“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
Did anyone else hear that Rob Enderle is in New Orleans looking to interview people who were hurt by flying iMacs and other dangerous Apple products?
Glad that when the dust settles the blame for the delays won’t just be on George W, as to my mind he’s the target for most of the sniping for all the wrong reasons, Iraq being number one of course.
Go America…
…& Apple
Look, I’m a Mac user and have been for years, but right now, this should be one of the absolute least of our worries. Helping those in the shelters with all of their needs is all we should be concentrating on. Besides, I doubt 99.99% of them saved their computers (Mac or PC) from their home before the storm/flood hit anyway. This isn’t a time for partisan politics, nor is it time to argue PC vs Mac. Priorities people.
The fact of the matter is the Mayor of New Orleans and the Gov. of LA, Mrs. Blanco are first and directly responsible.
There are hundreds of trucks and school buses in New Orleans that could have been used to evacuate people, not to mention thousands in the entire state!
The Governor of LA authorized using the states school buses to evacuate people in New Orleans AFTER the hurricane.
The Governor of LA admitted they trained for a worse case scenario in New Orleans and knew exactly what was going to happen. They simply didn’t want to prepare or charge the taxes neccessary to have a plan in place. They knew 200,000 people would stay, either they couldn’t afford to leave or physically handicapped.
Further proof is the State of LA has no emergency communications grid to coordinate anything once the telephones went down.
Mrs. Blanco publically stated she wanted 40,000 troop “in any uniform” including returning troops back from Iraq to help coordinate relief efforts.
Now think, this lady has no communications, wants troops back from Iraq which would take months and doesn’t even know that Federal troops by law cannot be used in law enforcement on US soil.
How many more people would have died? Do you see why the White House requested Mrs Blanco to coordinate efforts with a Let. General of the US Military?
FEMA is nothing, it’s been absorbed into the Dept. of Homeland Security because terrorists running around with backpack nukes is a hell of a lot more dangerous problem.
The fact of the matter is the Mayor of New Orleans and the Gov. of LA threw caution to the wind and expected the Federal Government to bail them out for everything instead of adequatly preparing.
They killed the people of New Orleans with their incompetance, failure to work together, prepare, supposed “loss of power” and political hatred, not Bush.
Federal Government is not this bottomless pit with endless resources, they are busy fighting a war against terrorists who are capable of killing millions of people. Just look how many Feds are working in airports, every Navy ship that comes in is escorted by several smaller gun boats.
Terrorism is taking a lot of our resources! It’s time to get off the Federal government teet and take care of yourselves.
Ask NOT what your country can do for you, ask what YOU can do for your country – John F. Kennedy.
I just sent the following letter to both of my senators and my congressman. I’ll be posting on my website later today (http://www.musingsfrommars.org):
——-
Hello,
I am moved to write because this is the second instance in two months where a federal agency has decided on its own that the public must use a Windows computer and Internet Explorer in order to take advantage of their online services.
Last month, the Patent Office issued rules proposing that online applications would have to be submitted using Windows and Internet Explorer. Today, I learned that FEMA–in our greatest time of need–has a web site that makes similar demands on the public. These rules are bad for many reasons, not the least of which that they discriminate against users of other browsers and operatings systems.
This is anathema to the whole idea behind the world wide web. It was designed to be totally platform-neutral, so that anyone with any kind of computer could communicate with anyone else on any other kind.
Not only that, but it’s become clear in the last couple of years that Windows systems are highly dangerous to take online, because they are so subject to viruses, worms, and the like. And of the browsers one could choose on Windows, Internet Explorer is by far the most exposed to these hacker tools.
I use a Macintosh both at home and at work, a choice I’ve made because it’s easier to use, is faster to use, and is not prone to viruses etc. Despite what you may have heard, the Mac’s immunity from viruses is not a function of its status as a minority computing platform. It is fundamentally more secure than Windows, and Microsoft’s mistakes with ActiveX and other Windows technologies are the reasons why this country is spending so much money to protect our computers today.
