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Pay your taxi fare by Nol, debit or credit card
Pay your taxi fare by Nol, debit or credit card Lily B. Libo-on / 20 February 2014 The move that came into effect February 19 onwards is aimed at making taxi rides easier and hassle-free. Tourists and residents of Dubai can now pay their taxi fares using Roads and Transport Authority’s (RTA) Nol card, or their debit or credit cards. The move that came into effect February 19 onwards is aimed at making taxi rides easier and hassle-free. An RTA official demonstrates how the taxi fare can be paid by Nol, debit and credit cards, at the RTA headquarters on Wednesday. — KT photo by Rahul Gajjar This move also complements RTA’s efforts to fulfill its commitment to enhance Dubai’s Smart City Initiatives. In a Press conference, Dr Yousef Al Ali, RTA’s Public Transport Agency CEO, said the new initiative will be implemented in four phases, starting with 20 airport taxis, followed by 155 Hala taxis two months from now and the rest of the 8,700 taxi fleet by mid-2015. “This initiative will indisputably constitute an added value service to public transport commuting in general and to taxi rides in particular. Using this latest mode of taxi payments, we expect the ridership to increase, especially when we increase our fleet by 2020.” He said passengers will only have to swipe their Nol or debit or credit cards of various types from around the world, on a meter installed inside the taxi to pay their fares in a smooth and easy payment without the trouble of finding ATMs, in case they run out of cash. “Tourists do not need to rush for currency exchange outlets to be able to have cash to pay the airport taxis. Residents of Dubai can use only a single Nol card since there is easy integration of all RTA modes of transportation.” Al Ali also said that the initiative was not easy to implement before, as it needed to network RTA data with Network International, which powered the payment solution through Verifone, and the franchise operators. “This initiative is an answer to the long standing demand of the customers but it takes time to implement since the new features need to have RTA system directly connected to the banks worldwide.” Abdullah Al Madani, CEO, RTA’s corporate technical support services sector, explained that the unified Nol card is considered one of the most secured cards, thanks to its high tech and multiple features that qualified it to win the Best Prepaid Card in the Middle East Award in 2012, as part of the Middle East Awards for Smart Cards, which is regarded the first of its kind specialised programme in the Middle East Region. He said the infrastructure in place in this initiative will enable RTA to add more services for the taxis in the future. “This initiative will unquestionably raise the level of satisfaction of taxi commuters, and the system is customised to enable taxi users to tip the taxi drive through the use of Nol, debit and credit cards,” he added. Bhairav Trivedi, CEO of Network International, said that both types of consumers — leisure travellers and business travellers — do not need to carry cash. “All terminals are wireless. We instal one meter which accepts Nol card, debit or credit card for payment by simply swiping them on it.” He said that Network International stands in this initiative to fully work in the entire government entity within UAE and continue to produce world-class payment system of top quality so that this can be addressed like anywhere else in the world. “We are pleased to have been selected by RTA to be the payment provider of this ambitious project, which is a key initiative in line with RTA’s Smart Taxi vision. The convenience of taxi users in Dubai was the key driving factor behind the launch of this service.” lily@khaleejtimes.com For more news from Khaleej Times, follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/khaleejtimes , and on Twitter at @khaleejtimes Continue reading
Qasr Al Hosn festival to give life to traditions
