I can believe it. You can't even pick you nose in London these days without a CCTV camera closely watching your every move.

In fact, the reason why this article caught my eye is because only some days ago it occurred to me that there is very little CCTV coverage here in Doha (compared to London that is..). Don't get me wrong, it's a good thing since it's maybe a reflection of how safe the country is.

Till now in my 4 years in Doha, I haven't experienced any real crime as such. I recall my neighbour once telling me that some years ago he went on a 4 month or so holiday and accidentally left his flat's front door open. He explained the door was actually 'open' and not just 'unlocked'. His other neighbour at the time noticed it open and simply closed it, without locking it. 4 months later he returned from holiday and there was his flat, completely untouched just as he left it.

I really hope Qatar doesn't change in this regard.

I think this is an important move in order for Android to continue it's international expansion for not just handsests but also relevant apps. It'll be interesting to see whether it has an impact on whether users are more likely to buy apps say in the Middle East because they can easily understand the price in their local currency.

"In a blog post, app analytic company Distimo noted that, until now, the currency of paid applications was based on the currency of the developer’s home country. Developers from the United Kingdom offered their apps in GBP, the United States in US$, and so forth. This currency would then be displayed to all Android Market consumers, regardless of their home country. This meant that a user in the UK, for example, would view apps in EUR, GBP, US$, and JPY in the store. This has now changed."

An app developer has sparked some debate with a blog post titled ‘Flash outperforms HTML5 on mobile devices,” which notes that an Android-powered Nexus One could achieve a 57 frames per second rate when rendering a simple animation using Flash, compared with 40 frames per second using HTML5. In addition, the HTML5 app consumed twice the battery life of the Flash version, which is a significant consideration for power-limited mobile devices. In both cases, the test used browser-based applets rather than code transformed into a native app, because HTML5 cannot currently be exported as a native app for Android, and otherwise the test would not be comparing like-with-like.

Some posters to the original blog noted different performances from other devices, with the gap substantially narrowed in some cases, although some reiterated the results of the initial test. It was also suggested that the code used in the HTML5 app was inefficient; and that the test actually measured browser performance rather than differences with the core HTML or Flash implementations.

The test was deemed significant as it addresses an important issue for developers: the ability to use a technology such as HTML5 or Flash to deliver applications across device platforms, without the need to port to support different operating systems. While Flash is something of a known quantity in the PC world, the test shows how it could also be a more suitable tool for mobile than HTML5, which is gaining traction as a way to deliver code that can be run on multiple devices. However, HTML 5 has some benefits, not least of which is support from Apple for the delivery of content to iOS devices – although this lead has been somewhat narrowed following Apple’s decision to allow Flash content packaged as native applications on the iPhone.

Currently, HTML5 is being evolved to support more and more features, which should enable it to become a more widely adopted alternative to native apps. In our recent Focus article, Mark Watson, CEO of Volantis, argues that HTML5 offers “an easier and safer way to write applications for mobile phones compared to a system programming language such as Java.”

Didn't Steve Jobs argue the opposite not so long ago and list so many reasons why Flash should not be supported on the iPhone?

Although this test was browser based, I wonder if native apps would produce the same results.

As high quality recording devices get smaller and smaller, the possibilities of where to hang them from get's even more exciting.

I'd like to see the version of this where I can control it from any Android device over 3G without a range limit. Meaning my Android device here in Qatar is doing the controlling of the plan over Egypt.

Oh and yes, it will have to be Solar powered so can stay in flight perpetually without needing to ever make a landing. See http://english.aljazeera.net/video/europe/2010/07/201077151014692989.html

Pakistan third generation, or 3G, spectrum will be auctioned in the next three to four months, the Daily Times reported on its website Tuesday, citing Pakistan Telecommunication Authority Chairman Dr Muhammad Yaseen, speaking at a seminar entitled Demand for 3G and Beyond.

"We (the PTA) will offer cellular operators spectrum as they are already license holders of the regulator but they are not bound to launch 3G or 4G because we will give them a choice, so it's up to them," the website quoted him as saying.

Would be good to finally see 3G happening in Pakistan. The interesting parts for me will be how they phase out the coverage for such a relatively large country. I'm guessing the major cities like Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi will be priority with poorer areas coming later.

Another exciting trend to monitor will be apps and services and the introduction (or increase) of the latest smartphones. Pakistan has lots of talented developers for which we would have seen their skills mainly on the web until now. Will be great to see how the mobile app market will grow with more great high-end mobile apps for iPhone, Android etc for the local market.

A major factor in the uptake of 3G services will be pricing of course with the average disposable income amount less than many other countries who have 3G networks.

My colleagues and friends will testify to how much i'm fond of muppets. Elmo was always a personal favourite back in the days.

Coolest thing about Sesame Street is that they always manage to maintain their appeal somehow. Watch this video and see how easy it is to create a monster. Ingenious!

Read the Mashable post also that discusses how the app is built for iPhone/iPod Touch and aimed at kids.

