FLN Blog

Helping the Survivors

Thu, 01 Sep 2005 11:00:00 EDT

It has become apparent now that the damage in New Orleans and along the Gulf Coast from Katrina is more horrendous than was first thought. The need for aid to the people in this region, many of whom have lost everything to this storm, is obvious and urgent. The world will undoubtedly respond, but as individuals we can also render aid. Two links that can be used to do this are:

Many of us have friends and family members in the area affected by Katrina. You can search for them on the internet here. This site has a search capability and also links to a number of other sites which may be of assistance in your efforts.

- Dawn

Katrina Slams Gulf Coast

Tue, 30 Aug 2005 15:25:00 EDT

All of us at Freelancernow.com would like to extend our sympathy to the residents of the Gulf Coast that have been so drastically impacted by Hurricane Katrina. The unprecedented devastation in New Orleans will take a very long time to rebuild. In times of tragedy we need to help and comfort each other. FLN staffers offer our support and prayers to all those who have been impacted by this terrible storm.

- Dawn

New Service Joining the Loucon Family

Fri, 29 Jul 2005 12:55:37 EDT

Here at FLN we are quite excited about a new site that is joining the Loucon Corp. family of websites. It is in development and will be available very soon. This new service is RSampi (pronounced r-sam-pee).

RSampi is a new web application that allows users to subscribe to their favorite RSS content from anywhere in the world. RSampi requires no installation.

If you are wondering what RSS is, it stands for Really Simple Syndication. Basically it allows you to manage the information that is currently coming into your inbox from websites. It consolidates the information in one place for you to access. It means your inbox can be used for actual e-mail messages from people. What a concept!

The service will be invaluable to anyone who normally visits many sites every day to check on developments in their professional field or simply areas of interest. With RSS, you can then simply look at all the feeds in one place (RSampi) and save yourself untold hours.

The service should be available very soon so watch for an announcement of its official launch here.

- Dawn

PayPal Expanding to China

Tue, 19 Jul 2005 19:34:48 EDT

This is an international outsourcing portal, so this topic will no doubt be of interest to some of our members.

PayPal, the online payment part of Ebay, has recently announced that it is expanding into China. This is the fourteenth localized site worldwide for PayPal. The service will encompass payment in local currency through 15 Chinese banks and over 20 different debit cards.

For FLN, it means that our LancePay service will be easily available to clients living in China

You may read the entire article here.

-Dawn

We All Need a Good Laugh

Sat, 09 Jul 2005 03:49:19 EDT

Before heading off for a few days with my family, I wanted to take a moment to share a web site with you that I just discovered. I want to warn you that it is somewhat off-topic for an outsourcing portal blog. If like me you enjoy a good laugh, continue reading.

Most of us in IT consider ourselves geeks on one level or another. In fact we can take pride in the label. The site I have discovered caters to the geeks of the world with all manner of interesting and amusing items. Among them is a t-shirt which announces, "There are only 10 types of people in the world: Those who understand binary, and those who don't".

In any case, if you would like a chuckle, you might consider visiting the site. Enjoy the summer weekend people. Will see you next week.

- Dawn

Warm Regards to the victims of the Terrorist attacks in London

Thu, 07 Jul 2005 10:26:36 EDT

We at freelancernow.com would like to extend our sympathy to the victims of the terrorist bombings of the Double Decker bus and underground transportation systems in London, England. In time of this tragedy we need to be vigilant and help each other. We must offer our support and prayers to those in London who were affected by this terrible tragedy.

For more information please visit http://news.bbc.co.uk/

-FreelancerNow Team

Apple Moving to Intel Processors

Wed, 06 Jul 2005 19:54:09 EDT

I know that this may be a bit off topic for an outsourcing portal, but interesting nonetheless. Apple computers has recently announced that they are moving to Intel processors within the year on their total product line.

The reason for this transition (as Apple CEO, Steve Jobs, likes to call it) is fairly simple. It comes down to the fact that IBM and Freescale have not been able to meet the Apple demand for faster processors.

Hot on the heels of this announcement, it was revealed that since 2001, the Apple OS X has been compiled for both PowerPC and Intel processors. All of this leads to the possibility of Windows running on an Apple computer and Apple OS X running on a PC. Note that Apple has stated this last will not be possible, but has not revealed how it will prevent it.

It is anticipated that the move will allow a huge number of Windows applications to be used on the Mac. In addition, there is speculation that the change will result in lower prices for Apple machines. Only time will tell, but the changes will no doubt be interesting to observe.

Finally, all of us here at FLN hope that you, like us, enjoyed a great holiday weekend with your friends and families.

-Dawn
Source

WTO Reports on Outsourcing

Mon, 04 Jul 2005 02:05:25 EDT

The generally held viewpoint that outsourcing is costing jobs in America was rebutted in the recent World Trade Organization report. Among other issues, the report "reiterated that outsourcing is neither a major employment contributor to destination countries nor a major source of unemployment for source countries." In fact the WTO report confirmed that fears and expectations relating to outsourcing results in inflated impact statements. The dialogue on the relative benefits and costs of outsourcing will undoubtedly continue, but it is nice to see a body such as the WTO weighing in on the 'outsourcing is not generally a bad thing for our economy' side of the debate. You can read the full text of this article here: http://www.blogsource.org/.

- Dawn

IBM setting the stage again?

Wed, 29 Jun 2005 00:52:42 EDT

More and more companies are outsourcing their work all over the world. This does not exclude popular computer and information giant IBM inc. IBM has already sold their computer division to a Japanese company, yet still more retooling and outsourcing a waits.

In the midst of massive lay offs of up to 13,000 workers in Europe and the United States, IBM still plans to increase its payroll in India this year by more than 14,000 workers, according to an internal company document. Those numbers are telling evidence of the continuing globalization of work and the migration of some skilled jobs to low-wage information Technology Company is something of a corporate laboratory that highlights the trend.

IBM is really pushing this offshore outsourcing to relentlessly cut cost and to export skilled jobs abroad. This is not the first time that IBM has set the stage and it won't be the last.

-Leon
Source New York Times

Bill Gates: End overseas hiring limits

Mon, 27 Jun 2005 23:48:20 EDT

Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates urged the Bush administration and lawmakers to abolish immigration limits on foreign engineers who can be hired by U.S. companies, a sensitive subject among American technology workers watching their own jobs increasingly move overseas.

Read more at "Offshoring Forum"

I think the this outsourcing topic is getting bigger and bigger by the day. Post your comments here on the blog. We'd love to hear what you think about it.

- Jerome