Rewiring (and Unwiring) New Orleans

stinkymountain writes "Is New Orleans bouncing back from Hurricane Katrina with the most advanced telecom system in the country? According to Network World, carriers have invested billions to rebuild the wired and wireless networks in the city, and businesses are taking advantage of new, advanced telecom services." This story selected and edited by LinuxWorld editor for the day Saied Pinto.

My god.

[TheOldSchooler]

Just imagine the future of New Orleans; a technological marvel, with gigabit ethernet connections to each home, instantly transmitting terrabytes worth of images showing topless coeds partying outside.

Re:My god.

[Incongruity]

Hmm -- sounds like the urban equivalent of a forest fire in some ways -- the fire comes through and clears out all the old stuff and clears the way for new growth. It'd be very very cool to see New Orleans come back as a much less corrupt and much more modern city that business flocks to, thereby improving the job situation for all residents and improving the tax base allowing for restoration of the historic parts of the city, etc... of course, that's unlikely to happen as the powers that be seem to have survived the flood.

Re:

[mrxak]

Just imagine the future of New Orleans; a technological marvel, with gigabit ethernet connections to each home, instantly transmitting terrabytes worth of images showing topless coeds partying outside.

Or more likely, lots of video blogs of the next big huricane.

Re:

[hador_nyc]

Hmm -- sounds like the urban equivalent of a forest fire in some ways -- the fire comes through and clears out all the old stuff and clears the way for new growth. It'd be very very cool to see New Orleans come back as a much less corrupt and much more modern city that business flocks to, thereby improving the job situation for all residents and improving the tax base allowing for restoration of the historic parts of the city, etc... of course, that's unlikely to happen as the powers that be seem to have su

Re:

[superflippy]

I visited Hiroshima about 10 years ago. I was amazed by how new and shiny the city seemed, and then I remembered that it *was* pretty new compared to other Japanese cities.

Re:

[TubeSteak]

Just imagine the future of New Orleans; a technological marvel, with gigabit ethernet connections to each home, instantly transmitting terrabytes worth of images showing topless coeds partying outside.

That'll never happen.
Too many backhoes in the New Orleans area.

I can't imagine that (with the amount of ongoing* construction)
anyone in the city will have consistent internet service or cable tv.

The Backhoe, The Internet's Natural Enemy
http://it.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=06/01/19/164 3215 [slashdot.org]

*You really think NO

Re:

[RESPAWN]

Actually, I lived there for 6 years. Katrina was the first hurricane to hit us in that time. The city isn't as prone as, say, Miami.

Quite appropriate: Nothing to see here

[guruevi]

Does that mean we have to wait for a hurricane in order to get high speed in my area?

It's nice that they are re-building and as with that they indeed have to use new technologies because implementing old would be more expensive. It's logical to me that this happens. It's like building a new house, you can't get the cotton-covered electrical wiring so you get new better wiring. How this will translate to costs of course is another issue. Re-wiring existing technology IS also expensive and the costs/benefit is not as high.

But will this also mean that the poor in New Orleans won't be able to pay the charge for fiber-to-premises? Or will they make it so cheap so that New Orleans becomes the haven for geeks and technological companies?

Re:

[acoustix]

"But will this also mean that the poor in New Orleans won't be able to pay the charge for fiber-to-premises? Or will they make it so cheap so that New Orleans becomes the haven for geeks and technological companies?"

Poor people have other expenses to worry about. They don't need fiber to the premises. Just like the poor in the rest of the country doesn't have FTTP. Why should N.O. be treated any differently?

Nick

Re:

[SeaFox]

But will this also mean that the poor in New Orleans won't be able to pay the charge for fiber-to-premises? Or will they make it so cheap so that New Orleans becomes the haven for geeks and technological companies?

They wont have to pay for any of it, they were in a natural disaster, silly.
The government will pick up the bill as part of Federal Aid for the city rebuilding. Everyone (down there, wins) Telcos gets the government to pay for their network upgrades, businesses and consumers benefit from the impro

Re:

[LordOfTheNoobs]

Try telling that to the Dutch! [tudelft.nl]

Too bad rebuilding NO is a...

[Anonymous Coward]

sick, politically-correct joke. There's really no point except that people equate throwing obscene amounts of cash at the poor with having compassion on them. That is also why there will never be any meaningful welfare reform, and why folks will continue to game the welfare system.

