| A small Linux-borne light in Katrina's aftermath |
Sep. 05, 2005
There is a darkness in the ruins of New Orleans the likes of which living Americans have never seen.
It is a darkness born of hurricane, poor planning, and -- inland from the Gulf coast -- the slow realization of just how horrid the situation really was.
The OSSI (Open Source Software Institute), which is located in Hattiesburg, Mississippi and at the Stennis Space Center is calling for donations to the Red Cross.
It's a good idea. The Red Cross, and other worthy, legitimate charity organizations, need your help. Trying to make the Katrina disaster better will take more than state governments and the federal government, it's going to take all of us.
Sadly, even as I write this, I have received more than a dozen emails trying to trick me into giving money to some of the most disgusting people on earth with their fake charity Web sites. My fellow writer Evan Schuman has some good ideas on how to separate the good from the bad over in Linux-Watch's sister site, eWEEK.com.
There is, however, also a unique charity effort going on, Public Web Stations, which builds on Linux's unique strength as an operating system that can run on almost any hardware.
The plan is simple: supply the hardware, software, labor, and know-how needed to set up sites where people can connect with the Internet for Katrina survivors.
With these thin-client kiosk stations, the survivors can check the Web for information and use Web-based mail systems.
These stations are powered by DSL (Damned Small Linux), a tiny Knoppix Debian Linux distribution, which can be run from a CD or USB drive. On the hardware side, all that's needed is a Pentium II or better, 128MB of RAM, a network card, and an Internet connection. To connect with the Web, the stations use Firefox.
That's it.
If something goes wrong, the user just reboots the system with the CD, and they're back on their way.
Doesn't sound like much does it?
And, no, it's not as important as clean water, food, or shelter. But, as I read story after story about the disaster, another theme comes through over and over again: people don't have information, people don't have any way to communicate.
They need to know. What's going on? Is aid on its way?
They need to be able to talk. They need to know if a cousin in Biloxi is OK. Did their grandmother make it to the Houston Astrodome?
This is a need, the open-source community can and should help meet.
Want to know more? Want to do more? Our sister site, DesktopLinux.com, is hosting a discussion forum to coordinate, brainstorm, and connect with others on the project and the immediate needs for the Katrina victims.
--Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols
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