The Drudgereport has discovered this story, and they are linking to this item:
BREITBART.COM - US unveils emergency alert system for mobile phones, computers
The US government unveiled a communications system that in case of emergency should soon allow it to send SMS alerts to Americans' mobile phones and computers. "We have the ability to do this. It's a major step," Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Director David Paulson told reporters outside the US capital as he unveiled the program's design. The Digital Emergency Alert System (DEAS) will include the participation of television networks and public radio stations and be based on an existing alert system built in the Cold War era for use in the event of a nuclear attack. The new system will initially allow the government to quickly alert public organizations and first-aid groups in case of an emergency. It is planned to become operational in southern and eastern states by the end of the year, and nationally at the end of 2007. At the same time, the government said it will build a system that can also send alerts to mobile phone users and computers linked to the Internet. The SMS messages will be sent out in case "something unfortunate has happened," said John Lawson, president and chief executive officer of the Association of Public Television Stations. Internet-linked computers will automatically switch on to a video message from the US Department of Homeland Security while downloading instructions prepared specifically from natural disasters, chemical and nuclear attacks, and other calamities. |
No they won't.
Internet-linked computers will automatically switch on to a video message from the US Department of Homeland Security while downloading instructions prepared specifically from natural disasters, chemical and nuclear attacks, and other calamities.
Not unless the government FORCES each person connected to the Internet to install a server application to sit on a port and listen for messages from the government, and display them.
I know of no such application -- and I know of no way to coerce people into running one -- nor for that matter do I know of any way to get something like that to run on older, slower computers on MODEM (read: SLOW) connections.
This is pure BS. Probably some mid-level effendi spent a bit too much time with his PowerPoint and decided to make a nice nifty blue-sky presentation to impress his bosses, and justify his salary.
This ain't gonna happen. Not the computer part, at least. They can probably pester people with cell phones that can accept text messages. Ours can't -- whew! :)