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First Client a Big One: Joel Don, formerly the spokesman for computer maker AST Research Inc. in Irvine, has opened the doors to his own firm, Communication Perspectives Inc., in Rancho Santa Margarita.

His first client: Rockwell International in Newport Beach. Don said he will work with the company’s developing digital communications division, which handles such products as packet radio and wireless communications.

Don said he is now formally a member of the virtual corporation, working with clients as they need it. That used to be called free-lancing, and it used to be a temporary condition. But Don said he’s in this for the long run.

“The marketplace has shifted to outsourcing,” he said. “A lot of companies have downsized, and they are looking for strategic partnerships with other entrepreneurial companies.”