Now we can all be Stupid Spoiled Whores!!
Seriously though [vernacular pun not intended], this had better be an April Fools Joke. I gotta go back and RTFA when I'm off this critical problem, but I can't understand why on earth they would pull this stunt.
Unless of course, Ms. Hilton is really as brilliant as no one gives her credit for.:P
Boo - I was playing with that today, and I really loved it. Something like that would be especially cool for my blind friend who uses a computer more than I do, and I'm an SE! I hope that they bring something like that back to help the visually impaired.
While I do also predict a major paradigm shift, I don't think the author is that far off the mark. But I also do not think you're off the mark at all, either. I think over time, that users who get burned will start getting angry, and Congress will order basic computer administration and security taught in public schools (RIGHT - come on... I'm a (R) who HATES the No Child Left Behind Act - Government belongs in school as much as religion does - IT DON'T) - or the people are going to want a one stop solution. Look at the evolution of cellular technology as an example. Your next IPod will be a vacuum too!:P
I think that it is going to take those five to ten years to design and rollout such a usable and functional device of this nature and provide the network infrastructure to support it. I do think that the general public will adopt something like this, especially if they design a better interface and functionality than AOL! But I do NOT think they will replace full desktops or laptops in the business or for many other high-end tasks.
I have built and managed several thin-client farms and networks, and with as much time and energy and money as we dumped into those projects to convert our corporate standards to Thin-Clients only - there were always reasons why it would not be 100%: Developers, Financial Officers, Graphics Artists, and multimedia producers come to mind. For these people, there should be a 'terminal' download that would emulate the functionality that is provided on the devices, to enable users to access their 'personal' computers and files from wherever they are.
Just what I would do if I were Google.:) I am *so* not down for moving to the Bay Area though. SoCal ain't much cheaper, but I have more room and more sun!:P
Jho
It's rather imperative that young women get an early jump into the world of technology. The earlier, the better. IT is a very tough world, and it's extremely competitive, particularly in the realm of programming. I believe (note: personally - not backed by science) that girls develop faster intellectually during jr. high and early high school. The earlier the better I say to get the jump.
I can only attribute my own success in the IT industry from being exposed to computers and getting involved with them as they began to take root in the very early 80s. My dad got me a Vic20 when I was 8, and I was writing programs soon thereafter. I went through the whole gambit of OS's and languages and whatever software I could get my hands on. Because I grew up real poor, I was lucky to use what was provided by the schools, so it gave me a wide range of exposure.
By the time I got to college, I had developed chronic pain, and couldn't do work study in the cafeteria (why is that always the first job??) - so I picked up a job because I knew MSDOS and WP5.0. I was a consultant for a lab at college! And they put me through 2 weeks of school at HP!! *woooo* Not long after that, I changed my major and I was on my way to where I am today. Then I transferred schools to a better program.
Coming up through the ranks in the relatively new field of Information Technology has been fraught with a lot of challenges. Not only is it you against everyone else who is better trained, smarter, or more motivated.. but there truly is a battle of the sexes in IT. Particularly on the network systems operations side of the house. Come on... you know it and see it every day. Sometimes it's caused major issues, but it all has depended on the environment and the level of professionality within it. It's *tough* when you are faced with working 75 - 90 hours a week, and then have to go home and raise a family and care for a home. But we do it, we do it gratefully, because it's afforded us girls a chance to stand on equal footing for once. At least I did.
All of that being said, I fully believe that there should be strong internship and mentoring programs for all young people getting involved with IT, especially those coming in from the bootcamp schools like Microskills, or whatever. While they may have the knowledge and motivation - there is an awful lot more to the IT culture than knowing how to install Windows 2003 or Linux. I sure know that I could have and still do need a good mentor to help me through tough situations that arise in the day to day operations of IT. Some things, I couldn't get through on my own, and left me high and dry, not because of any other reason that my own dumb ass.
Finally, I have to say that 14 years in the industry, I've gone from a flunky consultant bossing around lunkheads in business school to a sr. systems engineer doing huge infrastructure implementations and upgrades, project management, and policy design & implementation. And every 72 hour stretch, all nighter, business trip, massive outage, tear, sweat, blood and torn muscle has been worth it to be where I am today. And I couldn't have done it without the love and dreams that I started building as a child.
I'm the backup admin for my company, and if what I've been doing for the last six months is any indication - SOX 404 requires that tapes with *any* financial or personnel information must be encrypted as it is written to tape. We've been completely revamping our backup schedule and jobs to comply with all of the regulations that are required by law to protect our financials etc.
