Dec 17, 2008

Mohammad Asha, Dr Evil, is Acquitted & FREE

"Doctor Evil" as some British newspapers dubbed Mohammad Asha, has been acquitted by the UK courts & set free!
I hope the British media would clear his image just like it associated it with terrorism.



Mohammad & I went to the same Jubilee high school in Jordan. He was few years younger than me. It's great that he's finally free. Too bad he had to waste more than a year of his promising life waiting in custody.

news:
(2 page details on him, the incident, and the reasons for keeping him as a suspect)
http://www.timesonl ine.co.uk/ tol/news/ uk/crime/ article5353487. ece


(on why he was a suspect - very short)
http://www.theheral d.co.uk/news/ news/display. var.2475757. 0.Glasgow_ Airport_terror_ attack_Profile_ Mohammed_ Asha.php

(on his mistreatment by UK police)
http://news. bbc.co.uk/ 2/hi/uk_news/ 7773727.stm

Nov 26, 2008

my photo on schmap.com

you can see it under San Diego Pacific Beach
http://www.schmap.com/sandiego/introduction_neighborhoods/#r=none&mapview=Map&tab=Places&p=2028D10&topleft=32.99427,-117.30549&bottomright=32.55607,-117.11254&i=2028D10_23.jpg

Oct 27, 2008

Debate: Muslims for McCain vs Muslims for Obama



Looking forward to this very interesting debate:
http://muslimmatters.org/2008/10/26/live-debate-muslims-for-mccain-vs-muslims-for-obama-oct-30th-10-pm-est/

from the site:

When?

Oct 30th 2008 @ 10 PM EST

How does it work?

The debate will take place on MuslimMatters.org. Format will be chat-box.

Can the audience ask questions?
You can ask questions by placing them as comments on this post (preferred) or e-mailing them to live@muslimmatters.org (deadline for questions: Oct. 29th midnight PST).

Oct 25, 2008

amazing creative site - create a movie a click

check it out:
http://www.xtranormal.com/watch?e=20081024115052467


amazing site: you write the script, and in few minutes you have an animation movie of your own.
truly very creative concept and implementation.

Oct 18, 2008

60% of internet traffic is P2P!!

and according to eMarketer.com, video might throttle the internet in the coming years.
Monthly Consumer Internet Traffic Worldwide, by Segment, 2006-2012 (% of total and petabytes*)

Oct 17, 2008

Mysterious Incidents

Mysteriously, things seem to happen in our house. As I pick my bag to work, I find out that the straps, which usually just hang there, have been clicked and tied together. Later in the train I notice a little cup coaster in the outside pocket. Finally at the office, I open my bag to find a pretend-teacup, just for me, in case I want some tea while at work...

The mystery of having a daughter... a blessed mystery.

Oct 2, 2008

Direct Instruction - for Jordan?

I am reading an interesting and entertaining book these days, Super Crunchers. (a very good review) The book emphasizes the importance of using Statistical Evidence for making decisions in every aspect of life where data is available.

One of the examples the book talks about is Direct Instruction (DISTAR) teaching method. According to the book, this was the most successful teaching method tested in the huge Project Follow-Through educational experiment that the American government conducted in the 60s/70s.

The method is outrageous: the course is fully-scripted! The teach simply goes through the script.
However, its success rate is huge. Thinking further about it, I think it might prove very useful in basic-learning classes, like languages or basic math, where a lot of concepts need to be learned. This is of course as opposed to classes that are supposed to expand critical-thinking like Philosophy or Algorithm Programming.

This method might be a perfect fit for teaching English in Jordanian public schools.

The method was devised at University of Oregon. They have a favorable article about it here. Many teachers in the US do not like this method, calling it "teacher-proof" method. However, I'm interested in learning more about it.

Here is a graph on the effectiveness of this method compared to others.

