twiddle as he pulled your crema.

via BoingBoing

Amazing Prayer: The Prayer that the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) made at Taif

After going through such hardship and torment by the people of Taif, the Noble Prophet (pbuh) turned to our Lord and Creator and said:

To You, my Lord,
I complain of my weakness,
lack of support and the humiliation I am made to receive.
Most Compassionate and Merciful!
You are the Lord of the weak,
and you are my Lord.
To whom do You leave me?
To a distant person who receives me with hostility?
Or to an enemy You have given power over me?
As long as you are not displeased with me,
I do not care what I face.
I would, however,
be much happier with Your mercy.
I seek refuge in the light of Your face by which all darkness is
dispelled and both this life and the life to come are put in
their right course against incurring your wrath or being the
subject of your anger.
To You I submit,
until I earn Your pleasure.
Everything is powerless without your support.

Technorati Tags: Prayer, Prophet Muhammad, Taif

Blogging the Quran

The Guardian has just launched recently a project called “Blogging the Quran” in which verses of the Quran are blogged daily and a discussion is facilitated between two writers for the Guardian, Madeleine Bunting and Ziauddin Sardar.  I’ve read it and it’s a brilliant exercise in explaining the Quraan to both Muslims and non-Muslims.  The verses are analysed from a western context by Madeleine in which certain questions come up and initial interpretation is made from a Western context.  Ziauddin then explains from an Islamic point of view the interpretation of the verses and the meaning behind them.

Being a blog, all the benefits are available as well.. commenting, discussing, etc.  you can also send e-mails to the writers for any further clarification.

I highly recommend this for everyone to read.  For myself, I have found it very enlightening and, as usual with the Quraan, the various levels of meaning and their significance leave me constantly mesmerised.

Subhan-Allah (Glory be to God)

Peace,

M.

Technorati Tags: Blogging the Quran, Guardian, Blog, Ziauddin Sardar, Madeleine Bunting

Saudi Girls Gone Wild?

Just got my hands on a very interesting article regarding the younger generation in Saudi Arabia… who live in one of the strictest social conditions implemented by any government. I remember having many a conversation regarding the dark side of the segregation of the sexes in Islam, although you can understand where it comes from… the extreme implementation of this often leads to things far worse than the rules were intended to prevent.

The article also alludes to a book which I want to try to get my hands on… Girls of Riyadh, of which it says…

“…In a country where “driving while female” is illegal, as is checking
into a hospital without a male guardian’s signature, a gossipy romance
can spark an explosion of political debate. That’s what happened when a
Beirut publishing house first released Girls of Riyadh in
2005, by 24-year-old Rajaa Alsanea. It was initially banned in her
native Saudi Arabia, but young Saudis quickly got their hands on it
anyway. They lauded it online, while writers and columnists debated the
book’s meaning and Saudi talking heads told the author she should
disown it.

In the book, an anonymous narrator details the lives
of four upper-class girlfriends, showing them flirting with boys, going
to parties, and in one case, contemplating a relationship with a member
of a different Muslim sect.”

A bit too taboo? In today’s times? Barriers are being broken everywhere and in the tradition of people everywhere who have a point of view forced upon them… Rebellion simmers and boils over. The article also mentions another book which details enforced lesbianism due to the extreme segregation which is being enforced.

There’s a reason why the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) said that the middle path is the right way and everything should be done in moderation. Extremism on any side leads to too much evil.

Viva La Revolucion!

M.

P.S. you can buy Girls of Riyadh from Exclusive Books and its available for purchase on-line.

Technorati Tags: Saudi Girls Gone Wild, Girls of Riyadh, Rajaa Alsanea

Ba’dal Hajj (After Hajj)

Before I left for Hajj, I kept getting this pressurised comment from people saying that a person must change after Hajj.  But after actually going for Hajj, I see that it’s actually me who wants to change.  I want to be better to do more… to right all my wrongs and change all my bad habits.

I feel so much more content.  Like I know what needs to be done, what’s right and wrong seems so much clearer that it used to be, more black and white instead of shades of grey.  The whispers which used to edge me closer and closer toward evil are now more recognisable, I can see them for what they are and stop them.  It’s less of an impulse to follow and a more sort of patient understanding and conscious choice of what I need to do next.  I don’t want to react on impulse anymore; most of the time it costs me both money and time when I blindly follow, and that’s just the material cost.

I can see that my previous behaviour patterns are not worthy anymore of who I have become.  Most of all what irritates me is the wasting of time. Because, I realise just how little of it I actually have… I need to use it for more useful, more fruitful activities.  One fact, however, is clearer than most… “Life is going to end.” So everything around me is just fluff.  I need to focus on what’s really important… and it all boils down to my character and my behaviour, based on my values and my beliefs.

I realise that once you know this, your purpose in life becomes so much more simpler to understand.  but.. .even this only lets you know what the path is. And…

“There’s a difference between knowing the path, and walking the path.”

Peace,

M.

Tags: Hajj, Change, Time

On Government.

“Not being able to govern events, I govern myself.” – Michel de Montaigne

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