Now, if they didn't encrypt their data, and that can be proven, THAT is grounds for a class-action from all of these victims. Because at that point, there is no way to know who's hands that has fallen into, and they are indeed victimized.
I'm a long time customer of BofA and they are a long time customer of ours, but I'm really scared of the outcome of this. I've done everything imaginable to think of to keep my personal data secure (including only accessing my web-banking through SSL, Digital Certificates and BEHIND my office's firewall) all of my days. Now because someone wants to be an asshat, I could be a victim of ID theft, and material theft at that!! Thank god I spend my paycheck so fast on bills and such there ain't much left in there... and my savings is at another bank.
Now the question is how the hell we get our company to switch after moving alllll of our crackberries to T-Mobile, and we are constantly having issues.
And with all of this privacy concern, what kind of liability does that put T-Mobile at when sensitive market data can be compromised? *SCARY*
But you're forgetting the fact that Microsoft/IBM/Apple/Sun does the same freakin' thing every time they come out with some new slick dealio. That's the way it has alwyas been in the world of technology. Moore's Law. We gotta have *some* OS ready to take on those Dual Core Processors! The only difference here is that Microsoft doesn't *make* PC's. That's what they have everyone else for.
*Feh* At least I got to see the buggy! The site was so trending blazo.
Those were some awesome pix. Better than the Gigapixel ones I was browsing earlier today. That's some amazing shite too... It's good to be able to now see the beauty and the detail that the government has had for years!
Upgrade to the HD version. In all the time that I have had KPBS-HD, I have never had to deal with that. But then, a portion of my subscription goes to pay for their programming. So no, they don't do telethons in HighDef. Oh yeah, the programming is better too. Unfortunately, no Nova, though.. but I do love getting live music every Friday night!:D
The thing that makes me laugh so hard about this is the fact that people would actually *think* that. Someone please tell me how something that is completely electronic in makeup - all of the equipment, bits, bytes, 0's and 1's - survive something that issues an Electromagnetic Pulse fractions of a second before detonating a nuclear device? Seems to be a quintessential oxymoron to me.
I'm sure that some things would survive, but in any mode usable? Just think of all the fun an EMP going off near DC would cause. Pentagon and government buildings might be safe, and hopefully they run on a shielded network. But what of all that networking gear that drives AOL?:P
Hear Hear!!! I tell ya. That has happened to me at 4 different companies. You know what happened after I left/was laid off? More layoffs, buyouts, and company shut downs. After 13 years in IT, I just got my first 'award' in October. A fscking toaster oven. I'm not joking. But it meant all the world to me, because I love who I work for. I just hate what I do.:P
Jeez... I'd be happy with just replacing the damn John Wayne TP! Just cuz it's 2 ply doesn't mean it should leave paper cuts where the sun don't shine!!!
Well besides that they only have 20 keys to the ones on the 6130/7130's... they have the better color LCD screen than the 7130s. Everyone that we have handed them out to has turned them back in because they HATE the predictive writing, and the only 20 keys. I'm not sure what RIM was thinking when they designed these... are there any users out there that actually dig them?
Oh MY GAWD I'm *OLD*!! I remember that.... after the pain and anguish of trying to get.992 running on a 386-33 with a WD FASST7000 SCSI card!! It almost kept me from staying with Linux... but I did, and I'm glad.:D Wish I had stuck with it a bit longer back then, but well, that's life. I'm back in it NOW!
I am new to the laptop market... I just got my first one after being a Sr. Systems Engineer for 5 years! I spent 3 hours when I first got it trying to make my screen more legible. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!! This is *exactly* what I needed, and will pass on to our desktop dept. that it needs to be added to our Laptop Image. THANK YOU!!!
Cops are currently using these.. I posted somethin' about it a bit earlier... here's another very interesting article about them: http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-bib_query?bi bcode=1998SPIE.3575...26K&db_key=AST. Dunno, but maybe there were SWAT operations in the area?:P
Is it possible that someone with military experience or some such? Especially considering Colorado Springs. There's six huge and important military installations within about a 5 mile radius of the COS runways. Not to mention that it's easily accessible by the public, probably one of the worst security features (I used to work for Western Pacific Airlines!:O)!!