Re:Too bad rebuilding NO is a...

[eln]

That's a nice knee-jerk reaction, but if you actually look at the parts of New Orleans that are actually being rebuilt compared to those that are basically being left to rot, it's the middle class and the wealthy that are benefitting. The poorest areas are not being rebuilt, and it seems like a lot of the aim of the rebuilding efforts so far is to attract businesses and higher-income people than the ones that used to live there. Most of the poor still don't have any homes to return to, and their entire neighborhoods remain wastelands while politicians argue if they should even bother rebuilding them.

There is a significant contingent who would like to see those areas bulldozed and turned into parks, and turn the city into a smaller, wealthier (and whiter) version of what it was.

As far as there being "no point" to rebuilding a major US port city, that's just silly. The reason that city has remained there for hundreds of years, despite its vulnerability is because it's in such a commercially advantageous spot. Maybe instead of letting it sink into the sea, we should concentrate on rebuilding the wetlands around it that served as natural barriers to hurricanes in the past.

Re:

[ptbarnett]

The poorest areas are not being rebuilt, and it seems like a lot of the aim of the rebuilding efforts so far is to attract businesses and higher-income people than the ones that used to live there. Most of the poor still don't have any homes to return to, and their entire neighborhoods remain wastelands while politicians argue if they should even bother rebuilding them.

They aren't rebuilding the poorest areas because it's more likely to be flooded again. That's a large part of the reason that low-income

Re:

[cowscows]

Parts of New Orleans should not be rebuilt. Besides being unsafe, the city will not financially be able to support the infrastructure that the old footprint required. The pre-storm population could hardly support the upkeep of the existing infrastructure, even if everyone came back tomorrow, there wouldn't be the money to repair/rebuild it all.

The unfortunate reality, as you've noted, is that the parts least reasonable to rebuild were overall inhabited by low-income residents. But either way, the best solut

Re:Too bad rebuilding NO is a...

[ScentCone]

but if you actually look at the parts of New Orleans that are actually being rebuilt compared to those that are basically being left to rot, it's the middle class and the wealthy that are benefitting

It's not fairies working for the Republican Party waving magic wands at swamped houses and rebuilding them. It's typically people who have money from having the background and training to command a good income that own the houses they're rebuilding, and were paying for enough insurance to do so without it being a dead end.

They're benefitting, and they're paying, too. They're also the ones that pay all of the income taxes, remember? You know, the stuff that funds that part of what the government is doing?

There is a significant contingent who would like to see those areas bulldozed and turned into parks, and turn the city into a smaller, wealthier (and whiter) version of what it was.

Parts of town that are the most likely to flood are the places least well suited to housing. They're perfect for parks. How does the fact that water runs down hill make recognizing that a racial issue, for you?

Re:

[Cutriss]

The poorest areas are not being rebuilt, and it seems like a lot of the aim of the rebuilding efforts so far is to attract businesses and higher-income people than the ones that used to live there. Most of the poor still don't have any homes to return to, and their entire neighborhoods remain wastelands while politicians argue if they should even bother rebuilding them.

And ironically, this will be one of the factors contributing to the eventual failure of the NO experiment. The poor and lower-class are th

Re:

[cayenne8]

"...ut if you actually look at the parts of New Orleans that are actually being rebuilt compared to those that are basically being left to rot, it's the middle class and the wealthy that are benefitting. The poorest areas are not being rebuilt, and it seems like a lot of the aim of the rebuilding efforts so far is to attract businesses and higher-income people than the ones that used to live there."

While true that we ARE trying to attract business (what city isn't?), an

Re:

[mabu]

It's way, WAY premature to start talking about where emphasis is being placed in the rebuilding effort. At this time, virtually nothing is being "rebuilt" - we're still in the tearing down, deciding-what-we're-going-to-do phase. Most of my friends are still trying to get their insurance settlements... they aren't even sure whether they can afford to rebuild, or whether tearing down will be a better option. I know of no area of the city where there is any sanctioned "rebuilding effort" in place, so I don'

Re:

[DrDitto]

The Port of New Orleans is vital to the Midwestern economy. Billions of dollars worth of agricultural products float down the Mississippi River each year. You can't really have a port without a city given the sheer number of people who work in the system.

