Outsourcing is such a used and abused word in this day and age, its practically become a cliche. All we imagine is Patel on the other end of the phone (or Bob as he calls himself) offering computer support. Rejoice for Skype Prime is here. Skype Prime allows you to charge people who call by the minute (or by a one-time fee). Skype bills the caller via their Skype credit, then pays YOU - minus a 30% fee via PayPal.

Imagine the possibilities:

• Tech Support
• Accounting Advice
• Relationship Advice
• Sex line
• … get creative

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Those who know me well know that voicemail has always been my achilles heel. I've found it to be practically impossible to keep up with, and made many enemies in the process. Over the last month I've had the privilege to beta test a new service that has freed me from this seemingly inescapable bondage.

Spinvox turns your voicemails into text and sends them to your mobile phone or email inbox. I can now read my voicemails quickly on-screen while at a meeting or having a drink somewhere. I cannot put into words just how fantastically useful this service is. I've even tested it out with a variety of accents, and it hasn't failed me so far. Well… I take that back - on one occasion it did spell my name as Colby instead of Kobia.

This service has been primarily targeted to UK residents and is now in beta in the US. Their pricing plans are somewhat awkward as they charge by number of conversions. Some might consider their pay-per-use model better than a flat subscription fee though.

Either way, it has earned two thumbs up from me.

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Currently there are at least 386 versions of linux. On October 20th 2004 (exactly 2 years ago today), Ubuntu a new version was released by South African startup Canonical. Ubuntu, pronounced /ùbúntú/ (oo-BOON-too), is a sub-Saharan African ethic or ideology focusing on people's allegiances and relations with each other.

Ubuntu, a free open-source operating system has become extremely popular with enthusiasts. One of its most popular uses has been with the desktop and not the server, as with most other linux distributions. Linux has had a hard time penetrating the desktop market for years because it hasn’t been exactly intuitive with its steep learning curve and somewhat challenging installation. Ubuntu changes all that.

I used Ubuntu desktop and to be perfectly honest, it wasn’t hard to notice its striking resemblance to Apple’s OS X. It is a very beautiful interface. That combined with the tons of open source software out there make for a potential threat to Microsoft and Apple. Ubuntu is not quite ready for the masses but you can count on it being a real thorn in the side to the more established companies.

UPDATE: DistroWatch.org the Linux version tracker ranks Ubuntu as the No. 1 Linux distribution where it has been for a little while now.

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