BTM December 2011 121 Easy Conferencing The Polycom UC Board improves communication and collaboration in video conferences by allowing meeting participants to leverage their existing video display screens and mobile devices as interactive whiteboards for video collaboration. Uber Time Master Citizen introduces Eco-Drive Satellite Wave, a limited edition watch with a totally new time-keeping system. This next generation timepiece searches for the closest of the 24 navigation satellites that orbit Earth for ultra-precise timekeeping. Also this month Elma Bartholomew After ages of rumours making the rounds, Metallica finally showed up in the Middle East, and, boy, was it a night to remember. While the rest of the world might shrug at the thought of another Metallica concert, you could almost hear the heartbeats of thousands of people in Abu Dhabi and India speed up at the first announcement confirming their visit. After all, this tour was the first time they stepped foot on this side of the globe, and needless to say, they made up for the rather long wait in almost no time. No matter which part of the Middle East it is, there is one common factor between the different countries — when they host an event, there’s just no way to outdo them. The Yas Arena in Abu Dhabi has set the standards for the rest of the region with the mind-blowing success of this event, which was more than just a wish come true for its fans. The excitement seeped through the city, playlists were revisited, instruments were picked up and the fanaticism was reborn. Bassist Rob Trujillo admits the band was impressed by the venue even before they had seen it. Once they finally set foot onto the arena, they were amazed by the architecture, calling it ‘futuristic’. “It’s really great to be doing things for the first time. It keeps things fresh,” he said on their decision to visit new countries. Ripping through a blistering ‘greatest hits’ set, touching on all aspects of the band’s three-decade career, from its thrash metal beginnings to the increasingly polished yet equally powerful sounds of later years, Metallica seemed to be testing the metal fans of the Middle East. The ensuing roar must have proved them worthy of the tour as the night only got better after the opening tracks. It is not an easy task to bring such legends, host such an ecstatic night and get away with zero complaints. India proved this true with disappointing organisation skills with unfortunate glitches like postponing the gig, angry fans, property destruction and the eventual cancellation of the show in the capital city of Delhi. However, Bangalore was fortunate enough that the band did not connect safety concerns in one town with another and India was graced with an epic night with a turn-up of nearly 50,000 people at Palace Grounds. Things went awry here as well with several fans being robbed of their personal belongings kept at the entrance including passports, thanks to the incompetent security force that was allegedly a part of the scam. I wonder how much would go right or wrong if Bahrain was to host such a big show. We have proved our skills with major events before. Would I be hoping for too much to see them perform live on this island? “I want to celebrate the performance and embrace the power of the audience, and I want to be on stage and look at their faces and see their happiness,” Trujillo told the press. I look forward to the day they will be talking about Bahrain’s crowds, that day where ‘nothing else matters’. 122 Gadgets x 127 Music x 129 Computer games x 134 Websites x 136 Satellite TV Crashing Metal downtimethismonth Metallica
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