Interestingly enough, many non-lethal weapons developers are headquartered in the area, to include Jaycor, Loral, and Raytheon. It may be possible that someone or someone's was able to gain access to a Laser Dazzler and is 'having some fun', or causing major trouble. Interesting thought... I saw these on a program on History Channel, and they were pretty amazing, and could possibly result in such things.
I LOVED Playmobile. Funny you don't see them more often. I had the whole rescue crew sets, because my dad was a firefighter, so it was really special. Wonder what ever happened to them.
It's for those reasons, that I have NEVER bought an EA game, and shall never buy one, and cannot fathom supporting a company that treats it's people like that.
I supported an Indian Casino in Southern California much like EA.. not far from them either. I ended up in the hospital with so many different stress related illnesses. Not to mention getting attacked by an insane coworker that resulted in a permanent limp. Worker's comp?? Nope.. Legal Action... Nope. Nothing I can do.
EA is much the same way... they are the big cheeses, and any attempts to sue, form union, whatever, they will do whatever they can to thwart.
Bless this person and their speaking out...
BOYCOTT ELECTRONIC ARTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I mean, come on. They have been trying to do such a thing for years and years, since prior to the Reagan administration. It would surprise me not at all to find out that something weapon-like already exists up there. Spy satelittes that can read your newspaper from 260 miles constitutes a weapon of mass privacy violation in my mind alone.
Somehow I think that since we have the ability to put weapons on unmanned drones that hang out at 65,000 feet for days at a time, surely we can put such things in Space. DARPA doesn't have a huge black ops budget for no reason after all.
My question is, what in the hell could they possibly think that we need to defend ourselves against from space anyways???
The first issue is the location of the worker. A mexican immigrant that comes here to work, gradually gaining citizen ship, is contributing to the economy. His wages are taxed, and the things he consumes are local. i.e. he's going to be buying groceries, goods, renting a house, etc. All of this keeps the money in the US, and in a roundabout way, helps create more US jobs. (need more grocery clerks, more construction, etc.)Once they gain Citizenship, they have a vested interest in staying in this country, and continuing to work and consume.
Living in Southern California, I have to take a bit of an exception to this. No, not all of the $$ is kept here in the US. Most is saved and/or sent back to their home country to support their family, wherever they may be. They frequently live many to a home, splitting the rent 8 ways, and/or living illegally, such as in my old apt. complex - a family was 'subletting' a neighbor's garage! Not to mention what is happening to the local medical system, particularly in ERs where babies have died because they are not treated soon enough... they are flooded with illegals who have nowhere else to go because they have no health insurance.
All of that said, that is *so* not considering what these illegal (did I mention they are breaking so many laws by just being here, it's ridiculous?) immigrants went through to get into this country. I seem to recall several incidents where multiple deaths and injuries have occurred. Every month, there is another shoot-out, head-on or roll over collision killing the illegals being smuggled or innocents on their way to work. Only to wind up in a halfway house or a 'migrant' camp either in San Diego or LA, living 50 to a house until they can come up with enough money to pay off their smugglers. It's a horrible dangerous proposition to undertake this, and would like to hope that the plan that President Bush put together could be refined into something doable and workable for our economy and human rights.
There is no doubt that migrant workers are imperative to the US economy, and we need them, but they need to abide by the laws, cross the border legally, with documentation, and they need to abide by the laws of becoming a US Citizen. My family came to this counry as refugees, and had to work in practical servitude for the 7 years to gain their citizenship. They had no family left to feed after the potato famine....but they weren't paid enough to live on either. Why should Pepe or Pedro be any different? Fortunately, they get paid well during their 7 years, their kids get US Citizenship and health care. And maybe if they are lucky (like my friends), find and fall in love with a good American man. Then you can get your papers in a short order!:P
I seem to remember the posts of doom from right around the Dot Bomb...and thinking *then* that the 'net and the way that we use it must change and evolve in order for it to remain functional. In it's simplest, that is what it's all about. And it is evolving, but I don't think it is quickly enough to spell doom in (really) a year, maybe 18 months. With the advent of new browser technologies (Return of the Browser Wars), user education, and language evolution, I see the whole of the Internet becoming a different beast altogether sometime in the next 3-4 years. All of our children who have grown up with knowledge and taught to think in strings of text rather than 1800 page novels, may well revolutionize how you and I utilize our tools. To them, the 'net is a dinosaur... just imagine what it can do with another 65 years (million is way too big of a scale for this comparison!:P).
