Category: Kuwait

Marzouq and I had a chance to check out InfoConnect before the doors open to public tomorrow:

The good:
Qualitynet is offering huge price cuts in addition to ‘extras’ that will only be offered when you subscribe/renew at InfoConnect. In addition to a ‘Sky DSL’ service which possibly means two way satellite service (as UCC). They also are offering a raffle for a Mini (might be one of the ‘extras’) with Al-Ghanim.

TechSys has a ton of new products from Planet and Silverstone, from HTPC/High-End cases, quiet/ultra-powerful power supplies to affordable networking products like smart switches and ip-cameras.

Lastly, E-Government is in full effect this year; Bahrain and Oman’s governments showing off their e-capabilities alongside Kuwait’s MOI, MOC and PACI. There are Several Kiosks, payment devices and even a decked out BMW Police Car on display.

The bad:
No Zain (they have their own event in April?), No Zajil, No Fasttelco, and not even Wasel (new Internet Company). For those looking to get a new deal on their EGO or DSL lines… You might be out of luck with the big players sitting it out. However, Zajil has already slashed prices with 3mb going for less than 850kd for a year’s subscription.

The ugly:
Aside from the cheaper yet still over-inflated pricing on the same old items… There is not much that InfoConnect has to offer. Without the Internet companies using February as a time to introduce their new offerings… you might as well take a stroll down any Ibn Khaldoun for the same experience.

The reality is that InfoConnect is a second rate bazaar with local stores trying to unload the remaining stock from their warehouse. Everyone from ElectroZan, Yousifi, Al-Ghanim Electronics and Sony are busy selling Televisions and DVD players than showing off new technology.

On the bright side, this might be a good chance to pick up that TV you have been thinking about. In addition to the electronics… there is an endless supply of Phone stores, two bit computer shops and Chinese stands selling items which can probably be found for cheaper in Hawalli.

I put up some pictures on my Flickr page [here].

-Posted by K

I will be posting tomorrow the ISP cost comparison.

Info & Connect 2008 will start from tomorrow the 3rd of February and last until the 9th. If you are planning on renewing or getting a new Internet connection this would be the best type time since all the ISP’s usually have offers at this exhibit. I tried checking the Info & Connect website for more details but its currently not working which is ironic. Location for the exhibit is Mishref Fairground Hall 4. [Link]

I thought I needed an hour more work today but it ended up taking like three. I was experiencing some vibration sounds yesterday so today I removed the 4 speakers and stuff the area behind them with a lot more pollyfill (pillow stuffing). This ended up improving the sound quality and killing any vibrations I was hearing. I also cleaned up the wires in the rear, and fastened my amp and subwoofer into the trunk.

Even though I have the amp and sub installed in the trunk, when the rear seat is folded up there is still a lot of room for Geo to get in, sit and walk around. When the rear seat is down the amp is hidden and there is still some room next to the sub for some grocery bags.

I tuned the sound system a bit but will wait two more weeks for all the speakers to break in before I spend more time tuning things. Although it was really exhausting work it was a good learning experience. Next project I am probably going to try is to install is a suspension lift by myself. I already have the step by step instructions just need to get the right tools.

I woke up at 9AM today morning so I could start work on the installation of my Alpine sound system in the Wrangler. First thing I did was pass by Sultan Center and pick up a cutter and extra batteries for my MagLite. From 10 in the morning until 5 in the evening I was working on the installation non stop without lunch just 2 small bottles of water and gum. I got a lot of surprises, most of the stuff I was expecting to be difficult turned out easy and what I was expecting to be easy turned out to be difficult. My fingers are killing me now and I have a ton of tiny scratches all over my hands from all the work I did under the dashboard trying to get all the cables neatly through.

I am not done yet, I still have around an hour of work work which I will do tomorrow. I still need to fasten the amp and the sub to the car, I already drilled the holes just need to screw them in. I also need to fine tune the sound, currently I got a lot of highs and a lot of lows with no midrange. Also the front speakers are slightly louder then the rear so I can still tell which direction the sound is coming from but thats also an easy fix. I think I did a pretty good job of the install, there were a few moments where I thought I was fucked but those quickly got worked out. Only thing I need to improve on is my soldering technique.

If you were wondering why you have been unable to access the internet, its due to the SMW4 (South East Asia-Middle East-West Europe 4) SEG-4 link between Alexandria and Marseille has being cut (not good). Calls to the helpdesk won’t resolve much, as this is something beyond the repair of our local ISPs (it is affecting the whole region).

Status:
January 30th – 2.30pm : There is no Estimated Time of Repair.
January 30th – 10:00pm:  A cable-ship has been dispatched from Italy; repair may take up to two weeks.

More about the SMW4 Link: Wikipedia / Official Website

-Posted by K
(Psst M.O.C .. It might be time to re-evaluate our backbone links.)

