Rants and Ramblings: random commentary about culture, media, politics, technology and whatnot.

mac users need not apply

Ars Technica reports that the Federal Emergency Management Agency, in its infinite wisdom, made its online application for disaster relief accessible only to users of Internet Explorer 6, effectively blocking out (or at least putting up some sizeable roadblocks for) folks using Mac or Linux machines, or “alternative” browsers like Firefox. (“FEMA diaster website IE-only” - 09/06/05)

Something so minor 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.

The issue isn’t only security. XP hardware requirements, while not impressive by today’s standards, rule out using some donated hardware as well. Furthermore, legitimate copies of Windows also cost money, and relief workers are trying to stretch their dollars as far as they can go. Ideally, many would rather create LiveCDs with Linux distributions that are ready to boot and roll, as this would provide the quickest and most secure configuration in a pinch. However, with so many people wanting to register on FEMA’s site, this becomes a problem.