Disasters!

The news of late has been full of natural and man made disasters, including the hurricanes on the Gulf Coast and an anniversary of the 9/11 horrors. In every disaster, it seems the highest priority is communication. To be sure, evacuation, food, water, shelter, and medical care are critical needs, but none of it can be delivered without communication between the government and the responding agencies. You might not be the hero who runs into a burning building to save a child, but as a knowledgeable and prepared geek you can still have a big impact. We’ll talk about some of the issues you might face and how you could use your geek skills to improve the situation.

1. Hurricane Katrina Lesson

When hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans the power was lost, cellular and wired telephones went out, and government radio repeaters were silent. The mayor and the emergency operations center had only one communications link to the outside world – the Internet. That’s right - the officials had only one Internet connection and fortunately there was a geek present who rounded up some routers and cables and hooked up a makeshift Local Area Network (LAN) with a bridge to the Internet. That’s how messages got to and from the people in charge for several days.

2. Why the Internet?

Why did the Internet survive in the face of disaster when every other major form of communication was disabled? The answer is that the Internet is not a particular medium of communications with a single point, like a telephone central switching office or trunking radio controller, that can fail and bring the whole network down. The Internet makes use of almost any communications medium available.

You can be connected to the Internet via a cable, through a dialup telephone line, DSL or cable TV modem, wirelessly by WiFi, cellular, satellite, or even ham radio. The most significant point here is that your Internet address doesn't change, no matter how you are hooked up. When telephone networks go down, your phone number is useless. When a particular government radio channel is out, the workers can’t find you. But if they send a message to your Internet e-mail account, you can pick it up a dozen different ways.

3. Hard-Wired Internet

Since most commercial and even some home Internet connections are largely run on modern, below-ground fiber optic trunks, they are not as vulnerable to damage by wind, water, or even fire. In the hotel where the New Orleans officials set up shop, there was one functioning direct-cabled Internet connection still working. The technical person in the group scared up a Network Switch to split the single Internet connection out so the officials could jack in their Laptop Computers and start communicating via e-mail. Having a Cabling Kit on hand complete with lots of CAT 5e cable, RJ-45 connectors and the necessary wire stripping and crimping tool would allow you to quickly wire up any command post.

4. Telephone Dialup

In some situations or locations, you might have to resort to a telephone dialup connection. Though too slow for streaming video or high performance Web surfing, a 28 Kilobit per second (Kbps) telephone connection can handle a lot of text e-mail. If your portable computer does not have a built-in telephone connection, you could use a USB Telephone Modem to make the connection in an emergency.

5. WiFi

WiFi, or 802.11 wireless networking is very good magic in an emergency. You don’t need to run a cable to a laptop computer if you set up an 802.11g Wireless Router. This small box splits out an Internet connection, be it hardwired, cable or DSL modem, or whatever, and provides a short-range radio connection to computers within a few hundred feet. Position the router in a clear spot so the radio signals have a chance to radiate toward the computers to be served. If the router has an external antenna or two, keep the antennas approximately vertical.

Computers can be moved around and new machines added to the network almost instantly. Many laptop computers come with WiFi built in, but for a computer that doesn’t have it, you can use a USB WiFi Network Adapter. If it is running Windows XP then just plugging it in should install the device and you can select the wireless network from the popup menu. This USB adapter comes with a USB cable extension so you can position the adapter away from your computer to better receive the radio signals from the router. Line-of-sight to the router is best, but at least get the adapter with its built-in antenna away from radio signal deflecting/absorbing objects like metal desks or file cabinets.

6. WiFi Antennas

WiFi equipment is designed for short ranges and the signals don’t penetrate walls or floors very well. You can extend the range of your wireless network by using an 802.11G Range Expander strategically positioned between the router and the computers to which you are trying to connect. Putting the range expander in a window, doorway or stairwell can spread the WiFi signals beyond a wall or floor that would normally stop them.

If you have a need in an emergency situation to go beyond the nominal range of WiFi, you can add a Range Extender Antenna to the computer, the router, or both. Keep in mind that nothing is free and a directional extender antenna can go a longer distance, but only cover a narrow angle. First, try putting an antenna on the computer end of the link and point it at the router. The omnidirectional antenna on the router can then continue to serve other computers closer to it in any direction. If you have to extend the range by using a directional antenna on both ends of the link, then use a separate router to serve the close-by computers.

