H2M is web design and branding agency based in the Kingdom of Bahrain, serving clients both in Bahrain and internationally.

I would like to invite you all for a quick cup of coffee at our new location http://www.h2monline.com

Like drop box, sugarsync also comes with a desktop application, mobile application and web application which work across all platforms and devices.  This means, no matter how you access the internet you always have access to those important files, and you don’t really need to walk around with that flash usb.

I must say, I am pretty impressed with sugarsync thus far.  The fundamental difference between sugarsync and drop box is that with sugarsync you get the following:

1) 5gb storage free, instead of 2gb on dropbox.  Also, paid plans are more competitive.

2) Sugarsync backs up and shares physical drives on your computer, instead of creating a virtual folder of its own.

3) When you make a change to a document, it is automatically synchronized to the folder its sharing from.  This means that if i edit a word document which is being shared from office pc, the copy on my office pc is updated with my changes. Which means i don’t need to email myself the amended document or worry about an out of date version.

4) It has version control, which means you can access previous revisions of your documents.

Do you currently use drop box or sugarsync? If so, let us know about your preference in the comments below.

Jux.com is a website that gives you the ability to easily create beautiful content, and when you sign up for an account with them, you will get your name as a sub domain. So for example, i set up http://hussainhusain.jux.com

Now obviously its not a replacement of your own blog, but the simplicity of its use, and the aesthetic output of design, makes it a perfect tool for occasional writers, galleries, countdowns, videos or any other content you want to share.

You need to check it out for yourself, as an example, I have duplicated this post on jux and you can see it here:

https://hussainhusain.jux.com/135415

Or you can see the full screen video of the Bennigans Arm Wrestling video (embedded from youtube) here:

https://hussainhusain.jux.com/135416

What are your thoughts on jux.com, feel free to share your jux profile in the comments below.

This is the first time such an event will be taking place in Bahrain. As part of the promotion for this event, we (H2M) decided to do a fun video, which we shot and edited in 2 days.

If you want to take part in this event, you can register here.

Here is the video, enjoy, and let us know your comments below:

I have always known about desktop clients for blogs, but never actually tried one until today.

I have downloaded my free 30 day evaluation of MarsEdit, the blogging client for Mac osx and I must say so, so far I am very impressed.

Here are the Key benefits:

1. Write all your posts offline, never worry about a internet connection, upload them when ready
2. It supports custom fields for wordpress, which is critical since I require it for my posts
3. You can manage and update multiple sites and blogs, all from the same desktop application
4. It has a super clean and easy user interface.

I will keep evaluating this software over the next 30 days, and let me know my final take on it at the end, if successful, i will purchase it!

For all the windows users out there, I have read great things about windows live writer, although I have note used it myself.

As I am a google apps users myself, and chrome is my browser of choice, I found an amazing app which i think is a must have for anyone serious about using gmail/google apps on chrome.

So lets get right to it, this week’s app of the week goes to:

Rapportive

Rapportive is an amazing application, which replaces the google ads in your gmail browser when you open up an email, and instead shows you increadibly useful information about the person who emailed you.

It will search and find if they have a facebook, linked in or twitter account associated with their email address, and display their profiles for you to be able to either connect with them or find out further about them.

You can even save write and save private notes about them. For anyone who is interested in connecting further or finding out more about the people who email them, rapportive is a must have app.

Of course with the advancement of web technologies such as HTML5 and css3 and a whole bunch of other tools out there, it has really transformed what we though was possible to do online.

In fact, we are now beginning to expect even more from our online experience, that we sometimes forget just how far we have come.

Recently, I have found myself to have completely abolished desktop email clients. Yes thats right, I don’t open outlook and I don’t open my mac mail. The only time i will ever refer back to them is if for any reason, my internet connection dies out. The fact is, it is soo much easier to just view my email, chat with colleagues and keep ahead of my calendar events from the one browser window. It even loads faster then a desktop application and searches much better for old emails.

I am now even considering to stop using my office suite. Google docs for me has come such a long way from “its such a pain to edit my documents” to “wow, this looks and feels exactly my desktop application”.

I personally no longer carry a notebook with me anymore, all notes are taken and stored online, using the evernote.com application. It synchs between my imac, macbook and android phone. I don’t even need to think about where my notes are, or carrying around a usb with important information.

I think traditionally, we have always considered the cloud as a backup of our desktops.  But now, a desktop is merely a backup of the cloud.  We are looking to synch the cloud with our desktop rather than the opposite.

In fact, if you take the android phone as en example, all your phone contacts are retrieved from your google account.  This means that if you buy a new handset, your contacts are automatically imported to your phone. Magic.

Now of course, I dont think we will reach the extent of replacing our desktop applications all together, especially for heavier applications such as graphic editing suites, however for the majority of tasks, i think the cloud is the only place to be.

What are your thoughts?

If you invite people regularly, then you may be aware that there used to be a javascript code which you would simply paste into your address bar, click enter and magically all your contacts get selected!

Unfortunately the javascript method no longer works, as facebook keep making changes to their site, and attempt to reduce spam.

Not to worry though, there is a alternative out there, just follow these steps:

1. Download an install imacro for firefox, make sure you re-start firefox once installed.

2. Open up facebook, go to the event or fan page where you want to invite all your friends.

3. Scroll to the bottom of your friends list, so that all the pictures have loaded in the small pop up box.

4. Click on the imacro icon at the top of your toolbar (should be visible if you installed and re-started firefox).

5. Click on the record tab in your imacro. Now click record and then stop.

6. Now click load, and choose the select all macro which you downloaded.

7. Final step, go to the play tab, and click play.

Files Needed:

Once you complete the above steps the macro will automatically select all your friends one by one.  You can stop it at anytime when all your friends have been selected.

It is important to note, that even though you select all your friends, facebook only sends certain amount of invites at any given time, so you will need to run the macro a few times to send the invites to all your friends, depending on how many contacts you have.

It is still definitely a lot faster and easier than click, click, click.

The client requested that their website should look modern, and in-line with their new modern black and white branding.  Zaviya Advertising and Media W.L.L. were one of the first companies in the Kingdom of Bahrain to enter the Outdoor Advertising sector.  They have been around since the days where billboards were painted by hand instead of print! (No, i’m not joking)

Ammar Rasti, CEO of ZAC outdoor media, also had a vision of making the website more interactive, where potential advertisers could see every location available on a interactive map, in order to make it easier for advertisers to pick the locations they require. A new look, and a new way of doing business, means that traditional powerpoint presentations and location print outs are redundant.

Here are some screenshots of the project:       (you can visit the website at http://www.zac-bh.com)

What makes it even more difficult is that you tend to be extremely picky when designing for your own brand, hence I have gone through 5 or 6 re-designs of the actual concept.  As this has been an extremely frustrating journey, but one worth the wait, Mansour the head of web development at H2M clearly pointed out, you got to put something on the holding page, come up with an idea and just execute it.

So here it is, our new “coming soon” page (the actual site has also progressed very nicely, and should be launched soon – stay tuned!).  You can visit the site directly at http://www.h2monline.com