Life on the Spot! Life and Leisure in Doha, Qatar

The other week, I asked a friend of mine to take me to the building/area where shops sell computers and peripherals. I was planning to look for a WiFi card for my laptop. The area is called Sofitel area because of the Sofitel Hotel that was beside the building before. Now, the hotel is the Mercure Hotel but they still call the computer building Sofitel. The building has 2 floors full of computer shops. It is difficult to find parking in the area so if you find one 2 to 3 blocks away, better to get that parking and walk than go round and round looking a for parking near the area. Anyway, I found out that prices of most computer peripherals are quite expensive here. I guess that is true for the Middle East except for UAE as they have a duty-free port. Plus, most companies have their regional offices there. I was looking for a Wifi card for my laptop as I’m planning set up a wireless network at home once I get my ADSL connection (applied on 30/9 and got the schedule on the 8th of November… Argghhh). This means that Mavis and I can surf the net anywhere in the house without wires, that is if we use the laptops’ battery. I was able to buy a DLink DWL-G650 PCMCIA card for QR190 which is as comparable to cost in the US. Some shops were selling it between QR 200-230. The wireless router costs QR 290 which was quite high considering that it only costs between US$40-55. With most small items that you buy here, you only get limited warranty, usually 3 months. You can buy your usual stuff of web cameras, CD media, hard disks, MP3 players, networking items, laptops, desktop PCs, etc in this building. It can get real busy during the night and shops are filled with customers. If you want some high-end stuff, you can go to Jarir Bookstore near the Ramada signal as they also sell branded computers and peripherals.