What's happening in your world?

[Farseer]

Good points Nuytsia (and made me feel better I must say!).

A couple of years ago I had to attend an educational conference in Brisbane which outlined the importance of teaching technology to our children and keeping them (and us, as parents who teach) abreast of the many technological changes to come.

Where once an architect may have been employed by someone from only his local area, he may now be employed from the other side of the world to do the same job but at a cheaper rate and possibly at a higher standard (leaving the local person out of work unless he could match or better what else was on offer). Where once only the local doctor could be consulted on a medical problem, webcam and email now means that a doctor, or doctors, from a totally different country can diagnose and even help treat a condition.

This, for our children, means that they are no longer only competing on a local level, or even an intra-state, interstate or national level, but that they are now facing competition for employment on a global level. It's not good enough to just be better than the bloke down the road...

I guess we have reached and been at that stage with some goods and services for a while now. As you say, it's a matter of lifting one's game. If you are competitive in all things such as pricing, quality and customer service, you have a far better chance of gaining the business than if you're not, no matter where you are in the world.

I wouldn't be swayed by a 10% price difference, it's the fact that it's more like 50% in most cases!!!!!!!!

Too true eg my Lemony Snickett purchases come to mind!!

My mum's coming over to stay with us for a week or two around my birthday next week.

Sounds perfect! I hope you both have a fun time catching up as I imagine, with your mum living in Perth, you don't get to see each other too often!