Industry changes all the time like this. Technological improvements and competition cause displacement. This is why there are hardly any steel workers in the USA. This is why there are no welders on the auto assembly line as they have all been replaced by robotic automation. White collar computer related positions are not going to be immune from this. You must adapt to this reality.

I agree that these things can affect how fast the industry changes, but organizing IT workers (i.e. unionize) will cause an even faster exodus of jobs.

Environmentalists group A won't let you drill.
Environmentalists group B won't let you string power lines from the geothermal plant.
They'll keep it tied up in court until North America is buried 10m deep in ash.

And that's what the current regime is counting on.

Anyone???

Someone else has been "Schooled". Ouch.

In my (professional) estimation Seth McFarlane is the single most important writer in the English language since the time Shakespeare...

Is that you Seth?

...I mean Alcatel.

Those of us who work on embedded systems beg to differ.

When I worked retail (Montgomery Wards) way back when, customers tried this line and we would always respond that the plan is transferable.

Now when I visit these stores my response to the sales person is "No thanks, I used to work retail and had to sell those plans". That tends to end the sales push.

Just cut to the quick. Tax atoms.

If you dig deeper maybe you'd find that the manufacturers lobbied for this law.

They bought it to print their own currency. By the time it's up an running, the US dollar will be worthless due to inflation. Prudent business decision I must say :-)

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4394002

Then in the 80's as the KGB was attempting to steal technology, the CIA slipped them some "modified" hardware and software. Much hilarity ensued. Once the Soviets got wise, they couldn't trust the reliability of their own weapons.