Dubai - The City of the Future

It isn't just technology that interests me. My whole life, I've been fascinated by cities and skyscrapers, which has fueled many of my choices for travel destinations (including New York, Chicago, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, and Singapore).

In recent times, I have come to look at a new destination: Dubai (United Arab Emirates).

It's a name I had heard of before, but it didn't mean anything to me. I knew the most highly-rated airport in the world was there. I had also heard that a new tower, to be the world's tallest building, was in the process of being constructed. Most bizarrely, I heard a story that they were building an indoor ski resort - interesting considering the place is a desert.

Finally, I decided to do a little research into this place. Here is what I learned.

Dubai is a city-state, part of the United Arab Emirates, situated on the Persian Gulf. It's ruler is an "enlightened despot" in the sense that he has opened Dubai to foreign investment. As Islamic states go, there are more freedoms found here than just about anywhere else. Of course, when over 80% of your population is comprised of expatriates, you can perhaps afford to ease up on the restrictions.

The real story of Dubai, though, is what is in the process of happening right now. Namely, construction of the most futuristic skyline and luxurious lifestyle of any place on Earth.

The crown jewel - and there are many to be found here - is the Burj Dubai (Dubai Tower), currently under construction. When finished, it is expected to be the tallest building in the world. A stunning virtual video of Dubai with the completed Burj Dubai can be seen here.

But there is SO much more going on in Dubai than just the Burj Dubai. There's a long list of the world's biggest or most unique: mall, hotel, tower, and so on. Read more here.

The Toronto Star recently described Dubai as a desert oasis. It isn't an oasis for everyone, though. Much of the construction work is being done by underpaid foreign workers. Alas, somebody always pays the price for something spectacular.

Anyway, Dubai is on my radar now. I hope to visit there, perhaps around 2010 when many of these construction projects have been completed. In the meantime, it'll be fun to watch this 'Star Wars' city rise from the desert.

Update (August 12, 2006): Recently discovered the following promotional video for the mega construction projects currently underway or in the planning stages for Dubai. If you have an hour to kill, watch this.

The World Baseball Classic and Korea

Four years ago, I had the pleasure of witnessing the World Cup of soccer here in Korea. The most memorable aspect of that event was the surprising success of Team Korea, beating famed soccer powerhouses such as Portugal, Italy, and Spain, and tying the U.S. team. Along with the success came an explosion of nationalism (of a healthy sort) that I have rarely witnessed in my life: the millions upon millions of Korean fans partying in the streets following each successive victory. What that event taught me is that there is something to be said for the tenacity of Koreans. It's almost as if they decide they are going to do something, and then they go and do it, no matter what conventional wisdom says.

Here it is four years later. The event is different -- the inaugural World Baseball Classic. Typical powerhouse teams from the United States, Latin America, and Japan were expected to do battle, with Team USA generally presumed to be victorious in the end. Yet here is Korea, with a record of 6-0. They've defeated Japan twice. They've thumped the Americans. And they are showing they really know how to play the game: perfect throws, sparkling defence in the field, fabulous pitching, and timely hitting. And there are the crowds of Koreans from L.A. as well as from Korea, resurrecting the famed Dae-Han-Min-Gook chant that caused soccer stadiums throughout Korea to shudder in 2002.

It is fun to read how other countries view the success of Korea. ESPN rightfully gives considerable credit to the Koreans for the success of the WBC thus far. MLB.com's article following Korea's second win over Japan shows just how important Korea's success has been to the players themselves, who earned a very special reward from the Korean government for making it to the semi-finals.

And now Korea is just two wins away from the most improbable -- winning the World Baseball Classic. But before any of us gets too excited at that thought, the Korean soccer team was in the same position in 2002 -- undefeated heading into the semi-finals before succumbing to the Germans. But then, as now, it doesn't matter what happens from here on out. Korea has demonstrated it can play with the big boys.

