bet he bitches about competition and some day will complain re lack of US talent

[David Farber <farber () central cis upenn edu>]

         LONDON (Reuter) - Where do Russian computer workers get work
now that the collapse of Communism means dwindling opportunities
in space and military programs?
         Richard Pick, owner of the small U.S. software company Pick
Systems, says 60 of them are commuting electronically to Pick's
Irvine, Calif., headquarters every day via a ``virtual office,''
system to work on a range of software projects.
         ``You could call them electronic immigrants,'' said Pick in
an interview. ``We're using mirrored systems, what they do in
Moscow is mirrored on our systems in Irvine,'' he said.
         Pick says the break up of the Soviet Union has released many
highly skilled Russian computer workers, some of whom he has
been employing since 1990.
         ``We've got PhDs in Russia, released after the Soviet Union
wound down its space projects. The caliber of the people is very
good,'' said William Rice, vice president of sales at Pick.
``Their general English might not be too good but their
technical English is excellent.''
         The company only recently revealed its Russian venture,
keeping it secret from its competitors while using Russian
skills to develop its product range more quickly and more
cheaply than it could in Irvine.
 ...