• Welcome to Maher's Digital World.

Introduce yourself

Started by Maher, January 28, 2011, 05:43 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

Maher

Quote from: azlooker on January 20, 2012, 07:03 AM
Hello all,
I signed up just to tell Maher what a great great job.
I can't thank you enough!! ;D ;D
Well, that for me is more than enough :)
Thank you!
Please, DO NOT send messages for support! Ask on the forums. Thank you.

http://maherz.softarchive.net/

Ahmad

Hello Humbert,  :)

Quote from: humb25 on January 20, 2012, 06:27 AM
Keep in mind that my anxieties about "Islamic parties" in Egypt are based on my country's history........  It's important to emphasize that in no way am I saying a similar thing will happen in Egypt, remember we're talking about 2 very different countries with 2 very different cultures. I just know that almost nobody learns the lessons of history.

I know what you mean, my friend and that's why I'm calling you "Wise:)
And that's why I'm saying "I hope they do as we expect" as nobody is perfect, but as we say here in Egypt: "We did what we should do, and the rest is to Allah."
So, we should pray and be optimistic and everything will be fine.

Quote from: humb25 on January 20, 2012, 06:27 AM
I also like the idea of having people such as yourself and Maher as personal friends. Both of you are not only intelligent but very open minded as well.

Thanks a lot and I have the same feelings.  :D
By the way, I don't compliment you. I say what I'm actually seeing.

I want to ask about something, Do you really have an internet speed 30 Mbps? I've read before in a previous forum. Do you pay too much for it or normal? Is that the normal speed in America or just you who has a high one?
I just want to know the difference between internet service in both countries. And of course I wish you more comfort. I'll tell you about my speed next time.
Be safe and all you care for.  :)
Muhammad is the messenger of Allah.

humbert

Quote from: Ahmad on January 21, 2012, 07:17 PM
I know what you mean, my friend and that's why I'm calling you "Wise:)
And that's why I'm saying "I hope they do as we expect" as nobody is perfect, but as we say here in Egypt: "We did what we should do, and the rest is to Allah."
So, we should pray and be optimistic and everything will be fine.

You're absolutely right! Curiously, in my culture we too have a similar saying, except naturally we use the word "God" instead of "Allah" (basically the same thing). There is no question that you are clear about all this. The people of Egypt fought and died to oust Mubarak and the tyrannical military leaders that followed, and put their trust in "The Light". All we can do now is sit, wait and hope for the best.

Quote from: Ahmad on January 21, 2012, 07:17 PM
Thanks a lot and I have the same feelings.  :D
By the way, I don't compliment you. I say what I'm actually seeing.

Yes, I know that. I was kidding when I said "flattery will get you everywhere"  :)

Quote from: Ahmad on January 21, 2012, 07:17 PM
I want to ask about something, Do you really have an internet speed 30 Mbps? I've read before in a previous forum. Do you pay too much for it or normal? Is that the normal speed in America or just you who has a high one?
I just want to know the difference between internet service in both countries. And of course I wish you more comfort. I'll tell you about my speed next time.
Be safe and all you care for.  :)

One thing that has helped to increase internet speeds here is that they've buried fiber-optic cables everywhere, but more importantly, that you have several companies in competition for your business. Every company gives you a choice of the internet speeds you want and, naturally, the fatter the pipe the more you pay. I pay $50. monthly for 30-Mbps (that's 30 down & 5 up) because I share the connection with my wife and because I like to stream movies to my TV, especially HD movies which eat bandwidth like crazy. They offered me 50-Mbps, but the price was way too high ($99.), so I kept 30 and frankly I see no reason to pay the extra money. This is from my cable TV company and, of course, doesn't include what I pay for television. To give you a better idea of what I mean, my daughter was going to put internet where she's living and asked me what she should put (one company offered her 12 Mbps for $20). I told her if she wasn't sharing the connection and didn't have the time to watch streamed HD movies, that 12 was more than enough, plus the fact that you always have the option of buying more bandwidth if needed, they'll be more than happy to sell it to you  :)

Now you've made me curious. How are internet connections in Egypt? Do you buy your internet from a private company, as we do here? How fast is your connection and do you have
WiFi included in the price (as I do)?