I'm not Korean, but my wife and children are, and I've lived here long enough to appreciate the desire for success that Koreans have at all levels of their society. It's intoxicating, really.

My Web

On my personal web site, SpeedmetalPhil.com, I recently made a page entitled My Web.

The purpose of this page was to aggregate the pages on the World Wide Web that hold special meaning to me. But beyond accumulating a list of favorites (as anybody can do with their web browser), I desired to graphically organize these sites in such a way that I could examine them for possible relationships.

There are billions of web pages on the Internet, the vast majority of which we will never see. That is not to say that most of those billions of pages will not be seen by anybody, but rather that no one person will see the vast majority of pages. We all have our favorite sites that we go back to time and time again. Occasionally, we allow ourselves the time to surf -- to randomly click links to pages we've never been to before. Sometimes, we even discover something quite amazing in one of those random ventures into hyperspace.

Nevertheless, I find myself visiting a few particular web sites on a regular basis. As well, there are certain web sites that have been important to me over the years, regardless of how often I have visited them. All told, I figure that somewhere in the neighborhood of twenty web sites hold special meaning to me. Why those twenty?

I believe we construct meaning of the world around us by the way we relate various pieces of information. Since everyone 'connects the dots' a little bit differently, every person tends to construct a slightly different world view. It is a reason why being human (and, thus, having the capacity to think) is so interesting, not to mention aggravating at times.

In my case, I tend to visit news information sites everyday. These include ESPN, CNN, and Weather.com for the basic everyday news I desire. As well, I like to keep abreast of technology developments, so I visit CNET for in-depth coverage of the latest tech toys, and I subscribe to the Engadget blog for up-to-the minute information (or rumors) about the latest devices that are under development.

Additionally, there are my own web sites that I have created. They reveal my efforts to contribute something to cyberspace, mostly unread by any kind of audience, I realize, but there nonetheless. Then there are the web sites of the companies I have worked for in recent years, as well as the universities I have attended and will be attending. And of course, I've become a bit of an Apple fanboy in recent months, so I visit that site often just to gaze at the cool new gadgets.

So, I created My Web with direct links to these sites. Generally speaking, my personal relationship with cyberspace and its connection to my life experiences is contained on this one page. (I decided to add a link to my friend's blog about his efforts to build his dream in Panama -- namely, an eco-resort for travelers looking to try something off the beaten track. It's an inspiring story).

Now comes the interesting part: examining My Web to see if there are any relationships to be discovered. If there are some relationships there, what will I learn from them? Is it possible for me to be able to add some cool new insight to the digital world consciousness?

I've learned about the immense value of analyzing ideas from two or more sources at the same time. For example, giving a book report about one book has marginal value as far as I'm concerned, but reading at least two books that are related, and considering the implications of each in relation to each other yields very interesting perspectives about the world. I have done this in the past year with a number of different resources. (In fact, my digital world consciousness essay is a case in point.) Now, I wish to do the same with my web of favorite Internet sites.

I'll stop here for now. This posting has been meant as an introduction to a process I hope to engage myself in for the next little while. It's a process that other people should follow, I think, and many people already do (journalists, specifically).

As William Gibson said in the prologue of Multimedia - From Wagner to Virtual Reality:

"I recommend this book to you with an earnestness that I have seldom felt for any collection of historic texts. This is, in large part, where the bodies (or, rather, the bones of the ancestors) are buried. Assembled this way, in such provocative proximity, these visions give off strange sparks. Think of it, if you like, as a cut-up in Burroughs’s best sense, an interleaving of histories intended to open intertextual doors, some of which, given the right reader, have never before been opened. Perhaps you are that reader."

"If not, keep it handy: you may be that reader one day, be you geek or artboy (of either gender, please) or (more likely) some evolved hybrid of the two."

"Someone, it seems, always has to be."

Hey, maybe it'll even be me.

