Another architectural wonder – The Burj, Dubai.

This building is said to be the tallest building in the world at a reported height of about 818 metres (2,684 feet). It is said to have been built at a total cost of about $1.5 billion and has about 160 floors. The building is to be finally opened today amidst the severe financial trouble that the UAE is seeing itself in due the burst of the property bubble.

Though there has been severe crisis in finding customers for properties these days, the builders of this huge tower claim that it is already 80% booked in a combination of residential and office units. Besides luxury apartments and offices, the Burj will be home to a hotel designed by Giorgio Armani.

The building boasts the most stories and highest occupied floor of any building in the world, and ranks as the world’s tallest structure, beating out a television mast in North Dakota. Its observation deck — on floor 124 — also sets a record.

These kind of architectural wonders compels one to wonder about the technological advancements that we have made. But the big question is, if we are compromising human safety with these ambitious projects.

As a mute spectator I am unaware of the safety and security standards that these building follow, but as a layman, I wonder if these are enough, when you get to know that such building often get completed in a haste in order to meet timelines. The fact that the Burj is the tallest building in the world might not be a point debating, but whether it has kept in mind human safety is a question that only time will answer, or you can if you own a residential flat in the tower.

Technorati Tags: biggest building in the world, burj, burj dubai, highest building in the world, tallest buildings in the world

Apple kicked off its last MacWorld Expo 2009 with three major product announcements. Roman Loyola provides a brief summary of Apple’s new products in this video. He’ll talk about the new 17-inch MacBook Pro, new features in iPhoto ‘09, iMovie ‘09, GarageBand ‘09, iWork ‘09, and iTunes.

Battery upgrades and minor tweaks to Apple’s MacBook Pro laptop computers and iLife and iWork software were the key features of the Apple MacWorld Expo 2009.

Among the other products are -

• 17-inch MacBook Pro
• iLife ‘09
• iPhoto ‘09
• iMovie ‘09
• GarageBand ‘09
• iWeb ‘09
• iDVD
• iWork ‘09

You can read the best of show 2009 here.

To subscribe to the Macworld Video Podcast using iTunes 5 or later, click here.

Though there was nothing considerable in terms of launch at the MacWorld Expo 2009, it was more of expectations that reality. In fact over the years we have come to expect so much from Apple that such launches seem to be very small to catch our attention.

Technorati Tags: Apple MacWorld Expo, Apple MacWorld Expo 2009, Apple MacWorld Expo launches, Apple MacWorld Keynote 2009, MacWorld Expo