Sep 30, 2008

Delta vs RJ (JFK to Amman)

Delta has recently started offering direct flights from JFK to Amman. Thus, ending Royal Jordanian's long monopoly over such routes.

did anybody try Delta? so far I found one review only. would appreciate more input. I'm trying to decide where to buy tickets for my upcoming trip.

so far:
1- Delta prices are about $300 below Royal Jordanian, which is a lot (~20% difference)
2- Delta is said to have a private security company that does "additional screening" on the ground at Amman airport. Passengers have to hand over their passports and answer questions to that company first, and THEN go to the Government passports line.
3- Delta, just like other American airliners, are said to provide very little leg space (compared to European & RJ flights). not sure if this is true.
4- Delta flights are also rumored to have much more American Government/Army Officials. RJ flights have more children :-)
5- No matter what one can say about RJ, they do have good delicious food. American Airliners usually do not... However, Delta must be loading food from Amman, so, not sure.

if anybody has more info, that would be great.

Sep 23, 2008

Who serves in US Military, the poor or rich?

Thanks to Freakonomics blog, I came across this interesting report, "Who Serves in the US Army?" by the Heritage Foundation. The Heritage Foundation is a conservative think tank - not related to the army. One can suspect that their goal is to enhance the army's image against the usual stereotype that most of the army's recruits are poor people with no future prospects. Most of the report focuses on new recruits statistics, especially since 2001.

Below is an interesting graph showing the percentage of recruits from the different income brackets. More interestingly is the lower graph that compares the percentage of recruits to that of the population.

Sep 17, 2008

Psychology of Liberals vs Conservatives

Two amazing articles that discuss the psychology of the psychologists who analyze Liberals & Conservatives. The articles provide an insight into how the two rival groups think and evaluate each other. Highly recommended reading:

The critique by Michael Sherman (shorter & to the point)
http://www.edge.org/documents/archive/edge256.html#shermer

The original article by Dr Haidt (long & worth it)
http://www.edge.org/documents/archive/edge256.html#haidt

the same link also has commentary by several scholars on this subject. Very interesting.

the question is: can we apply such analysis on the Jordanian political scene between Elitist, Tribal, Religious, & Progressive camps?

Sep 5, 2008

Intelligence, Racial Groups, & Inheritence

I found today a very interesting survey paper of differences of IQs between different racial groups. (jump to page 16)
http://faculty.mwsu.edu/psychology/Laura.Spiller/4503_Tests/intelligence_knowns_and_unknowns.pdf

(it also has interesting section of make/female differences. in short, higher testosterone = higher spatial/movement intelligence = lower verbal abilities. math differences are complex)

interesting points:
1- Asian Americans, while they have higher SAT/GRE/Academic scores, have the same average IQ.
2- Average IQ of kids in Taiwan, USA & Japan is the same (~101-105), even though Math test scores are higher in Japan & Taiwan.
3- Asian Americans achievements, had they been those of whites, indicate an average IQ of 120, about 20 points higher than the US average. This is a testimony that hard work and discipline can increase one achievements as if they are 20 points smarter.
4- Hispanic Americans average IQ is same as the rest of the US.
5- African Americans score about 15 points below average US IQ test, BUT more recent studies show that this difference is decreasing to about single digits. much discussion is included in the paper on possible explanations.

Another interesting finding (though still controversial): Most of the intelligence is inherited from the mother, not the father.
http://www.flatrock.org.nz/topics/men/thank_mom_for_brains.htm

Sep 4, 2008

Newsweek: Forget Harvard, Top Iranian Universities

Newsweek came out with a very interesting article recently about the rare excellence of Iranian Universities:
http://www.newsweek.com/id/151684

This article enforces what I see in many computer & robotic competitions that I follow. Iranian universities, and even high school, get top honors.

The question that begs itself is: how can they do it?
The article's explanation is rather shallow: all these top students want to leave Iran so bad, education excellence is their ticket out.

However, this doesn't explain why other 3rd world countries with even worse conditions do not produce such high caliber of graduates at that rate (egypt, sudan, bangladesh to name few) (important note: there are definitely excellent students from these countries, but not at the same rate).