My request today is simply to stop federal agencies from writing web applications geared to one browser and one computer operating system. The World Wide Web Consortium has issued standards for web pages and applications which, if all browser makers adopted, would realize the cross-platform vision of the web’s founders.
It’s useful to remember that the technology that enabled the world wide web was originally designed on the operating system that is the direct ancestor of Apple’s Mac OS X. Like other Unix operating systems, Mac OS X is far superior to Windows in many respects, and Apple’s user interface is a marvel of ingenuity and innovation.
The federal government should not be taking any steps that limit competition in these areas and should, in fact, be encouraging companies that make products which can help reduce the rising cost of maintaining computer security today. That rising cost is directly attributable to the mistakes of one company–Microsoft. Yet it is the public that bears the burden.
Thank you for listening. Please help make sure Federal websites remain open to all citizens.
Regards,
Leland Scott
——
The real question is… Can the United States of America survive until President Bush is required to leave office. At this rate the odds aren’t looking that good.
Also: Kudos to Leland.
“Well it is very difficult to make a web-page compatible across different platforms, especially if it uses Java.”
TOTAL BS!
Lazy web developers with limited ability is the reason for this kind of idiocy.
“Terrorism is taking a lot of our resources! It’s time to get off the Federal government teet and take care of yourselves.”
GO FSCK YOURSELF YOU SELF RIGHTEOUS SON OF A BITCH!
The last thing those people need right now is a some moronic Republican lecturing them on personal responsibility!
You people wouldn’t last a day without your silver spoons.
You and your ilk make me want to vomit!
One New Orleans woman interviewed on CNN said she’d “live wherever they put me, I’m never coming back.”
How sad. So steeped in the Liberal cycle of entitlement that she will end up living wherever the government puts her. She’s completely subservient, as long as she gets her paltry check and food stamps each week (or however often they come).
These people actually thought the U.S. Government was their daddy. And, then one day, the truth slapped them squarely in the face.
Welcome to the real world. Go to school, get a good education, work hard and you won’t end up floating face down in New Orleans shit.
I have news for you: I don’t kill myself working so hard to pay taxes to support some giant, fat, Oprah-watching, welfare mamas’ massive pancakes and MacDonald’s daily intake. I resent it. And I have a hard time feeling compassion for them because they swallowed all of my hard-earned cash in the form of bacon and can’t even walk a short distance to save their fat asses. What do these people contribute to society except more useless welfare-dependent lard asses that just cause even more problems?
Take care of yourself. The government is not your daddy.
inaminit & Jim,
I thought my sarcasm was pretty evident in that post. I would have used an emoticon, but then I would have lost the coveted first post.
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There is no technical reason that prevents any site from being compatible with a wide variety of hardware or web browser. The real reasons are likely political/business deals the federal government has with Microsoft to support their products and force us to support them as well.
From http://www.apple.com/macosx/features/java/ “Java has become the de-facto standard language for developing cross-platform applications. Recognizing this, Apple has made Java a core component of Mac OS X.”
Okay, so Java is the “de-facto” standard for all platforms, and the feds instead choose to support only people with a Windows machine and IE6? Somebody (Sputnik?) please give me one good reason for excluding people using Linux, Mac, or Windows machines without IE6.
And also: “On other platforms, each Java application consumes some system memory, so you might end up using more memory than you need to when running multiple Java applications…Apple developed an innovative new technology that allows Java code to be shared across multiple applications…In addition, Apple has given this implementation to Sun so the company can deploy it on other platforms. It’s just one example of how Apple supports standards and shares ideas to benefit all.”
Even when Apple creates proprietary tech with Java, they share it in the interest of being compatible with as many computers as possible. Microsoft only seems focused on making sure people are forced to use their standards, and if your machine doesn’t support those standards, to hell with you…upgrade or die.
Reality is a bitch,
Talk about compassion. Wow. You do know that those people that you despise are the product of a system that allows and encourages people like you to get paid more than their worth to humanity? I don’t know you so I’ll assume that you do in fact work hard, but do you actually believe that you are any less dependant on the government that anyone else? Are you actually implying that all the people that died from this hurricane deserved to die? Wow. I’m glad more people aren’t as arrogant as you are.
