Technology and Techno News

Yahoo's entry to the Arab World, on-line, with the definitive agreement to acquire Arabic language portal Maktoob.com has been welcomed by Dubai Internet City. Phil Blizzard talks to Malek Sultan al Malek, Executive Director, DIC, about this significant development as well as the impact of the global economic slowdown.

More tips to make your IT systems more secure, as the risk of cyber attacks increase. Rik Ferguson, Senior Security Analyst, Trend Micro talking to Phil Blizzard offers secure advice including patch, patch now and patch everything, controlling data transfer and smart detection technology.

With an ever increasing number of cyber attacks, industry specialist Rik Ferguson, Senior Security Analyst, Trend Micro offers a series of tips to make your IT more secure. In this part, with Phil Blizzard, looks at the importance of education in IT security and the levels of threats and how to avoid them.

In its drive to reduce carbon emissions the InterContinental Hotel Dubai Festival City is road testing two hybrid limos from Lexus. Phil Blizzard is chauffered by hotel manager Steven Greenwood to get a feel of the Lexus LS600HL.

As IT budgets are slashed, technology is taking on more importance in the Middle East as companies look for greater integration and more return on investment. KS Parag, Regional Director (Middle East) at Value Added Distributor FVC, tells Rob Jones why it is so important that IT and business work closer together.

Hotel partner for the Dubai Green Tourism Awards, the Intercontinental Dubai Festival City, operate numerous green practices, including two hybrid limousines for quests, as Steven Greenwood, Hotel Manager, explains to Phil Blizzard.

At the launch of the Dubai Green Tourism Awards Phil Blizzard spoke to Louis Hakim, CEO, Philips Electronics Middle East, awards partner, about the reluctance for organisations to convert from conventional lighting to more energy efficient options and the enormous financial savings convergence will offer.

The upcoming release of Microsoft's next operating system, Windows 7 and what the software developer is doing to ensure it avoids the mistakes that dogged the release of Vista, is talked about by Ali Faramawy, International & Area VP, ME&A, Microsoft,in pt 2 of the interview with Rob Jones. He also reveals Microsoft's thoughts behind Midori - its OS post Windows 7 - and virtualisation in the Middle East.

Ali Faramawy, International & Area VP, ME&A, Microsoft, talks to Rob Jones about their growth in the Middle East and Africa. He explains the potential in this diverse region and its main vertical markets and also speaks on how Microsoft is trying to reach the region's huge family businesses.

Telecoms have in the main, not suffered as much during the downturn as most other business sectors and continues to invest in technologies to bolster its services. Gordon Rawling, Snr Marketing Director, Communications Global Business Unit, Oracle EMEA, looks at the key issues facing telcos, how outstanding debts affect investments in the sector and the positioning of Oracle.

Intel has launched its latest business server processor, the Xeon 5500. Aimed at businesses and data centres, the company said its latest release is a significant change to previous versions in terms of its intelligence performance, flexibility and adaptable power performance. In tough turbulent times, it is more difficult to get companies to upgrade, but Ferhad Patel, Regional Market Development Director Middle East, Turkey and Africa at Intel tells Rob Jones why Intel believes the processor will attract businesses.

It is estimated that only 25% of the world's servers run virtualisation software. Citrix, a major player in the virtualisation market believes the technology is about to take off in the Middle East. Mark Templeton, CEO of Citrix, tells Rob Jones why.

Companies are increasingly looking at ways of saving money on their technology and Juergen Arnold, Chairman, Storage Network Industry Association, Europe and his Middle East counterpart Mahesh Vaidya look at ways of cutting energy bills in the data centre. They also discuss the latest trends in the industry and some of the issues companies in hot Middle East environments face.

A look at the latest gizmos, software and hardware in the technology market and this month Phil Blizzard features free software and websites to save you money in these economicaly challenged times. Tune in for a free finance manager, tv channels, file sharing and your own free website.

A look at the latest festive gizmos and this month Phil Blizzard throws a Snowball microphone from Blue, goes Mickey with iRiver, views GE's digital devices as well as Burj al Arab on a Touchmate laptop.