Be safe and keep writing,
Humbert

Ahmad

#103
Hello my dear friend, Humbert :)

Quote from: humb25 on January 22, 2012, 06:39 AM
Now you've made me curious. How are internet connections in Egypt? Do you buy your internet from a private company, as we do here? How fast is your connection and do you have
WiFi included in the price (as I do)?

Be safe and keep writing,
Humbert

Be prepared for the shock ...  :o
I'll tell you about only me but keep in mind that about 50% of Egyptian are like me and some of the rest are below and some are higher.
First of all, I'm still studying and living with my parents, so I have no personal income.
There are 2 main companies here providing internet and they are similar in everything.

Some people here take internet as a project ; they get about from 4 to 8 Mbps ADSL2 line speed (which is the fastest speed I've ever heard that someone I know is using)
After that, he starts to distribute it or share it with people who need internet through (router and switches) in exchange for about 25 LE monthly for the individual and he limits downloading speed to 50 Kbps.
I tried this on my start on the internet about 2 years ago, but it was very very bad  :'( as we were over 30 sharing the same line !! )

After that, my neighbor told me that he will get a line speed of 512 Kbps (100 LE monthly )and wants me and some other neighbors to share with him and pay such as him.
We were 4 at first and it was relatively better than before. Then we became 7 on a line speed of 1 Mbps. No big difference !!
Of course, there is no watching streaming video. If you want to watch some video, download it first or watch it in the early morning !!

My parents can afford about 50 LE for internet (which means sharing a line speed of 2Mbps with other 4 people as it costs 250 LE monthly), and I'll be very happy.
But most people don't want to pay more than 25 LE monthly.
Some people works with higher speeds; My brother have some friends works with 4 Mbps in the same way like us.

Finally, this is the level of internet service of about 50% of Egyptians and we are really good in living (in other things in life) We say (Alhamdulellah) or (Thanks God)
But I think that it's the internet service that is very expensive here in comparison with the income of people. So, I hope they enhance it in the near future.
I hope I was clear enough in my words.
Be well, safe and happy, my dear friend.  :)
Muhammad is the messenger of Allah.

humbert

Quote from: Ahmad on January 23, 2012, 01:32 AM
Be prepared for the shock ...  :o

What you told me didn't shock me at all. I've seen terribly slow speeds in "third world" (for lack of a better words) countries. I spent the Christmas holidays in my wife's native Mexico. Her parents have 1 Mpbs down/128k up, and then Wi-Fi only (no network cables are attached to their router). I tried using my smartphone to stream some movies, but it was just impossible -- the freezes and bufferings were constant. Add to this the fact that you had about 5 kids with laptops on the same network trying to get on Facebook, with it's abundant graphics and garbage. It was just impossible.

Before I continue, let me ask you -- when you refer to your currency, you say LE. I went to the Oanda financial site and saw that in Egypt they use the Egyptian Pount (EGP), with an exchange rate of about 6 against the US dollar. What, then is LE?

Another thing I'm curious about. I understand that your neighbor would want to resell the "fast" internet service he's paying for and put a few more EGP's in his pocket. Getting additional secondary routers to put more connections is the easy part, what I don't understand is how does he wire the connections? For example, does a connect network cable to the back of his router and put it on a telephone pole (or dig a ditch, assuming no concrete) to his customers' house? Using Wi-Fi is not so much impossible but more difficult -- in order for the signal to reach his customers, he'd need to put an antenna on his roof. If he does that he's subject to being hacked. How exactly does he do it then?

