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Egyptians Find New Ways To Get Online
angry tapir writes "Groups like We Rebuild have scrambled to keep Egypt connected to the outside world, turning to landline telephones, fax machines and even ham radio to keep information flowing in and out of the country. Although one Internet service provider — Noor Group — remains in operation, Egypt's government abruptly ordered the rest of the country's ISPs to shut down their services just after midnight local time Thursday. Mobile networks have also been turned off in some areas."
a first post.....
Just make sure they stay clear of areas where "fireworks" are going off.
A regime that tries to shut down all means for its population to communicate is one that does not deserve to continue.
Yeah, I'm as old as my UID would suggest.
Be nice if the united states supported the egyptian people.
Seems we're not really all that big on the whole 'freedom' thing after all... We're still hoping our bff stays in charge of egypt.
If egypt does get their freedom... I hope they remember we sold the egyptian goverment the weapons being used on civilians right now.
Sometimes the usa deserves the hate it gets. Ok.. most times... the us goverment anyway.
Please be IPoAC, please...
That's just short sighted biggotry, i hope your just trolling. I'd say that India is running a successful black country? being ~1 billion people in size they have to be doing something right.
Do you think people are goin to use the same ISPs that cooperated in abusing them when all is said and done? Any company cowering while others die in the streets deserves to go the same way of that flawed regime.
no matter what country such civil unrest aka revolutions happen they would cut or massively try to control any form of mass communication. the usa may be the exeption to it due to are free speech right but are gov has no issues stepping on it when it pleases them so its a toss up if the usa would attempt such action in a revolt. you defently what low tech solutions like ham and cb communicate with in a revolt being anything corp owned would be useless at best. but really ham isnt low tech it can handel data even full web on d-star models.
I know what you mean, a technology site focusing on the technology aspect of it. Crazy.
-- Lattyware (www.lattyware.co.uk)
Did my own piece on this this morning, got some links of interest in it. http://mobilitydigest.com/preventing-protester-communication-not-so-easy/
GP is trolling, but calling India a "black country" is some serious wtf.
That's exactly what I thought too! Good ol' RFC1149.
Weaselmancer
rediculous.
India is not a black country. They have totaly different racial caracteristics. Just being darkskined does not make you an African. And yes the parrent post is an example of racism that I thought was reserved for places like 4chan.
obamacare pfft. that was basically a win for insurance company's. most states and centers are aiming either to veto or cripple the bill. hopefully that works and that bills gone. it only made things worse.
Can we actually see a resurgence in popularity of RFC 2549?
If you wanted to get me out into the streets, cutting off the internet would be the way to do it. Not so much complaining about tyranny, but because I'm no longer wasting the day watching videos of other people's cats.
- RG>
Hey pal, this isn't a pleasantforest, so don't waste my time with pleasantries!
to get online: FidoNet
they aren't African black, but they aren't Caucasian either. (obviously, they are Indian...)
my assertion was based on "black people" can't have a successful society, as the only numeric of success of said society was the color of the skin, if it was truly important then lighter skin would be successful society and darker skin would be less successful.
as we know that darker skinned India has quite a successful country, there for the ability to create a successful society is not defined by skin colour. It doesn't matter as if your getting picky about race, then Egyptians exhibit more middle eastern traits than African traits.
Wired also has a wiki titled "Communicate if Your Government Shuts Off Your Internet." It has some interesting thoughts on things like ad-hoc networking, satelite, and even packet radio.
This bit I found interesting: "Apple computers tend to have very accessible Ad-Hoc functionality built in, including a pre-installed chat client (iChat) that will automatically set up an Ad-Hoc "Rendezvous" chatroom between anybody on the network, without the need for an external service like AIM or Skype. Ad-hoc network hosting functionality is built in to the Wifi menu." On Windows PCs, it's almost as easy, but it requires software which is not installed by default.
Egypt shut down the internet for a reason. It was to keep the protesters from organizing, keep the protest from growing, and generally to quell the demonstrations.
Even oboma told there president he better change his ways or this would happen and well he didn't listion.(sic)
Actually it was Bush who said that :
Oddly enough--- only the last Administration with President Bush and Secretary Condi Rice has ever taken a strong reform position with Mubarak.