The Iranian Educational Excellence is definitely a case of system phenomenon. Iranian students excel in so many fields and universities run by different people. Thus, it's not the result of one or few individuals. So, how can we explain it?

I don't know much about Iran, so all these reasons are really just speculative. I would love if somebody with knowledge of the internal state of Iranian education can shed some light:

1- Individual Motivation of students to leave the country and work & study outside is definitely a reason.

2- Possibly the war with Iraq in the 1980s and the embargo forced Iran to rely on its own resources to repair and produce weapons. This must have lead the universities & army to become very efficient and enter the growth cycle of Research - Manufacture - Test - Research again (to enhance) - etc.
I noted in a previous post that this cycle of enhancement is essential for development of educational systems in any country. I personally think that the excellence of American Universities comes from a similar cycle with the Industries. This keeps the stakes high at the universities, thus politics relatively low.

3- An initial excellent seed: it's possible that the Shah's 1950s scholarships have seeded the universities with excellent professors who brought best practices from western universities. This initial group of professors helped grow the Iranian Universities in the right direction and through the challenges and tests of later years.

but, again, as I said before, I don't know much about the internal situation of Iranian education. All these reasons are speculative. I would love to hear a more educated explanation of this phenomenon.

Aug 28, 2008

Oil in Jordan?

From a very informative post by Dr Abu-Jaber of Yarmouk University on the possibility of Oil Fields in Jordan. As you can see in the map, about 66% of the oil in the world is concentrated in what is called the "Oil Corridor" - which results from the collision of 2 tectonic plates.
Unfortunately, Jordan is not on this corridor - but the possibility of "some oil" is present.


Aug 27, 2008

Walt Disney of the Arab World?

Suleiman Ma'rouf Al-Bakhit has founded Aranim, what seems to be one of the first Arabic Comic-book companies. Here's an interesting article about his company:

http://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.info/search_index.php?news_id=34471&page=detail_news

He started on his own, but then got funding from King Abdullah Development Fund (not sure if he got $2-3 million or if he's waiting for that amount in the next 3 years, article not clear).

He complains about lack of comic cartoonists in Jordan and the Arab world. He pays freelance artists from all over the world to turn his sketches into actual comics. I hope this will eventually garner enough interest in Jordan to produce able local artists.

seems like a nice beginning. good luck Suleiman.

Aug 26, 2008

Ikbis.com's Competition: 3alaRasi.com

This is not really new, but it is news to me. The competition for the Arabs eyes (pictures & videos) has gotten hotter: after Ikbis.com now we have 3alaRasi.com

they even have a Facebook Application: http://www.facebook.com/apps/application.php?id=9781705765

The company behind the site: Erum of Um Uthaina
http://younoodle.com/startups/erum_creative_productions_l_l_c


headed by Mohammad Al-Ramini
http://younoodle.com/people/mohammad_al_ramini

who knows more about it?

Aug 24, 2008

The real ranking of olympics

A medal-density by population ranking:
http://darkprofit.com/beijing-2008.php
very interesting

Rank Country G S B T Official rank
1 Flag of Jamaica JAM - Jamaica 6 3 2 11 13
2 Flag of Bahrain BRN - Bahrain 1 0 0 1 52
3 Flag of Mongolia MGL - Mongolia 2 2 0 4 31
4 Flag of New Zealand NZL - New Zealand 3 1 5 9 26
5 Flag of Estonia EST - Estonia 1 1 0 2 46
6 Flag of Australia AUS - Australia 14 15 17 46 6
7 Flag of Georgia GEO - Georgia 3 0 3 6 27
8 Flag of Norway NOR - Norway 3 5 2 10 21
9 Flag of Slovakia SVK - Slovakia 3 2 1 6 25
10 Flag of Slovenia SLO - Slovenia 1 2 2 5 41
11 Flag of Latvia LAT - Latvia 1 1 1 3 45

May 1, 2008

iWoz - review of Steve Wozniac's new book

After years of being an icon of the PC revolution, Steve Wozniac talks!

iWoz: Computer Geek to Cult Icon
How I Invented the Personal Computer, Co-Founded Apple, and Had Fun Doing It


I would say this is a long-awaited account of Steve Wozniac on how it all started. And actually, towards the end of the book, he says that he wrote this book partly to set the record straight.

