Almost 40 years ago, German audio specialist Sennheiser set its engineers an ambitious task: to create the world’s best headphones, irrespective of cost. By 1991, the task was complete and the legendary Orpheus HE90 launched for sale with a price tag of $16,000 – about $28,000 in today’s currency. Fast-forward two decades, and Sennheiser has done it again. Its updated version of the HE90, the Orpheus HE1, […]
There was a noticeable political subtext to the recent London Fashion Week Men’s programme, where many of the designers used their collections to comment on current international problems and controversies. One of those embracing a sociopolitical theme was Sharjah-born Khalid Al Qasimi, whose collection was inspired by John Lennon’s “Bed-In” protest in an Amsterdam Hotel in 1969. While that concept seemed a long way from topical issues […]
While the year ahead could prove to be a bumpy one for global financial markets amid ongoing political and policy risks, there is reason for optimism over the outlook for stocks in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Compared to 2016, a number of structural tailwinds should give investors greater confidence in MENA’s fundamentals. The implementation of major fiscal and capital market reform throughout the […]
Photo Barack Obama and Donald J. Trump at the presidential swearing-in ceremony at the United States Capitol on Friday. It was not clear whether Mr. Trump would keep in place civilian-protection rules established by Mr. Obama in 2013. Credit Damon Winter/The New York Times WASHINGTON — Before ceding power, the Obama administration quietly removed a former extremist stronghold in Libya from a list of combat zones where […]
YouTube recommendations are a prominent example of applying advanced analytics on a massive scale to improve a service, the experience users get out of it, and the bottom line of the vendor behind it — Google. Previously, we explored the rationale behind it and pondered as to how this type of analytics could be classified. It’s time to pick up where we left off and explore how […]
In strange and confusing times, with disenchantment at successive governments aggravated by feelings of insecurity after terrorist attacks, looming elections threaten to produce a socially-divisive outcome France may come to regret. One essential question faces French voters: should they embrace the extraordinary political turmoil that has swept the West and elect Marine Le Pen, leader of the anti-immigration Front National, a party many see as racist, as […]
Just hours after President Trump was sworn into office, amid Chuck Schumer’s jabs over HUD, the Senate has confirmed retired Marine General James Mattis as defense secretary and retired Marine General John Kelly as homeland security secretary. They were both expected to be confirmed easily, and were, but Democrats promised fights over several other nominees. Mattis was the first to be confirmed by a vote of 98 […]
If you still think laptops are generic and the only difference between them are their price-tags, Dell invites you to think again. The latest Dell XPS 13 developer editon is everything a programmer could want from a high-end laptop. The latest Dell XPS 13 Developer Edition is the best of the best Linux laptops. (Image: CNET) You don’t have to believe me. Linus Torvalds himself picked out […]
Your daily guide to community and cultural activities across the Emirates for January 21, 2017, including performances, festivals, art exhibitions, film screenings, health and fitness events, talks, classes, workshops and family fun. newslide Abu Dhabi Film screening Catch a screening of the 1925 Charlie Chaplin comedy film The Gold Rush at Cinema Space. The film is considered to be Chaplin’s masterpiece, and follows his character the Little […]
Donald Trump will be sworn in on Friday as the 45th president of the United States, taking power over a divided country after a savage campaign and setting the country on a new, uncertain path at home and abroad. In a ceremony likely to draw 900,000 people, including protesters, Trump and his vice president, Mike Pence, will take the oath of office at midday (1700 GMT) outside […]
[Most recent updates: January 19, 2017] As we enter 2017, Windows 10 is approaching its second birthday. In keeping with the operating system’s “Windows as a service” design philosophy, Windows 10 users will soon receive a third major update. That’s an unprecedented rate of change, especially if you’ve grown accustomed to upgrades that arrive every three years or so. If you have questions about installing (or reinstalling) […]
“Basically what I did was work very, very hard, physically and mentally, to play 21 years, and that was the key to my career,” said Rodriguez, who set the record for games played as a catcher. “I know there was a lot of speculation, but look at where I am right now.” Now he is part of the gilded 1 percent who have worn a major league […]
