If the government shuts down tomorrow night, many websites may completely go black. A memo to federal agencies states web sites can only stay up in a few situations, like tax collection and other previously paid-for functions. Here, you can find the entire 16-page PDF file that provides many details on the project. Users will probably be redirected to a notice screen that for the entirety of the shutdown, the web site will likely stay closed. Even so, many agencies say that they have enough saved money to stay open at least through the next week, including the Federal Highway Administration, the Patent and Trademark Office, the U.S. Agency for International Development, the Energy Department, and more. The last government shutdown was in the mid 1990's, and the internet wasn't used as much, so it wasn't as big of a deal. Now, even federal employees' BlackBerrys, cell phones, and laptops will be affected by the shutdown, and will be inaccessible remotely, as well as more features that will go missing. |
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