My take aways from the book:
  • Steve is a SIMPLE COOL NERD! This is the main take away from the book. The book reads as if Steve is sitting with you in a coffee shop and telling you a story.
    • I love the simplicity of the book.
    • He repeats himself every now and then, and asks simple rhetorical questions like "do you believe that"
    • He uses simple diction, and sounds very excited all the time.
    • He actually goes into detail explaining his original designs - showing how much he actually enjoys this stuff. If you are a CE student, you'll enjoy the book.
  • Steve Wozniac single handedly designed the Apple I & Apple II.
  • Apple company became a huge success directly because of Steve's designs of these 2 machines.
  • Steve was a true whizz kid! he was designing circuits since elementary school!
  • In high school he designed a very nice 8-bit calculator - I could relate to that :-) of course he actually implemented his design and showed it off in science fairs.
  • Steve didn't do any major design work since Apple II. He founded a company that didn't succeed afterwards.
  • Steve Jobs brilliance was bringing the right people to turn the Apple II to a great success. The original market by the 2 Steves was to sell Apple II to hobbiests (similar to Radio Hobbiests)
  • These people are:
    • Mike Markkula: he was an Intel millionaire who retired in his 30s. This guy truly saw the revolution possible with the Apple II: a cheap micro computer. According to Wozniac, this guy told them they will become a Fortune 500 company, that they will start a whole industry, that people will eventually use the computers for every day tasks - the 2 Steves just thought it was a cool device. Jobs had more of a business sense of the potential, but not like Mike. Mike also was the first real investor in Apple.
      • For example, Mike is the one who insisted that they support Floppy Drives - something very new at the time for PCs.
      • And, Mike is the one who convinced makers of VisiCalc to produce it for the Apple II.
    • Michael "Scotty" Scott: Scotty is a forgotten character in Apple's history. However, he was the CEO who took Apple to the largest IPO since Ford. He was pretty much "fire" in 1981, after he fired about 50% of Apple's engineers thinking they were redundant. That was known as "Black Wednesday". Wozniac seems to really like Scotty. I've never heard of him until this book.
  • Steve Wozniac was behind many "landmarks" in the bay area that I really like:
  • After Apple II, Steve pretty much became a cool nerdy multi multi millionaire, who just jumped from one project to another trying to do "cool stuff", like through the "US" music festival, fly airplanes, buy and build huge houses, ...
  • Steve did not produce a great design or product after the Apple II (well, the CL9 universal remote control was cool, but I would say nothing as cool as the Floppy Drivers he wrote for Apple II, what I consider his last great achievement.)
  • Ah, Wozniac claims that he's the one behind the Keyword & Monitor idea. He says that he started it with Apple II, and after that all companies imitated it.
  • And, Wozniac also claims to be behind the "whosh" sound in the floppy disks. He says that behind his drivers, the floppy disks made clicking sounds because they were constantly getting stopped and started. He came up with the design to keep them rotating at high speed, and just slowing them down to read. This brilliant design allowed Apple II to have the highest disk access speeds for several years. I can't find evidence for this story though anywhere else but his book.

In a nutshell: a very nice, informative, and entertaining book. read it.

New Job Search website from Jordan targeting Worldwide audience

Orfalis, an entrepreneurial software company in Jordan, that acts and feels like startups, has gone public with their latest venture:

http://www.jobbind.com

This has been a "secret project" for a while. The company built a very nice internet-searching technology that allows them to find jobs and update them directly from the companys' websites.

I love their UI - it's simple yet professional. The flow of the pages and usability are great.

The site is still in Beta. Try it out, and send them feedback.

