“The good news: If you’ve survived Hurricane Katrina, the government will let you register for help online. The bad news: But only if the computer you’re using is running Windows,” Gary Krakow reports for MSNBC.
“Yes, it turns out that to make a claim with the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Individual Assistance Center, your Web browser must be Microsoft’s Internet Explorer 6 or higher and you must have JavaScript enabled. It even says so right on the page itself. One problem: IE6 isn’t available for Macintosh or Linux computers,” Krakow reports. “The safest way for non-Windows users to register for assistance is to call FEMA directly at 1-800-621-FEMA (1-800-621-3362) or for the hearing/speech impaired at TTY: 1-800-462-7585. FEMA says the phone lines are staffed 24/7.”
Full article here.
Ars Technica reports that this IE-only situation “has become a considerable problem for relief workers, who are attempting to setup as many kiosks as possible for refugees. Workers on the ground have told Ars Technica that they would prefer to avoid setting up Windows XP workstations because they take longer to setup, and even longer to properly patch and configure for use. You may recall that in an experiment performed last year, a Windows XP SP1 box put on the Internet was compromised in 4 minutes flat. While Service Pack 2 and recent updates undoubtedly improve XP’s defenses, techs are wary of using the OS in this situation.”
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: More short-sighted Windows-only bullshit from the U.S government. Don’t bug FEMA right now, they’ve got enough problems. Complain to your congressperson and/or your senator:
Contacting Congressperson: http://www.house.gov/writerep/
Contacting Senators: http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm
[UPDATE 9/7, 9:24am ET: added Ars text and link.]
Related articles:
Donate to The American Red Cross Hurricane 2005 Relief fund to help Hurricane Katrina victims – September 03, 2005
World Wide Web Consortium objects to US Copyright Office’s Internet Explorer-only browser plan – August 25, 2005
U.S. Copyright Office: Use only the world’s most insecure browser to secure your copyright – August 17, 2005
U.S. Copyright Office: is it okay if our new website only works with Internet Explorer? – August 11, 2005
Survey identifies strong demand for Macintosh and Firefox web conferencing support – August 11, 2005
Using Apple’s Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger’s included fax capabiltes – July 22, 2005
Security report shows Microsoft’s Internet Explorer was unsafe for all but seven days of 2004 – March 22, 2005
Penn State’s IT Services recommends dumping Microsoft Internet Explorer immediately – December 09, 2004
Security expert: Don’t use Microsoft Windows, Office, Outlook, Internet Explorer – December 09, 2004
German Federal Office for Information Security: Internet users should ditch Internet Explorer – September 13, 2004
Web Standards Project: Abandon Microsoft Internet Explorer and ‘Browse Happy’ – August 25, 2004
Security expert: Microsoft Internet Explorer ‘just cannot be trusted, use alternate browser’ – July 02, 2004
Security firm warns of new Internet Explorer flaw, advises ‘use a different browser’ – July 01, 2004
Microsoft axes Internet Explorer for Mac – June 13, 2003
Well it is very difficult to make a web-page compatible across different platforms, especially if it uses Java.
This government couldn’t organise a piss-up in a brewery.
Help save Mac users from death! Donate some money to the Red Cross. Their site is Safari-compatible. Their donation page (Mac-compatible) is at: http://give.redcross.org/
Hmmm…….don’t recall such a foul mouthed slipup from MDN before. But perhaps they can post “related articles” in which they did.
emaN:
No, it isn’t. Java is, as distributed by Sun, multi-platform. Unless of course you use the bastardized version MS developed AGAINST the liscense agreement they had with Sun. EULA’s are only enforceable on individuals, but not always on corporations.
Most Mac users escaped Katrina because Mac users also own cars and could afford gas to get out of town while listening to iPods.
FEMA is the worst. Agency. Ever.
It is filled ENTIRELY with political hacks with NO experience in disaster management.
And look at this:
FEMA Chief Sent Help Only When Storm Ended
Make sure you check out the PDF memo at the very end of the article. What a retard. This man should be fired immediately before he can do any more damage as head of one of the most important agencies in the US government.
Contact the folks at W3C and tell them about FEMA “IE only policy”
They are very interested in supporting universal web standards than a strictly proprietary one. They make thier point intelligently, instead of some 20 year old Machead rant.
But do complain that your a Mac user and IE doesn’t exist on your platform and to please support universal web standards set by the W3C.
http://www.w3.org/
Pages for ALL browsers ain’t rocket science.
How about people with old PCs and older browsers? Left out in the cold with the Macs and Linux.
It isn’t like FEMA is helpful in the first place!
Playful jabs at MDN aside, that title is too much. Consider how life-altering this disaster is. Consider that a computer is the last thing on most people’s minds. Consider the choice of operating system is even less of a concern. Well… maybe just take some time to consider before doing anything actually.
And all you jackasses jumping on the MDN’s witch hunt style of news commentary/reporting should be ashamed of yourselves.
MDN, you are so full of **** for doing this! How ******* disgusting!
Can someone please tell me WTF super feature a federal emergency site needs so badly that it requires special proprietary technology?