Obama has either been silent, or supportive of Egypt as it is - don't forget he went to Cairo to speak not that long ago.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
This is actually something we need to think about at work a "Internet kill switch." What I mean by that is let's say there is a massive amount of attacks coming from all over the net, that we cannot mitigate or shut out. We need to cut our losses until it is over or something can be done, we need to shut down the Internet. Well, just pulling the connection physically would work to some extent, since it is a single building, but actually would result in loss to some pretty critical stuff. We really need to set up an emergency procedure so that we can cut off the net at large, but maintain connections to our critical servers if we need it.
...shuts down the internet, shut down your government":
http://i.imgur.com/YU3Ww.jpg
(sorry in case this has already been posted).
Exactly. I imagine the governments (Egypt and Tunisia) *believe* the social media incite riots (like yelling fire in a crowded theater), and don't acknowledge the real issues involved in the protests. And of course hitting the kill switch incited relatively peaceful protests to all-out revolution. The govts have just REALLY pissed people off now. [Idiot leaders.]
So why aren't we all phoning a random number in Egypt once a day and asking if there's anything they want us to put on the interwebs for them?
Please consider this account deleted, I just can't be bothered with the spam anymore.
In that case, our government seems to be sending a mixed message by adding the internet kill-switch back into proposed legislation...
Sensationalist headlines aside, care to point out where the aforementioned bill says anything about shutting down communications? From my reading its about isolating the networks on which high value infrastructure is located, not shutting down anyone's communication. More reading, less rhetoric please.
What you don't seem to get that is that "isolating the networks" is exactly how you shut down communications. How else would you do it, besides pulling the plug entirely?
Also, the other important piece here is that according to the blll, Judicial Review is explicitly denied
A company that objects to being subject to the emergency regulations is permitted to appeal to DHS secretary Janet Napolitano. But her decision is final and courts are explicitly prohibited from reviewing it.
So if anything can be declared "critical infrastructure" and isolated without benefit of the courts, any communication can be shut down. The attempt to avoid judicial review is on page 403 of the bill, if you care to read it yourself.
My understanding is that if you use a ham radio to vew the internet you can't go to any web page with an add on it.
Yeah, nothing screams progress like Muslim pigs taking over a country. Shouldn't you be beating your wife or killing your daughter for trying to date a non-Muslim?
A communications disruption could mean only one thing: invasion.
I am armed because I am free. I am free because I am armed.
the US government has been consistent for decades that they do not deserve to continue.
All governments, as macro pseudo-organisms, sufficiently mimic life that they have their own survival instinct. Any government - every government - when faced with its own imminent mortality, WILL do anything necessary to prolong its survival.
This is precisely why revolutions are cyclically necessary in human civilization: the Beast has to be killed off every so often because it will never simply retire.
Racism gets you banned now apparently. I guess the jews that own moot wanted to make it a little more "friendly" before they take on facebook.
Regurgitate your own Kool-Aid much? Does it really taste better going down the 100th time?
Plus, it's not like the people living on less than 2$ a day don't have much way to get video of any 'over-reactions' in riot control out of the country, or widely spread within it, but the minority who has more technology available does -- No wait, it is exactly like that. Oh, well, It's not like just one guy with a cell phone can play back one of those videos to a whole group, maybe multiple times -- No wait, it's exactly like that too.
Who is John Cabal?
My concern is that while the world is focused on communications, government-subsidized foods like bread and other essentials, are being withheld. Food distribution and delivery is disrupted and stores spike the price of food products, thus people can not afford to feed their families. Is anyone aware of people and organizations which can and have overcome this challenge like farm-to-city transport or outside assistance from a bordering or neighboring country. Timing is everything and people starving quickly outstrips communication unless the two can flow together. This is my hope and the reason I am writing...just in time..I hope. Thank you and I appreciate your suggestions.
Surf like an Egyptian. Really makes me wonder what would happen here in the US if the government though they could get away with it during an "emergency."
I hate it when people use that stat, less then $x a day. It's meaningless, and I can tell you from experience that living in a country where the populace makes less then 2$ a day is meaningless. Like in Nepal, young educated folks find ways to use the internet, even if dirt poor by American standards.