Qasr Al Hosn festival to give life to traditions Silvia Radan / 20 February 2014 Educational archaeological digs and artefacts handling sessions are also taking place next to Qasr Al Hosn. The red and white colours of the old Abu Dhabi emirate flag, from the days of the Trucial States, is flying once again on a small building in the heart of the capital. Cavalia show reflecting themes inspired by the UAE’s history and interactive heritage. — KT photos by Nezar Balout According to a man in an old police uniform guarding the building, this is where the Abu Dhabi’s old police headquarters used to be, very close to Qasr Al Hosn, or the White Fort, Abu Dhabi’s oldest concrete building. The set up is part of this year’s Qasr Al Hosn festival, taking place from February 21 to March 1, on the grounds of the old fort, and it is where police officers will be telling visitors about the guarding of the palace in the old days. “There are no stairs inside the Watch Tower to prevent enemies entering it. The guards used to climb to the top on a rope,” explained Peter Sheehan, historic buildings manager at Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority (ADTCA). The Watch Tower is the oldest part of Al Hosn Fort, built in the 1800s. Last year, the building commemorated its 250th anniversary, which was marked by organising the first Qasr Al Hosn festival. Just as in 2013, this year too the grounds of the fort are turned into a massive heritage village, honouring all aspects of Emirati traditions. The area is split into four sections — Desert, Marine, Oasis and Abu Dhabi Island, each showcasing exhibits, workshops, demonstrations and performances. Apart from the police building, the Abu Dhabi Island area also has a Beit Al Zehba, a traditional wedding house where visitors can watch performers prepare for a traditional Abu Dhabi wedding with dancing, music and the adorning of the bride with henna and jewellery. Educational archaeological digs and artefacts handling sessions are also taking place next to the fort, while behind the old school, set up to emulate how traditional Emirati schools used to look and operate, children are invited to play traditional games. Demonstrations of sadu (weaving), henna and dukhoun (traditional scent or incense making) will take place daily, along with horse riding, a souq and, new this year, Emirati chefs showing how to prepare local dishes. The Desert area will have Bedu men showing off their Hatheera skills, the techniques of making traditional Arabic coffee, while others will put on an Yola folk show, reveal the traditional Bedouin etiquette, make horse saddles, teach about kandoora dying and burqa making. New this year is a partnership with the Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi (EAD), which will set up a houbara bustard pen, to hopefully raise awareness about this endangered species, once hunted by Arabs for food. Falconry, saluki dogs and camels are also part of the desert area. “I could sit and watch falcons all day! I’m fascinated by them! When they drop from the sky, sometimes at 300 kilometres per hour, to catch their pray, my blood races like I’m racing myself,” said Emirati Mohammed Saif. For the next 10 days of the festival he can watch falconry demonstrations every afternoon, as his friend is one of the falcon-owners participating in the show. Fishing and pearling are the focus on the Marine area exhibits, while in the Shasha building there are workshops on paddle making, sail making, dhow building, fishnet making, fish trap making and fish salting. The Oasis area is all about making a living from date palm trees, with exhibits and demonstrations on palm tree climbing to harvest the dates, palm weaving to make household objects like mats and fans and rope making from palm tree fibres. EAD is again present here, this time with a Healing Garden, which exhibits desert plants and their medicinal properties in ointments and herbal remedies. Opened for the first time in years, the Cultural Foundation will host traditional handicrafts, clothing, toys and pottery. Also opened for the first time in decades, is the inner courtyard of Qasr Al Hosn, where guided tours will explain all about Abu Dhabi’s most iconic, historical building, which is under restoration. After its VIP opening tonight, the festival will be opened for ladies only on Friday and to the general public from February 22, from 4pm to 11pm. silvia@khaleejtimes.com Schools to close early abu dhabi — Schools in the Capital will close at midday today due to the Qasr Al Hosn Festival, the Abu Dhabi Education Council (Adec) announced. According to Mohammed Salem Al Dhaheri, executive director of school operations at Adec, students will be released from school early due to various activities and programmes that would require closing a number of roads around the celebration area from 12pm till 7pm, thus affecting the traffic flow. The Adec has instructed schools to inform parents of the early dismissal. It has also coordinated with the Emirates Transport to organise transfer of students to avoid traffic jams and smoothly facilitate their journey back home. news@khaleejtimes.com For more news from Khaleej Times, follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/khaleejtimes , and on Twitter at @khaleejtimes Continue reading
Facebook to buy WhatsApp for $19 billion in deal shocker
