A fan might be hard-pressed to find a serious analyst of the game who wrote or said that Novak Djokovicwas on his way to becoming a one-year wonder. But many of us must concede that the notion flitted through our minds.
Well, yes, he did win the Australian Open. There was that. But then he seemed to show the slightest bit of vulnerability.
He lost to Andy Murray0 in the Dubai semi-finals, and to John Isner in the final four at Indian Wells. Those were not Djokovic-style results, at least not in line with our memories of the all-conquering player from 2011.
Perhaps that is where we got off the tracks: comparing the 2012 Djokovic to the otherworldly 2011 version who did not get around to losing a match until the semi-finals at Roland Garros. How, exactly, did we diminish him?
Perhaps we decided he lacked the brute strength of a Rafael Nadal or the staying power of a Roger Federer, and maybe even the hunger of an Andy Murray.
We did not envision him collapsing in a quivering heap, but the idea that he could lose semi-regularly … we considered it.
On Sunday, he beat back Murray without too much trouble to win the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami, and now he has won two of the three biggest events so far this year.
He may not have that superhuman aura so easily detected a year ago, but he remains the world's best player. Thus, we probably will wait for more hard evidence to roll in before we deem Djokovic a diminishing force.
What you as a drone operator need to know
A permit and licence is required to fly a drone legally in Dubai.
Sanad Academy is the United Arab Emirate’s first RPA (Remotely Piloted Aircraft) training and certification specialists endorsed by the Dubai Civil Aviation authority.
It is responsible to train, test and certify drone operators and drones in UAE with DCAA Endorsement.
“We are teaching people how to fly in accordance with the laws of the UAE,” said Ahmad Al Hamadi, a trainer at Sanad.
“We can show how the aircraft work and how they are operated. They are relatively easy to use, but they need responsible pilots.
“Pilots have to be mature. They are given a map of where they can and can’t fly in the UAE and we make these points clear in the lectures we give.
“You cannot fly a drone without registration under any circumstances.”
Larger drones are harder to fly, and have a different response to location control. There are no brakes in the air, so the larger drones have more power.
The Sanad Academy has a designated area to fly off the Al Ain Road near Skydive Dubai to show pilots how to fly responsibly.
“As UAS technology becomes mainstream, it is important to build wider awareness on how to integrate it into commerce and our personal lives,” said Major General Abdulla Khalifa Al Marri, Commander-in-Chief, Dubai Police.
“Operators must undergo proper training and certification to ensure safety and compliance.
“Dubai’s airspace will undoubtedly experience increased traffic as UAS innovations become commonplace, the Forum allows commercial users to learn of best practice applications to implement UAS safely and legally, while benefitting a whole range of industries.”
How Voiss turns words to speech
The device has a screen reader or software that monitors what happens on the screen
The screen reader sends the text to the speech synthesiser
This converts to audio whatever it receives from screen reader, so the person can hear what is happening on the screen
A VOISS computer costs between $200 and $250 depending on memory card capacity that ranges from 32GB to 128GB
The speech synthesisers VOISS develops are free
Subsequent computer versions will include improvements such as wireless keyboards
Arabic voice in affordable talking computer to be added next year to English, Portuguese, and Spanish synthesiser
Partnerships planned during Expo 2020 Dubai to add more languages
At least 2.2 billion people globally have a vision impairment or blindness
More than 90 per cent live in developing countries
The Long-term aim of VOISS to reach the technology to people in poor countries with workshops that teach them to build their own device
Central Bank's push for a robust financial infrastructure
- CBDC real-value pilot held with three partner institutions
- Preparing buy now, pay later regulations
- Preparing for the 2023 launch of the domestic card initiative
- Phase one of the Financial Infrastructure Transformation (FiT) completed
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Company profile
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