7. Amateur Radio WinLink 2000

Licensed radio amateurs (not to be confused with unlicensed Citizen's Band “CB” radio) have a long tradition of providing communications assistance during disasters. In fact, the Amateur Radio Relay League got started relaying messages copied by hand from radio operator to radio operator. The concept was very much like the Internet where messages could pass through the network of stations by many different paths making it much more robust than commercial communications systems.

Radio amateurs (also known as “hams”) have recognized the value of the Internet and have developed a method of relaying Internet packets over their radios called WinLink 2000. A radio operator outside the disaster area can act as a gateway station to connect to the rest of the Internet. Small portable stations can be brought into the disaster area to provide a link even if all other forms of Internet connection are gone. You can help out by earning an amateur radio license and joining a local emergency radio organization like the ARES or RACES. Check the ARRL Web site to see how you can extend your geek skills even further.

8. Power to the People

In the emergency command post or even a shelter set up in a school gym, you will have a cluster of folks helping out, and they need power for their laptops and all the geek gadgets that it takes to hook them up. Don’t take power and the availability of outlets for granted. Use a Power Strip with Surge Protection to split out the end of an extension cord. You need the surge protection because there may be lightning storms and wind that can short power lines causing spikes on the line.

In the worst case, you might be running your equipment off a portable generator. For an evacuation shelter, you would want a Medium Duty UPS while a command post should have a bigger backup with a Heavy Duty UPS. Generators have to be shut down for refueling and the Uninterruptable Power Supply will keep your computer and network equipment running for several minutes while the generator is down. Also, the output of most portable generators is very “dirty” and the surge protection built into the UPS will protect your valuable equipment.

9. Internet Takes Over for Newspapers

It’s not only government officials and rescue agencies who are resorting to the Internet in times of disaster. Newspapers in the path of hurricane Rita announced that they were limiting or suspending publication of their hardcopy newspapers, but that readers could continue to get news via their web sites. The Galveston County Daily News wanted to protect their employees by keeping delivery personnel off the streets. The Port Arthur News cancelled publication and abandon their offices, but updated their web site news. Again, this is an example of the independence of the Internet from physical plant and particular locations. If you are waiting out the storm, you might want to have a PDA with Bluetooth to connect to the Internet via your cell phone to keep up on the news and weather reports.

Final Words

A little preparation can put you in a position to help yourself, your family, and your community in the case of a disaster. Stock up on canned food, water, and flashlight batteries, but don’t forget the capabilities of the Internet at providing communications in time of need. As an experienced geek, you can get it together when the crunch comes. Speaking of getting it together, having a Transport Case handy with a list of the equipment and accessories you need can make packing quick when you can’t afford to forget anything, and when there are no local stores left open for last-minute pickup.

computer market dictatorship

Computer Market Relegated to Prefab and Hypnosis

http://osviews.com/

I have noticed these days that the computer market is either falling into some sort of dictatorship or some other power of influence that is forcing the computer market into a no choice market where the choice is handpicked by either some monopoly or by a misperception made by the wrong decision makers in today's computer industry. The computer market of today as we know it is being prefabricated by influence while hypnotizing the public of that influence. --

The Microsoft Windows Monopoly

The biggest problem today in the computer market falls on the shorts of Microsoft and its Windows monopoly. The dominance of Windows has caused a shortsightedness in the computer industry spurred by the old adage of "IBM or PC compatible" that seems to haunt the vast competitive landscape not selling Windows on the desktop. Microsoft has been able to take advantage of the misperception made by the public and how computers interact today. Most people new to computing don't realize that the compatibility problems that plagued interoperability during the '80s have pretty much been eradicated since the advent of the World Wide Web other than the proprietary standards being pushed by companies like Microsoft who instead of thinking of what is best for its customers, goes out of its way to protect its padlock on current and future markets. Microsoft is not the only one guilty of this, but is one of the biggest players in this market, which means it has a major impact on the industry as a whole.

The Open and Closed Internet

I recently noticed one of my favorite sports team websites get a makeover, and a makeover for the worst because the website was very web browser unfriendly. After trying to view the website using various web browser with no luck, it was evident that the website was created to be only accessed by Internet Explorer 6. I emailed the web master of this site to inform them of the problems I experienced and I even sent them screenshots of the problems I encountered. After a couple of weeks and no reply to at least say; "we're looking into it" I figured maybe this guy (or gal) gets so many emails that he may have overlooked my particular email, so I sent another email and sent a carbon copy to the actual web design company responsible for this mess, but I still have not heard a word. It seems that they either do not care, or feel that catering to all computer users is just too much a hassle, even though there is web development technology out there today that is web standards compliant and covers the basis of all computer users.