Facebook to buy WhatsApp for $19 billion in deal shocker (Reuters) / 20 February 2014 Facebook’s purchase of messaging service WhatsApp for up to $19 billion in cash and stock is one of the largest acquisitions ever in the technology sector. The WhatsApp and Facebook app icons on an iPhone in New York. AP Facebook Inc will buy fast-growing mobile-messaging startup WhatsApp for $19 billion in cash and stock in a landmark deal that places the world’s largest social network closer to the heart of mobile communications and may bring younger users into the fold. The transaction involves $4 billion in cash, $12 billion in stock and $3 billion in restricted stock that vests over several years. The WhatsApp deal is worth more than Facebook raised in its own IPO and underscores the social network’s determination to win the market for messaging. Facebook-WhatsApp deal one of biggest ever in tech Here are some other notable deals involving US tech companies, in order of dollar amount from largest to smallest: HEWLETT-PACKARD BUYS COMPAQ – SEPTEMBER 2001 US technology giant Hewlett-Packard buys Compaq Computer for $25 billion in a bid to compete with IBM. GOOGLE BUYS MOTOROLA MOBILITY – AUGUST 2011 Internet search giant Google buys the handset business of Motorola for $12.5 billion in a bid to challenge Apple in the smartphone market. Less than three years later, Google sold Motorola to China’s Lenovo for $2.91 billion. HEWLETT-PACKARD BUYS AUTONOMY – AUGUST 2011 US technology giant Hewlett-Packard buys British enterprise software company Autonomy for $10.24 billion. US authorities later open an investigation amid HP accusations that Autonomy had engaged in “accounting improprieties.” MICROSOFT BUYS SKYPE – MAY 2011 Microsoft buys Internet voice and video leader Skype for $8.5 billion, the largest acquisition ever by the US software giant. ORACLE BUYS SUN – APRIL 2009 US business software giant Oracle buys struggling Sun Microsystems and its Java programming language for $7.4 billion. MICROSOFT BUYS NOKIA – SEPTEMBER 2013 Microsoft buys the handset business of former market leader Nokia for $7.2 billion in an effort to catch up to rivals Apple and Google in the smartphone market. GOOGLE BUYS YOUTUBE – OCTOBER 2006 Internet search giant Google buys online video platform YouTube in October 2006 from its founders, Steve Chen and Chad Hurley, for $1.65 billion. EBAY BUYS PAYPAL – JUNE 2002 Online auction house eBay buys online payments firm PayPal for $1.5 billion. YAHOO BUYS TUMBLR – MAY 2013 Former Google executive Marissa Mayer makes her biggest purchase since taking over as CEO of Yahoo, buying the popular blogging platform Tumblr for $1.1 billion. FACEBOOK BUYS INSTAGRAM – APRIL 2012 Facebook offers $1 billion for hot smartphone photo-sharing service Instagram. The purchase of Instagram was Facebook’s largest until the WhatsApp deal. Founded by a Ukrainian immigrant who dropped out of college, Jan Koum, and a Stanford alumnus, Brian Acton, WhatsApp is a Silicon Valley startup fairy tale, rocketing to 450 million users in five years and adding another million daily. “No one in the history of the world has ever done something like this,” Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg said on a conference call on Wednesday. Zuckerberg, who famously closed a $1 billion deal to buy photo-sharing service Instagram over a weekend in mid-2012, revealed on Wednesday that he proposed the tie-up over dinner with CEO Koum just 10 days earlier, on the night of February 9. WhatsApp was the leader among a wave of smartphone-based messaging apps that are now sweeping across North America, Asia and Europe. Although WhatsApp has adhered strictly to its core functionality of mimicking texting, other apps, such as Line in Japan or Tencent Holdings Ltd’s WeChat, offer games or even e-commerce on top of their popular messaging features. The deal provides Facebook entree to new users, including teens who eschew the mainstream social networks but prefer WhatsApp and rivals, which have exploded in size as private messaging takes off. “People are calling them ‘Facebook Nevers,’” said Jeremy Liew, a partner at Lightspeed and an early investor in Snapchat. How the service will pay for itself is not yet clear. Zuckerberg and Koum on the conference call did not say how the company would make money beyond a $1 annual fee, which is not charged for the first year. “The right strategy is to continue to focus on growth and product,” Zuckerberg said. Zuckerberg and Koum said that WhatsApp will continue to operate independently, and promised to continue its policy of no advertising. “Communication is the one thing that you have to use daily, and it has a strong network effect,” said Jonathan Teo, an early investor in Snapchat, another red-hot messaging company that