The feature article about outsourcing computer work to India was a bit insightful, although I've already done some thinking about the issue. Fortunately, I'm not one of the irked victims of outsourcing, although I've experienced it (i.e. had to deal with one on one of my two computer support phone calls I've had to make).

My stand is this: It's a shame that a lot of people are losing jobs in the computer sector, but having been though college during the dot com boom, I see it as stabilization. Early in my college days in CS100 and even before in high school, I would always be amazed at the number of people who want to do computer science but have absolutely no interest in computers at all. Their rationale was that it was where all the jobs where, and so rather than pursue what they were genuinely interested in, they would follow the money rather than their hearts. Hell, I was even good friends with some of them and they were nice people, but really didn't enjoy working with computers. So during that period, a lot of people got jobs in computer science, an abnormal amount if I may be so bold to say. But now, a lot of people are losing jobs, an abnormal amount. You add two negating abnormalities and you're left with normalities (analogy not applicable to psychological abnormalities).

There's also a good point made that everytime some type of work has been obsoleted, there's always been a backlash like how computers relieved secretarial work, agricultural innovations reduced the number of farmers, etc... But if history shows anything, that means people just have to better themselves. There's always some skill that can't be given to outsourced in the near future, and those are what you have to anticipate. I like to call it "making yourself future-proof." You can always improve yourself in some way or another. Sometimes I see teens today who waste all their time doing frivilious things. Those are the same people who will be complaining in the future.

Of course, I'm painting my opinion with a very broad brush, but that's how I see it.

And a note about the journalism, the three highlighted quotes are: "People get top quality here, says one Mumbai coder. We're not just cheaper, we're better." "U.S. White collar-workers told blue collars 'change is good.' Now they're hearing it, too." "Does outsourced labor piss you off? Then it's time to return your iPod and your cell phone." The first quote would make Indians sound arrogant, a la a prick. The second quote would make Indians sound like they're taunting, a la a prick. The last quote would make them sound spiteful, a la a prick. Geez, I wonder what they want the readers to feel when they glance at this article?

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