First off, I apologize to the rest of you for my following use of profanity…
Road Warrior wrote..”You are usually the first ones to arrive to help to feed your egos, or you just happen to be there ready to invade some nearby country.”
Hey Road Warrior – F S C K Y O U!!!!
If the country survives until Bush’s second term is over, what makes you think that another Republican won’t be elected President? Bush, with all of his drawbacks got elected for a second term. If Hilary or some other liberal lightweight is the Democrat choice, Jeb Bush could be the next President.
The best thing to do is for everyone to write your senator(s) and congressman.
I wrote my two senators and congressman online via the links above. Quick and easy.
These are YOUR tax dollars they are spending and you can’t even use the service they are supposed to provide you.
WRITE YOUR SENATORS NOW!
It’s not one system. It has some liberal and some conservative elements. The welfare state is a Democrat or Liberal concept. The Republicans and Conservatives have worked to limit the Welfare State’s nasty wealth redistribution effects. Hopefully they keep it up.
For that, they get my vote. I am an American who happens to be black, if that matters to you.
I know generations of black people who can barley speak english, can’t write, and eat Cheetos and potato chips constantly.
I’m sick and tired of paying for them.
The reason they thought they were starving after a day was because they are so used to eating every 5 minutes.
The fact that people have been allowed to become so dependent on the government is liberal and Democrat shame. Shame. They’ve kept slavery, just called it something else.
As an educated American who happens to be black, I must vote conservative in order to try to save as many of my brothers and sisters as I can.
Take care of yourself. The government is not your daddy.
And to the rest of you liberal pieces of crap –
You want to rant about your idiotic politics? Go to crooksandliars.com. You’ll find yourself in good company – nothing but petulant liberals spewing their hatred of all things Bush.
You people disgust me. You think that Republicans and Bush are embarassing? They don’t even come close to the spineless windbags on the Left.
(btw – I did not vote for Bush and I am a registered Democrat, although I am seriously considering changing my part affiliation after watching how childish the Left has become)
Reality is a bitch hit it right on the nose. Democrats feed on lazy welfare addicted people. They promise them more free crap by taxing the hardworking self-bettering population more to pay for the lazy, hand out seeking, low lifes. There has to be a bigger push to get these people off welfare and to better themselves. The government should not be their daddies. They were too lazy to get off their asses and get the hell out of harms way. They lazily sat back hoping their loser mayor and governor would come to their house and carry them away to safety, feed them, and house them. They got their reality check courtesy of corrupt democrat leaders and Katrina.
reality is a bitch – rock on!!
PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Road Warrior, GSpank, Dave H,
Are American Haters and Terrorist Lovers!
Reality is a bitch,
Those lard-asses really get in the way of our right to pay as little tax as possible. They really are a cancer on us all. I say lets set up extermination centers. Think of all the taxes we’ll save on food stamps.
10,000 dead? That’s just a start.
Reality is a bitch,
You mean you don’t wish to be identified as an “African-American” any more than I’d wish to be identified as an “Irish-American?”
BRAVO!
And, so, now we’re both just Americans. As it should be.
BTW, you’re definitely off Jesse Jackson’s Kwanza card list.
You know what I love about folks like “I got mine Jack, hands off my stack”? They take rational, common sense posts like Reality’s and then they turn them into idiotic, irrational comparisons that have no real bearing on the original point. They do it for schock value.
For “hands off my stack,”
Your attempt to obfuscate, my friend, falls flat in the face of this:
The fact that people have been allowed to become so dependent on the government is liberal and Democrat shame. Shame. They’ve kept slavery, just called it something else.
As an educated American who happens to be black, I must vote conservative in order to try to save as many of my brothers and sisters as I can.
Take care of yourself. The government is not your daddy.
The above statements are the sort of things that liberals and Democrats are loathe for the general public to hear, so they try the sort of thing “hands off my stack” tried above. Michael Moore misdirection plays, I call them. We see through them though. Especially now that Katrina’s effect on New Orleans has made it all so plainly evident.