I think therefore I can't be ~TTNH
The distance record for directional wifi is over 300km. So the answer is to have Isp's fund a mobile relay station (land or sea) that sets up when the network goes down, outside the affected country/area, and then people can tune up their pringle's can antenna skills, or whatever to link up. This would be helpful with unintentional outages, like earthquakes or hurricanes, too. The mobile relay stations could be on call to get set up wherever they are needed rather than each Isp having to buy them.
Back on topic - let these protests be a warning, an eerie foreshadowing, to the American government. You can only push people so far before they have nothing to lose and lash out like cornered feral animals. Unlike the Chinese, who've grown used to the shit, even young Americans have grown up with relatives who fought in World War II, who still believe in the wholesome ideals of living in the land of the free, home of the brave. True Red-blooded Americans do not approve of the cancerous behavior of the American government and its attack-dogs the intelligence services; who had better rethink their oppressive greed-ridden manipulation of us at home as well as those affected by their incessant meddling abroad, and fast.
Paraphrasing Jocktroll:
"...they can't buy their way out of a grave."
Being black doesn't make you an african american either.
I've already pre-ordered my ringside seat for the next revolution. I expect to live to see it. It's overdue.
That's one of my main goals in life as well. Sad thing is, if the fuckers did somewhat of a right thing in the first place, none of us would be pining for the days when we would have them up against the wall.
I'm gonna love beating the shit out of Britney Spears and squatting in her house, shitting in her toilet and smoking all of her meth.
I'll stop by for a visit, then. *snort* [Ooops, wrong narcotic.]
I disagree with you Sir, but I will defend to the death, your right to get fucked.
- Signed, Skull Fucker
I can't seem to see any comments your grandchild comment below. I made one, and if the e-mail notices are to be believed you've been trying repeatedly? Ain't this new discussion code wunderful? The preferences won't actually even lemme select the old D1 system: whenever I place a check next to D1 it immediately changes it back....
Why should i care about the Egyptians? They celebrated in the streets for the attack on 911? And there president denounced the attacks. Sorry not feeling there problems here.
Jack of all trades,master of none
You really should take some evening classes and brush up on your English. It's physically difficult to read what you have written in this thread. I hate to think how you speak!
If / when Mubarak is taken down, The Muslim Brotherhood will slowly take over, not a pro-Western, pro-freedom movement of the people. We in the West (especially in the US) have this pollyannaish belief that once a tin-pot dictator is overthrown, said country will instantly and permanently become Switzerland or California. This 'Cairo Spring' may well turn out to be a long, cold winter for all the Mid-East and Israel specifically (re-encirclement).
A good thing the french have set up a line for the egyptians to use, to offer free dial up...
Just curious.
To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
I know what you mean, a technology site focusing on the technology aspect of it. Crazy.
Yes, it is/strong fucking crazy if the technology aspect is almost entirely irrelevant to what's actually happening. Just because this is a nerd site doesn't mean that every story has to hinge on what nerds are doing.
To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
No, Tunisians and Egyptians were pissed off with their corrupt dictators and the political and economic mismanagement they engaged in. Tthey weren't just moaning because they couldn't get fast broadband access.
To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
Quick, we need to send them 1.5 million free-trial AOL CDs!
Not that I agree with the OP, but how the fuck do you call India a black nation? Please say you aren't that dumb. Please be trolling.
We agree... first came oppression, then came individual protests, then came publicity of protests due in part to internet. Then came even worse knowledge that corrupt govt was using immoral code to find/arrest those posting messages against corrupt govt. Tunisia's govt didn't turn off internet but used it against citizens. But yes it's all about total. oppressive government. Egypt is a different nightmare... same bad quality of life and fire started from Tunisia.. Mubarak just thought he'd nip problem in bud. He royally screwed up.
French Data Network (FDN), the oldest French isp, fighting for an open Internet, Net neutrality, against HADOPI etc., also did it's share.
FDN opened an account dedicated. See : Internet Censorship in Egypt: a humble action from FDN
Even Google is getting in on the act http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/110201-022612
guess when one of their own go missing they start being interested