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Previous: Digital thermometer shape | Main | Next: Heathrow terminal listing
September 12, 2005 03:40 PM
Broken: FEMA website restriction
LB points us to FEMA Foible (CIO News Alerts):
The FEMA site invites people to create an account and fill in an application for aid. Unfortunately, it requires users to have Internet Explorer 6.0. That excludes anyone running a non-Windows operating system such as Linux or Macintosh OS X or who decided to forego IE for other popular browsers such as Firefox or Opera.
Before anyone else says something, let me say that, according to Slashdot, the FEMA website works perfectly well in Firefox if you spoof your user-agent to pretend to be IE.
Which means the only reason FEMA is requiring IE6 is because they're idiots.
Fuzzy wrote:
| Some sites have features that only IE supports
| because of security holes or other reasons.
That implies that those sites are attempting to install spyware, which is why they need those security holes.
The full story is that this is a non-story. The web app was *originally* intended to be run only on FEMA's LAN, which is IE-only, and only recently did they decide to open it up to the Internet at large. It's just an example of a product that followed the requirements it was given, but then the requirements changed.
That's why people should use proper HTML. Then they would never have to change the site to work in additional browsers.
If there ever was a Website that should make its content/services accessible to ANYONE with ANY browser/computer or ANY Internet device, it would the FEMA site.
As a standards compliant Web designer, I personally know that it CAN be done; I do it all the time for my clients.
Maybe they should hire someone with a little bit more Web accessibility design experience, instead of Arabian Horse Website experience.
The sad thing is, this goes beyond brokenness. Since this is a form for disaster help that was messed up, there may be people who have lost things of incredible value, such as a house.
Fine, you can be broken. Just please don't be broken when being broken destroys people.
Did everyone just skip over my post?
| The full story is that this is a non-story.
| The web app was *originally* intended to be
| run only on FEMA's LAN, which is IE-only, and
| only recently did they decide to open it up to
| the Internet at large. It's just an example of
| a product that followed the requirements it
| was given, but then the requirements changed.
Well, if they'd just delete the "You can only access this website with IE6" line, they'd get instant compatibility.
| That's why people should use proper HTML.
| Then they would never have to change the
| site to work in additional browsers.
They don't have to change the site to work in additional browsers. It already did. They changed the site to work in only IE6.
The real problem is, whose computer/internet still works, when the house is under 8 feet of water. I think FEMA has better things to do then worry whether their website will work with a MAC or with firefox. Come on, let them get to the real work of actually helping someone... They need more shovels, less HTML developers and they need our support.
*taking this useless sight off my RSS. bu-bye*
| The real problem is, whose computer/internet
| still works, when the house is under 8 feet of
| water. I think FEMA has better things to do
| then worry whether their website will work
| with a MAC or with firefox. Come on, let them
| get to the real work of actually helping
| someone... They need more shovels, less HTML
| developers and they need our support.
Exactly! They should be helping someone... Not wasting time making sure their site doesn't work in any computer other than Windows XP with IE 6.
It's good to see you've been reading my posts.
[/sarcasm]
...works perfectly well in Firefox if you spoof your user-agent to pretend to be IE.
I'm not a computer expert so can someone please tell me how you spoof your user agent to pretend to be IE?
I had constant problems when I had my Mac. Everyone thinks that their web site should use all of the latest bells and whistles. The Bank of America site all of a sudden stopped working on my Mac and they told me that I would have to update my browser. I couldn't unless I updated my operating system. I finally was forced to change to a PC.
"I couldn't unless I updated my operating system. I finally was forced to change to a PC."
So in other words, Microsoft is doing the right thing by making non-standards compliant web browsers because it increases their revenue. Not broken!
Faolan... I think that is a Mozilla plug-in... visit the Mozilla Extensions and Themes page and search for the plug-in. I think it is under the "Web annoyance" category.
Certainly not broken from a marketing standpoint!
But all this is beside the point. If FEMA wasn't composed of idiots, the response to the hurrican would have been quicker, if only slightly, and politicians wouldn't have gotten in a huff and heads wouldn't have rolled. In other words- This is the tip of the iceberg. FEMA's got bigger problems right now than what browser their site supports.
* Have Mac, have no problems on "IE Only" or "PC Only" websites because use Firefox w/User Agent Switcher to tell them it's a PC using IE...and everything works fine anyway.
* 99% of the CRAP sites that do version checking to exclude other browsers/OSs still work perfectly well on other systems. This includes banks (for "security"--which is so broken it's funny), music sites, media sites, etc.
* How does anyone know that x% of visitors are using IE on a PC? Sure, they log user agents reported, but the 2 Macs at home and 5 Macs at work all appear in the logs as IE on a PC for this exact reason. Same with my dad's Mac, my mom's Mac, my sister's Mac.... I would hazard a guess that Firefox on Mac and Linux account for significantly more of the market, and conversely IE on PC significantly less, than is actually reported.
>James Schend: The full story is that this is a non-story. The web app was *originally* intended to be run only on FEMA's LAN, which is IE-only
Still broken. Standards compliance would have made it a non-issue from the start--it would simply work on everything, including their IE-only LAN. Then it wouldn't matter if they decided to dump Windows for Solaris or Linux, or if their users want to use Macs, because EVERYONE would have the flexibility to choose what was best FOR THEM *and* have the ability to change their minds later, and not be stuck with what was best for FEMA's IT people at one point in time--which they are now locked into regardless of whether or not it actually met their past needs or has the ability to continue doing so in the future.
I too use a Mac with Firefox that every website on the planet thinks is a PC using IE, but I shouldn't have to. It isn't because I'm a Mac zealot, it's because I'm a CHOICE zealot: Let *ME* use what *I* want to use!
FEMA might have better things to do, but they are probably not using their IT department to clean debris, give out MREs... Just a guess.
FEMA might have better things to do, but they are probably not using their IT department to clean debris, give out MREs... Just a guess.
on a somewhat unrelated note, it is pathetic that noone seemed to find this as a problem before the hurricane. how many people actually knew that FEMA even existed back then?
If you have a Mac, just go buy the new iFlood Dingy instead. It will get you out of trouble in a stylish and very trendy way.
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Previous: Digital thermometer shape | Main | Next: Heathrow terminal listing
Internet explorer has not been updated past 5.5 for mac so it is impossible.
Posted by: Evan Andersen at September 12, 2005 03:46 PM