Orfalis were the creators of iCuisine, the first wireless restaurant management software in Jordan (where waiters took orders on wireless PDA like devices).
Then, they came up with TickerChart.com, which is the de facto technical analysis tool for all Arabic Middle East Stock Markets.

"Golden Era" of Saudi Arabia

With the oil prices through the roof, and Saudi's massive investments in education and infrastructure, I think it's fare to call it the "Golden Era" of Saudi Arabia. And, I think this is Saudi's chance to secure their post-oil future.

Saudi Arabia in `Golden Era,' Credit Suisse Says

May 1 (Bloomberg) -- Credit Suisse Group recommended buying shares of Al Rajhi Bank, Saudi Arabia's biggest bank by market value, as well as Saudi Arabian Fertilizer Co. and said the country is in a ``golden era.''

The brokerage also initiated coverage on Riyad Bank and Almarai Co. with ``outperform'' ratings. Saudi Basic Industries Corp., the world's biggest chemicals maker by market value, received a ``neutral'' recommendation.

``Oil prices are at an all-time high; hundreds of billions of dollars of infrastructure investments are expected to drive growth,'' analysts including Mohamad Hawa wrote in a note. ``The government is continuing to diversify its hydrocarbon-based economy.''

...



This boom is in the opposite direction of the US economy:

Gulf States May End Dollar Pegs, Kuwait Minister Says

Apr 27, 2008

My little google maplet - draw addresses on google maps quickly


Google Maps allows developers to provide javascript to create little utilities that interact with the map. I created a little maplet that allows you to create pointers for any list of addresses you provide in a simple text box.

try it out by licking here.

Apr 14, 2008

Wedding Standards in Jordan!

A number of the "elders" of the city of Salt in Jordan issued the "Social Conduct" document. This document recommends limits on the extravagant spending people tend to do during social events, like Weddings.

http://www.assult2008.org/Sult%20Collections.aspx?ID=1&CM=21

The greatest thing about the document is that it's a people initiative - not the government. It's endorsed by the tribal elders, thus socially acceptable - at least within the city of Salt.

The document is written in "politically-correct style" ... so be patient, and don't pick the details. look for the real advice :-)

few portions:

ومن أجل ذلك كله كانت وثيقة السلط الشعبية وكان ابناء المدينة روادها الأوائل الذين هدفوا من خلالها الى ما يلي:-



3.جسر الهوة الاجتماعية التي تشكلت بين الطبقات الموسرة والطبقات الأقل حظا.

5.توفير الوقت والجهد المبذولبن بدون هدف ولا جدوى لممارسة طقوس أقرب ما تكون الى العبيثة وجلد الذات.

6.أزالة الحواجز أمام الشباب الراغبين باقامة بنائهم الأسري ،وتسهيل الطريق لهم للوصول الى حقهم الطبيعي المشروع بالزواج.

11.العودة بالناس الى القواعد الدينية السليمة بعيدا عن البدع التي تراكمت في حياتهم بحجة الحرص على الوفاء للطقوس والشعائر الدينية مع أن الدين الإسلامي والدين المسيحي منها براء.

and

3-للمخطوبة الحق في:

متأخر معقول وزفاف لحمايتها من أي تعسف مستقبلي شريطة أن لا يكون خارجا عن المألوف.

لبسه من الذهب لا تزيد عن ألفي دينار, ويعتبر هذا الذهب هو الشبكة وهو المهر.

