Apparently, you don't need help if you don't use IE

[YouWantitWhen????]

Posted: 9/8/05 at 11:04am

The story speaks for itself. Brownie, you sure are doing a fantastic job.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/cmp/20050908/tc_cmp/170701293

FEMA Aid Site Only Takes IE; Firefox, Mac Users Need Not Apply

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), already the subject of sharp criticism in the wake of the Hurricane Katrina disaster, may find itself chastised further for restricting access to its online assistance site to Windows and Microsoft Internet Explorer users.

. . .

That cuts out everyone running Linux or the Mac operating systems, as well as Windows users running alternate browsers such as Firefox or Opera.


. . . Shakes head, sighs, and starts to write another check to America's Second Harvest and Habitat to Humanit.






Updated On: 9/8/05 at 11:04 AM

[Tired_O_Lurking]

Posted: 9/8/05 at 11:54am

I remember back in the day when I used an Atari PC, my buddy used a Commodore 64, and another buddy used a TRS-80.

None of us could share anything. It was like a whale trying to have a conversation with a lemur.

The information revolution was enabled by the standardization of hardware and data-encoding thanks to the IBM pc and Microsoft's operating systems.

While I admit it seems contradictive to have a site that only works with IE, there's a part of me that wonders why Linux and Apple would be so anti-IE to begin with.

[YouWantitWhen????]

Posted: 9/8/05 at 12:08pm

Most people who are knowledgable about comuter systems and Internet Security do not recommend using IE - because it is full of holes and is a security nightmare.

see: http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,1617927,00.asp?kc=EWNKT0209KTX1K0100440

Opinion: Although Linux & Open Source Editor Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols once used IE on his Windows machines, he now finds Microsoft's browser seriously insecure and endorses open-source ones instead.

http://news.com.com/IE+flaw+may+boost+rival+browsers/2100-7355_3-5250697.html

A major security hole discovered in Microsoft's Internet Explorer last week has become a golden marketing opportunity for alternative browsers such as Mozilla and Opera that are unaffected by the flaw.

If you call most of the computer talk shows, they will tell you to use Netscape, Firefox or Mozilla, because IE is just riddled with security issues.

So, anyone with any idea of security should be anti-IE.

[Plum]

Posted: 9/8/05 at 1:16pm

Well, to be completely fair, it could very well be that IE's code is no more or less secure than that of other browsers, but any flaw in IE is almost guaranteed to be found because that's where all the hackers look. That huge market share is also the fattest target- if you were a hacker, which browser would you be trying to bust?

That said, I'm a Firefox user, and I'm actually rather surprised the government did this. A lot of government offices still use Corel for word processing, so it's not like they're slaves to the Microsoft monopoly.

[YouWantitWhen????]

Posted: 9/8/05 at 1:40pm

Yes, but Microsoft has always had issues with security in its products. I believe I read that when they were designing their new operating system (I believe it is called Vista, and was known as project Longhorn) they were going to strenghthen the security components, but found to do so would require that all of the underlying applications would have to be modified, because they would not be compatible with the new architecture of the safer OS system. Old office suites and applications could not operate within the new operating system, requiring users to purchase new applicatons for the new OS. So, the plans to adopt the new architecture was dropped.

Their products were just not designed and developed well from the get go when it comes to security.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 9/8/05 at 1:51pm

I tried using Netscape, but it has script errors every time I use it. I love the format, but I'm not fond of opening and closing my browser every 15 minutes. And that is the latest version.

[BlueWizard]

Posted: 9/8/05 at 1:51pm

That sounds like the laziness and lack of vision at Microsoft, all right. Ever wondered why, after declaring plug-and-play back in the early 90s, it still hasn't become a reality for Windows?

I graduated with a degree in Computer Science and I can tell you that no one I've come across in the industry - professionals, businesses and professors - use Internet Explorer. It's also a rarity to see someone using Windows for anything serious, because Linux is so much stabler. To respond to Plum's post, Mozilla and Firefox are much more secure and have a stronger internal architecture than IE because they're open-source applications contributed to by thousands of volunteer programmers continuously improving the software.

[Plum]

Posted: 9/8/05 at 2:13pm

Yup, that's probably all true, BlueWizard. Just pointing out that the flaws in the teeny rival systems aren't quite so likely to be found.

And, well...don't get me started on Unix-based systems. Or at least the one that I used for Comp Sci. (Solaris?) Trying to convert back to command-based operations after 10+ years of using graphical operating systems was an absolute nightmare, stability be damned. What was it that Neal Stephsnson said about Unix? Ah, yes: That it has "a learning curve like the Matterhorn."

[Tired_O_Lurking]

Posted: 9/8/05 at 2:19pm

Well said, Plum. On all points.

[BlueWizard]

Posted: 9/8/05 at 3:30pm

I hear ya, Plum. One would think that, if programming geniuses could design as stable and functional a system like Unix, they'd be able to design a good GUI, too, but no.

There's a popular saying among computer scientists that goes, "Unix is user-friendly; it's just picky about whom its friends are." No wonder we're all geeks.