John,
Yes, we are just Americans. I happen to have ancestors who were from Africa, like you had European ancestors.
I do not want anything special. I am smart enough and talented enough to get my own job, thanks. I do not depend on the government for anything.
I would like the government to somehow fix the mess they made, though:
Poor, mostly black, people that the government have made so addicted to handouts that they are incapable of taking care of themselves.
Otherwise, I expect nothing from the government except the usual protect our borders and pave the roads stuff.
Some people here seem to have missed quite some things. This post over on http://www.stevenberlinjohnson.com/movabletype/archives/000279.html gives a good rundown of it. I don’t understand who can still defend Bush at this point!
—
Imagine if a few weeks ago someone had polled all of the Bush critics in the country, and asked them to list the primary faults that they see in this administration. I suspect, give or take a few entries, the results would have looked something like this:
Obsession with Iraq at the cost of all other national priorities
Unwillingness to admit mistakes
Hostility to science
Embarrassing juvenile attitude
Indifference to the fates of the poorest members of society
Cronyism and unwillingness to fire anyone for incompetence
Tendency to spend way too much time on vacation
Inability to plan and execute large-scale operations effectively
If Hurricane Katrina ends up being the turning point when it becomes clear to a solid majority of the country that Bush has been a fundamentally incompetent leader, I suspect it will be because the Katrina crisis turned out expose all eight of these flaws. The hurricane itself may have swerved east and dropped down to a category 3 before it hit land, but where Bush’s political reputation was concerned, it was the perfect storm.
Just a few quotes to illustrate my point:
Obsession with Iraq at the cost of all other national priorities
“…the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers requested $27 million for this fiscal year to pay for hurricane-protection projects around Lake Pontchartrain. The Bush administration countered with $3.9 million, and Congress eventually provided $5.7 million, according to figures provided by the office of U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.).” — the Chicago Tribune
Unwillingness to admit mistakes
“I don’t think anyone anticipated the breach of the levees.” — President Bush, on Good Morning America
Hostility to science
“A major hurricane could swamp New Orleans under 20 feet of water, killing thousands. Human activities along the Mississippi River have dramatically increased the risk, and now only massive reengineering of southeastern Louisiana can save the city.” — Scientific American, 2001
Embarrassing juvenile attitude
“‘The good news is – and it’s hard for some to see it now – that out of this chaos is going to come a fantastic Gulf Coast, like it was before. Out of the rubbles of Trent Lott’s house — he’s lost his entire house – there’s going to be a fantastic house. And I’m looking forward to sitting on the porch.’ (Laughter).” – George W. Bush
Indifference to the fates of the poorest members of society
Andrew Sullivan on the Lott quote: “Just think of that quote for a minute; and the laughter that followed. The poor and the black are dying, dead, drowned and desperate in New Orleans and elsewhere. But the president manages to talk about the future ‘fantastic’ porch of a rich, powerful white man who only recently resigned his position because he regretted the failure of Strom Thurmond to hold back the tide of racial desegregation.”
Cronyism and unwillingness to fire anyone for incompetence
From Josh Marshall: “So, just to recap, Brown had no experience whatsoever in emergency management. He was fired from his last job for incompetence. He was hired because he was the new director’s college roommate. And after the director — who himself got the job because he was a political fixer for the president — left, he became top dog. And President Bush said yesterday that he thinks Brown is “doing a helluva job’.”
Tendency to spend way too much time on vacation
Bush is being criticized for not ending his vacation the second it became clear that the “near-miss” of first reports wasn’t in fact, a near-miss at all. But just think about this for a second: we’re talking about a scenario (Category 4-5 storm hits New Orleans) that experts have long predicted would result in a massive disaster that could easily produce ten times 9/11’s loss of life. And by Saturday, all the forecasters were saying that this was the most likely path the storm was going to take. But somehow that wasn’t enough to get Bush off the ranch. (Not to mention the rest of this slacker administration.)
Inability to plan and execute large-scale operations effectively
See all the above.