The elderly, hermits and people too cheap to get cable weren't the only victims of the recent transition to the digital airwaves.

Apparently, the lack of an analog signal means that somewhere out there, an alien race that mankind has yet to discover will not know the winner of I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here.

An astronomer from the SETI Institute has speculated that undiscovered alien races or other forms of intelligent life in the universe won't be able to watch Earth's television because of the switchover.

Earlier this year, when we were going to switch to digital television in February, my sister sent me an e-mail and asked me if I was ready for the switch, and I thought to myself, I think I've been ready for several years. So I'm not quite sure why people are still having a problem switching from analog to digital (I'm especially confused when people say that older citizens use TV as their "lifeline" to the outside world - if you're using words like that, you really should switch or your family should switch for you).

Nielsen is reporting that 2.5 million homes still haven't switched to a digital TV or bought a converter box, even though that original switch date was extended to last Friday. I'm wondering why these people haven't switched yet. I'm not talking about people who have a TV but really don't watch it because they read books (as if you can't do both, but that's another rant). I'm talking about people who watch TV a lot and haven't made the switch yet.

You've seen the commercials about the digital TV switch, set for June 12, 2009, and now you're probably wondering: what should I do next? But before you run out and buy a new TV, read through our comprehensive guide to find answers to all of your burning questions.

Why is the switch happening?
If you think this is the cable company trying to pull a fast one on you -- think again. The switch, which was passed by Congress through the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005, is actually designed to enhance your TV viewing experience. This includes improvements in sound and picture quality, closed captioning and multicasting, which broadcasts multiple programs using the same channel -- all the more reason to watch your favorite shows.

Every time I read an article about the switch to HDTV I feel like it always contains the words "could" or "maybe." But it sounds like the government is finally making some concrete decisions about the switch from analog to digital television.