Firstup is hardware. I’m using a medium level Asus Notebook – K50ij series with 2gigs of ram, 320g storage, Intel Dual Core T4300.   This has surprised me with its speed and ability to multi-task with Photoshop, Corel draw, Gmail and a few other browsers. Lastly a 500g external usb powered drive for daily backups of all files, settings, software, etc. Watching movies and playing games is not a priority hence a 15” LED backlit screen suits me just fine.

For file management between JHB offices, webclients and myself. We are all using Dropbox.  The 2gig free version is more then enough to keep things going smoothly.  Website updates, advert submissions and text documents are all handled through this. A few successful referrals has bumped me to about 4gigs of online storage.

Now add in Skype, MSN, Gmail and SMS text messaging to keep constant contact with colleagues, friends and family at a near free cost.  Skype to landlines (to south african landlines) costs about R5 for a 10 minute call.  Obviously Skype to Skype is free and preferred. Free Video calls are an added bonus!

Connectivity is where Egypt shines! Broadband is fast, relatively cheap and accessible almost everywhere.

We are using Etisalat’s 3.75g hsdpa post-paid option.  1750egp (about R2360) gets you a high speed up to 7mbps USB modem and unlimited monthly usage for 6 months. Thereafter its 299pounds per month. However their ‘fair use’ policy is good for up to 6gigs. Thereafter throttled to 64k speeds.
In short, 290egp per month for 6gigs & USB modem included.  The modem has a MicroSD memory card slot which allows it to act as a flash drive too.

A cheaper option is a slightly slower USB stick modem and 1gig prepaid for 99egp (about R135) – simply recharge by paying cash at an Etisalat store or scratch cards.

Mobile phones, once again is cheap and cost effective,
SMS costs .25egp local and .80egp international.  Calls are per minute and cost between .25egp and 50egp for local calls.  We are using Skype for international calls

check out www.etisalat.com.eg for the full breakdown

Apparently the apartment we move in tomorrow has broadband at 50egp per month. While I’m not sure about the speed, it would most likely be rather fast due to an internet cafe operating in the same building. Methinks the landlord (who owns it all) piggybacks of their connectivity.

LinkDsl offers extremely cheap broadband – fellow South Africans can sob a tear when viewing their website and pricing.  We will most likely stick to 3.75g hsdpa for easier movements.

Lastly my trusty Canon 300D dslr camera has been replaced by a 1000D.  Added bonus is the SD Memory card storage and my notebook having a built in SD memory card slot.  One less device to carry with.

I am working on www.NasihaDesign.com – an online store and design blog.

Initially it’ll be stocking T-Shirts, Armbands and hand crafted Ramadan greeting cards.  We plan on launching at least one new design tshirt per month.  I would like to get in touch with artists who would like an online showcase to sell and promote their works. I will also be commissioning projects to said artists on an ongoing basis.  The focus is not only on selling goods.  I would like to feature any Islamic & Eastern art worldwide on the blog, perhaps interview prominent designers, painters and so on.

If you are interested or know of anyone who would have an interest in this, contact me or leave a comment below.

It’s official! Autostyle.co.za has won the title of Best Automotive Website for 2007. Thats 2 years running!

This year, Jump.co.za counted thousands of votes, additionally several of South Africa’s leading web guru’s gave their recommendations and once the dust settled, Autostyle Motorsport was crowned Best Automotive Website for 2007.

About the Awards
The 2007 South African E-Commerce Awards is run by Jump Shopping, South Africa’s leading online shopping search engine, and entry for the awards is free. Jump Shopping identified the opportunity for such an awards event in 2006, and took the opportunity to start this as part of their goal to uplift E-Commerce in South Africa. The awards are now in its second year.

These awards have been designed to recognise and reward those companies and organisations that have demonstrated excellence through the use of the Internet, with specific emphasis on E-Commerce. The Awards are open to South African businesses based in South Africa.

This being the second year for the awards it was important that a high standard of judging is in place when determining the winners. The panel of judges are all experts in their individual fields. The judges votes count 51% of the votes and the other 49% will be given to the public.

More about the 2007 South African Ecommerce Awards over here

Anyway, earlier today I subscribed to PSDtuts.com, an excellant photoshop blog-meets-tutorial website. Their Light & Shade tutorial caught my eye and in all of 5 minutes I came up with the above graphic.

You can view the step-by-step tutorial from PSDtuts.com below: http://psdtuts.com/text-effects-tutorials/using-light-shade-to-bring-text-to-life/

Click on the image, or here for a larger 1024x768pixel version.