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Monday, 02 November, 2009

Swine Flu To Cripple Internet?
(with comments)

Something else to worry about: too many people home sick overwhelms internet.

Telecommuting is a way of life for most businesses, as the internet keeps us connected to the office, from near and far.

With the swine flu in full swing, businesses have adopted contingency plans to allow their employees to work from home if they are sick, or at least until they get well enough not to infect their colleagues upon their return.

But in the event of a severe pandemic flu emergency, sending millions of workers home, the sheer magnitude of people logging on from their home computers could create so much internet congestion, the entire system could be crippled, a new report from the Government Accountability Office warns.

This is not merely a question of how would we all survive without Google for a few days. (Although that is a frightening prospect) Such an onslaught could imperil the financial markets and even threaten national security, the report states.

A better approach is to encourage all those sick people to get hooked on daytime TV. I hear those game shows are really good now, and the soap operas are better than any movie.


Permalink | Posted in Internet & Computers |
  1. By . Comment posted 02-Nov-2009 @11:18am:
    ...the sheer magnitude of people logging on from their home computers could create so much internet congestion...

    Wouldn't the same number of people be logged on at work if they were there? Maybe they meant the porn and online gambling sites would be overloaded.

    Work or home never stops me from being on the J-Walk Blog all day.
  2. By Evil Klown. Comment posted 02-Nov-2009 @11:23am:
    It's not because of swine flu. Global warming caused swine flu (as well as the increase in hurricanes etc) therefore this catastrophe will be due to global warming.
  3. By Shel-tone. Comment posted 02-Nov-2009 @11:28am:
    Are you talking about H1N1? Because H1N1 and Swine flu are 2 different illnesses.

    Enough people will be dying from H1N1 and the vaccines that it will all balance out.
  4. By LJW. Comment posted 02-Nov-2009 @11:53am:
    Taco, I had the same thought.
  5. By . Comment posted 02-Nov-2009 @12:27pm:
    You mean the tubes could get clogged?
  6. By Klaus. Comment posted 02-Nov-2009 @12:40pm:
    And don't forget - you can get re-infected by the Interweb Tubes, if in already weakened condition at home. So stay away from the internets when you're sick.
  7. By . Comment posted 02-Nov-2009 @01:47pm:
    What a steaming pile of hyperbole!
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