Yes, things have changed a lot over the past year or two. I've found myself working with an exciting pre-IPO company, working on some of the most advanced laser systems in the world, and at the same time improving the quality of my life in so many ways.
Unfortunately, I have very limited time to work on a projects at this time. I wish I could double the amount of time in a day, but nobody has created a time machine yet. So, at this time I am only handling emergency service issues with existing clients.
In order to reduce over-all development and operations costs, some companies have embraced the "global economy" associated with IT and Web development. In some ways, I believe this has been a terrible mistake. In many cases, the company is required to hire an outsourcing company to manage their needs with programmers and developers from overseas.
But before you hire someone overseas (or even inside the USA), let me give you the inside scoop. Many of these design companies rely solely on their overseas programmers and require sometimes up to 24 hours to get changes implemented. What happens if you need something done today or even an hour from now? Quality and lack of satisfaction from overseas developers is driving companies back to the local talent. Think twice before making the same mistake for your business.