July 18, 2006

XTEAMS awarded Aristex contract to build GlobalLifeGuard Fax driver

CAIRO: "We make a killer cappuccino, boasted Ahmed Metwally, CEO of Timeline Interactive. Seeing that his guest didn't have an interest, Metwally pushed the lemonade, hustling out of the room to place the order.
If it's cappuccinos and lemonades (not Turkish coffee - no sugar - and tea with mint), it's got to be a startup.
The energy and informality that runs through Timeline's small Nasr City office suite, seems appropriate for the first Middle Eastern company to design and produce a mass distributed video game.
And now, having just been released for Xbox and PlayStation 3, it's one of the top 10 most downloaded games.
Credit for the game, which is called Cell Factor Psychokinetic Wars, goes primarily to Mostafa Hafez and a few of his friends who, from a young age, got into gaming and programming.
After designing several games, Hafez took a prototype of one of his games to a business plan competition, where it caught the attention of Ahmad Gomaa and his company, Ideavelopers, which is a subsidiary of, and the venture capital arm for, EFG-Hermes.
After consulting with a handful of gamers, Gomaa saw, through the game, that Hafez and his crew had potential. Expressing a willingness to invest in their talent, Gomaa encouraged Hafez to bring on a business savvy CEO.
Hafez balked.
But after a drawn-out back-and-forth, Hafez came on board and the hunt for a CEO began.
"It took a couple of years to actually find a CEO that could run the company. Eventually, we found the right match for these guys, Gomaa said.
Enter Ahmed Metwally.
Metwally had been working for Microsoft in Canada when, as he describes it, he got the "itch to return to work for a startup.
He was supposed to be the sober business mind in an office full of gamers, which he is - but his passion for gaming seeps through in each sentence he speaks.
Nonetheless, Metwally has had to serve as a manager, on call day and night, coordinating a project that has included 300 people across eight time zones.
"We started with just three or four people working on the game, said Hafez, noting the growth of involvement over the past couple of years.
Cell Factor, which is co-owned by Timeline and Immersion Games in Colombia, is a first person shooter game that allows players to play alone, with friends, or with other gamers on the internet.
When Gomaa's Ideavelopers invested $1 million, half of which it delivered up front, in the game and the new company over the summer of 2007, the project demanded a broad team - graphic designers, marketers, translators, and more - to create the game.
After a rigorous design and manufacturing process, that meant an intense certification process from Microsoft and Sony, the game was widely released this month in five languages and has quickly climbed up the list of most downloaded games, recently finding a spot in the top 10.
And the team has been largely satisfied with the feedback, though they worry that comparisons to big name games like Halo may hurt Cell Factor s ratings, which are critical to sales in the gaming world.
"They're comparing games that were developed for $50 million to one that took half a million to create! said Metwally, half boasting.
"We're being compared to full titles, Gomaa echoed.
The road ahead for Timeline looks bright as, like any startup, it looks to undergo significant growth in the coming years.
The office whiteboards are filled with designs for the newest game, tentatively titled Heroic. The team is also committed to releasing the next generation of Cell Factor, which will be imbued with a storyline that doesn't emerge in the game's current form.
Timeline is also looking to grow its ranks and cut down on the amount of outsourcing it was obliged to do to make Cell Factor.
For starters, the team is adding around eight graphic designers.
"Last year, said Gomaa, "we only had the programming level. But now we're going to be doing our own artwork here.
Between the business savvy investor, the technically adept gamer, and the CEO that looks to straddle both worlds, Timeline hosts an unlikely team that's gunning for success.
Forget that Timeline made it big with its latest game. In everything they say, it's clear that the team runs on the idea that it's breaking ground as a Middle East gaming company.
"You've never seen anything like this in the Middle East, Metwally said, watching as Hafez and a colleague battle on the TV screen. "We've set the precedent!

June 23, 2009
by Charles Onyett
Activision has to be pretty happy right now. With Modern Warfare 2 on track to be released this November, Treyarch's World at War at number one on Xbox Live, and Infinity Ward's Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare not far behind, it seems the Call of Duty money-making machinery is in no danger of slowing down. Other top 10 regular's like Bungie's Halo 3, Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto IV, and Epic's Gears of War 2 make appearances high up on the top Xbox Live titles list, along with Radical Entertainment's new open-world superhero title Prototype. Castle Crashers on Xbox Live Arcade and the RC-AirSim community game continue to rank high.

