Tuesday, May 10, 2005
Good news on severed goat heads: Satan not involved
VANCOUVER, British Columbia (Reuters) - A lazy worker, not a satanic cult, was responsible for severed goat heads that caused a scare at a Vancouver-area school, Canadian police said on Monday.
Police were called in after goat heads were twice found on a bench outside a school in nearby Chilliwack, British Columbia, prompting fears in the suburban community that it had been targeted by a satanic animal killing.
Sun to Acquire Tarantella, Inc.
SANTA CLARA, Calif., May 10 -- Sun Microsystems, Inc. and Tarantella, Inc. today announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement pursuant to which Sun will acquire Tarantella for a cash purchase price of $0.90 per share, or approximately $25 million in the aggregate, and assumption of employee stock options. Tarantella is a leading provider of software that enables organizations to access and manage information, data and applications across virtually all platforms, networks and devices.
Virtual Secretary Puts New Face on Pakistan
And she does it all from Karachi, Pakistan.
As receptionist for the Resource Group, Musa greets employees and visitors via a flat screen hanging on the lobby's wall. Although they are nine hours behind and nearly 7,500 miles away, her U.S.-based bosses rely on her to keep order during the traffic of calls and meetings.
The Resource Group, a call-center company, represents a model that might sound familiar: U.S. companies save money by offshoring certain tasks to developing countries with cheaper workers who can telemarket, integrate data and program computer code. These "back-office" functions have created a booming, multibillion-dollar industry in countries such as India, Ireland and the Philippines.
