“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.]
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