Let me state that the US is not the most advanced country when it comes to technology. Japan, South Korea, Finland and some other countries are more advanced than we are. Many Americans when visiting those countries come back saying "we live in a backward country".  :)

Also, a comment on the fact that the Egyptian people generally don't need the internet to have a good time. This sort of thing is also very common in many countries in Latin America (the area from the US-Mexico border to the very southern end of South America, plus the Caribbean islands), and of course many other places. I remember years ago I spend 1½ years in Colombia working there. At the time there was no internet, very few computers and only 1 black and white TV channel. Everybody sat outside, conversed, shared drinks, put on music, and generally had a good time. I don't know how things are now over there now, but I do know that here in America there's very little of that -- people lock themselves up at home to be on the internet, play video games or watch the hundreds of channels available in hi def TV. Why do you think Facebook is so popular? Obviously because humans need human contact, and for many that's pretty much the only way. In fact, I read that by August there will be 1 billion people on Facebook -- 1 out of 7 people on this planet!

Take care,



Ahmad

#105
Quote from: humb25 on January 24, 2012, 06:49 AM
Before I continue, let me ask you -- when you refer to your currency, you say LE. I went to the Oanda financial site and saw that in Egypt they use the Egyptian Pount (EGP), with an exchange rate of about 6 against the US dollar. What, then is LE?

Sorry about this. Here, we used to use (LE) instead of (EGP)
LE means (Livre Egyptian) which is the same word of Egyptian pound but in French.

QuoteI understand that your neighbor would want to resell the "fast" internet service he's paying for and put a few more EGP's in his pocket.

No no, He just shares with us. When someone joins us, we re-divide the whole sum onto the new number of users and everyone pays like the others including my neighbor himself as he doesn't trade, he just needs internet like me.

Quotewhat I don't understand is how does he wire the connections?

First, he has the ADSL2 line from the telephone line through a splitter which splits the telephone line into 2 lines >> one for the telephone and the other for the main connection in the back of the router. Then, the router has 4 output connections. My connection is from one of those 4 output connections. He passes all cables from the router through a small hole he made in the wall of his house then towards the room windows of his neighbors including me.
One of those 4 cables enters a switch which splits it into other 4 connections.

QuoteLet me state that the US is not the most advanced country when it comes to technology. Japan, South Korea, Finland and some other countries are more advanced than we are. Many Americans when visiting those countries come back saying "we live in a backward country".

I'm completely with you, but you are my only friend who can tell me the difference and really, you were such a good teller. I just wanted to know how expensive is the internet service here. As you know 1 $ equals about 6 EGP, then we pay 25 $ (150 EGP) for 1 Mbps speed  !!!  Isn't it too much ?!!

QuoteAlso, a comment on the fact that the Egyptian people generally don't need the internet to have a good time.

You are absolutely right. A lot of people here including my parents don't need internet at all in their life. My generation is considered the first one who uses internet in such way.

Quotepeople lock themselves up at home to be on the internet, play video games or watch the hundreds of channels available in hi def TV. Why do you think Facebook is so popular? Obviously because humans need human contact

You are right and I'm completely with you.
Thanks for the information and have a nice day.  :)
Muhammad is the messenger of Allah.

humbert

Quote from: Ahmad on January 24, 2012, 11:07 AM
Sorry about this. Here, we used to use (LE) instead of (EGP)
LE means (Livre Egyptian) which is the same word of Egyptian pound but in French.

OK, I get it now. Basically the same thing but only in French.

Quote from: LinuxGuru on January 24, 2012, 04:55 PM
No no, He just shares with us. When someone joins us, we re-divide the whole sum onto the new number of users and everyone pays like the others including my neighbor himself as he doesn't trade, he just needs internet like me.
First, he has the ADSL2 line from the telephone line through a splitter which splits the telephone line into 2 lines >> one for the telephone and the other for the main connection in the back of the router. Then, the router has 4 output connections. My connection is from one of those 4 output connections. He passes all cables from the router through a small hole he made in the wall of his house then towards the room windows of his neighbors including me.
One of those 4 cables enters a switch which splits it into other 4 connections.

