Look who's jumping on the telework bandwagon now! U.S. Agencies Surf for Translators A Dearth of Linguists Sends CIA, FBI to Web By John Mintz, Washington Post Staff Writer (November 6, 2003) reports that the FBI and CIA will open the National Virtual Translation Center on Dec. 1, using a virtual workforce of over 300 contractors to translate documents and audiotapes sent to their homes or offices by e-mail.

"Historically we brought linguists to the material, but now we'll get the material to the linguists," the new center's director, Everette Jordan, said in a recent interview. "It means we can move a lot faster."

(link thanks to Lonn Henrichsen)

4:24:43 PM    
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What changes will telework bring to the sales strategies of non-technical companies? One furniture manufacturer sees opportunity knocking...

"With the advent of the virtual office and telecommuting," says company president and CEO, Kenneth Beck, "two things have become very clear: more and more people are working 24/7 from home, on the road, on the beach -- and the need to 'see it and feel it' in person diminishes daily. Having a strategically placed showroom or two is worthwhile ... having seven showrooms is superfluous."

...and it seems the idea came from local experience with telework...

"A new Home Office Division has also been created to better serve the telecommuting market. The new division will be housed initially in their Mineola [New York] showroom, with plans to expand this division into their Ronkonkoma location. Suffolk county residents will especially benefit from this move, since an increasing number of residents are opting to work from home rather than commute into Manhattan."

Beck Office Furniture Transforms Company With Major Overhaul of Showrooms, Locations and Services (Nov. 5. 2003)

8:04:59 AM    
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