The Adventures of TinTin and Snowy

I came across an article in a professional magazine about SeaCode. Three US Entrepreneurs have brought a new meaning to the term 'offshoring'. They have purchased a disused cruise ship and have kitted it out as a cutting edge software development laboratory and they are manning the vessel with a crew of coders from around the globe. The ship will house 600 developers working around the clock and will sail the oceans to meet demand. Whether the project will stay "afloat" and whether other outsourcing services follow them on to the oceans remains to be seen.

Skype has become such a threat to telecom providers that they are now starting to block it. And quite typically the first people to do so is Etisalat in UAE. Fortunately, they haven't blocked talking from computer to computer, but users cannot buy any more credit for SkypeOut. Mexico has followed suit also with an ISP blocking Skype completely. Blocking access is not the appropriate response to the new emerging VOIP technology. Carriers need to learn the lessons of how to develop business models that can make money from the new world of internet telephony.

On a different note, Steve and Hillary are coming over to Lancaster tonight. We're going hiking tomorrow. God help me. Steve likes using me as his bitch. He's such a slave driver. Hopefully I'll be alive later to recount my tale.