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Mac and Linux users blacklisted from hurricane relief (The Inquirer)
The Inquirer
reports
that FEMA is only allowing users of the Microsoft Internet Explorer
browser to apply for hurricane relief funds.
"The now very much criticised US Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has stopped Mac and Linux victims of hurricane Katrina from applying for relief.
The agency, which is already in hot water for its lack-lustre rescue efforts in New Orleans, has created a web-based service that only works for users of Windows and IE6."
There is a work-around for Firefox users, involving the
User Agent Switcher extension.
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Mac and Linux users blacklisted from hurricane relief (The Inquirer) Posted Sep 8, 2005 16:59 UTC (Thu) by rknop (guest, #66) [Link] In related news, FEMA will only be accepting mail delivered by FedEx (no USPS or UPS accepted). Additionally, the roads into disaster areas and disaster relief areas will be modified so that only vehicles manufactured by Ford will be able to run on them.
-Rob
Mac and Linux users blacklisted from hurricane relief (The Inquirer) Posted Sep 20, 2005 12:35 UTC (Tue) by hazelsct (guest, #3659) [Link] This is not funny, because worse than this is true. (Sorry for the subscriber-only link.)
Mac and Linux users blacklisted from hurricane relief (The Inquirer) Posted Sep 8, 2005 18:38 UTC (Thu) by elanthis (guest, #6227) [Link] Any time a user-agent switch "fixes" an incompatibility, I want to smack the developers. I can honestly understand if the developer made a site which honestly only worked with a particular browser; there's limitations to developer funds and most developers don't have the knowledge or skills to make truly cross-browser sites. When a site adds an *artificial* incompatibility by restricting access based on the user-agent string (or making any sort of feature-availability based on the user-agent), the developer is just doing something bloody stupid.
Mac and Linux users blacklisted from hurricane relief (The Inquirer) Posted Sep 9, 2005 5:40 UTC (Fri) by gmaxwell (subscriber, #30048) [Link] Well can you expect anything less? Microsoft did send their CTO to help out...
Yeah, but about a week late... Posted Sep 9, 2005 5:42 UTC (Fri) by leonbrooks (guest, #1494) [Link] ...guess we can't have everything. (-:
Mac and Linux users blacklisted from hurricane relief (The Inquirer) Posted Sep 9, 2005 9:29 UTC (Fri) by forthy (guest, #1525) [Link] So can we sum up that the only ones who get hurricane relief are: malewhite Windows-users, who did vote for Bush last election? Do you need to own a SUV, too? Well, with an anti-terror FEMA, it's no surprise that they didn't come to help first, but to shoot criminals.
Mac and Linux users blacklisted from hurricane relief (The Inquirer) Posted Sep 9, 2005 15:23 UTC (Fri) by hans (subscriber, #148) [Link] So can we sum up that the only ones who get hurricane relief are: male white Windows-users, who did vote for Bush last election? Do you need to own a SUV, too? I don't know how you formed this opinion, but it's totally unfair. Female white Windows-users who voted for Bush in the last election and drive SUV's will be eligible, too, along with any homeless stem cells.
Mac and Linux users blacklisted from hurricane relief (The Inquirer) Posted Sep 9, 2005 9:50 UTC (Fri) by dps (subscriber, #5725) [Link] My feeling is that a web site that only works with any single browser is broken, period. This can cause extreme pain, because one then things I want do desparately wants server push pages (only avialable in mozila derivatives).
All versions of IE and opera apparently do not handle multipart responses of any kind, let alone server push pages. Therefore I plan to imlement an inferior and *much* more complex solution which works with client pull.
Mac and Linux users blacklisted from hurricane relief (The Inquirer) Posted Sep 9, 2005 9:53 UTC (Fri) by dlang (✭ supporter ✭, #313) [Link] I've implemented some applications useing multi-part push that appear to work for my IE customers, where are you getting the idea that it doesn't? (I haven't tried Opera)
Mac and Linux users blacklisted from hurricane relief (The Inquirer) Posted Sep 11, 2005 23:50 UTC (Sun) by hozelda (guest, #19341) [Link] Supporting only IE wouldn't be so bad if ...
-- IE was not proprietary (ie, not open source in usual definition) and
It would still suck for other cases but that would be life. Probably then we could vote with our dollars and complaints.
Come to think of it, I should complain AND I'd like to withhold my tax dollars. Pinch me when they put on the handcuffs.
Mac and Linux users blacklisted from hurricane relief (The Inquirer) Posted Sep 17, 2005 23:03 UTC (Sat) by alspnost (guest, #2763) [Link] Well, surely the most ridiculous thing about IE-only is that it restricts the entire platform, not just the browser. Even if they "only allowed Firefox", I'd tell them they are wrong, but at least they wouldn't be shutting out the entire legions of non-Windoze users. Sometimes it seems like we're frighteningly close to losing control of the free and open web. Roll on, freedom and standards....
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