Tech Volunteers Build New Tools to Aid Haiti Relief Efforts

Hundreds of tech volunteers spurred to action by Haiti's killer quake are adding a new dimension to disaster relief, developing new tools and services for first responders and the public in an unprecedented effort.

"It really is amazing the change in the way crisis response can be done now," said Noel Dickover, a Washington, D.C.-based organizer of the CrisisCamp tech volunteer movement, which is central to the Haiti effort. "Developers, crisis mappers and even Internet-savvy folks can actually make a difference."
Volunteers have built and refined software for tracking missing people, mapping the disaster area and enabling urgent cellphone text-messaging. Organizations including the International Red Cross, the United Nations, the World Bank and the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency have put the systems to use.

Tim Schwartz, a 28-year-old artist and programmer in San Diego, feared upon learning of the disaster that, with an array of social-networking sites active, crucial information about Haitian quake victims would "go everywhere on the Internet and it would be very hard to actually find people -- and get back to their loved ones," he said. So Schwartz quickly emailed "all the developers I'd ever worked with."

In a few hours, he and 10 others had built www.haitianquake.com, an online lost-and-found to help Haitians in and out of the country locate missing relatives.

The database, which anyone can update, was online less than 24 hours after the quake struck with more than 6,000 entries, because Schwartz and his colleagues wrote an "scraper" that gathered data from a Red Cross site.

Geany's Almost Magical Text-Editing Capabilities

If you are looking for a superior text editor, your search might just begin and end with a nifty program called "Geany."

One of my biggest concerns when I switched from Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) Windows to Linux was finding an adequate replacement for my favorite text editor. For years, I used a commercial program called "TextPad," but it was a Windows-only product, so my search began.
I had no problem switching my word processor preference from Microsoft Word to Open Office.org's package. That provided a nearly identical suite of programs for word processing, spreadsheets and PowerPoint-type presentations.

However, much of the writing I do does not require a full-fledged word processing program. I use the OpenOffice Writer for printed versions of my work, but the right text editor can provide a more convenient writing platform for personal notes and posting assignments with editors via the Internet.


To be perfectly accurate, Geany is not a text editor per se. It was actually developed by its project contributors to provide a small and fast integrated development environment (IDE) with a dependency on only a few libraries so it would run on any Linux distribution without a lot of technical hand-holding.

As an IDE, Geany is a software application that provides comprehensive tools for programmers for software development. It is open source; its code is licensed under the terms of the GNU General Public License.

Nexus One stumbles as Google

GOOGLE is learning that it takes more than a big name and well-crafted hardware to be a star contender in the smartphone arena.

The company's Nexus One smartphone has stumbled since its grand US launch on January 5 as buyers grumble that there is nowhere to go but online for answers to complaints or questions.

"You would have to call their approach either naivete or hubris," said Interpret analyst and vice president of strategy Michael Gartenberg.

"Google has learned a number of things; most importantly that selling the device is only part of the equation."

The internet giant unveiled its new Nexus One smartphone in a direct challenge to heavyweight Apple's iPhone handsets, billing it as a "superphone" and the next step in the evolution of its Android software.
Google worked with Taiwanese electronics titan HTC to make the Nexus One handsets, sold exclusively from the internet company's online shop at google.com/phone.

There are no real-world stores or service centers for the devices.

The touchscreen devices sell for $US179 ($194) if bought with service from T-Mobile, while "unlocked" handsets that can work with any telecom providers cost $US529 ($579) each.

"You have to wonder what Google was thinking putting this thing out there with no place for customers to call for support and automated email support that takes days to get answers," Mr Gartenberg said.

Lure of internet sees smartphone bills soar

SMARTPHONE users are seeing their phone bills increase by hundreds of dollars because of hefty download fees hidden in confusing mobile phone plans.

Australian Communications Consumer Action Network chief executive Allan Asher said mobile providers "trick" consumers into spending hundreds of dollars to surf the internet on new phones such as Apple's iPhone and the BlackBerry, The Australian reports.

He said companies sought to maximise data flows, often "deceiving" people into arrangements that looked attractive but turned out to be very expensive.

"This new technology will be retarded by these practices," he said.
He cited a Virgin mobile customer who assumed that her capped plan included data usage charges, but at the end of the month received a bill for $2000.

Choice media officer Elise Davidson said a friend was hit with $800 in excess charges when she downloaded some music tracks to her phone, believing that data downloads were included in the package.

She was able to avoid the charges by reporting the situation to the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman and taking the complaint number back to the mobile provider.

NSW Police have also warned parents that smartphones could be used by potential sex offenders and other criminals to make contact with children.