Carriage before the horse?

[192939495969798999]

I agree that it's great people are taking advantage of the new services, hopefully some of those will provide the people of New Orleans with their still more pressing needs, like houses, regular supply of goods + services, etc. In case you missed it, a remarkable story of Katrina and its post-effects appears on this blog [metblogs.com] (no relation). Even current posts there detail how things are still far from normal -- things each of us take for granted are still considered blessings in the affected areas.

Re:

[russ1337]

Did they get a tax break for helping rebuild ? I'm sure nation will be wondering why the people of New Orleans are still poor 5 years down track, while large corporations say "bbbut we invested billions, we cant understand why they are still poor"... etc. Is the Billions of Telco money going to create jobs and wealth, or just fleece the locals for wi-fi instead?

Wired vs. Wireless

[blueZ3]

On a somewhat related note, I heard an ad for AT&T while driving to work this morning that was disparaging VOIP service as inferior to landlines here in California. The main thrust of the radio spot was the recent power outages in California prevented people using VOIP from making calls, while those using landlines still had a dialtone. There was the typical scaremongering, with the implication that people who needed to call 911 couldn't if they were relying on VOIP, while AT&T customers were "safe"

Re:

[russ1337]

ere was the typical scaremongering, with the implication that people who needed to call 911 couldn't if they were relying on VOIP, while AT&T customers were "safe" because AT&T has generators at the switching stations.

.. and all they had to say was "VOIP is the chosen carrier of Al Queda...", or "if you use VOIP, the terrorists will win"

Re:

[RESPAWN]

Not that you could have gotten through the switch anyway. I lived in New Orleans when the hurricane hit. My 504 area code cell phone was virtually unusable for incoming calls for the better part of the next couple of months. Backup generator or not, the lines were simply unusable. Actually, when we were evacuating, myself and my friend in the other car, once we finally made a connection on our cell phones, just stayed on the line with each other for several hours so we could communicate driving (idling)

Re:

[BrianH]

There was the typical scaremongering, with the implication that people who needed to call 911 couldn't if they were relying on VOIP, while AT&T customers were "safe" because AT&T has generators at the switching stations.

Does it still count as scaremongering if it is true? I know that in my area (central California), the network equipment owned by our local cable company runs on 30 minute UPS's. The central station runs just fine, but all of the repeating boxes go dark during an extended out

Scaremongering might have been too strong a word

[blueZ3]

But come on, the rate of cellphone adoption these days makes it unlikely that there's anyone being attacked during a power outage who is relying soley on their VOIP phone to call 911?

I don't necessarily agree or disagree 100% with the ad, I just thought it was interesting that AT&T thought they needed a "preemptive strike" against VOIP. I wasn't aware that the uptake was high enough to rate that kind of a strategy.

You lived below sea level

[Overzeetop]

Let the ocean take it and live somewhere else. Or, at the least, quit asking for my tax dollars to bail your sorry asses out and hold back the gulf.

I think it is a collosal waste of money, and investing $B in infrastructure is just going to encourage people to move to an area which is inherently unsafe and very expensive to make livable.

Oh, go ahead, hit that troll button, but there are an awful lot of us that are getting sick and tired of people spending an inordinate amount of taxpayer money on projects that keep "beautiful" places in the black. I'm okay with the occasional monument or historic home, but forking over billions of dollars to artifically change the landscape for a commercial venture is not my idea of good government. That goes for all you weenies on the east coast, too. I'm tired of paying the Army Corps of Engineers to put the beach back so your oceanfront home keeps its value. You want beach, you pay for it.

Re:

[schnikies79]

amen! if i had mod points you would have them

i feel the same way about a large chuck of cali. if you don't want your home to slide down a hillside, don't build it there..

Re:

[Catbeller]

The Army Corps of Engineers created the god damned mess by dredging the river and laying in a new, straight canal for oil tankers and such to get at your precious oil so you could gas your precious car that you drive on freeways made by taxpayers paying hundreds of billions of dollars so that your white bread town could exist in suburban splendor at nearly no cost to you. The storm surge went straight up the canal and swamped the stormwalls. for your oil.

And taxpayers gave lovely tax breaks for the oil comp

Re:You lived below sea level

[Black-Man]

The city is BELOW sea level. Which part of that statement DON'T you understand?