Slashdot Mirror
Now we can all be Stupid Spoiled Whores!! :P
Seriously though [vernacular pun not intended], this had better be an April Fools Joke. I gotta go back and RTFA when I'm off this critical problem, but I can't understand why on earth they would pull this stunt.
Unless of course, Ms. Hilton is really as brilliant as no one gives her credit for.
So does it accurately predict your frag rate? :D
Boo - I was playing with that today, and I really loved it. Something like that would be especially cool for my blind friend who uses a computer more than I do, and I'm an SE! I hope that they bring something like that back to help the visually impaired.
Jho
While I do also predict a major paradigm shift, I don't think the author is that far off the mark. But I also do not think you're off the mark at all, either. I think over time, that users who get burned will start getting angry, and Congress will order basic computer administration and security taught in public schools (RIGHT - come on... I'm a (R) who HATES the No Child Left Behind Act - Government belongs in school as much as religion does - IT DON'T) - or the people are going to want a one stop solution. Look at the evolution of cellular technology as an example. Your next IPod will be a vacuum too! :P
:) I am *so* not down for moving to the Bay Area though. SoCal ain't much cheaper, but I have more room and more sun! :P
I think that it is going to take those five to ten years to design and rollout such a usable and functional device of this nature and provide the network infrastructure to support it. I do think that the general public will adopt something like this, especially if they design a better interface and functionality than AOL! But I do NOT think they will replace full desktops or laptops in the business or for many other high-end tasks.
I have built and managed several thin-client farms and networks, and with as much time and energy and money as we dumped into those projects to convert our corporate standards to Thin-Clients only - there were always reasons why it would not be 100%: Developers, Financial Officers, Graphics Artists, and multimedia producers come to mind. For these people, there should be a 'terminal' download that would emulate the functionality that is provided on the devices, to enable users to access their 'personal' computers and files from wherever they are.
Just what I would do if I were Google.
Jho
LMAO.... I am, indeed. However, I do a lot of guy things and hang out with all guys. :)
It's rather imperative that young women get an early jump into the world of technology. The earlier, the better. IT is a very tough world, and it's extremely competitive, particularly in the realm of programming. I believe (note: personally - not backed by science) that girls develop faster intellectually during jr. high and early high school. The earlier the better I say to get the jump.
I can only attribute my own success in the IT industry from being exposed to computers and getting involved with them as they began to take root in the very early 80s. My dad got me a Vic20 when I was 8, and I was writing programs soon thereafter. I went through the whole gambit of OS's and languages and whatever software I could get my hands on. Because I grew up real poor, I was lucky to use what was provided by the schools, so it gave me a wide range of exposure.
By the time I got to college, I had developed chronic pain, and couldn't do work study in the cafeteria (why is that always the first job??) - so I picked up a job because I knew MSDOS and WP5.0. I was a consultant for a lab at college! And they put me through 2 weeks of school at HP!! *woooo* Not long after that, I changed my major and I was on my way to where I am today. Then I transferred schools to a better program.
Coming up through the ranks in the relatively new field of Information Technology has been fraught with a lot of challenges. Not only is it you against everyone else who is better trained, smarter, or more motivated.. but there truly is a battle of the sexes in IT. Particularly on the network systems operations side of the house. Come on... you know it and see it every day. Sometimes it's caused major issues, but it all has depended on the environment and the level of professionality within it. It's *tough* when you are faced with working 75 - 90 hours a week, and then have to go home and raise a family and care for a home. But we do it, we do it gratefully, because it's afforded us girls a chance to stand on equal footing for once. At least I did.
All of that being said, I fully believe that there should be strong internship and mentoring programs for all young people getting involved with IT, especially those coming in from the bootcamp schools like Microskills, or whatever. While they may have the knowledge and motivation - there is an awful lot more to the IT culture than knowing how to install Windows 2003 or Linux. I sure know that I could have and still do need a good mentor to help me through tough situations that arise in the day to day operations of IT. Some things, I couldn't get through on my own, and left me high and dry, not because of any other reason that my own dumb ass.
Finally, I have to say that 14 years in the industry, I've gone from a flunky consultant bossing around lunkheads in business school to a sr. systems engineer doing huge infrastructure implementations and upgrades, project management, and policy design & implementation. And every 72 hour stretch, all nighter, business trip, massive outage, tear, sweat, blood and torn muscle has been worth it to be where I am today. And I couldn't have done it without the love and dreams that I started building as a child.