flirted year ago with a multibillion dollar acquisition offer from Facebook. “Facebook is more about content and has not yet fully figured out communication.” Price tag Even so, many balked at the price tag. Facebook is paying $42 per user with the deal, dwarfing its own $33 per user cost of acquiring Instagram. By comparison, Japanese e-commerce giant Rakuten just bought messaging service Viber for $3 per user, in a $900 million deal. Rick Summer, an analyst with Morningstar, warned that while investors may welcome the addition of such a high-growth asset, it may point to an inherent weakness in the social networking company that has seen growth slow in recent quarters. “This is a tacit admission that Facebook can’t do things that other networks are doing,” he said, pointing to the fact that Facebook had photo-sharing and messaging before it bought Instagram and WhatsApp. “They can’t replicate what other companies are doing so they go out and buy them. That’s not all together encouraging necessarily and I think deals like these won’t be the last one and that is something for investors to consider.” Venture capitalist Sequoia Capital, which invested in WhatsApp in February 2011 and led three rounds of financing altogether, holds a stake worth roughly $3 billion of the $19 billion valuation, according to people familiar with the matter. “Goodness gracious, it’s a good deal for WhatsApp,” said Teo, the early investor in Snapchat. Facebook pledged a break-up fee of $1 billion in cash and $1 billion in stock if the deal falls through. Facebook was advised by Allen & Co, while WhatsApp has enlisted Morgan Stanley for the deal. Shares in Facebook slid 2.5 percent to $66.36 after hours, from a close of $68.06 on the Nasdaq. “No matter how you look at it this is an expensive deal and a very big bet and very big bets either work out or they perform quite poorly,” Summer said. “Given the relative size, the enterprise valuations this is a very significant deal and it may not be the last one.” WhatsApp: a booming smartphone message service WhatsApp was launched five years ago as a shot at doing to text messaging what Skype did to telephone calls. If Facebook’s move to buy the startup in a cash-and-stock deal valued as high as $19 billion is any indication, the California-based WhatsApp may have hit the mark. The firm founded by former Yahoo employees Brian Acton and Jan Koum in 2009 took its name from a play on the phrase “What’s Up,” according to its website. They also devoted themselves to a credo of “No Ads. No Games. No Gimmicks.” A note stating just that and signed by Acton remains taped to Koum’s desk, according to venture capital firm Sequoia, which invested in the startup early and stands to cash in big time on the Facebook take-over. The “contrarian approach” of gathering no information about users for targeting ads was shaped by Ukraine-born Koum’s aversion to tactics of secret police in communist countries, Sequoia partner Jim Goetz said in an online note. “Jan’s childhood made him appreciate communication that was not bugged or taped,” Goetz said. “When he arrived in the US as a 16-year-old immigrant living on food stamps, he had the extra incentive of wanting to stay in touch with his family in Russia and the Ukraine.” Koum remained true to those ideas when, after working at Yahoo with his “mentor” Acton, he turned to building WhatsApp, according to Goetz. The stated mission was to build a better alternative to traditional SMS messaging in a world where smartphones were clearly becoming ubiquitous. The founders jokingly described themselves at the website as “two guys who spent combined 20 years doing geeky stuff at Yahoo! Inc.” WhatsApp is a platform for sending images, video, audio, or text messages for free over the Internet using data connections of smartphones. The application is free, but after using it for a year, there is an annual subscription fee of 99 cents. “We feel that this model will allow us to become the communications service of the 21 st century, and provide you the best way to stay in touch with your friends and family with no ads getting in the way,” the startup said in a blog post discussing pricing. WhatsApp is reported to have grown stunningly fast to more than 450 million users and said to handle 50 billion messages daily. As of the start of this year, WhatsApp had 50 employees, more than 30 of them engineers. While the company has its headquarters in the California city of Mountain View, where Google has its main campus, most of the engineering work is reportedly done in Russia. – AFP For more news from Khaleej Times, follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/khaleejtimes , and on Twitter at @khaleejtimes Continue reading
