This has never happened before. The global smartphone market is posting its first single-digital growth year on record. That’s according to the latest Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker from market research firm IDC. The firm predicts worldwide shipments will grow 9.8% to hit 1.43 billion units this year, thanks in part to slowing growth in Latin America, Western Europe and the Asia Pacific. The slower-than-expected growth actually […]
At Microsoft’s annual general meeting yesterday, former CEO Steve Ballmer made his opinions on the company’s current course crystal clear. For one thing, he thinks Microsoft’s universal Windows app strategy is not destined to succeed. For another, the company needs to focus more on whether Windows Phone handsets can run Android apps, he said. Ballmer also said that the company should disclose profit margins and sales for […]
The release of Apple’s iPhone 7 might still be nearly a year away, but rumors are already circulating that the company might ditch the standard headphone jack in favor of a thinner, proprietary Lightning connector. Switching from a standard 3.5-millimeter headphone jack to a Lightning connector would enable Apple to make the iPhone 7 even thinner than the iPhone 6, which came out in September. The iPhone […]
Chinese electronic toymaker (pictured: VTech Tote ‘n Go Laptop) VTech, has been hacked, revealing the information of 5 million customers. The database of the company’s Learning Lodge app store, which allows customers to download apps, e-books and learning games, was breached on November 14 HKT (Hong Kong Time). The hack was discovered on November 24 and customers were notified on November 27. The customer database holds a […]
|By Arabian Post Staff| Masdar announced the start of the operational stage of its pilot programme in Ghantoot, Abu Dhabi, which will see 1,500 m3/day of potable water produced over the next 15 months using four unique technologies that demonstrate commercially-viable and energy efficient solutions for renewable-powered desalination. After launching the programme in 2013, Masdar partnered with four global industry leaders – Abengoa, Suez, Sidem (Veolia) and […]
|By Alaa Alghamdi| The controversy raging in the world media over the Mohammed bin Nayef Centre/ Care Centre for the rehabilitation of jihadi terrorists brings up basic questions regarding justice and the right course of action. It is perhaps not surprising that such polarization has occurred regarding opinions on this (by all accounts, successful) program. To accept its efficacy and its ethics involves nothing less than a […]
|By Shara Tonn|WHEN A GREEN architect does a particularly good job, you’ll know it by the bling: the silver, gold, and platinum LEED certifications that emblazon buildings’ exteriors. But the best eco-conscious constructions don’t need a seal of approval—and their builders probably wouldn’t appreciate it anyway. Mound termites, native to Africa, South Asia, and Australia, are pros at building self-regulating structures that maintain oxygen levels, temperature, and humidity. And […]
|By Arabian Post Staff| A scenario of continued fall in oil prices, OPEC oil export revenue could fall by a quarter despite the higher output, according to International Energy Agency outlook for oil. In the Low Oil Price Scenario, the Middle East’s share in the oil market ends up higher than at any time in the last forty years, it says. According to IEA, lower prices are […]
Gone are the days when Microsoft waits for entirely new versions of its software products to make updates — and the latest PowerPoint upgrade is once such example. After hitting the market two months ago as part of the Office 2016 suite, Redmond is rolling out a new wave of monthly updates for Office 365 subscribers. In November, PowerPoint is front and center. The updates include tools […]
A security researcher who uncovered a high-risk exploit in Chrome for Android has received more recognition this week after demonstrating how the vulnerability works at a security conference in Tokyo. Late last year, Guang Gong, a researcher at 360 Total Security, uncovered a vulnerability that could be used by hackers to gain system server privileges on Android devices. Yesterday during the PacSec conference in Japan, Gong demonstrated […]
Redmond is doubling down on its OneNote note-taking app. Yesterday Microsoft announced a major new upgrade for the app. The latest versions contain a number of new features for a variety of devices, including iOS and Android updates, that will begin rolling out in the next couple weeks. Among the new features is the ability to add audio and attach files to your notes (pictured). The increased […]
The Urban Planning Council has developed the Abu Dhabi 2030 Urban Structure Framework Plan to optimize the city’s development through a 25-year program of urban evolution. The Urban Planning Council plan seeks to naturally ventilate the city by having block orientation, landscape, roadways and building form being oriented towards the prevailing winds. From a sustainable perspective, the landscape design of the open space in the Capital District […]
