Begin forwarded message: > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Date: September 9, 2005 1:21:43 PM PDT > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED],=20 > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Cc: Subject: [MediaAct] No Aid from FEMA Without Windows..... > > Want to file for aid online? Better run Windows > > FEMA site requires assistance seekers to use Internet > Explorer 6 > > By Gary Krakow,Columnist > > September 6, 2005, MSNBC > > <http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9231271/> > > 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. > > 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. > > Complaints about government Web sites requiring Microsoft > software aren't new, of course. (MSNBC is a Microsoft - NBC > joint venture.) But this is one instance that struck > particularly hard for some. > > Mac user Gary Mullins wrote Monday on the MacInTouch Web > site: > > My 90-year old mother sat out Katrina in her brother's > home next door in Diamondhead, MS, about eight miles from > the Mississippi coast where the hurricane's eye hit. They > survived without injury but with massive destruction to > their homes, and my mother has lost most of her > possessions. I brought her to my home in California > yesterday and this morning went to the FEMA website to > register to start the assistance process. To my dismay, > our Federal emergency agency requires Microsoft Internet > Explorer 6, and only IE 6, to use the website for > disaster assistance. I don't want to be political about > this, but this smacks of a serious leadership failure > that the use of the Internet is reserved for only the > Windows community. > > When reached Tuesday afternoon, a FEMA spokeswoman said they > were aware of the problem and had passed it along to their > tech guys to try to resolve the issue. The spokeswoman I > spoke with declined to venture a guess on when the problem > might be solved, however. > > I tried myself to access the FEMA site ( > http://www.fema.gov/register.shtm) using the latest version > of Mozilla Firefox on a Windows PC, a brand new Mac mini and > a Linux laptop. No luck. Whenever I got close I was directed > to a page which told me to try again later or "We are sorry > for not being able to proceed your requests because you have > failed our tests." Trying with Opera, Netscape or Safari > wasn't any better. > > If you're running Mac OS X, you could run Virtual PC 7 and > then access Windows and Internet Explorer. Some people also > have been having some success using Firefox and the User > Agent Switcher extension and setting it to IE6. I tried this > and was able to get a little further in the process, but > stopped before actually having to fill out a form. I'll leave > that to those who really need help. > > At this time, I'd say 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. > > > > > * * * * * > PLEASE NOTE NEW ADDRESS! > > Nan Rubin > Community Media Services > 121 W.=A0 27th St.=A0 # 302 > New York, NY=A0 10001 USA > 212-463-7411 > www.nanrubin.com_______________________________________________ > Activist mailing list > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > http://www.mediatank.org/mailman/listinfo/activist > --------------------------- Mike Weisman please respond to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
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