The Middle East has a new VC fund - but it also has Grey Goo

Today in a world beeping with joy and redemption:

Nabil Alyousuf, a former right-hand man to Sheikh Mohamed of Dubai, is now working on one of the Middle East's

. One new company will act like a VC, but connect entrepreneurs directly with investors - a model designed to appeal to Gulf investors who want a closer connection to the business they are buying into. The advisory / support / incubation side will be handled by a sister company. All in all, a

.

Forget smartphones. I want a smart toaster, and Abu Dhabi's Masdar City is

. And speaking of smartphones, Gulf News reports that

.

The UAE's first phone powered by Google's Android operating system will be launched on Wednesday, according to a press release sent out yesterday. Etisalat will partner with HTC to release the HTC Magic handset,

. I'm getting pretty bored with my iPhone, could this be the one to switch to?

The keynote speaker at Gitex this year will be

, who will be talking up the launch of Windows 7 (due to happen a couple of weeks after Gitex.)

Fear it!

. Neopharma, a local pharmaceutical company, will use tiny tech to manufacture, among other things, "

nutraceuticals," defined as "nanotechnology-based food supplements. Hail to our new shape-shifting nano-overlords.