Would you buy your kid an iPhone or even let them play with yours?

Nokia, a bit late to the game on making thier maps finally free, although a nice stunt I must admit publicity wise.

Being able to send a text and seeing it posted on a huge arrow sign hanging from a crane in central London is quite interesting, I wonder though if there was a Nokia team sitting somewhere moderating all the spammers and kids posting rude messages :-)

I guess if you're a happy iPhone user like myself and looking to switch to the Nexus One, you'll probably want to consult a comparison chart like this one.

Although a comparison of features will be useful, ultimately I feel most iPhone users will simply be looking for something that is amazingly user friendly. Certainly the iPhone's UI or user interface is something that places the iPhone a few notches above the rest.

Being limited to strict formats did wonders for the sonnet and haiku.  One wonders where this highly impractical word-limit will lead as the future unfolds.

Here are the top 7 in the 2009 list:

1. Twitter — The ability to encapsulate human thought in 140 characters

2. Obama — The word stem transforms into scores of new words like ObamaCare

3. H1N1 — The formal (and politically correct) name for Swine Flu

4. Stimulus — The $800 billion aid package meant to help mend the US economy

5. Vampire — Vampires are very much en vogue, now the symbol of unrequited love

6. 2.0 — The 2.0 suffix is attached to the next generation of everything

7. Deficit — Lessons from history are dire warnings here

I would have thought the Middle East would be the first region to produce something like this but I guess the Dubai Debt news we've been seeing recently puts these kind of projects on the back burner.

For someone to even attempt something crazy like this shows how much the iPhone stands out from it's competitors. I can't imagine someone doing the same on a Nokia N95 or and LG.

"The man behind the bedazzler was Stuart Hughes. First he covered it in 22 cts gold plating, then slapped on a total of 190 diamonds – 136 on the front, 53 flawless diamonds on the logo, and one big ol’ 7.1 cts diamond replacing the home button."

WIFI was apparently temporarily banned in Beijing when the first batch were manufactured, so the next batch should get WIFI back.

I wonder how popular these expensive WIFI'less devices will prove to be. You can buy an unlocked 3GS with WIFI for 20% cheaper. We have to also bear in mind the huge population of China, so even a fraction of the user base could potentially mean massive sales figures for Apple and China Unicom.

For reasons of shooting video i've always preferred the Nokia N95 over the iPhone for obvious reasons. But watching this video totally changes the perspective on what's possible on the iPhone (albeit by hacking at this point in time).

Yet another development that makes the iPhone a step closer to being the one device that's all you ever need in your daily routine.

An interesting quote from TechCrunch:
"...none of these workarounds have been authorized or otherwise approved by Apple, but to see the quality and the possibilities with the iPhone 3GS really makes you think — what if Apple did approve this?"

What got my attention about the new DROID handset from Motorola aside from the 5MP camera with dual-LED flash and 16GB of memory was the fact that it does DVD-quality video capture and playback (720x480).

Technology has moved very quickly. I recall not so long ago the days of testing the broadcast quality recordings of the Nokia N95. Exciting possibilities for capturing news events on mobile.

A nice concise interview from the Guardian of Wadah Khanfar, who is still amongst the most powerful arabs in the world.

When asked "What is your greatest hope for the next 10 years?"

he replied "To see journalism liberate itself from the chains of political influence and commercialism, and to see freedom of expression become sacred without any suppression by governments or authorities."

Click on the picture above to read the full Q&A.

How about swapping your office broadband connection for some carrier pigeons?

Sounds like a joke but this firm is quite serious about using pigeons to carry several Gigs of data between their offices which are 50 miles apart.

'To send four gigabytes of encrypted information takes around six hours on a good day. If we get bad weather and the service goes down then it can up to two days to get through... Experts believe the specially-trained 11-month-old pigeon will complete the flight in just 45 minutes - and at a fraction of the cost.'

"HTC Magic is Vodafone's first Google Android powered mobile with the Android platform. It comes with the latest Google Mobile Services such as Google Mail, Google sync with Calendar/Contact, Google Talk, Google Maps with 'Street view' and 'Latitude' function, desktop Google Search, YouTube, Picasa, and Android Market." [Vodafone Qatar]

It mentions Google Maps with "Street View" - has any part of Qatar even been mapped/photographed for street view?

Interesting research from an American think-tank which estimated a population 1.57 billions Muslims, higher than expected.

Amaney Jamal, an assistant professor of politics at Princeton University, told the AP news agency: "This whole idea that Muslims are Arabs and Arabs are Muslims is really just obliterated by this report." [BBC]

This is great if you need tips on how to get your management on Twitter and take full advantage of the situation. Always helps if you work in Social Media and they believe everything you tell them.

It's also worth reading some of the comments for this on thenextweb website about being very cautious when it comes to advertising your location. Not a massive problem in relatively safe countries like Qatar, but i certainly wouldn't think twice about posting my whereabouts if i lived in the UK or the US.

[Courtesy of @riy's tweet]