“Well it is very difficult to make a web-page compatible across different platforms, especially if it uses Java.”
Why do you need Java to enter a form? Form validation can be done with javascript, Perl, CGI, even PHP. That’s ALL you need for a site like this. You don’t need ActiveX or Java or Flash or weird crap just to register yourself into a web database. That’s ridiculous and it just screams “short-sighted management and lazy programming”
I helped write a validation engine with just one other person for an international ecommerce site and it works on Safari, Firefox, and IE (all using the same code). It’s not THAT hard.
Funny thing I looked at the time line for the recent Tsunami. Help was on the way 2 days after as opposed to 5 days after.
That’s the danger of being the greatest nation on earth, you tend to forget that the greatest is all nations of earth working together.
Same with the red cross link, maybe you should consider this one.
http://www.icrc.org/
It’s “international” a concept I am sure that escapes most navelistic americans. Which is sad.
Maybe I could sell my Mac, but a PC, and donate the change.
‘buy a PC’ I meant to say
Road Warrior,
Yeah, in the Tsunami, ALL nations worked together. When something bad happens to the US, we are left to fend for ourselves, with no help from anyone else. Yet when something happens overseas, we are usually the 1st to arrive with help.
Many nations offered to send help to the hurricane victims. Even Cuba which the US has snubbed and ignored for decades. To all of those nations, as a citizen of the US, I say thank you from the bottom of my heart.
As to FEMA, it just makes one wonder just how much Bill donates to the Republican party, and just who is in his pocket?
MacPC Guy said, “Consider that a computer is the last thing on most people’s minds.
<snort> Not the last thing on your mind apparently… Your hanging out cruising the Mac news sites. Hehehe.
And Joe McConnel with, “Hmmm…….don’t recall such a foul mouthed slipup from MDN before.”
Slipup? I hope not, It better be completely intentional… If I had to read, “More short-sighted Windows-only doo-doo ca-ca from the U.S government.” I think I’d vomit.
Why do readers continue to be surprised at MacDailyNews and it’s headlines and comments… It’s the same News site I’ve been reading since I discovered it… While others say, “Golly! I can’t believe they said that!” I’m thinking, “Hunh? I totally expected them to say that! That’s what they’ve been saying for years! That’s the whole MacDailyNews experience and that’s why I keep coming back!”
Hint to the bores, there are a million other Mac news sites that carry the same headlines and news… And they all keep it easy and tame just for <yawn> you. Do a search and go check them out.
Thanks for keeping it real, MacDailyNews.
The current administratin would screw up a two-car parade.
Yankee Doodle was more technically advanced than this anti-science group of interlopers.
Hint to the bores, there are a million other Mac news sites that carry the same headlines and news… And they all keep it easy and tame just for <yawn> you. Do a search and go check them out
Right on, tumok. He should go to MacObserver.com. You can’t say “damn” there without the self-righteous lame mods getting their panties in a wad.
I saw that PCs running Windows were being set up in the Houston Astrodome, and now this browser thing. Just like libraries, all PCs. What amazes me is the nerve some of the PC apologists have complaining about Apple’s dominance of the digital music business, and it’s not artificial like this, it’s just what people want.
> When something bad happens to the US, we are left to fend for
> ourselves, with no help from anyone else
Just because your government was too stupid to accept help immediately when it was offered doesn’t mean you have to believe this bullshit of Fox News propaganda: “We help the world to heal but everybody hates us”.
Well as a Brit I can tell you we’re currently airlifting out food, water, medical supplies and blankets to those hit hard in this disaster. Currently around 96 Brits are missing too.
Politically speaking what can you expect from a government system that has not been changed since the 1800’s, even an American reporter on CNN International said that the US government system is designed to be like this by the founding fathers so as to allow freedom of speech and other freedoms. The reporter went onto say that even individual states are permitted to make their own laws like private thiefdoms.
As suggested by MDN, write to your congressman as well as your senator with your complaints and don’t stop, even spam them is my 2 cents worth. In fact bay for their blood especially one leader who sits at the very top. The one who is to conduct an inquiry into his own screw up.
Last year, fema.com was days away from expiring into oblivion before I emailed them about the need to renew it. At the time I assumed it to be one missing detail, let something as important and giving as fema was somehow safe from the ax of ignorance.
Little did I realize the shear depth to the incompetence installed at the highest levels of our government.
Now I know what the F in fema stands for.
> Yeah, in the Tsunami, ALL nations worked together. When something bad happens to the US, we are left to fend for ourselves, with no help from anyone else. Yet when something happens overseas, we are usually the 1st to arrive with help.
The US is certainly not the only country that helps others out. Your government refused any help for a long time. (Too proud?) Or to even look at the problem itself. (Vacation was more important!) They locked thousands of people in that stadium! Don’t tell me it’s so hard to get some buses there! BS! You wanted help from outside for that?! Every country has expressed their heartfelt sorrow over this tragedy and would love to help out. Don’t indulge yourself in so much self pity. Instead get working on this! Your government won’t!