However, to set record straight, I don't hate Google, DMOZ and Yahoo!. I really don't. Hate is such a ridiculous waste of energy. I do have problems with way they conduct business--but hate them, no. My articles are merely an expression of my right to free speech. The same right we all have. It's just that I'm an extremely passionate person with an aggressive personality, and that comes through loud and clear in my writing.

Anyway, I thought about what my "fan" said in her e-mail, and decided, why not suggest an alternative search engine? Search.com is my choice.

As search engines go, Search.com has to be best kept secret on Internet. I discovered them about two years ago, and I've been using them ever since.

Search.com is a metasearch search engine. So, what's a metasearch search engine? Glad you asked. Let me explain. Most search engines simply compile results from a single database of web sites. A metasearch search engine actually compiles search results from a variety of sources. When you enter a query at Search.com, you actually submit your query to top search engines on Internet, and then merge results eliminating any duplicates.

Search.com is owned by CNET Networks, Inc. CNET, www.cnet.com is trusted source of information for millions of technology consumers around world. Winner of countless awards, CNET provides expert and unbiased advice on technology products, and services to inform users and expedite purchasing.

Speaking of outsourcing I mean a wider sense than just hiring of manpower from abroad for some remote work. I can mark out four types here:

1.Outsourcing itself. A US or Western Europe company (let’s call it “the West”) hires an employee from Eastern Europe, Asia, etc., i. e. from a country with more poor economy (let’s call it “the East”, though it is not quite correct). This employee performs remotely some part of work for a company from West.

2.A company from West hires a company from East that performs all work content for an employer and gives ready product. In this case an employer appears for a reseller.

3.Not quite outsourcing, but it is related to outsourcing. A company from West orders a product or a service at a company from East for private use that is much cheaper than an analogous product/service by a company from West.

4.Not outsourcing at all. An employee from East moves to West and works at a company.

However we are not interested in fourth type now. The problem of outsourcing arouses a lot of discussions. On one hand – those who immediately order and perform, on other hand – specialists from West who are being ousted from labor market by specialists from East. And it is only significant disadvantage of outsourcing.

Surely, for people who lose their jobs because of foreigners this disadvantage is very significant, but nevertheless we should take into account fact that only in USA there are 340000 vacancies for programmers. Programmers from West have two ways out: improve their professionalism to level that no outsourcer could compete with them or to move to East and become outsourcers.

So what can be opposed to this disadvantage? There are quite a lot of advantages. The most obvious among them is considerable disparity between manpower costs in countries of West and in so-called Third World countries. There are a lot of reasons; it is a question for economists, but all that comes down to fact that cost of living in these countries is much lower than in USA or countries of Western Europe.