جهاز شخصي (جهاز العرس) لا تتعدى الف دينار ,يزيد قليلا أو ينقص قليلا حسب الظروف

أثاث بيت يتناسب مع قدرة الخاطب وكفاءته المالية وظروفه الأجتماعية

توصي الوثيقة أن يبادر أهل العروس لتحمل جزء ولو بسيطا من مستلزمات بيت الزوجية أو لتغطية بعض النفقات الإضافية المترتبة على الخاطب,دعما منهم وتشجيعا لمبدأ الشراكة الزوجية التي يفترض أن تشمل كل شؤون الحياة المستقبلية ضمن الشرع والعرف السائدين

ثانيا:مراسيم الزواج



-3إخراج عنصر السيارات تماما من زفة العريس داخل المدينة إذا كان بيت العروس قريبا من بيت العريس وإذا كان بعيدا يكتفي بعدد محدود من السيارات إطلاق أي زامور يمكن أن يزعج الناس وأن يكون هنالك التزام تام بقواعد المرور المرعية
5- يستمر المواطنون في إلغاء عادة تقديم السجائر واعتبار هذه العادة من الماضي الذي انقضى وإلغاء عادة إطلاق الأعيرة النارية أو المفرقعات بما في ذلك الصوتية والضوئية بكل أنواعها

10- الغاء عادة النقوط النقدي والعيني إلغاءا تاما مع إبقاء الباب مفتوحا أمام كل من يرغب بسداد نقوط ساب


I think it's a very good start.

Mar 29, 2008

Amazing lecture: Combined human-computer intelligence

Amazing lecture, on how to combine human & computer intelligence through games.
a new novel idea that can have so much effect.

Jan 21, 2008

Underground Arabic Music Wiki - Initial Thoughts

Update (Jan 21st, 2008)
Qwaider and Ruba are on board for the project. Qwaider has graciously accepted to host the site on his servers. He suggested using ScrewTerm wiki engine, which seems to be a full-featured and easy to deploy & use wiki engine made with .NET. We'll work on few ideas and then decide how to proceed.


Since I went to the USA to study, my interest in Arabic Music grew. As a result, I made sure to take music lessons whenever I visited Jordan in the summer. To my surprise, I found out two facts about Music in Jordan: coming from the outside it's very hard to find good music teachers or instruments, AND, there is a LOT of creativity and amazing work that remains hidden for years and years. Most of the musicians know each other - and once you start taking lessons with one of them (usually not at the "elites centers"), you get introduced to this "underground scene" of music lovers. They have their own jokes, hangouts, and sources of income. Just imagine smart people who decided to pursue music in this age in Jordan - they ONLY do it because cannot live without it. Unparalleled is the level of excitement and ambition I see in their eyes.

Long ago I thought of creating a website to bring music lovers together and allow others to discover their works and projects. However, that idea went dormant (along with Arabic Literature Review site) until I read this very very nice article by Ruba Saqr (thanks to Ruba for introducing me to her work, and to Qwaider for her blog's link).

Ruba Saqr asks: when would there be a project to compile the complete list of Jordanian works?
I think the time is when we decide to do it. I suggested the idea of creating a Wiki page, and she seems to really like it.

As a result, I created this blog post, to put the idea out there, and hopefully get some feedback on it. I do not want to do this alone. I wish this project to grow as a group-effort satisfying the needs of its goals.

If you can help or you have suggestions, please feel free to add them to the comments below.

The Project Proposal

Mission: connect the cultural musicians and music fans in the Arab World together.

Goal: create a collaborative site (wiki site) and allow fans and musicians to populate it with info about Arabic musicians or musicians interested in Arabic music, their works, and activities, and any other related content that would serve them (e.g. lesson announcements, instruments exchange, etc.).

For example: The site will allow you to see a list of all jordanian musicians. For each musician, you'll get links to their sites or any fan sites. The site will also list all their works. Some works can be promoted into their own pages with info about the piece - and reviews on it. Each article will have multiple tags, thus, you would be able to search for "jazz musicians in Irbid".

Hopefully, you can also listen to pieces or view videos right there. The site will inform you what Music teachers are available close to you. The site will also facilitate musical instruments exchange. The site will also have pages about other music-related areas, like instrument makers, and sound technicians, etc. The site will have a calendar/list of events of those cultural musicians. The site can also have music-info (e.g. about Oud, about Maqam Rast, etc.) - or we may just link to wikipedia.

FAQ
  1. What do you mean by "cultural musicians"?

