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Indian leader says outsourcing will ultimately benefit U.S. SiliconValley.com Mar 12 2004 6:45PM GMT [Moreover - Silicon Valley news] Why of course he says that ... why wouldn't the leader of one of the most closed economies in the world, where one in six people is branded "untouchable" and poverty runs rampant, brand offshoring to his country as good? This is news?

India "remains one of the most closed economies in the world".

Turns out that the countries using their comparative advantage of poverty to import jobs from the U.S. are themselves not big "free traders". The U.S. is now urging them to open their markets to U.S. made products.

And Lou Dobbs of CNNFN asks critical questions about offshoring: If offshoring is go great, why are we no longer creating any new jobs? What jobs should the 15 million at risk workers pursue? What are we doing about our huge trade deficit? And why are we not calling some of our trading partners, who have trade suprluses, isolationists?

Since offshoring is cheaper, Infosys wants a tax break. Since it costs more to employ engineers in the U.S., Infosys is asking California for a tax break...

"Mr. Devine's warning indicates how concerned corporate America is becoming at the danger of losing competitive advantage to less heavily regulated companies, particularly those in Asia.".

Wow. What I just wrote about is already happening. U.S. firms want less regulation - because globalization will require it. Of course, we need to remember that U.S. regulations came in response to CEO and CFO actions. A number of corporate executives were, by their action, practically begging to be regulated.

Can't get an H-1B visa? The India Times says to apply for a J1 visa instead. The U.S. Department of Commerce issued a bulletin to consulates worldwide instructing how foreign companies can import workers into the U.S. using the L1 visa as a way to get around the current limits on the H-1B visa.

[Edward Mitchell: Common Sense Technology]
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PC bots may unleash a robotic revolution. PC-bots (like the one below) are really interesting.  Adding mobility to a PC chassis makes it possible to replace lots of dedicated devices.  Functionality can be added just by loading software and attaching peripherals (that plug into the system usign PC standard connections).  Some applications:  litterbox cleaning ($250 for a dedicated system), medical reminders and pill delivery, security and alert notification, mobile music, household inventory control, cleaning, etc.  It will also be interesting to see how the "embedded" vision competes with the personal PC bot.  I think PC bots will win in the home given they are much less expensive and much more flexible. [John Robb's Weblog]
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