Elie Khoury

Hey buds! We rolled out a major project at iFusion Labs today but before getting into that, let me summarize the history of Woopra for this news to make more sense.

Three years ago, when we came up with the idea of Woopra, we had to decide whether we should go for a Desktop or Web Application. It was a tough decision! A desktop application can be way more responsive especially by using some desktop resources but a web app is way more accessible. Our assets were limited to:

• Slow browsers (- Browser)
• Bad socket support on browsers for live data (- Browser)
• We wanted to build a cross platform solution seamlessly (- Desktop)
• HTML4 is weak and doesn’t support advanced charting (- Browser)
• We wanted to have desktop notifications (- Browser)

So, obviously, back then, building a Desktop Application made more sense. We followed that route and developed a Java Desktop Application. Amazingly, our users accepted the lack of accessibility on the web and downloaded our desktop app, loved it and posted amazing reviews about it.

We faced many problems. We couldn’t roll out minor updates frequently because our users are not ready to update Woopra every short while. Some other people faced Java problems etc…

The Web has changed today, browsers are ready to handle desktop class web applications. We’re not waiting any longer. Three months ago, I started developing a Web Application taking into consideration all the advantages of the Desktop App. HTML5 has been a fantastic move on the web and we’re milking it to deliver the best user experience.

Today, we have launched Woopra 2.0 Beta, the Desktop App clone in your browser. It’s still an on going project and we’ll be adding features more frequently than before because the technology permits it.

Please welcome Woopra 2.0 beta:

• Login to the Members’ Area.
• Hit the “Live Stats” button.

Cheers!

I couldn’t take a better shot with my camera because I was running low on batteries, the photo ended up a little bit blurry. I would like to thank my brother Rami, Elie Haddad and Michel Sfeir.

Tell me what you think!

Very cool and motivating video for entrepreneurs…

Can you think of a company that is not reliant on internet today? In fact, not just internet, businesses today depend on reliable and fast internet connections. Lebanon, one of the 1st countries in the middle east to connect to the WWW is now facing major problems in the technology field.

Web Applications have been growing very fast. As they require better hardware (that are fortunately available), they also require a faster internet connection. The concept of Cloud is getting more and more popular, your data is no longer stored on your PC, it’s now stored on the holy cloud. Clouds allow you to have your information synchronized with all your machines (mobile, laptop, desktop, PDA etc…). This has become critical but can we handle this massive amount of data transfer?

I did a survey and found out that the big majority still have 128kbps internet connections, which is equivalent to 0.125 mbps (excluding the big portion of people who are still using Dial up modems). A normal user can get a maximum of 1mbps (which is fair, but very limited in terms of daily/monthly quota). Let’s compare it to other countries:

I am an entrepreneur and I cannot tell you how much this matter is disturbing me. The Lebanese pathetic infrastructure is directly affecting our economy. Why?

1. Young generations are not capable of keeping up with the technology.
2. Enterprises are afraid to launch branches of their companies in Lebanon. (Think about employment)
3. Lebanon is not known as a technology oriented country.
4. It’s very tough to launch a startup in Lebanon. (Woopra as an example)
5. Great entrepreneurs are leaving the country seeking better infrastructure for their venture.

I had a chance to meet the Lebanese Minister of Telecom Eng. Jubran Bassil a few months back and discussed this problem, he seemed very open and promised to be looking further into that. Bassil recently revealed on the press that he’s aware of this issue and working on a plan for this summer (2009). What if he doesn’t get elected again?

The ministry was also very excited to launch the Edge (not even 3G) connectivity for mobiles. I can’t believe they were serious about that!! I mean, I’m not paying 5$ for only 5MB of usage and 2$ for every extra MB. It’s like paying 5$ everytime I check my email inbox. I hope our Telecom ministry is not serious about this crappy solution.

Not to forget the huge Ogero scandal. As they have become DSL providers, they are not supplying private ISPs enough bandwidth for them to acquire the largest chunk of DSL users. I personally have 2 DSL accounts, 512 kbps and 1 mbps (at IDM), is it possible that I’m downloading at the rate of 5 kB/s and less than 1 kB/s at peak hours? And what about this silly quota limitation? 5GB of download per month? This is ridiculous.

“I have heard many reports of “unfair market practices” by Ogero vis a vis the DSPs.” said Mrs. Salam Yamout, a member of the Lebanese Broadband Stakeholders Group. “ISPs not being able to offer their customers DSL service because they do not get capacity from Ogero. This is the case of GDS in Achrafieh for example. In another case, a customer reported that an Ogero representative called him to offer him the Blink service within 24 hours while he has been waiting for his ISP DSL service for few days. Such practices are condemned in countries that have liberalized their telecommunications market, but not in Lebanon! It is said that there are 100,000 DSL subscribers in Lebanon (fastest DSL pick up in the world) 80% for Ogero, the rest divided among the 5 private DSPs! This fast pick up is a reflection of the starvation of the market for broadband. How else do you explain that Lebanese people are flocking in numbers to get poorer quality service, more expensive, and slower connectivity than in other countries?”

If you feel that we need the change, sign the broadband manifesto which was started by a group of people like you and me, sick and tired of the way this country evolves.

1. Stay motivated

   The best way to get motivated is to read success stories. The more you see people succeeding, the more you feel you have higher chances to succeed. Of course, if you read stories about people failing, that’s not going to motivate you! As an entrepreneur, you’ll pass through really hard times but if you are motivated enough they will not affect you at all.

2. Get inspired but do not copy

   Don’t be ashamed to get inspired from others’ work, keep doing it every minute but do not copy anything, keep your stuff original. Inspiration is a very good way to make you sense better, learn from others’ experience and you will have a clearer vision of what’s already there and where you need to add your innovative substance.

3. Invest your own money

   There are two very important reasons for you to invest your own cash in your business. At the very early phase, no one may be fascinated by your thoughts unless you have crazy links with investors. You need to deposit a good budget to facilitate your growth; otherwise the big brothers will suck you up. The other very vital reason to invest your money is to make you more devoted. When you put some liquid in your business, that’s going to help you not give up easily. I’d say US$3000 is a good amount to begin with for entrepreneurs on the web, but don’t take my words on that, businesses vary a lot from one to another.

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