I'm the backup admin for my company, and if what I've been doing for the last six months is any indication - SOX 404 requires that tapes with *any* financial or personnel information must be encrypted as it is written to tape. We've been completely revamping our backup schedule and jobs to comply with all of the regulations that are required by law to protect our financials etc.
Now, if they didn't encrypt their data, and that can be proven, THAT is grounds for a class-action from all of these victims. Because at that point, there is no way to know who's hands that has fallen into, and they are indeed victimized.
I'm a long time customer of BofA and they are a long time customer of ours, but I'm really scared of the outcome of this. I've done everything imaginable to think of to keep my personal data secure (including only accessing my web-banking through SSL, Digital Certificates and BEHIND my office's firewall) all of my days. Now because someone wants to be an asshat, I could be a victim of ID theft, and material theft at that!! Thank god I spend my paycheck so fast on bills and such there ain't much left in there... and my savings is at another bank.
Now the question is how the hell we get our company to switch after moving alllll of our crackberries to T-Mobile, and we are constantly having issues.
And with all of this privacy concern, what kind of liability does that put T-Mobile at when sensitive market data can be compromised? *SCARY*
But you're forgetting the fact that Microsoft/IBM/Apple/Sun does the same freakin' thing every time they come out with some new slick dealio. That's the way it has alwyas been in the world of technology. Moore's Law. We gotta have *some* OS ready to take on those Dual Core Processors! The only difference here is that Microsoft doesn't *make* PC's. That's what they have everyone else for.
*Feh* At least I got to see the buggy! The site was so trending blazo.
Those were some awesome pix. Better than the Gigapixel ones I was browsing earlier today. That's some amazing shite too... It's good to be able to now see the beauty and the detail that the government has had for years!
Upgrade to the HD version. In all the time that I have had KPBS-HD, I have never had to deal with that. But then, a portion of my subscription goes to pay for their programming. So no, they don't do telethons in HighDef. Oh yeah, the programming is better too. Unfortunately, no Nova, though.. but I do love getting live music every Friday night! :D
The thing that makes me laugh so hard about this is the fact that people would actually *think* that. Someone please tell me how something that is completely electronic in makeup - all of the equipment, bits, bytes, 0's and 1's - survive something that issues an Electromagnetic Pulse fractions of a second before detonating a nuclear device? Seems to be a quintessential oxymoron to me.
:P
I'm sure that some things would survive, but in any mode usable? Just think of all the fun an EMP going off near DC would cause. Pentagon and government buildings might be safe, and hopefully they run on a shielded network. But what of all that networking gear that drives AOL?
Jho
Hear Hear!!! I tell ya. That has happened to me at 4 different companies. You know what happened after I left/was laid off? More layoffs, buyouts, and company shut downs. After 13 years in IT, I just got my first 'award' in October. A fscking toaster oven. I'm not joking. But it meant all the world to me, because I love who I work for. I just hate what I do. :P
Jeez... I'd be happy with just replacing the damn John Wayne TP! Just cuz it's 2 ply doesn't mean it should leave paper cuts where the sun don't shine!!!
Well besides that they only have 20 keys to the ones on the 6130/7130's... they have the better color LCD screen than the 7130s. Everyone that we have handed them out to has turned them back in because they HATE the predictive writing, and the only 20 keys. I'm not sure what RIM was thinking when they designed these... are there any users out there that actually dig them?
And the Sarbanes-Oxley regulations are making this even MORE of a problem!!
Oh MY GAWD I'm *OLD*!! I remember that.... after the pain and anguish of trying to get .992 running on a 386-33 with a WD FASST7000 SCSI card!! It almost kept me from staying with Linux... but I did, and I'm glad. :D Wish I had stuck with it a bit longer back then, but well, that's life. I'm back in it NOW!
I am new to the laptop market... I just got my first one after being a Sr. Systems Engineer for 5 years! I spent 3 hours when I first got it trying to make my screen more legible. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!! This is *exactly* what I needed, and will pass on to our desktop dept. that it needs to be added to our Laptop Image. THANK YOU!!!
Cops are currently using these.. I posted somethin' about it a bit earlier... here's another very interesting article about them: http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-bib_query?bi bcode=1998SPIE.3575...26K&db_key=AST. Dunno, but maybe there were SWAT operations in the area? :P
Is it possible that someone with military experience or some such? Especially considering Colorado Springs. There's six huge and important military installations within about a 5 mile radius of the COS runways. Not to mention that it's easily accessible by the public, probably one of the worst security features (I used to work for Western Pacific Airlines! :O)!!
