I recently needed some specialized work done to an Internet site and decided to trawl the Ideagoras on the Internet for a specialist. I was amazed to see not only the caliber of skills on sale but also the low prices which consultants in this space are prepared to do work for. Their reference is a star rating and comments on how good the work has been that they had donein the past. No one had to reveal their age or where they had been to school or what grades they had achieved or what country they lived in. This is a true flattening principal at work here.  What more do you need to know than that they had achieved what others had previously asked them to do in the manner prescribed.

I ended up however not using a consultant but instead buying a component which will hopefully do the same as a consultant would have done however with support for the next year (the old build or buy question).

Is the risk of allowing someone you wont ever meet onto your Corporate website to tinker still too high a risk?

Recently I took the plunge to upgrade my laptop given the need to do more multimedia work. I looked at all the major computer store chains and none of them could come close to......yes, you guessed it, the world leader in online trading: e-Bay.

I had previously made a promise to myself never to order any electronic equipment over $1000 from e-bay after another rough experience I had a few year ago. On that occasion I had ‘won' a ‘NEW' Camcorder which ended up being used and there was practically nothing I could do about it.

My, how short my memory is. Now with nearly $400 to save by ordering the laptop on e-bay I did it at a total of $1385. The e-bay seller had a reasonable reputation at 98% positive feedback so all was looking good.

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