;-)

Toronto Wi-fi and the UMPC

Two very recent developments have drawn my attention. First, there was the announcement by Toronto Hydro that they are in the process of blanketing the city of Toronto with wi-fi coverage. It kind of makes me wish I was back there. This is a growing trend, of course, with similar projects underway in San Francisco and Philadelphia, and plans for Chicago are not far behind.

The second story that just broke today was the announcement by Microsoft and various partners of the Ultra-mobile PC's - UMPC (formerly known as Project Origami). This new portable device is basically the smallest full-fledged computer yet released (or soon to be). It will run the latest Windows OS, and it is expected to challenge devices like the PSP for all-round entertainment value.

Considering these two developments, I think there is hope for these types of devices. In fact, I've been wishing for something along these lines - a machine that could give me computer functionality but in a form factor more reminiscent of the PSP or iPod (in other words, smaller than a laptop, and more functional than a PDA). Such devices would be especially useful in places where wireless connectivity is readily available. Based on early reviews, I'm quite tempted to get one -- the Samsung version to be released here in Korea should have satellite TV capability!

But nobody yet knows if this thing (the UMPC) will fly with most consumers. Time will tell, but I can't help but think that the growth of wi-fi might contribute to its success.

Reading about Apple and Steve Jobs

In recent weeks, I have read a couple of books about the god of Mac, Steve Jobs, and by extension, Apple. First off was the unauthorized biography of Stevie J, iCon Steve Jobs by Jeffrey Young and William Simon. As I discovered from the second book I read (and not at all surprisingly), Steve did not like what was written about him in iCon.

Essentially, the book tells you about Steve's development as a person into the superstar/Machiavellian control-freak who seduces the Mac faithful -- and now, entertainment industry highrollers -- with his vision and charisma. I have to say that I was shocked to read the things about Steve that appeared in iCon: a Zen devotee; a strict vegetarian; a man who refuses to accept 'no' from anybody; a man who will fire a colleague for taking control of his whiteboard during a meeting; and so on.

But that's only one side of Stevie J protrayed in iCon. This is a man who has managed to revolutionize three industries: personal computing, music, and movie animation. He has done so while enduring some of the most difficult experiences a person could go through, including getting fired from his own company in 1985, only to return more than a decade later to begin his renaissance. To say that Steve Jobs' story is a fascinating one is to give a classic example of understatement.

As I read on, I kept trying to figure out what the lesson was for me as a reader. You see, I have this idea about possibly going into business in the interactive multimedia field some day. Apple seems like a great company to work for, given their efforts towards developing the digital lifestyle. But could I ever stand working for a man like Steve Jobs? Would I crumble the first time he criticized my work or ripped into me in front of other Apple employees? As well, would I need to be as ruthless as Jobs apparently is to be successful as a business person? Is that even in my character? Lots to think about.

The second book, which I have just completed, is a business management book called The Apple Way, by Jeffrey Cruikshank. This book focuses on management lessons that can be learned from the experience of "the world's most innovative company." Essentially, Apple has managed to succeed, then fail, then succeed again through a combination of vision, good luck, bad luck, and mostly the will of Steve Jobs.

Is there a lesson to be learned here? Obviously, since that is the purpose of the book. But I think it would be nearly impossible to replicate the experience of Apple in any other company because the Apple experience is so unique thanks to Steve Jobs. I think the best thing I got from this book was the clear understanding that Apple has not always made wise decisions. In fact, a majority (it seems) of its management decisions have been detrimental. Only recently, with the overwhelming success of the iPod and the birth of the iMac and OS X, has Apple become the seemingly unstoppable bussiness force that we see today. And knowing all that, there is hope for other companies, even if they make mistakes. But coming back from mistakes in business isn't always a given. Sometimes, it takes a person of great will (such as Steve Jobs) to overcome such mistakes.

These books really meant a lot to me as I consider my possible foray into the multimedia business. These days, you see Apple in the news a lot introducing new products and making significant business deals (such as the one with Disney for PIXAR Animation). Now that I know a lot more about the history of the company and its leader, these news stories have the context to help me appreciate them more.