The list, as reported by Major Nelson, ranks unique users playing Xbox 360 games while connected to Live. That means that single-player games are counted the same as online multiplayer ones, provided the user is connected to Xbox Live. The Top Arcade Titles list is based on the number of full versions sold in a given week.

Xbox 360 Top Live Titles (based on UU's)
1.    Call of Duty: World at War
2.    Halo 3
3.    Call of Duty 4
4.    Gears of War 2
5.    GTA IV
6.    FIFA 09
7.    UFC 2009 Undisputed
8.    Left 4 Dead
9.    [PROTOTYPE]
10.    Rock Band 2
Top Arcade Titles (Full Versions purchased)
1.    Magic: The Gathering - Duels of the Planeswalkers
2.    Castle Crashers
3.    Sonic The Hedgehog 3
4.    Worms
5.    Sam & Max Save the World
6.    UNO
7.    CellFactor: Psychokinetic Wars
8.    Peggle
9.    Hasbro Family Game Night**
10.    Rocket Riot
The above arcade list is based on full versions purchased.
**Combined sales of all Hasbro Family Game Night titles

Top Community Games (Full Versions purchased)
1.    myFishtank
2.    RC-AirSim
3.    A Perfect Massage
4.    Illusions 360
5.    DrumKit
6.    Constructor360
7.    Rumble Massage
8.    Hangman's Revenge!
9.    Aquarium HD
10.    Miner Dig Deep

For more information, please visit: xboxlive.ign.com/articles/997/997265p1.html

April 2010, Cairo- Egypt- Endeavor Egypt, a non-profit NGO supporting high-impact entrepreneurs in emerging global markets, announced that Ahmed Metwally,  CEO of Timeline Interactive, and its Cofounder and Technical Director, Mostafa Hafez, were selected as Egypt’s high-impact entrepreneurs at Endeavor’s March’s International Selection Panel. “Timeline raised a few eyebrows among the Panelists”, said Ahmed Ezzat, Endeavor Egypt Managing Director. “These young engineers working out of a Cairo suburb managed to present a worldwide blockbuster million-dollar video game. Timeline is proof that Egyptian entrepreneurs can compete globally.”

The panel was held from March 10^th – 12^th at Cairo Fairmont Nile Towers, and the reviewing panelists included Time Warner Music’s CEO Edgar Bronfman,  Hikma Pharmauceutical’s Ali al-Husry, and Orascom Telecom’s Chairman Naguib Sawaris and CEO Khaled Bichara, among others.  This was Endeavor Global’s 33^rd International Selection Panel, but the first for Egypt’s relatively new Endeavor office.

“We are honored to be selected” said Ahmed Metwally, Timeline Interactive CEO “Fostering entrepreneurship nurtures a healthy middle class, which is the engine of a solid economy” he continued.

Entrepreneurs are put through a rigorous selection process and for some, an elimination process, before they are selected to go through Endeavor’s International Selection Panels.  Entrepreneurs’, and their companies, are selected and judged on their ingenuity, their proven capacity to scale, and their ability to inspire entrepreneurs globally and locally.

Founded in 2005 by Mostafa Hafez, who started developing games at the young age of 14, Timeline Interactive became the first Middle Eastern company to design and produce a mass distributed video game world-wide. With experience as a developer, consultant, and CTO at a variety of start-ups, Ahmed Metwally brought a new level of business savvy and industry perspective when he joined  Timeline in 2007.

Timeline is the first and only video game studio in the Middle East certified by Microsoft and Sony to develop games for Xbox360 and Play Station 3. CellFactor, Timeline’s first feature product, sold over 100,000 downloads in 2009.  Ahmed and Mostafa believe that among many other credits, Timeline’s past successes and geographic location make it uniquely positioned to grow with the market.

About Timeline Interactive

Privately held and financially backed by the Technology Development Fund and EFG-Hermes, Timeline Interactive is a first-rate game development company that focuses on the design and development of high quality cross-platform games. Based in Cairo Egypt, the company was established in 2005.

For more information on Timeline Interactive, please visit

www.timelineinteractive.com

March 28th,  2010, Cairo – Egypt – Connectme TV, a pioneer in home entertainment products, announced the launch of its media entertainment console. The product is the first of its kind in Europe and the Middle East.

“We are extremely proud of our product and we can’t wait to showcase it to the entire nation” said Ahmed Metwally, CEO and Cofounder of Connectme TV “Today marks a major milestone in our company’s history. We are excited to see our first of series of entertainment and edutainment products launch in Egypt” he continued.