My friend at work has been nagging me to start riding in to work again but I just found the weather too cold to ride. This week the weather has been perfect so I am back to riding to work and although I was originally worried I would freeze my ass off in the morning, it actually isn’t bad at all, refreshing if anything. During lunch I ride with my friend to Souk Sharq and the weather is usually sunny and cool but once the sun goes down in the evening things will get nippier again.

Yesterday during my lunch break I passed by the Bosch Power Tools dealer in Shuwaikh to buy a drill. I originally wanted to get the 14.4v cordless drill but ended up going with the 12v because it looked and felt more balanced in my hands. The manager was there which was cool because he was able to give me a good deal on the drill and some drill bits.

While browsing the store I found out they were also the dealers for Dremel. I had only seen Dremel tools at Ace Hardware before so I had assumed Ace was the dealer but turns out that wasn’t the case.

The prices of the products at the dealer here in Kuwait are either cheaper or slightly more expensive then Amazon. I got the Bosch 12v drill (Swiss made not Malaysia) for KD42 while the same drill on Amazon is being sold for KD37 without shipping. The Dremel tool I was interested in sells for KD16 in Kuwait but for KD17 on Amazon without shipping.

Finding the place is easy, if you take the road where City Center, KFH and Mercedes dealer is in Shuwaikh, just take the right hand turn after the KFH branch and head straight down. You should find the Bosch Service Center (for cars) on your left, thats where the Power Tools store is also located.

A friend of mine emailed me these two photos of what looks to be new Audi police cars for the local enforcement. My speeding fines were probably a down payment.

Update: Here is the picture of the Dodge Charger which was sent in by Khalid. Also I just found out these are test cars and the deal with the government still hasn’t been signed.

I think l’Entrecote in Fanar have the loudest waitresses ever. I think the reason for this problem is they have too many waitresses for the amount of people that go to the place. Because the place is quiet and there are a lot of waitresses with little to do all you hear is yip yapping non stop. From the minute you go into the place you hear them talking out loudly up until you leave. The last time I was there I actually asked them if they could keep their voice down but yesterday I just ignored them and decided never to go back. I couldn’t even get a hold of a waitress when I needed one because they were all gathered in the back talking.

They must have upgraded the car-cams that park on the Gulf Road every morning because they now flash. Paid for by my speeding fines.

Today me and some friends including Stallion headed to Abdally with our 4×4’s to do some offroading. It took us over an hour of driving but when we finally got there it was worth the trip. I took a lot of pictures which you can check out by clicking on continue below (yes thats a Camry stuck in the sand). I also have a video of me doing a hill climb in my Wrangler which I uploaded onto YouTube. You can watch that by clicking [Here]

The other day while at work some people said they saw a blimp in the sky. I tried looking for it but supposedly it had disappeared behind some buildings. No one believed them of course including me, that is until today. On my way to the north I spotted a huge blimp in what looks like a US military base. Its to the left of the 6th Ring Road past highway 80. I quickly pulled out my camera and took the picture above. I wonder what its used for and what was it doing in Kuwait City the other day?

Cinescape have updated their coming soon list and Cloverfield is back on it but this time it launches on February 7th. [Link]

Update: It seems starting February 7th the ticket prices are going to be slightly increased by Cinescape and its now going to cost KD3 instead of KD2.5. On a positive note its only KD1.5 on Mondays so I guess thats going to be everybody’s movie night from now on.

Someone posted a link to Q8showroom.com in the forum the other day and since then I have been seeing their web banners everywhere. The site is still not up but it looks like its going to be competing head to head with Q8car.com. I like Q8car but their website interface is a disaster and all these flashing banners on the main page are bound to give me epilepsy one day.

I called up the phone number on the Q8 Showroom website to ask when they were planning to launch and they told me within 2 to 3 weeks (they weren’t sure). If it was me I would have only started advertising once the site was actually up because I don’t think anyone wants to keep checking their site to see if its up yet or not. [Link]

I think I just found the funkiest designed clothing store in Kuwait and sadly its only for woman. I was leaving Platform and on my way out back to the main road when I saw this extremely trendy looking storefront right across the street from the BMW showroom. I didn’t know what it was and I wasn’t sure if it was open or not so I started driving really slow and then I noticed some girls walked into the place. I couldn’t tell what the place was because the windows were sand blasted so I parked my car and hoped for the best. As long as it wasn’t a lingerie store or someones house I figured I would be ok.

I opened the door and walked in and to my surprise it was a clothing store and it looked really trendy. The clothing racks were lined up on the side of the store and there were two pinball machines right in the center and in the rear there was a huge pink seating area. I walked around a bit and then left and will definitely go back with Nataly. The place is called 4 and it wouldn’t look out of place in Soho.

Note: Notice how I have 3 posts today on 3 different new stores?