    I want to exclude pop musicians who work just for money. Those have different needs and goals and do not need volunteers working for them. I want to include those who love music for its "cultural" value - for its sake, and not for money. For example, the wiki we create might have a page about Amr Diab, but it is not the site's goal to talk and serve the needs of Amr Diab.

  2. Is this limited to Arabic Music only?

    No. Whom to target with the site is still an open question that I want group decision on. However, my idea is to make the site arab-centric. Thus, the site will include any Arab musician interested in any type of music, or any human being interested in Arabic music.

  3. Why Arab and not Jordanian?

    Why not? we speak the same language (even when we speak English), thus communication on the site is easy. And the music is very similar. And, the culture is very similar.

  4. Why not include Turkish and Persian?

    Middle Eastern music has A LOT in common. Just look at the names of Maqams. However, the site is about the social aspect of bringing musicians together. To create an efficient site, we have to draw the limit of its 'core audience' somewhere. If we start including 'similar' countries, we'll end up with the whole world, thus diluting the focus to help Arab musicians in the first place.

  5. Does this site exclude non-Arab citizens of Arab countries?

    NOT AT ALL! This site is for any music activity of Arab musician. Arab musicians include all citizens of all Arab countries: I would love to see a page on Amazeghi music from morocco, or Nubi music from Egypt, or Chechen music from Jordan, or Armenian music from Syria, or Kurdish music from Iraq, etc.

Open Questions

  1. Arab vs Jordanian?

    I suggest making the site for all Arabs. However, each country will have its own site, since the communication and connection within the same country is usually the easiest and most practical.
    What do you think?

  2. Cultural vs Pop/for-profit musicians?

    I suggest having the site focus on the "left behind" musicians, and not those who are in the "music industry". Music industry usually focuses on the least-common-factor aspect of music that appeals to largest number of people. Thus, producing mostly very simple and non-thoughtful music. If somebody wants to create a page for Amr Diab, then go ahead. But, that won't be a 'goal' of the site.

    what do you think?

  3. Arab vs Neighboring countries?

    I suggest keeping an Arabic feeling to the site to capitalize on the cultural and language commonalities between the participants.

    do you think we should include Turkey and Iran? maybe Spain? and Greece? how about African music?

  4. Non-Arabs interested in Arabic Music?

    Living in the US, I truly respect those who spend loads of their time and money learning Arabic music while it is not in their culture. They pay a lot of money and try very hard to find a good Oud to buy, or developing a reference site for other musicians (check Mike's Oud site). Thus, I'd like to include them as part of the site.

    what do you think?

  5. Why not just add pages to the Arabic Wikipedia?

    Unlike Wikipedia, our goal is not to collect data, but to create a hub for communication. Pages like "instruments for sale" or "reviews of tracks" do not fit Wikipedia.
    What do you think?

  6. Why go with Wiki? why not ...?

    I personally think Wiki is suitable because we can make it into anything we like. And, for such big cultural project, we really need participation of all those involved.
    what other alternatives you would suggest?

  7. Allow anonymous editing?

    I prefer not. This is not a site for online music surfers, but for real musicians and their real fans. Thus, I think all people registered in the site must register with their real names. I hope this would reduce spam and fights.

    What do you think?

  8. Which wiki engine?

    I don't know many. I like MediaWiki (the one used for Wikipedia). but I really don't know much about wikis. What do you suggest?

  9. Where to host?

    I have no clue. I was looking into cheap hosted wiki solutions (e.g. pbwiki.com). What do you suggest?


  10. What to call it?

    I'm not sure yet. Email me privately if you are afraid of somebody stealing the domain name :-)

Next Steps:
  1. Discuss this on the web for ~5 days.
  2. Choose a 'core group' of interested people to proceed.
  3. Discuss and agree on the open questions. Share results on the web.
  4. Devise a work plan.
  5. Execute the plan.
If you're interested in helping, add a comment below, indicate that, and let me know your email address.

thanks,
Muhammad