Connectme TV promises a unique set of rich features, on its media entertainment console, that have never been combined in one device before like a High Definition satellite receiver, a DVD player. Connectme TV Electronic Program Guide, EPG, shows the program schedule for up to a month in advance. Also, with the Personal Video Recorder function, the viewer can just click on the program of his/her choice to have the option to record it once, if for example it’s a movie, or for a series every day or every week or adjust your settings manually. In addition, Connectme TV’s interactive capability allows its users to browse the internet, either cable, wireless or 3G, for example news headlines from the BBC, or view videos on YouTube through the customized, easy to use interface.  All features are subject to parental control; Connectme TV provides its users with the ability, not only to block entire channels, but also individual programs and internet plug-ins.

With its sleek design and innovative features, Connectme TV’s media entertainment console will transform the TV viewing experience.

“We are redefining the TV viewing experience from the ground up by packing an exciting set of user-centric features that, to this date, were never combined in any other device”, said Youssef Adnan, Connectme TV VP of Engineering and Cofounder.

The Connectme TV Lyngbox is based on the Lyngbox hardware platform developed by LyngBox Media in Sweden. The companies signed a partnership agreement last July 2009, guaranteeing Connectme TV exclusive rights to the Lyngbox platform in Africa and the Middle East. Connectme TV plans to avail its media entertainment console for retail sale across Egypt in 2010.


About ConnectmeTV
Privately held and founded in 2006, Connectme TV is financially backed by the Technology Development Fund and EFG Hermes. The company provides a unique and complete entertainment experience to viewers that redefine the TV experience from the ground up. The Connectme TV Lyngbox boasts an integrated and unique set of features that have never before been combined in one device. Connectme TV has offices in Egypt and Canada and employs professionals from around the globe.

For more information about ConnectmeTV, please visit our website: www.connectmetv.com

September 20, 2006

XTEAMS awarded SiliconPro contract to build new configuration tools

March 28th,  2010, Cairo – Egypt – Connectme TV, a pioneer in home entertainment products, announced the launch of its media entertainment console. The product is the first of its kind in Europe and the Middle East.

“We are extremely proud of our product and we can’t wait to showcase it to the entire nation” said Ahmed Metwally, CEO and Cofounder of Connectme TV “Today marks a major milestone in our company’s history. We are excited to see our first of series of entertainment and edutainment products launch in Egypt” he continued.

Connectme TV promises a unique set of rich features, on its media entertainment console, that have never been combined in one device before like a High Definition satellite receiver, a DVD player. Connectme TV Electronic Program Guide, EPG, shows the program schedule for up to a month in advance. Also, with the Personal Video Recorder function, the viewer can just click on the program of his/her choice to have the option to record it once, if for example it’s a movie, or for a series every day or every week or adjust your settings manually. In addition, Connectme TV’s interactive capability allows its users to browse the internet, either cable, wireless or 3G, for example news headlines from the BBC, or view videos on YouTube through the customized, easy to use interface.  All features are subject to parental control; Connectme TV provides its users with the ability, not only to block entire channels, but also individual programs and internet plug-ins.

With its sleek design and innovative features, Connectme TV’s media entertainment console will transform the TV viewing experience.

“We are redefining the TV viewing experience from the ground up by packing an exciting set of user-centric features that, to this date, were never combined in any other device”, said Youssef Adnan, Connectme TV VP of Engineering and Cofounder.

The Connectme TV Lyngbox is based on the Lyngbox hardware platform developed by LyngBox Media in Sweden. The companies signed a partnership agreement last July 2009, guaranteeing Connectme TV exclusive rights to the Lyngbox platform in Africa and the Middle East. Connectme TV plans to avail its media entertainment console for retail sale across Egypt in 2010.

About ConnectmeTV

Privately held and founded in 2006, Connectme TV is financially backed by the Technology Development Fund and EFG Hermes. The company provides a unique and complete entertainment experience to viewers that redefine the TV experience from the ground up. The Connectme TV Lyngbox boasts an integrated and unique set of features that have never before been combined in one device. Connectme TV has offices in Egypt and Canada and employs professionals from around the globe.

