‘Responsible’ the UAE’s most overused buzzword on LinkedIn

As a UAE resident, how often do you use the words ‘responsible’, ‘effective’ or ‘strategic’ when describing yourself professionally or to a potential employer on your online profiles?
You might indeed be all of those things, but does that necessarily mean that you should rely on cliché terms to differentiate yourself?
According to LinkedIn, which has recently released its annual list of buzzwords, those three words top the list of being the most overused in the UAE members’ profiles for 2013.

Facebook Messenger brings out the big guns

In the midst of the competition between free texting and calling apps such as Skype, Viber, Whatsapp and others, Facebook Messenger stood idly watching the fun while its users only used it to text and call their Facebook friends, which went against the odds of them using any other app.
Not anymore; because the 3.0 Facebook Messenger update now enables you to text anyone in your contacts outside Facebook by obtaining your number and accessing your contact list.

Ever wonder what happens on the Internet every minute?

Do you know what goes on the Internet every single minute? Google processes 2 million search requests. 72 hours of videos are uploaded on YouTube. And over 204 million emails are sent. This happens every minute. The following incredible info graphic from QMee shows the amazing activity that happens across some of the most popular websites in the world.

The successor to the HTC One is set for an early 2014 release

The new version of HTC’s award-winning handset, the HTC One, is to be out in the US by the start of next year.

Following the success of the HTC One, the newer version is anticipated to have the same fate which will be determined soon.  Tweets, namely from @evleaks, confirm the new device’s predicted upcoming launch date.

Retro video games are making a comeback

We live in a world that is sparkling with cutting-edge graphics and special effects, games played on innovative devices that enhance the gaming experience by a far difference from our childhood gear. That being said, there are times when we feel nostalgic of the times when video games were a simple round of Tetris or Pac-man; luckily, our favorite oldies are making a comeback to the digital world.

Annual initiative to boost Arabic content on internet

Google has announced the return of Arabic Web Days, an annual initiative created to boost the amount of Arabic content on the internet.
The initiative, which was developed by Google, Vinelab and Wamda last year, works to raise awareness and bridge the gap between the number of Arabic speakers online and the percentage of Arabic content on the web.
The effort is conducted in association with several regional and

Microsoft launches Biz4Afrika SME hub

On 5 November 2013, Microsoft South Africa announced the availability of a new SME resource hub, Biz4Afrika, that aims to deliver a range of free and low-cost resources – both IT and non-IT –to South African SMEs. Biz4Afrika is a key element of Microsoft’s 4Afrika commitment to bring 1 million African SMEs online within three years.
The announcement was made by Kevin Turner, Chief Operating Officer

Damaged iPhones are being traded in for credit

Apple’s trading program has started to welcome in damaged iPhones and iPads.

As part of its Reuse and Recycling Program, Apple has begun to allow devices with water damage to be traded in for credit, starting last week. The prices at which the devices can be compensated are at a relatively low price.

Hackers Beware: Twitter enhances security

Hackers will be having a tougher time trying to hack into Twitter users’ accounts thanks to the social media hub’s new security technology.

Via a blog post yesterday, Twitter stated that new measures known as “forward secrecy” are currently being put into use for the purpose of protecting user information.

HTC One to go gold

HTC One in a gold finish will soon hit stores in the UK and Europe. The Middle East can’t be far behind…

Silver, blue, red and black. It’s now time for the awesome HTC One to go gold. Rose Gold too. HTC is to begin offering its award-winning HTC One smartphone in a gold finish in the UK and Europe. The gold version of the smartphone follows on from the very limited run created for the winners of this year’s MOBO Awards. Unlike the limited edition HTC One, the gold model

BBM Channels now available for BlackBerry users

Today BBM Channels, a forum for active, real conversations between people, brands and communities, will be made available for BlackBerry users on BlackBerry OS 5 and above and BlackBerry 10 through BlackBerry World. BlackBerry users can simply update to the newest version of BBM to have access to the BBM Channels beta when it becomes available later today.

BBM Channels builds on BBM’s strengths of engagement and

Google celebrates World Expo 2020 with UAE

After the winning of the Expo 2020 bid last night, Google showed their support for the UAE by changing the Google doodle that appears on their UAE home page or Google Now with the Expo 2020 logo.
Dubai will be hosting the World Expo in the year 2020 and it will the first time a city in the Middle East has been chosen. Inaugurated in 1851 in London, the World Expos is held every five years and attracts millions of visitors to explore.
Head over to google from within UAE to see the doodle from outside UAE.

People using the PlayStation 4 for sex !

If you build it, they will use it for sex.
The PlayStation 4, Sony's new gaming console, has a camera that can be used to record gamers while they play. But after only two weeks on sale, the PS4 is already being used to broadcast sex sessions with the virtual-reality game "The Playroom," which lets gamers share feeds of their living rooms through a video platform called Twitch.

How to use Facebook for a small business

Company’s head of Middle East, Africa and Pakistan, Jonathan Labin, shares his top five tips.

1. Spruce up your page
A little bit of housekeeping on your page can add lots of value. Make sure that your hours of business and contact information are all up to date. It’s also a good idea to update your page’s cover photo with holiday- or small business-themed images. These little steps let visitors know that your page is an active extension of your business.
2. Post regularly

Amazon testing delivery with drones, CEO Bezos says

(Reuters) - Amazon.com Inc is testing delivery packages using drones, CEO Jeff Bezos said Sunday on the CBS television program "60 Minutes."
Bezos said the drones, unmanned vehicles that fly through the air, could deliver packages that weigh up to five pounds (2.3 kg). That represents roughly 86 percent of packages that Amazon delivers, he said.

Facebook to give favor to “high-quality” updates

Facebook is working towards making your homepage more informative, pushing more quality articles and news and cutting back on memes, over-shared photos.
This comes after the giant network found out that news and informative articles are more likely to get clicked on. It will also recommend similar links below articles in your news feed.
“Our surveys show that on average people prefer links to high quality articles about current events,” Facebook announced, “their favorite

Gold Plated Leica Luxus II turns out to be the Most Expensive Camera

Camera collectors have a reason to be happy.  A gold plated camera which has been encased in lizard skin has surfaced. The camera, a Leica Luxus was auctioned on November 22 at Hong Kong. This is one of the special edition cameras made in 1932 and is the only surviving from the lot of four.

Ray Ban solar-panel sunglasses as iPhone charger

A pair of sunglasses that can convert the sun’s rays into power for your iPhone and any other smartphones. Awesome!Designed by wunderkind Sayalee Kaluskar from Mumbai, India, this pair of sunglasses was turned into an iPhone charger by just adding solar panels on each arm and is useful when the sun goes down.  This new Ray Ban solar-panel

Will Samsung launch a budget Galaxy Tab at CES 2014?

Samsung is reportedly planning to unveil a smaller, budget version of its Galaxy Tab 3 tablet at CES 2014

The rumoured tablet is said to have rock-bottom specs. It will come with a seven-inch display with a 1024 by 600 pixel display, a 1.2GHz dual-core A9 processor and Android 4.2 Jelly Bean. Samsung will reportedly take the wraps off the tablet at the Consumer Electronics

“Sympathize” button to come to Facebook?

Facebook is testing a “sympathize” button to serve as a replacement option for the “like” button, when necessary.

Last Thursday, a Facebook engineer spoke to the Huffington post and stated that the company is trying out a ‘sympathize’ button.
The idea behind the button lies on a correlation with a ‘sad’ Facebook post. If that sort of post is detected, namely one with the use of a sad