|By TAP Staff| Business confidence in the Middle East is at its lowest ebb for more than five years, according to the latest global survey of accountants. The Global Economic Conditions Survey (GECS) carried out jointly by ACCA (The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) and IMA (the Institute of Management Accountants) for the third quarter of 2015 suggests that the renewed fall in oil prices is likely […]
San Francisco-based mobile security company Lookout said it has uncovered a new threat to the Android operating system in the form of malware that disguises itself as a variety of well-known apps — but that actually exposes devices to root attacks and is virtually impossible to remove. The new malware has been found in software available from third-party app stores. The malware program insinuates itself in legitimate […]
|By Matein Khalid| I was in a pensive-philosophic mood last week as I decompressed from a trip to a hauntingly beautiful post Soviet country in the Caucasus, the land that produced Koba from Gori and Prince Pyotr Bagration, the fallen hero of Tsar Alexander’s imperial guard at Borodino. Yet Georgia gave me time and perspective to think about the financial firestorms on Wall Street, Marounuchi, the Gulf […]
|By TAP Staff| Starting salaries for professional occupations are expected to see modest rises over the next 12 months, according to the Robert Half 2016 Salary Guide. Across professional occupations including finance and accounting, financial services, information technology, legal, and human resources and administration, salaries are expected to see an average rise of 1.7%. The roles that are the most difficult to fill are predicted to see […]
|By TAP Staff| Iran’s Bank Mellat, one of the most high-profile private entities sanctioned in 2009 for alleged links to Iran’s nuclear programme, won a morale-boosting victory against the British Treasury this week when a Court of Appeal upheld its demand for greater disclosures about the charges being leveled against it. The verdict was based on the principle that the accused has a right to know what […]
|By TAP Staff|The United States approved conditional sanctions waivers for Iran on Sunday, international media reported from New York. But it was clarified that the lifting of sanctions would not take effect until Tehran curbed its nuclear program as required under the nuclear deal. “Today marks an important milestone toward preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and ensuring its nuclear program is exclusively peaceful going forward,” […]
|By TAP Staff| Dubai is hoping that the lifting of sanctions on Iran will help the emirate’s economy to withstand some of the negative shocks it has been suffering in recent times. Those “pull factors,” which also include increased demand from India, will compensate for any economic headwind from China’s slowdown, Raed Safadi, executive director of the economic research and policy division at the Dubai Department of […]
| By Yaroslav Trofimov| Despised by some, admired by others, the U.S. has been the Middle East’s principal power for decades, providing its allies with guidance and protection. Now, however, with Russia and Iran thrusting themselves boldly into the region’s affairs, that special role seems to be melting away. As seasoned politicians and diplomats survey the mayhem, they struggle to recall a moment when America counted for […]
|By Matein Khalid| 2015 has been a horror story for emerging markets and Asian shares have not escaped the fallout from the 40% plunge in Shanghai/Shenzhen since June. Yet financial markets discount the future while UAE investors invariably extrapolate the recent past. So even while I resurrect the ghosts of 1998 when Suharto’s regime fell amid anti-Chinese riots in Jakarta, South Korea was forced to accept a […]
An Apple logo hangs above the entrance to the Apple store on 5th Avenue in the Manhattan borough of New York City, July 21, 2015. Reuters/Mike Segar/Files NEW YORK Apple Inc’s antitrust compliance program has improved, but the company continues to impede a court-appointed monitor overseeing the program, acting as “its own worst enemy,” the monitor told a federal judge in a report made public on Tuesday. […]
DUBAI // The Vice President and Ruler of Dubai on Sunday launched a development foundation to fight poverty, spread knowledge, build communities and encourage innovation in more than 100 countries. The Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives will consolidate the work of 28 existing aid organisations, such as Dubai Cares, UAE Water Aid and the blindness-prevention charity Noor Dubai, with an annual operating budget of Dh1 […]
Letters spell the word ”Alphabet” as they are seen on a computer screen with a Google search page in this photo illustration taken in Paris, France, August 11, 2015. Reuters/Pascal Rossignol Google Inc has morphed into Alphabet Inc. After U.S. markets closed on Friday, Alphabet replaced Google as the publicly traded company that will house Google’s search and Web advertising businesses, maps, YouTube and its “moonshot” ventures […]
