>
> Remember, when your computer is off, or there is a power failure,
> your telephone system will be down.
> I rode out two hurricanes with no electricity, but my telephones
> (both lines) never flicked.
True. "Disaster protection" is why my primary net connectivity is now a
cable modem but I still maintain a Verizon POTS line, have a backup
"plain" telephone handset, and keep a dialup modem and dialup ISP
account. I also have a cellular phone (and PC cable) so I can use my
cellular as backup voice/data connection if the POTS line goes out.
If you work on the Internet and/or by phone, you should have at least
two ways to connect to the rest of the world, and you should try to make
sure you are capable of working through disasters as much as possible.
A laptop with wi-fi should also be part of the backup plan. When
Hurricane Charley knocked out power to the home of Rob Reilly, an IT
consultant (and NewsForge freelancer) in Orlando, he spent the next
week working from a wi-fi-equipped coffee shop on the other side of
town. At home, his wife cooked on a propane camp stove and they used oil
lamps and candles for light. Their life may have been a trifle less
convenient during their powerless week, but it didn't come to a stop --
and neither did Rob's income.
Those of you who have been reading Slashdot for 5+ years may recall that
the day after Andover.net (now OSTG) bought Slashdot, I was the only one
posting on the site. A lot of people thought that meant Taco and Hemos
had been canned. What really happened was that much of Holland MI
flooded that day and the single T-1 line that provided all connectivity
to the "geek compound" where they and CowboyNeal and friends all lived
lost connectivity -- and while they still had POTS service, they didn't
have a single phone modem between them. I was the only person in the
world who had complete Slashdot backend access, therefore the only
person able to post on the site until CowboyNeal drove to Grand Rapids,
bought a couple of modems, and got them online temporarily via dialup.
Since then it's been company policy (set by me) that all remote
employees *must* have at least two means of Net and voice connectivity.
- Robin
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