In other words, your friends isn't out to make make a pound, he wants to share the connection and have others help him pay for it. I know all about ADSL, we used it here years ago before it became obsolete. My in-law's house in Mexico still has such a connection, though. How your friends shares his internet connection makes perfect sense. I first thought what he did was buy an add-on router with 8 ports (this attaches to one ethernet port on the main router, in effect giving you 8 more ports), and from there for every interested neighbor attach an ethernet cable to one of those ports and run it to his house. However, based on what you're telling me, doing this is impossible because running so many cables through that hole in his wall isn't possible. This obviously forces him to get a 4-port splitter attached to the 1 cable that'll fit through his hole.

Quote from: LinuxGuru on January 24, 2012, 04:55 PM
I'm completely with you, but you are my only friend who can tell me the difference and really, you were such a good teller. I just wanted to know how expensive is the internet service here. As you know 1 $ equals about 6 EGP, then we pay 15 $ (150 EGP) for 1 Mbps speed  !!!  Isn't it too much ?!!

To give you just a brief idea of how advanced some other countries are, when I visited Canada some 10 years ago I was at a bus stop in the city of Calgary. There was a sign with a number on it and a toll free number that you called. When the recording came out, you punched in the numbers from the sign on your cell phone. The recording responded "the bus will arrive at 14:17 - thank you". Sure enough, at exactly that hour the bus arrived. In Finland, if you want a soft drink from a vending machine, no coins are necessary - you take out your phone, punch in a few numbers, and out comes your drink. You can even turn on your house's sprinklers with your cell phone, no need to go outside in the cold. Like this there are many more. I haven't seen things like this anywhere in America.

The price of internet in Egypt isn't so different from here. I too could pay much less than I do now, but down goes the bandwidth they're giving me. As I told you before, my daughter pays $20 for 12 Mbps, and could pay less if she needed less bandwidth.  The contrast comes with the average income in Egypt, which I assume is substantially less than what it is here.

Quote from: LinuxGuru on January 24, 2012, 04:55 PM
Also, a comment on the fact that the Egyptian people generally don't need the internet to have a good time.
You are absolutely right. A lot of people here including my parents don't need internet at all in their life. My generation is considered the first one who uses internet in such way.
Obviously because humans need human contact
You are right and I'm completely with you
Thanks for the information and have a nice day.

As I said here once before, I saw someone on Facebook post this comment: "Wasn't the world a better place when apples and blackberries were just fruits"?  :)

BTW - I used to ask Maher all kinds of things concerning his culture and religion (which is close to yours). Do you mind if I ask you the same sort of questions, given the fact that Maher is with his new job and has little time to be on here?


Ahmad

#107
Hello my friend,  :)

Quote from: humb25 on January 25, 2012, 05:27 AM
However, based on what you're telling me, doing this is impossible because running so many cables through that hole in his wall isn't possible. This obviously forces him to get a 4-port splitter attached to the 1 cable that'll fit through his hole.

I'll tell you in more details and sorry if I couldn't be clear in my words.
As I told you before, the telephone cable is inside his house. He puts it inside some splitter and this splitter comes out with 2 cables >> one for the telephone and the other is the main ethernet connection which enters the main ethernet port in the router which by its turn gives 4 additional ports to 4 users >>  He takes one of them for his computer and he passes the other 3 cables through a small hole in the wall of the room on the street. >>  I live in front of him, so I take one cable directly. >>  For now 2 cables are taken >> Other neighbor lives beside him also takes a cable directly. >> The fourth cable enters something called a switch which is similar to the router and by its turn gives 4 or 8 or 12 additional ports (I don't exactly know) But only 4 users take from it for now.
BTW, This switch is in the Balcony of the house of one of our neighbors who takes a connection from it.
We were only 4 at first and the main router gives 4 ports, so we didn't need any additional switches. But, when some neighbors needed, they brought this switch and we doubled the speed.

Quote from: humb25 on January 25, 2012, 05:27 AM
To give you just a brief idea of how advanced some other countries are, when I visited Canada......

Who knows ?!!
May be, we catch those countries. I hope it will be soon .