For more information about ConnectmeTV, please visit our website: www.connectmetv.com

April 2010, Cairo- Egypt- Endeavor Egypt, a non-profit NGO supporting high-impact entrepreneurs in emerging global markets, announced that Ahmed Metwally,  CEO of Timeline Interactive, and its Cofounder and Technical Director, Mostafa Hafez, were selected as Egypt’s high-impact entrepreneurs at Endeavor’s March’s International Selection Panel. “Timeline raised a few eyebrows among the Panelists”, said Ahmed Ezzat, Endeavor Egypt Managing Director. “These young engineers working out of a Cairo suburb managed to present a worldwide blockbuster million-dollar video game. Timeline is proof that Egyptian entrepreneurs can compete globally.”


The panel was held from March 10th – 12th at Cairo Fairmont Nile Towers, and the reviewing panelists included Time Warner Music’s CEO Edgar Bronfman,  Hikma Pharmauceutical’s Ali al-Husry, and Orascom Telecom’s Chairman Naguib Sawaris and CEO Khaled Bichara, among others.  This was Endeavor Global’s 33rd International Selection Panel, but the first for Egypt’s relatively new Endeavor office.

“We are honored to be selected” said Ahmed Metwally, Timeline Interactive CEO “Fostering entrepreneurship nurtures a healthy middle class, which is the engine of a solid economy” he continued.

Entrepreneurs are put through a rigorous selection process and for some, an elimination process, before they are selected to go through Endeavor’s International Selection Panels.  Entrepreneurs’, and their companies, are selected and judged on their ingenuity, their proven capacity to scale, and their ability to inspire entrepreneurs globally and locally.

Founded in 2005 by Mostafa Hafez, who started developing games at the young age of 14, Timeline Interactive became the first Middle Eastern company to design and produce a mass distributed video game world-wide. With experience as a developer, consultant, and CTO at a variety of start-ups, Ahmed Metwally brought a new level of business savvy and industry perspective when he joined  Timeline in 2007.
Timeline is the first and only video game studio in the Middle East certified by Microsoft and Sony to develop games for Xbox360 and Play Station 3. CellFactor, Timeline’s first feature product, sold over 100,000 downloads in 2009.  Ahmed and Mostafa believe that among many other credits, Timeline’s past successes and geographic location make it uniquely positioned to grow with the market.

May 15th 2010 – Ottawa, Canada – The Ottawa Business Journal, one of Canada’s premier regional business publications, announced that Ahmed Metwally, ConnectmeTV CEO, was selected to be awarded the Forty Under 40 Award in Ottawa, Canada. The award ceremony will take place on June 24th. Metwally was selected out of 120 strong nominees to receive the award for 2010

“It is a great honor to be selected for the Top Forty Under 40 award.” said Ahmed Metwally, who is currently celebrating two major achievements this month, OBJ’s Top Forty Under 40 award, and the release of his new company’s first line of products dubbed, ConnectmeTV’s Lyngbox. “OBJ’s award is a great recognition of our efforts in developing local business and contributing back to the community” he added.

Each year, the Ottawa Business Journal’s Forty Under 40 Awards recognizes business people under the age of 40 who balance bottom line results with a desire to participate in charitable and community activities. The nominees are evaluated using three criteria: career accomplishments, professional expertise and community and charitable involvement. Ahmed Metwally, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of ConnectmeTV, has over 15 years of experience in system development and sales for large federal governments and Fortune 500 firms. His experience and ventures span both the technological & entrepreneurial world.
OBJ publisher Michael Curran, who chairs the judging panel notes, “in spite of a challenging business environment, we believe this year was a record number of nominations that represent all major economic sectors in Ottawa. I think that speaks to the quality of business talent in this city.” Mr. Curran noted how seriously the assessment of nominations is taken, with judges logging over 100 hours reviewing and ranking submissions.

About ConnectmeTV
ConnectmeTV delivers a media hub that acts as a multi-functional entertainment gateway that you can use from the comfort of your living room.  Privately held and founded in 2006, ConnectmeTV is financially backed by the Technology Development Fund and EFG Hermes. The company provides a unique and complete entertainment experience by combining the functionalities of a satellite receiver, the media center capabilities of a PC and the interactivity of the internet in one easy to use set-top box. Users can view upcoming TV programs, schedule future show recordings, pause and rewind live TV broadcasts, and play downloaded media from both their home network and the internet.  For families, ConnectmeTV’s advanced parental control features allow parents to filter unwanted media even when they are not at home.

