Lost!

If you haven’t heard of oDesk, it’s another website where you can find global Independent Contractors to do whatever you can think of. While I was originally excited to see something like this, I found out quickly that, typically, these sites are not setup for anyone in the US - oDesk is the same.

oDesk solves the problem of billable hours and how your project is doing based upon the oDesk software that is installed on the workers computers (Click here to see a quick about video that includes this feature). The software basically screenshots your desktop every 10 minutes, snaps a webcam picture as well as monitors your mouse clicks and keywords that hit the screen. The buyer can actually bring these up to verify that you were working when you say you were.

So, without being an end user, I see that oDesk falls into the pit of the others due to one thing - pay. I quickly found out that there are a lot of people that are still not willing to pay a decent wage to anyone other than those in Third and Second world countries. As an IT Professional based in the US, I absolutely cannot afford $3 an hour for a project like WordPress Customization. I’m quick, but not that quick, especially when I’m use to pay MUCH higher. It is actually better for me to go out to McDonalds and get a minimum wage job than to bid on any project that pays less than minimum wage. oDesk solves a problem that others have by putting a camera in the bidders face and watching what they’re working on. If they take 5 minutes to edit an old PHP form to do what you want and charge 2 hours, you’ll see it, but at the same time, there is still a problem with wages.

So, to answer my question on if oDesk is worth it? That really comes down to you. If you can consciously pay someone $3 an hour for something you know they should be getting much more for - then go for it. Personally, I’m not someone that can take advantage of that fact, nor am I someone that can afford to spend time on a project that pays $3/$4 or $5 an hour. There are even posts on oDesks own forum site that have been kept alive for a year because many are finding that the pay is just not worth it.

For those of you that feel that I’m being harsh on people with small businesses, and that I just don’t understand - dead wrong. I’ve run smaller startups with less than a shoe string budget in the past. I’ve run my own web design business (see the last paragraph on the About page) and I’m considering starting up another small business on a much larger shoe-string budget. Even though I’m in the phase where I’m considering what to pay employees, I’m still going to pay them the industry norm or BETTER for the quality of work they provide.

I’m only 10 days late on this due to a new job (YEA!), but I’ve talked about Krugle before (here and here), but this is one company that I really enjoy talking about for various reasons. This time, they’ve managed to nail one of the biggest software companies in the world, Microsoft.

Although MSDN branded, the MSDN Code Search Preview is hosted at Krugle. (Official Krugle Screenshot)

Microsoft has decided to deploy Krugle on the MSDN Code Gallery, but they are doing so in a new way. Unlike a lot of other customers that Krugle has, Microsoft chose to “…utilize a public-facing deployment of Krugle Enterprise Appliance. This will enhance the search process by allowing both internal and external members of the MSDN community to search code snippets and examples from the MSDN Library.” (Source: Official Krugle Blog post)

Krugle maintains the code search “preview” page here. Again, just a preview. Currently, Microsoft maintains the About Page, which maintains the following opening paragraph:

The MSDN Code Search Preview lets you search for code on MSDN. MSDN Code Search is a “preview” at this time because it only includes code snippets and examples from the MSDN Library and doesn’t yet include code from MSDN Forums, MSDN Code Gallery, or Codeplex (to be included at a later date).Source

So, one of a few things is happening here:

• MSFT is testing Krugle to see how the Search waters work for them and if it’s worth further relations.
• MSFT is slowly allowing Krugle to crawl the code (which should be happening anyway), but taking the relationship slow.
• MSFT is “testing” the technology for their own search needs.
• MSFT is “testing” the relationship to see if corporate attitudes jive.

While I have email addresses of several people at Krugle as you’ve seen in past stories, I’m not going to email them for comment. Anyone worth anything in corporate won’t comment on the above bullets and I have more respect for Krugle than most companies…

Looking at the MSDN Search Forums, coders are less than happy about Live Search on the MSDN site. Unfortnately, it appeared that no one had released the Krugle site on the Forum to all the people complaining - so I did…

So, will Krugle’s involvment in the MSDN search help? Um, yes. Being a part-time coder myself, I’ve used Krugle’s engine on several occasions and I’m starting to use it more and more. The fact that they’re now crawling the MSDN side of things, I’ll be using it daily at work.

Preview of the Next Blog Post: The (Almost) Perfect Home ECM Test Server:
Some people, like myself, test many CMS and ECM packages on a normal basis. There are, however, many people that may need to test these types of packages in a cheaper environment than on an enterprise class server that costs tens of thousands of dollars - whether they’re part of a small business, startup or even a large business with someone “testing” at home. On top of the CMS and ECM packages, I wanted something to help me test Enterprise class software (read: learn) for future use and I think I accomplished more than what I wanted.

Yesterday, something happened on the internet that was historic, yet, hardly anyone noticed. A web browser, one of the very first, died a very quietly in a corner with very few friends. Netscape, one of the first browsers that you could buy at a computer store, has finally ceased to exist after AOL decided to finally cut off the leg that twitched a little too much. Continue reading…

I had to laugh this morning when I logged into WordPress and actually noticed something from Matt’s blog mentioning ThinkGeek. It seems, I’m not the only one that thinks their website is clunky and outdated.

It’s bad when customers complain, it’s really bad when someone as popular as Matt complains…

I’ve always found the Wishlist concept to be cool, especially as Amazon implements it. I love it when the developer of a plugin or software I use links to their Wishlist because then I can buy them something personal, it seems less crude than a Paypal donate link where you’re putting an explicit price on things.

The other day Kent Brewster found a JS problem on WordPress.com. I was browsing his FAQ and saw this: “My ThinkGeek Wish List is always open.”

If you click that link, you’ll see in red letters: “To shop from this wishlist, please add items to your cart using this form only! Otherwise, your gifts will… Read More

For the fourth time, CIHost has been robbed, from what appears to be an inside job. This time, the armed robbers sawed through a wall (supposedly reinforced) and started stealing servers. When a remote employee was notified of problems inside the data center, he showed up to be tased, taped and beaten.

Currently, CIHost is upset because their image is being beaten to death with a wooden spoon. Slashdot and The Register have both run front page stories about this situation and the forum members at Web Hosting Talk are up in arms over this situation as well.

While the posting has been removed, CIHost even advertised a Security Guard position on CareerBuilder.com. While I don’t have a copy of it, I have quotes from it:

“We are seeking motivated individuals” … “Prior security experience preferred.” … “Some College is also preferred.” … “Armed Hand-gun license/permit and ability to supply own weapon a Huge Plus!” It was said that the hourly rate was around $6.50. (I’d be interesting seeing the full post or a screen shot)

What kind of crackheaded company wants a cheap security guard that brings their own gun, after they’ve been robbed 4 times? “Yes, I am stupid, yes, I do have this gun (so what if the serial number is rubbed off!?) and yes, I’m willing to die for a server! $6.50 an hour?! Look no further, I’m yours!!”

On the lighter side of things, customers that had their servers stolen are starting a lawsuit against CIHost due to Gross Negligence. Oh, the joy of the colo world.