When it comes to bare-knuckle political lobbying, 12-year-old Claudia Conway is a chip off the old block. Today her mother, Kellyanne Conway, the Republican pollster credited with turning round Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, will be celebrating her 50th birthday at the inauguration of the 45th President of the United States. As his special counsellor, Conway is looking forward to life as the most powerful woman in the […]
Submitted by Charles Hugh-Smith via OfTwoMinds blog, You need Insiders who are loyal to an Outsider and an Outsider agenda to accomplish any real reforms. Readers ask a reasonable question: if Trump is a political Outsider, then why has he stuffed his staff with Insiders–Goldman Sachs alumni, generals, etc.? The question follows an understandable logic: wouldn’t an Outsider appoint other outsiders? The doubt expressed also follows a […]
After starring in the West End production of Miss Saigon in London, Filipino performers Rachelle Ann Go, Eva Noblezada and Jon Jon Briones moved to New York City this week to begin rehearsals for the Broadway revival of the hit musical, which will return to the stage there on March 1. Noblezada, 20, will reprise the lead role of Kim, while Go will play Gigi Van Tranh. […]
The Afghan Taliban has sought to reassure the United Arab Emirates that it was not behind an attack in the southern city of Kandahar that killed five UAE diplomats and injured the ambassador, senior Taliban officials said on Thursday. More than a dozen Afghan and foreign officials were killed last week by a bomb hidden under a couch in the Kandahar governor’s residence in an attack Afghan […]
Mayfield Robotics chief executive Michael Beebe unveils the Kuri robot at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, on January 6, 2017 Professor Einstein rolls his eyes, sticks out his tongue, and can give a simple explanation of the theory of relativity. With his lifelike rubbery “skin” and bushy mustache, he can almost make you forget he’s a robot. The Einstein robot is among dozens roaming the […]
A bestselling 13th-century cookbook; stories by popular Al Bernameg TV host Bassem Youssef; a controversial book about Saudi women and award-winning Iraqi novels are among the noteworthy English works coming from Arab authors this spring. The new year promises several strong reads from and about Syria. This month, Haus Publishing kicks off their Modern Arabic Classics series with Ascension to Death by celebrated Syrian author Mamdouh Azzam. […]
Harris was initially pleased by this development. Top predators have long played an important role in nature. Wolves and cougars once put pressure on bison to keep moving over long ranges of land, and he says, “There was never overgrazing because the predators were behind the animals pushing them on, giving the land naturally a chance to rest.” Harris mimics that cycle of rotation and rest in […]
Over the past three posts, I have looked at a number of different Linux distributions for various models of the Raspberry Pi – including SUSE/openSUSE, Fedora, Manjaro and Ubuntu MATE, and PiCore Linux. What I haven’t done yet is look at the latest version of the Raspberry Pi Foundation’s own Linux distribution, Raspbian with their PIXEL desktop. So I will look at that first, and then I […]
Saudi Arabia’s National Commercial Bank (NCB) reported a 7.5 percent rise in fourth-quarter net profit on Wednesday as the kingdom’s largest lender was boosted by higher income from commission and investments. The results are the strongest in four quarters for the bank, which like other lenders in the kingdom has seen its performance clipped by weaker activity as depressed oil prices drag economic growth to its lowest […]
Blockchain has moved on from its Bitcoin past and is being touted as an effective and inexpensive way to safeguard data, with one Singapore-based vendor launching its first blockchain-based authentication tool. Because it provides a shared replicated “immutable” ledger, blockchain can facilitate a “single source of truth” and a secure, tamper-proof system of record, according to Alan Lim, Asean practice lead for IBM Blockchain and Bluemix Garage. […]
Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum , Crown Prince of Dubai and chairman of the Executive Council, on Wednesday approved the new maternity leave policy for Dubai Government employees. The policy extends maternity leave to three months paid leave, effective from March 1 and covers all governmental entities, a statement said. The amendment to the maternity leave aims to extend the compulsory fully paid maternity […]
A few cities are already building data marketplaces, especially in light of the increasing streams of data from the IoT. Getty Images/iStockphoto If you live in a big city, chances are pretty good that you’ll be sharing a lot more of your personal information with government entities within a few years. special feature Louisville and the Future of the Smart City Louisville, Kentucky is building a unique […]