Quote from: humb25 on January 25, 2012, 05:27 AM
The price of internet in Egypt isn't so different from here. I too could pay much less than I do now, but down goes the bandwidth they're giving me. As I told you before, my daughter pays $20 for 12 Mbps, and could pay less if she needed less bandwidth.  The contrast comes with the average income in Egypt, which I assume is substantially less than what it is here.

No no man, I'm not with you here !!
Internet here is very expensive... just compare.
You pay $50 for 30 Mbps and your daughter pays $20 for 12 Mbps.
We pay $25 for only 1 Mbps  (Sorry I wrote it ($15) wrong last time)
So, from what you are telling me, we are supposed to get a 15 Mbps line speed.
Besides, what you've said about the income. So, it's against us from all sides  :'(
However, it's OK for me. I've adapted.  8)

Quote from: humb25 on January 25, 2012, 05:27 AM
BTW - I used to ask Maher all kinds of things concerning his culture and religion (which is close to yours). Do you mind if I ask you the same sort of questions, given the fact that Maher is with his new job and has little time to be on here?

Anytime, my friend. Why not ?!!
I hope my words help me to transfer culture clearly as it is without increasing or decreasing.
Take care.  :)
Muhammad is the messenger of Allah.

humbert

Quote from: Ahmad on January 25, 2012, 08:23 AM
Hello my friend,  :)
I'll tell you in more details and sorry if I couldn't be clear in my words.
As I told you before, the telephone cable is inside his house. He puts it inside some splitter and this splitter comes out with 2 cables >> one for the telephone and the other is the main ethernet connection which enters the main ethernet port in the router which by its turn gives 4 additional ports to 4 users >>  He takes one of them for his computer and he passes the other 3 cables through a small hole in the wall of the room on the street. >>  I live in front of him, so I take one cable directly. >>  For now 2 cables are taken >> Other neighbor lives beside him also takes a cable directly. >> The fourth cable enters something called a switch which is similar to the router and by its turn gives 4 or 8 or 12 additional ports (I don't exactly know) But only 4 users take from it for now.
BTW, This switch is in the Balcony of the house of one of our neighbors who takes a connection from it.
We were only 4 at first and the main router gives 4 ports, so we didn't need any additional switches. But, when some neighbors needed, they brought this switch and we doubled the speed.

OK, I know exactly what your friend is doing. I'm familiar with the "add-on router" (or whatever it's called) because when I worked I was the computer guru at the company. The ISP didn't even give us a router, just a network cable connected to his servers and instructions to "share it". I had to buy about 3 of those 8-port add-ons and daisy chain them so everyone could not just share the internet connection but also allow the computers to share files among themselves. Although ADSL is no longer used here, it is used in Mexico. My in-laws have exactly the same thing your friend has -- a telephone line with a splitter, one wire to the router, the other to the phone.

Quote from: Ahmad on January 25, 2012, 08:23 AM
Who knows ?!!
May be, we catch those countries. I hope it will be soon .

Given how fast the electronics industry is advancing, I wouldn't be surprised that in the not too distant future those advances they have will come to our countries too. Just 20 years ago when you were born, the things the internet does today, the tremendous ability of smartphones, and even hi-def TV were the stuff of science fiction. Many people even argued that such things weren't even possible!

Quote from: Ahmad on January 25, 2012, 08:23 AM
No no man, I'm not with you here !!
Internet here is very expensive... just compare.

A simple misunderstanding. I'm glad you cleared it up. You're correct in saying that the only thing to do is adapt. I was lucky enough to spend just a week in Mexico, but during that time I was tearing out my hair  :)

Quote from: humb25 on January 25, 2012, 05:27 AM
Anytime, my friend. Why not ?!!
I hope my words help me to transfer culture clearly as it is without increasing or decreasing.
Take care.  :)

I hope you don't think later that you've opened a "can or worms" by allowing me to ask  :). But anyway, I do so mostly out of curiosity. I've always loved to learn stuff, especially about different peoples and cultures, and of course their history which is critical.