Re:

[RESPAWN]

Here's an interesting question: did the French that founded the city have any way to measure sea level in 1718?

Next question: when was it determined that parts of New Orleans were up to 10 feet below sea level?

Third question: what level of development had the city undergone when it was determined how much of it was below sea level?

Last question: what would have been the costs to pack up the entire fuckin' city and move it further in-land?

Re:

[Cylix]

Yeah, I think nature did a pretty good job of "packing up" the city.

Re:

[RESPAWN]

Not really. At least not in the sense of a permanent move, which is what I was suggesting. People are still moving back. Another of my co-workers just moved back last weekend, as a matter of fact.

Re:

[identity0]

What I don't understand is how you can be such a huge, rich country, claim to be the greatest country on Earth, and yet you can't do what the Dutch have done with a quarter of their country [minbuza.nl] to one city on your coast? Heck, even the Italians managed to do it for over a millenia - Venice was founded some time between 400 and 800 AD.

Why can't America do it right in one city?

Because the Dutch don't have big hurricanes

[Overzeetop]

Well, that just about sums it up.

Re:

[FleaPlus]

What I don't understand is how you can be such a huge, rich country, claim to be the greatest country on Earth, and yet you can't do what the Dutch have done with a quarter of their country to one city on your coast? Heck, even the Italians managed to do it for over a millenia - Venice was founded some time between 400 and 800 AD.

I wasn't aware that Italy and the Netherlands were subject to hurricanes.

Re:

[cayenne8]

"The city is BELOW sea level. Which part of that statement DON'T you understand?"

There are other cities below sea level...The Dutch figured Amsterdam was important enough to protect it...is NOLA not as important to the US? If not on a historical basis...it is good business. NOLA is a major port city...read some of the other posts on here. We support energy refinement, drilling and importation that nowhere else in the country will do. It has to be where it is with regard to the MS river and the sea....

No

Re:is NOLA not as important to the US? No!

[Catbeller]

"It should also be noted the Dutch tax base is local to the problem. Perhaps Lousiana can come up with a way to pay for a big chunk of a proposed project."

Or perhaps we can stop pretending that we are a series of gated communities who are not a part of a federal union. Federal taxes built the highway networks and the suburbs that sprang up around them, subsidize the oil companies that fuel them, and constructed the canal that killed the ninth ward. If you can spend the federal money to build up rich gated (metaphorical or literal) communities you can spend the money to save the most beautiful American city.

Implied in your comments -- actually directly stated -- is that the 2 million in New Orleans aren't worth the money, the way those around the Zeider Zee are. Why would that be... little dark over there, ain't it.

Racism informed the coverage of Katrina, focusing on looters rather than the dying. Racism caused the panic that made the NATIONAL GUARD refuse to enter the city for a week, because gunfire (which we learned, if you get your news from anywhere but TV, actually was from suburban cops firing warning shots over the heads of New Orleanians trying to leave the city via a bridge) from negroes was rumored. I've been to New Orleans a dozen and a half times, and I know damned well what the wealthier white folks think. EVERYthing down there is about race, and that's a liberal, hated city in Louisiana. The suburbanites and country folk f-ing despise blacks, and are rejoicing in their removal.

Re:

[955301]

I had trouble understanding the part where the city is NOT BELOW sea level

The part that's ALSO SINKING you mean?

Re:

[truckaxle]

Adjusted for inflation, we've spent trillions of dollars since the 50's laying concrete ribbons into the cornfields so smarmy, self-satisfied EXTREMELY subsidized white a-holes could sneer at the cities which funded their existence.

Wow have we not had our coffee yet this morning.

First I assume you are referring to the National Interstate Highway system. This is called infrastructure that is largely responsible for our prosperity and is a national security issue. They were not built so that people could liv

Re:

[BBrown]

You'd prefer, perhaps, that Little Rock, Arkansas be a waterfront vista?

In all seriousness, you really must accept the basic fact that our main population centers are along the coasts and waterways of our country, and that there exist several good reasons why this tradition has survived a couple thousand years of city building.

I'm curious, however, where you live that is so free from any sort of natural disadvantages that our tax dollars do not go towards mitigating?