Interestingly enough, many non-lethal weapons developers are headquartered in the area, to include Jaycor, Loral, and Raytheon. It may be possible that someone or someone's was able to gain access to a Laser Dazzler and is 'having some fun', or causing major trouble. Interesting thought... I saw these on a program on History Channel, and they were pretty amazing, and could possibly result in such things.
I LOVED Playmobile. Funny you don't see them more often. I had the whole rescue crew sets, because my dad was a firefighter, so it was really special. Wonder what ever happened to them.
It's for those reasons, that I have NEVER bought an EA game, and shall never buy one, and cannot fathom supporting a company that treats it's people like that. I supported an Indian Casino in Southern California much like EA.. not far from them either. I ended up in the hospital with so many different stress related illnesses. Not to mention getting attacked by an insane coworker that resulted in a permanent limp. Worker's comp?? Nope.. Legal Action... Nope. Nothing I can do. EA is much the same way... they are the big cheeses, and any attempts to sue, form union, whatever, they will do whatever they can to thwart. Bless this person and their speaking out... BOYCOTT ELECTRONIC ARTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I mean, come on. They have been trying to do such a thing for years and years, since prior to the Reagan administration. It would surprise me not at all to find out that something weapon-like already exists up there. Spy satelittes that can read your newspaper from 260 miles constitutes a weapon of mass privacy violation in my mind alone. Somehow I think that since we have the ability to put weapons on unmanned drones that hang out at 65,000 feet for days at a time, surely we can put such things in Space. DARPA doesn't have a huge black ops budget for no reason after all. My question is, what in the hell could they possibly think that we need to defend ourselves against from space anyways???
The first issue is the location of the worker. A mexican immigrant that comes here to work, gradually gaining citizen ship, is contributing to the economy. His wages are taxed, and the things he consumes are local. i.e. he's going to be buying groceries, goods, renting a house, etc. All of this keeps the money in the US, and in a roundabout way, helps create more US jobs. (need more grocery clerks, more construction, etc.)Once they gain Citizenship, they have a vested interest in staying in this country, and continuing to work and consume. Living in Southern California, I have to take a bit of an exception to this. No, not all of the $$ is kept here in the US. Most is saved and/or sent back to their home country to support their family, wherever they may be. They frequently live many to a home, splitting the rent 8 ways, and/or living illegally, such as in my old apt. complex - a family was 'subletting' a neighbor's garage! Not to mention what is happening to the local medical system, particularly in ERs where babies have died because they are not treated soon enough... they are flooded with illegals who have nowhere else to go because they have no health insurance. All of that said, that is *so* not considering what these illegal (did I mention they are breaking so many laws by just being here, it's ridiculous?) immigrants went through to get into this country. I seem to recall several incidents where multiple deaths and injuries have occurred. Every month, there is another shoot-out, head-on or roll over collision killing the illegals being smuggled or innocents on their way to work. Only to wind up in a halfway house or a 'migrant' camp either in San Diego or LA, living 50 to a house until they can come up with enough money to pay off their smugglers. It's a horrible dangerous proposition to undertake this, and would like to hope that the plan that President Bush put together could be refined into something doable and workable for our economy and human rights. There is no doubt that migrant workers are imperative to the US economy, and we need them, but they need to abide by the laws, cross the border legally, with documentation, and they need to abide by the laws of becoming a US Citizen. My family came to this counry as refugees, and had to work in practical servitude for the 7 years to gain their citizenship. They had no family left to feed after the potato famine....but they weren't paid enough to live on either. Why should Pepe or Pedro be any different? Fortunately, they get paid well during their 7 years, their kids get US Citizenship and health care. And maybe if they are lucky (like my friends), find and fall in love with a good American man. Then you can get your papers in a short order! :P
I seem to remember the posts of doom from right around the Dot Bomb...and thinking *then* that the 'net and the way that we use it must change and evolve in order for it to remain functional. In it's simplest, that is what it's all about. And it is evolving, but I don't think it is quickly enough to spell doom in (really) a year, maybe 18 months. With the advent of new browser technologies (Return of the Browser Wars), user education, and language evolution, I see the whole of the Internet becoming a different beast altogether sometime in the next 3-4 years. All of our children who have grown up with knowledge and taught to think in strings of text rather than 1800 page novels, may well revolutionize how you and I utilize our tools. To them, the 'net is a dinosaur... just imagine what it can do with another 65 years (million is way too big of a scale for this comparison! :P).