Buyers, providers and staffing managers now have access to our new suite of reports that make managing your work life easier. We’ve added the most requested reports, made them easier to read, provided both summary and detailed views, and made it possible to select the specific date range you need. For …
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New and Improved Reports Make Managing Work Easier
Getting what you want out of a technology project starts with knowing what you want. One of the best ways to explore your problem is by building many quick and dirty (even non-functional) prototypes, and using this discovery process to refine and perfect your idea. The Paper Prototype Regardless of what you’re …
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Rundown of Rapid Prototyping Tools
You may have noticed that we recently unveiled a new & improved Community site and Help Center, making it easier to interact with the oDesk community and find answers to your questions. Here’s what’s new: All community feedback in one place We have turned off the UserVoice site and are collecting …
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New Community Site and Help Center
Summertime is here, and for a lot of providers that means a change in routine. As the buyer, this can be a challenging time to get your deadlines met and your expectations fulfilled. Here are some tips for managing your providers this summer, so you can both keep the season productive …
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4 Tips for Managing Your Freelancers and Contract Workers This Summer
Being an independent contractor comes with a lot of benefits, including the freedom to work when and where you want. Until now, those benefits didn’t usually include affordable health insurance options. But, that all changes today. oDesk is now making health insurance available to all of our U.S.-based users. On behalf …
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Quality Health Insurance for Contractors, Job Seekers and Entrepreneurs
Recently, during an attempt to refinance my home, I was asked to present a year-to-date net profit and loss report on my freelance business. My thought: “But I don’t really own a business.” The loan officer’s response was clear: In the eyes of the bank, to be a freelancer or an independent contractor is to …
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5 Things Every Freelancer Should Know About Net Profit and Loss Reports
This week we have two enhancements to the oDesk service to tell you about. Both of these changes will create a speedier site - something many of our users have been asking for! Faster, more interactive provider search results We’ve made looking for providers easier and faster, helping buyers find the talent …
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Find providers fast & changes to job application quotas
In business, location is everything — and that includes where you are on the Internet. The way people find that online location is through search engines. So, while a pure brick-and-mortar consideration of location involves being on a good street with a highly visible sign, the online version means ranking …
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SEO Success: Get Found on the Web in 3 Steps
To help new visitors better understand what oDesk is all about and clarify important concepts to all oDesk users, we’ve updated a few of our more commonly used words. What has changed? Old New Buyer Employer Provider Contractor Candidacies Job Applications Job Post and Opening Job Posting Assignment Contract Affiliate / Provider Company Agency Affiliate Manager Staffing Manager Affiliate Contractor Agency Contractor Stipend Weekly Rate Why has oDesk made these changes?
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New oDesk Terminology
Maintaining strong working relationships over a distance of thousands of miles can be challenging. Services like oDesk and Skype help ease complications, but there are some hurdles that require special attention when working with international clients. Time Zones Depending on how you manage your international clients, time differences can either help …
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Challenges of International Clients
Here at oDesk we’re always excited to offer special deals and promotions to our hard working community. That’s why we’re super excited to announce that our partner, Startup Weekend, is extending a generous offer of 25% off to attend their upcoming Bay Area event. Startup Weekend recruits a highly motivated …
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Startup Weekend – Special Offer for oDesk Users
Sometimes the best way to learn how to do something well is to learn how others have done it badly. Each of us in the world of contract work must find our own way as we push through our various fields, but a few things are universal. For example, these …
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7 Habits of Highly Ineffective Contractors
Finding a remote worker online is fairly easy these days. Finding a great remote contractor online can be a whole different challenge. The interview process becomes extremely important in pinpointing that remote worker who is a perfect fit for you and your business. So, as you screen freelancers for your next …
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Hiring Remote Workers: 5 Red Flags To Never Ignore
Hiring remote contractors is a great way to expand the capacity and capabilities of your business. However, many businesses are rightfully concerned with the security risks in exposing their data, website or IT infrastructure to contractors. Understanding the work being performed, isolating it as a standardized business unit, and implementing …
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Securing Your Business When Using Remote Contractors
At one point or another it is inevitable that you will experience an unexpected crisis that interferes with your career as an independent contractor. In a less serious scenario, you may lose your cell phone, kill your laptop or just come down with a 24-hour virus. But, in a total disaster, you might …
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A Crisis Plan for Contract Workers: 8 Career-Saving Steps
Waterloo, Ia. Waterloo police have asked the military for advice in disposing of a suspected bomb found in a former munitions plant.
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Waterloo police seek advice on bomb disposal
Microsoft has apparently scuppered plans to allow PC and Xbox 360 gamers to take each other on, using the company’s LIVE service to connect titles available for both platforms. According to Rahul Sood , CTO of HP’s gaming business, the Microsoft project was intended to promote PC gaming, but canned after testing showed those using PCs consistently bested their console counterparts. That wasn’t just because they were better players in general – in fact, according to the rumors Sood has heard, Microsoft purposefully selected mediocre PC gamers to take on “the best console gamers” – but because of the extra accuracy involved when using a PC and mouse versus a console controller.
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LIVE Xbox 360 versus PC tournament plans canned by Microsoft?
Apparently Microsoft is set on giving a Windows Phone 7 handset to their entire 90,000+ workforce around the globe according to a recent Twitter retweet of a Microsoft employee, which would no doubt give Windows Phone 7 a good boost at the start. According to Chris Ziegler of Engadget , the retweet of the Windows Phone 7 handout was tweeted by Microsoft guru, @maryjofoley , with the retweet saying…” 90K down… just under 30 million to go: RT @simchabe: Woot.
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Windows Phone 7 Handset for Every Microsoft Employee
Netflix are promising an update to their PS3 streaming client sometime within the next three months, complete with a new UI that’s loaded onto the console rather than requiring a disc as with the current implementation. That’s just one part of the company’s attempt to take on the Hulu Plus challenge; according to NewTeeVee , Netflix are seeing slowing DVD subscriber growth as more users turn to streaming. Netflix CEO Reed Hastings puts that down, in part, to an increase in TV content. “In terms of streaming content, we are rapidly expanding our TV shows available for streaming and since our last call we have added thousands of TV episodes from new deals with Fox, MTV Networks and Warner Television
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Netflix PS3 disc-free update coming; Hulu Plus is “a direct competitor”
Mouse Computer is now offering 2 New powerful desktop with super fast loading time. Including the Business Oriented Lm-i720-RB and Gaming oriented LITTLEGEAR i710PA5, our 2 computer can announce just 22.84 second from a cold boot to a complete usable state (Time tested on the Lm-i720-RB). In order to achieve such nice results, Mouse Computer hand-picked some of the best component possible and still being able to be affordable
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Mouse computer new Super Fast Desktop Now on sales
The world of the mobile arena lawsuit seems to be a never ending battleground with company suing company left right and centre, and the latest of these to come to light is with Droid smartphone maker Motorola. According to a Nilay Patel article over on Engadget , Motorola has filed a lawsuit against several ex-employees and Hauwei for conspiring to steal Motorola wireless trade secrets and other tech covering a period of years beginning back in 2001. Apparently originally the lawsuit was filed back in 2008 against a firm called Lemko and 4 former Motorola engineers with Motorola claiming they conspired to pinch wireless technology trade secrets. However after deeper investigation Motorola has decided to file the new lawsuit which was filed on the 16th of July and names 9 more ex-employees along with Huawei and alleges they planed to steal plans for Motorola’s SC300, a 3G base station.
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Motorola Sues Ex-workers and Hauwei over Trade Secrets Theft