The other problem that alarmed the W3C Group was FEMA and their not so easily accessible website for those needing to fill out online applications and utilize other such services, which apparently only worked for Windows users. This seems to fall short of the promise made by the E Government Act of 2001 that was put in place to get rid of such problems. The US Copyright Office is also affected by such problems.

The Internet and the World Wide Web was originally designed to be very open and accessible by everyone, not just Windows users, who don't realize that Microsoft's monopoly is hurting the computer industry in so many ways and is affecting computerized harmony on the web and beyond.

Open Standards versus Closed Standards

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts has finalized its decision to go with open standard file formats (hence OpenDocument), which will ensure that all its government agencies and its own citizens will have ease of access to online documentation and other such services which until now, was restricted to proprietary formats not accessible by everyone. The CAGW (Citizens Against Government Waste) have been criticizing the move saying it will hurt the competitive bid process. I'm not sure of their motive, but I disagree with that notion because if there is an open format supported by multiple technology vendors, then the bidding process will come down to price and technical merit of the very product supporting that open file format, which goes a long way and the Massachusetts State Government avoids any sort of lock-in by a single vendor because their data is not housed inside some proprietary file format or standard keeping competitors from being chosen in the bidding process in the future because of the complexities of translating data from one format to another.

The Google Threat Will Liberate

Microsoft is very worried about Google creating the computerized harmony that the world wants to embrace. If Microsoft loses control of its Windows dominance, the World Wide Web may eventually return the old days as an open to all experience where no one is discriminated against and information is accessible to all. Google has been using a more open approach to its business strategy by making sure all computer users can utilize its software and services, either directly and/or indirectly so that all computer users can enjoy the Google experience. If Google wins out over Microsoft and maintains a dominant position, it will benefit all computer users as well as the computer market as a whole. Imagine being able to use whatever computer system you want, whether it was Windows, Mac, Linux, Amiga and etc... to seamlessly interoperate over the Internet with no inhibitions created by some proprietary and other lock-in mechanisms that keep absolute choice and freedom at bay. Google seems bent on delivering such a paradise where all computers users are served, not just Windows users!

Prefab and Hypnosis

The Prefab...

Many of those in the Windows developer community have gone out of their way to push the world into a Windows-only world, hoping that the alternatives in the market will just go away. Since Microsoft's grand plan to totally dominate the computer market has failed, the Pro-Microsoft camp have resorted into prefabricating the market by locking out competitors, purposely or not. You'll notice websites that offer services only to Windows users like Yahoo, Napster and so on have helped create this prefabrication, which in the end helps protect Microsoft's desktop monopoly from any competitive threat! Of course this is not to say they're doing it for Microsoft's benefit, but maybe it's because they're either too lazy or too cheap to provide a seamless cross-platform compatible and interoperable approach to their products and services, so only Windows users need apply for such products and services while non-Windows users can take their business elsewhere.

The Hypnosis...

Of course part of this strategy to wipe out choice in the computer market and lock the world into a Windows-only strategy, are those of influence that utilize psychological tactics to sway the computer market to their own way of thinking. It's gotten to the point of name calling by some very not-so-professional, yet childish tech analysts and other so called experts who are either receiving blood money under the table to spread such FUD or have their own vendetta and want to taint the market with their not-so-educated opinions and ill advice. Coining the terms like "cult" and "zealot" and whatever the like to make anything non-Windows sound like the devil while creating falsehood of normalcy for their cause and wallet is amusing at best, but seems to have some eating up their rhetoric like candy. Those of great influence inside and outside of Microsoft are doing their best to steer the computing world into a locked box that will only benefit Microsoft and those directly connected monetarily and/or politically (computer industry wise).

Bureaucracy As Usual

The public is being played the fool in today's computer world, while monopolies go unchallenged while creating a misperception in the eye of the consumer driven by IT bureaucracy that originated from long ago and has yet to be shaken from the psyche of a more technological advanced generation still thinking in the "IBM or PC Compatible" mode. Until the public is better educated and the computer industry is no longer being held captive by a shortsighted mindset, then we'll remain victims of our own doing. It's time to open the computer market and let it roam free with competition and great compatibility and interoperability. At the end of the day, we want absolute choice in any free market and the computer market should be no different. ::