For more information on ConnectmeTV, please visit

www.connectmetv.com

For more information on the Forty Under 40 Awards, please visit

www.fortyunder40.com

June 14, 2006

XTEAMS awarded Emerald HIS contract to define its new Data warehousing solution

For almost three years now, Timeline has been living their vision and inspiring the video game development industry through their new innovations in video game development technology. The high tech graphics and video game development technologies that they have utilized has put them in a prime position in Egypt’s video game development market, and helped them break into markets abroad.Timeline’s game titles have already been picked up by reputable video game development distributors and their games are becoming a fast growing and popular phenomenon amongst avid gamers everywhere. With a whirl wind of successes behind them, including their participation in the development of the “Reality Engine”, which was acquired by Epic Games, followed by the initial development of “Monster Madness” which was released on XBOX 360, as well as, their development of the innovative first person shooter game, “Cell Factor: Combat Training” and later, “CellFactor: Revolution”, it comes as no surprise that Timeline’s work is being recognized by the global video game development industry and its distributors. If their previous successes are anything to go by, Timeline’s latest deal looks set to be another money maker in their expanding video game development business. The excited and proud Co-Founder and Technical Lead, Mr. Mohamed Samir, explained how Timeline continues to deliver and succeed in
their business venture, adding “we are ecstatic to announce that we continue to grow and expand, in both our creative works and our in-house production capacity.” Timeline has become well known in the video game development industry for its extraordinary use of graphic resources, which they continue to evolve and develop, allowing them to maintain their position at the forefront of the video game development industry.

About Timeline Interactive

Privately held and financially backed by the Technology Development Fund and EFG-Hermes, Timeline Interactive is a game development company based in Cairo Egypt that was established in 2005. Timeline Interactive is known for having previously participated in the development of the Reality Engine acquired by Epic Games, and having developed the initial prototype for Monster Madness (an Xbox 360 video game title released by SouthPeak).

About Sony

Sony Corporation is a multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan, and one of the world's largest media conglomerates with revenue exceeding $99.1 billion. Sony is one of the leading manufacturers of electronics, video, communications, video game consoles, and information technology products for the consumer and professional markets.

About Microsoft

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT, HKEx: 4338) is the world's largest software corporation, with about 64,000 employees in 85 countries and regions. First conceived in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen, Microsoft has evolved through several stages throughout its history. Microsoft develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of software products for computing devices.

February 2010, Cairo – Egypt – ConnectmeTV, a pioneer in home entertainment products, announced today that it has launched its media entertainment console at Cairo ICT forum before Dr. Tarek Kamel, Minister of Communications and Information Technology. The product is the first of its kind in Europe and the Middle East.

During his tour of the forum, HE Dr. Tarek Kamel, Egyptian Minister of Communications and Information Technology visited ConnectmeTV’s booth and expressed his happiness with the Egyptian invention.

“We are extremely proud of our product and we can’t wait to showcase it to the entire nation” said Ahmed Metwally, CEO and Cofounder of ConnectmeTV “Today marks a major milestone in our company’s history. We are excited to see our first of series of entertainment and edutainment products launch in Egypt” he continued.

ConnectmeTV promises a unique set of rich features on its media entertainment console that have never been combined in one device before like a High Definition satellite receiver, a DVD player, and the ability to pause live broadcasting to name a few. With its sleek design and innovative features, ConnectmeTV’s media entertainment console will transform the TV viewing experience.

“We have invested a lot of time and effort in our entertainment console, and we have gone to great lengths to ensure that our product is exactly what our clients’ demand” said Youssef Adnan, ConnectmeTV VP of Engineering and Cofounder. “We are redefining the TV viewing experience from the ground up by packing an exciting set of user-centric features that, to this date, were never combined in any other device”, he continued.
ConnectmeTV also hosted a panel discussion during the forum titled “Content Technology and Media over the coming five years” under the auspices of the Technology Development Fund, and a number of IT experts.

The ConnectmeTV Lyngbox is based on the Lyngbox hardware platform developed by LyngBox Media in Sweden. The companies signed partnership last July 2009, guaranteeing ConnectmeTV exclusive rights to the Lyngbox platform in Africa and the Middle East. ConnectmeTV plans to avail its media entertainment console for retail sale across Egypt in 2010.

Privately held and founded in 2006, ConnectmeTV is financially backed by the Technology Development Fund and EFG Hermes with EGP 12M. The company provides a unique and complete entertainment experience to viewers that redefine the TV experience from the ground up. The device boasts an integrated and unique set of features that have never before been combined in one device. ConnectmeTV has offices in Egypt and Canada and employs professionals from around the globe.