Re:

[chill]

There is a significant difference between "free from any sort of natural disadvantages" and building a city below sea level, in a bowl, on the coast, in the known path of major hurricanes, at the mouth of one of the largest river systems in the world, adjacent to an artificial lake and surrounded by swamp and marshland.

Post-Katrina analysis by the NOAA had downgraded the strength of the hurricane to a Category 3 and look at what happened. One of these days they really are going to get hit with a Category 5

Re:

[cayenne8]

"There is a significant difference between "free from any sort of natural disadvantages" and building a city below sea level, in a bowl, on the coast, in the known path of major hurricanes, at the mouth of one of the largest river systems in the world, adjacent to an artificial lake and surrounded by swamp and marshland."

Yeah, those guys 288 years ago really should have researched it better before building a city there.

Also, the city SHOULD have survived. The hurricane did miss..and we got

Re:

[HolyCrapSCOsux]

I live in Vegas. We don't really get "weather" here. it rains a couple times a year, and gets a bit windy every now and then, but that's about it... 3000 feet or so above sea level. Floods when it rains, but that is largely conreolled through detention basins... No Tornados, no hurricanes, earthquackes don't generally propagate this far. Nope. I think we're pretty much natural disaster free here.

Re:

[HolyCrapSCOsux]

That is merely a logistics issue. I don't think a lack of something is a natural disaster. We do have Lake Mead. If it emptied overnight, that would be a natural disaster. But I think only a meteor or something similar can move 38 billion cubic meters of water overnight.

Re:

[chill]

What, you have a problem with a chocolate city? I knew it was about race.

It isn't the chocolate part, it is all the nuts.

  Charles

Re:

[ScentCone]

And them freakin yankees and those in the Dakotas and Montana, & Michigan, that choose, mind you, choose to live in weather that requires snowplowing every summer & huge amounts of heating oil to keep warm, well, let em freeze, I say.

Really, you think that the Michigan DOT or the South Dakota state and county governments are asking for federal aid to plow all of their roads every year? Or that the residents in those states don't buy their own heating oil?

Left alone, Detroit may go to hell in a

Re:

[ScentCone]

er, that should read "NOT very likely to be under the ocean"

Well, yes.

[Overzeetop]

If you live on a damned fault line, don't ask me for help when you have two houses on the same lot, separated by a brand new ditch.

North Carolina coast? Heck, the barrier islands have been moving for eons. Don't build your new castle on sand and then ask me to pay to keep the beach in place.

Florida? Please...you knew there were hurricanes when you moved there. Build solid, put aside extra money for cleanup after the storm. Don't ask me to foot the bill. Hey, here's an Idea - how about using the STATE money

Why are the cities where they are?

[zippthorne]

Actually.. good ideas all. Those things shouldn't be paid for out of the national till, they should be insured out of the local profits of living in those areas.

New Orleans should stand as a city because it is profitable for it to be there. Not because it is the whim of a few powerful people to spend others' money to establish it there. If that means building a smaller port-city to handle the mississippi traffic, then so be it. It was hubris to reach out beyond what the resources were capable of support

Re:

[cowscows]

New Orleans is where it is for some significant historical reasons, a big one being its position at the shortest distance from the Mississippi River and Lake Pontchartrain. Contrary to popular belief, New Orleans does not all exist below sea level. The original parts of the city were generally built on higher parts, natural levees created by the Mississippi, and are above sea level. These parts of the city did not flood during Katrina, but did have some significant wind damage.

Now, you could make an argumen

Re:

[oyenstikker]

I think what he's trying to say is:

You want to live there? YOU PAY FOR IT. Don't make me subsidize your ocean view just because you chose a risky place to live, and I chose a place that requires me to get some good excersize with a snow shovel.

I tend to agree with him. I will not oppose spending money on rescue efforts, but I don't want my money to be spent to set up a situation requiring another rescue effor every year.

