Manal and Alaa's bit bucket - free speech from the bleches

Mohammed Sameer's place

Mon, 18 Apr 2005 15:42:15 -0500

Address:
x17, 263 street. New Maadi.

Type of place:
private residence

Comments:

IF you can get a signal from the tiny antenna located in the 7th floor then you are lucky to share the Ad-Hoc wireless connection with essid HOME, But I'm sure you'll not get a signal. So you'll not use 10.1.1.1 as a gateway!

This is a GNU/Linux based "access point"

Rating:
bad

photo:

URL:
www.foolab.org

Mostafa's Place

Sat, 23 Apr 2005 11:10:01 -0500

Address:
19 Babel Street from Mossadak

Type of place:
private residence

Comments:

Parking underneath my building (If you were lucky to find a place to triple park) might get you a signal. But will probably be very week. This is because I have troubles with the antenna, I need a more powerful one. I will try to fix this ASAP.

One day I will open the shared folder that contains all my movies and audio collection.

Enjoy free Internet. This is powered by a 256Kbps ADSL link.

Rating:
bad

URL:
whirlpool.foolab.org

Alaa and Manal's place

Fri, 15 Apr 2005 13:18:17 -0500

Address:
Hassab El Nabi st, off Ahmad Kamel st., behind Giza governerate , Faisal

Type of place:
private residence

Comments:

I'm feeling generous these days, my hotspot is open to all.

the area is very scenic with regular sewage problems, streetfights and the very folkloric street merchants.

don't forget to pass by Al Saad bakery the boreik is to die for.

Rating:
excellent

URL:
http://www.manalaa.net

Cairo Opera House

Fri, 15 Apr 2005 11:44:58 -0500

Address:
Cairo Opera House, Gezira

Type of place:
cultural institute

Comments:

The Cairo Opera House is not operating an open hotspot but someone nearby is, in the garden in front of the Egyptian Museum of Modern Art the signal was strong enough (wmWiFi said 70% whatever that means), for me to enjoy browsing while moving around freely.

no idea who is running the hotspot or how far it reaches will do some tests one day.

when the security is not itchy this is a perfect spot, with a bit of green and shade, the sculpture outside etc.

in the summer there are many outdoor events and concerts there, who can ask for more, wifi, cool breeze and some music.

Rating:
good

URL:
http://www.operahouse.gov.eg

Sakia

Sat, 23 Apr 2005 10:16:35 -0500

Address:
Under 15 May Bridge at the end of 26 July street

Type of place:
cultural institute

Opening hours:
09:00 - 23:00 (?)

Comments:

The Sakia is a Cairo-changing place. It has helped lots of youth artists get their work known to the public. From an ugly abandoned place to probably the cultural center with the strongest impact in Cario. Since its not government controlled it has some form of freedom. Well to some extent.

Almost every day there is a concert of a different kind.

Rating:
excellent

URL:
culturewheel.com/

Cilantro

Tue, 12 Apr 2005 02:25:46 -0500

Address:
31 Mohamed Mahmoud St., Opposite AUC

Type of place:
restaurent / cafe

Comments:

ok lets be honest, cilantro SUCKS, it sucks soo much the location should be Omraneia

it seems popular but I can't for the life of me imagine why, hell I was reading a blog post and the author mentioned trying to order home delivery from cilantro I just couldn't believe myself, I mean I can understand going there because you crave a net connection and you're trapped downtown, but to actually order food from there while at home?! masochism or what?

the food is soooo bad and it is left to literally rot in the fridge in front of you (my sandwich had bad tomatoes), the drinks menu is full of funky flavors but when you'll hardly notice the flavor.

Rating:
bad

Giordano's

Mon, 11 Apr 2005 23:43:20 -0500

Address:
14 Soliman Abazza St., Mohandiseen

Type of place:
restaurent / cafe

Comments:

Giordano's is currently my favorite spot, its a small place, always full but never feels crowded or noisy (it is too small for that).

the two tables outside are nice, while the street is not exactly scenic it's nice to know that sun/air and internet are not mututally exclusive.

food is great, its all simple stuff salads, panini and club sandwiches, and crepes, ooooooh the crepes are the sweet tasty crepes.

while the menu is small they got unusual stuff (for cairo at least) like the goat cheese sandwiches.

Rating:
excellent

Arabica

Mon, 11 Apr 2005 23:48:52 -0500

Address:
18 Ahmed Heshmat St. Zamalek

Type of place:
restaurent / cafe

Comments:

Arabica is a weird non compromising place, for starters its not a WayOut hotspot (wonder of wonders), it is mostly decorated with art the clients made, has curved wall splitting the place to small islands.

the menu consists of creative brews, only tried the juices and they where nice.

its a bit on the expensive side.

good music, jazz, bosa nova that kind of thing but with the occasional pop tune.

while its funky and arty on any given day half the people would be working (many students), lots of laptops there.

Rating:
good

Euro Deli

Mon, 11 Apr 2005 23:30:41 -0500

Address:
22 Taha Hussein Street, Zamalek

Type of place:
restaurent / cafe

Opening hours:
8am-2am

Comments:

relaxed atmosphere, music is loud sometimes and the collection is rather random.

No tv for a change.

the menu is small but the food (mostly chiken or pasta) is good.

choice of drinks is a bit limited.

electricity sockets in the cieling, looks rather funky as if your laptop is is feedin from an IV tube, but it means trouble for loose plugs/adaptors.

Rating:
good