A little about you. I know you're a medical student. You're definitely doing the right thing living with your parents and devoting 100% of your time to your studies. Who knows, maybe one day you'll be my personal physician <not kidding>. Let me ask you this for now: your English is very good - how did you learn it? Even if you studied it in school, if you are in an environment where all they speak is Arabic, it's all the more difficult to learn another language. This especially true given the fact that you had to learn the Latin (or Roman) alphabet. How did you manage it? Did you ever spend some time in an English speaking country, or at least in a country where you can use English to get around? I can name a few examples, in fact Israel is one of them  :) -- my sister's boyfriend is Jewish and he's taken her to Israel a few times. She reports that over there everybody speaks English, learning or practicing Hebrew is almost impossible. I might add that her boyfriend was born in Cairo <details upon request>.

Also, obviously you have an Arabic keyboard on your computer. However, I remember once when I travelled to Taiwan, their keyboards had Chinese characters in the lower left-hand corner of each key, and a Latin letter in the upper right. This way they could switch back and forth. Is yours like that, or did you add English to your Windows as an additional language and memorize the position of the keys? I think this is what Maher did. Let me know.

More questions will follow  :)

Ahmad

Hello dear friend,  :)

Quote from: humb25 on January 27, 2012, 07:01 AM
Given how fast the electronics industry is advancing, I wouldn't be surprised that in the not too distant future those advances they have will come to our countries too. Just 20 years ago when you were born, the things the internet does today, the tremendous ability of smartphones, and even hi-def TV were the stuff of science fiction. Many people even argued that such things weren't even possible!

I'm with you and I hope it'll be very soon as I love technology but I can't find enough around me.

Quote from: humb25 on January 27, 2012, 07:01 AM
I hope you don't think later that you've opened a "can or worms" by allowing me to ask  :). But anyway, I do so mostly out of curiosity. I've always loved to learn stuff, especially about different peoples and cultures, and of course their history which is critical.

No !!  Don't worry about that. It's OK with me.  8)

Quote from: humb25 on January 27, 2012, 07:01 AM
Who knows, maybe one day you'll be my personal physician <not kidding>.

Thanks for this. But, I wish you won't need anybody like me.  <I mean I wish Optimal health and wellness for you> :)

Quote from: humb25 on January 27, 2012, 07:01 AM
Let me ask you this for now: your English is very good - how did you learn it? Even if you studied it in school, if you are in an environment where all they speak is Arabic, it's all the more difficult to learn another language. This especially true given the fact that you had to learn the Latin (or Roman) alphabet. How did you manage it? Did you ever spend some time in an English speaking country, or at least in a country where you can use English to get around?

Thanks for giving me trust.  :D
Here, in Egypt, we study English in school from the beginning of learning, and French in only 2 years at high school. I loved English so much and I was very good at it, and that helped me a lot.
I have never been outside Egypt. But, I think the main thing that helped after school and loving to learn English is that we study Medicine in complete English <no one Arabic word>, So, this made English more present in my mind.

Quote from: humb25 on January 27, 2012, 07:01 AM
Also, obviously you have an Arabic keyboard on your computer. However, I remember once when I travelled to Taiwan, their keyboards had Chinese characters in the lower left-hand corner of each key, and a Latin letter in the upper right. This way they could switch back and forth. Is yours like that, or did you add English to your Windows as an additional language and memorize the position of the keys? I think this is what Maher did. Let me know.

Yes, you are right. My keyboard is like what you mentioned but Arabic characters instead of Chinese. For now, I can't memorize the position of keys like Mr. Maher.
I'm working with a normal English XP, but when installing it, I add Arabic as an additional language just to read and write in Arabic.
- Regarding Windows and applications, I never worked with it in Arabic <Believe or not> I don't understand it when in Arabic or I'm not used with it in Arabic.

Quote from: humb25 on January 27, 2012, 07:01 AM
More questions will follow

I'll be waiting. Take care.  :)
Muhammad is the messenger of Allah.