(And because people seem to like bringing it up, I don't want my money being spent to bo

Re:

[Overzeetop]

Virginia, in the mountains. Yes, we get hurricanes. Yes, we get flooding. Yes we get earthquakes (well, techincally - the worst was back in the 1860s and it was only a 5.9). It's actually pretty stable here, to be honest, but it doesn't take Uncle Sam's untold Billions just to keep us out of trouble. And I don't really expect "disaster relief" on the order of $150,000 per person. (Estimates of the total federal tab are as high as $300B for Katrina, and news sources have quoted 2 million people were displac

Re:

[Derg]

I live in Racine, WI. Beautiful little city, south of Milwaukee (born and raised, 20 years) and north of Chicago.
I live and work about 1/2 mile west of Lake Michigan and as such, have a meteorlogical buffer; little snow, 15 degrees cooler on average during the summer (Milwaukee baked a couple weeks back, we barely broke a sweat). Not to mention all the Wi-Fi a guy can handle, three of the best bakeries in the universe within a 5 minute bike ride, and living on the 3rd story of a building on top of a huge h

Re:

[cayenne8]

"A lot of us gulf coast residents are sick and tired of a large number of Americans turning their backs on their fellow citizens, trying to convinces themselves that we somehow deserved it, in order to clear their consciences of their failure to help their fellow man."

Hehehe..I hear ya man. I'm still for seceding from the union, and turning off the oil and gas lines outside our state, and then seeing if anyone notices us?

Hell, we'll sell to the US directly, and become wealthy and rebuild th

Re:

[cowscows]

For any one individual, just buying a house somewhere else isn't such a big deal, but you need to realize the scope of what happened. There were thousands and thousands of homes destroyed. And thousands and thousands of businesses destroyed. And in the surrounding parishes of New Orleans, there are hundreds of thousands of people who rely on the economics of the city for their well being. You can't just move that number of people around willy-nilly and expect it to work out. You'd really have to move the en

To answer your question, YES.

[SlashdotAnswerGuy]

Is New Orleans bouncing back from Hurricane Katrina with the most advanced telecom system in the country?

Yes, yes it is.

In fact, New Orleans' broadband is so good, Korean tourists are flocking there to mob-harass the local Web pariahs.

New Orleans' broadband is so good, Al Gore is working on a movie advocating we de-decentralize the Internet, putting New Orleans right in the middle.

New Orleans broadband is so good, mint juleps are already outselling Mountain Dew as the official drink of computer nerds.

New Orleans broadband is so good, girls at the last Mardi Gras were flashing their MySpace pages in exchange for beads.

Hope that answers your question!

Sincerely,
SlashdotAnswerGuy

Wait and see

[rainer_d]

Let's hope the Telco's equipment also works underwater - or is at least water-proof.
Because one thing is sure: New Orleans is going so sink into the ocean rather sooner than later. Just the people (left) living there haven't caught up to the reality, it seems.
But the term "sinking billions in infrastructure" suddenly makes more sense, right?

Re:

[Lodragandraoidh]

Let's hope the Telco's equipment also works underwater - or is at least water-proof.

The latest pedistals are basically a sealed heavy-duty fibreglass shell that fits over the top of the terminals that are positioned near the top of the shell - secured at the bottom. So the terminals and ends of the underground cables should remain relatively dry in flooding conditions.

Windows 2000 - from the guys who brought us edlin

You probably already know this, but for the benefit of those not in the know: edlin duplica

Re:

[rainer_d]

> You probably already know this, but for the benefit of... ...snip....

All well, but at least in Unix-land, they did get vi(1) on board - which MSFT failed to do.

FreeBSD's single user mode still doesn't have vi(1) but ed(1), BTW - which I cannot use at all...

Re:

[mabu]

Let's hope the Telco's equipment also works underwater - or is at least water-proof.
Because one thing is sure: New Orleans is going so sink into the ocean rather sooner than later. Just the people (left) living there haven't caught up to the reality, it seems.

Why are ignorant responses like this getting modded up?

New Orleans is not "sinking" by any significant measure. The coastline and wetlands of South Louisiana are eroding, that is true, but all things considered, New Orleans being a few feet (IN SOME A

I won't sleep...

[bdonalds]

...until every one of the children in New Orleans has a $100 laptop!

Let Telecom Be Just the Beginning...

[X86Daddy]

I've been musing about this since Katrina... There is a lot of emotional power behind the "rebuild New Orleans" concept, and it will most likely happen. As huge parts of it were destroyed, that rebuilding process will be from the foundations up.

During the Civil War, Sherman burned Atlanta to the ground. Now, as far as cities in the Southern US goes, it's pretty damn advanced. It most assuredly would not be what it is today had that event not occured. Savannah, Georgia was "spared" by Sherman, and the place seems allergic to progress. At least part of that comes from a valid desire to preserve the historic elements that have been there for centuries. NOLA faces some of those concerns, but only in the sections that weren't destroyed...

