Thursday November 24, 2005 Chris Saul's Blog
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Thursday November 24, 2005 Solaris x86 working perfectly and wirelessly I expect anyone finding this via Google will be frustrated by this entry, but... After using what I think are internal tools and drivers only I have my Solaris x86 laptop now working perfectly with the wireless network in my flat. I also have an internal only tool that gives me a graphical interface to choose which network type to select and which lets me setup profiles so that I can quickly change IP addresses depending on my location and what I want to do. Fantastic! Here's my lovely assistant demonstrating my Toshiba S1 downloading Firefox from Blastwave.org, wirelessly and power cord free.
I know, let's visit an Iranian controlled military island base! Whilst I don't sympathise with the way these people were treated, I don't understand why they went there in the first place. UK to pursue ordeal of expats detained in Iran A lot of expats based in Dubai go skiiing in Iran apparently. I wonder how easy it is for Brits to go there? ( Nov 24 2005, 12:36:39 PM GST ) Permalink Comments [0]
Sky high Dubai Hmmph. Prices here are going through the roof and it's really beginning to grate. When we arrived we got used to 5 star stuff at very reasonable prices. Now it's 5 star at unreasonable prices, but we've got used to going to all the nice places! Time to scale back and get used to reality again. It was fun while it lasted. The problem is that there's not much 'middle' stuff to scale back to. It's either pretty low-end entertainment or 5 star hotels without much inbetween. Take a lovely seafront bar near the Sun office, for example. The fish and chips used to Cost 50 UAE Dirhams, or about $13. In less than a year it's gone up to $20. That's from good value to poor value in less than 12 months. Petrol has just gone up 32% and our rent went up 32% too. Duty free drinks prices have increased too. A friend paid $8.50 for a pint of beer in a bar the other day! Three years ago the average price was $4.80. Taxi prices and everything else will follow soon... We're lucky in terms of salary compared to many others and we're still financially better off than in the UK, but the price rises are increasingly leaving a sour taste in the mouth. You can shop around for good deals, but good value is no longer the default. Many sections of society must be having a tough time. That said, tourists and expats continue to flock here - hotels are packed and you can't find an apartment for love nor money. Dubai Inc's doing well and I have to congratulate them, even if the Sauls are cutting back. With the huge number of hotels going up I can only hope that the extra competition will restore some value to the entertainment market around here. Apart from offroading there's not a huge amount else to do... ( Nov 24 2005, 11:39:47 AM GST ) Permalink Comments [1]