I very seriously hope to see, perhaps in 20 years or so, the beginnings of one of the first NEW cities in the US in quite some time. The causality may suck, but life has already delivered those lemons... I want to see a 21st century city over here, and it has a chance to happen. Failing that, I'm hoping some growth happens around one of the spaceport sites.

Re:

[slapout]

So the answer to progress is....burning things down?

Dumb question about new infrastructure

[smooth wombat]

Going on the assumption that instead of laying copper the folks doing the reconstruction will be laying fiber, will fiber work if it's underwater? Or will the water, once it gets through the coating, degrade the signal so much that you can't use fiber?

Things are improving....

[bjgeraci]

Things are getting better each day here in New Orleans.

One problem that is still present is phone service. A lot of people I know are primarily using cellular phones as their main numbers since the landlines are not reliable / available in some areas. To BellSouth's credit, they have taken this opportunity to replace the copper wires throughout the city with fiber optics, which will provide more bandwidth. But this will take some time to do (and it does not take an inordinate amount of extra time than replacing the lines with new copper wires).

A lot of people in the city are now talking about scanning their important pictures into the computer and sending them off to relatives out of town (by CD or email).

Some of the lessons learned from Katrina in New Orleans include:

• Offsite backups to other cities
• While cellular voice calls were not available, cellular text messaging was possible in the days after Katrina
• Rendundant lines / methods of communications is needed with no one point of failure. Before Katrina, this lesson was demonstrated when a large collection of fiber lines were cut accidentally, severing communications in a large region
• First responders should be able to communicate easily with each other. This was an issue after 9/11, and was still an issue for Katrina.

It is hoped that the lessons learned here help prepare other people in other places for the next emergency.

I'm sorry but I've been away for a few days...

[MarkByers]

Did Slashdot decide to get some editors whilst I wasn't watching? I must have missed the memo...

I'm going to miss complaining about all the dupes and typos. For me, it's a part of what Slashdot is.

New Orleans Bounce

[Doc Ruby]

I lived in New Orleans for years before Katrina created Lake George, and I've returned several times since the storm and flood. I talk with people living there all the time.

New Orleans is not "bouncing back". As usual, some rich people are getting extra care and money, like the people getting the fat contracts in this article. The local poor people, though desperate for jobs and rebuilding, are cut out by imported Mexican and Central American workers, mostly illegal, all subsidized by living cheap in their own countries when they leave. Imported by fat American contractors, also mostly from out of state. Meanwhile, they still haven't hauled away the trash from the storm 355 days ago.

New Orleans isn't on TV much anymore. But it's still screwed. It's still a great place to visit, but I wouldn't want to live there. I hope these new infrastructures are worthwhile investments in its future, but it's certainly not "bouncing" yet. What it really needs is more of you to come visit, spend some time and money seeing it for yourself. It's cheap and easy to get to by plane, rail and road, it's cheap to eat, party and learn there. And even if it never bounces back, at least you'll have seen America's most magical city for yourself before it's finally gone after 300 years - on our watch.

Re:

[cowscows]

I second this. Come visit here. Go and have your fun in the french quarter, but make sure to take the time to go see some of the devestation. It's worse than you think it is. Hopefully seeing it will remind you that there are a bunch of human beings who lost a whole lot and could really use some more help. But even if it doesn't bring out your compassion, it should stir a little anger in you. Think back to what you saw on CNN, of the government's response, of how FEMA dealt with the crisis. And then remembe

Re:

[mabu]

I can also concurr. I was in the city before, during and after the hurricane. We lost a lot of business post Katrina. Ironically, about half was due to people deciding not to re-open their businesses, and the other half, relocating outside the state. What's interesting is that every client of ours which relocated outside the state didn't take much damage -- they merely availed themselves of the opportunity to jump ship from the state.

The city is a completely different city now. At least 20-30% of the p

Re:New Orleans Bounce

[Doc Ruby]

Louisiana is the only entitlement state? The Red States are all Welfare States [taxfoundation.org]. And that's just the most superficial example of White Privilege.

So I'm not going to accept your "perspective", of an insurance adjuster in a devastated, but insured city who arrived only to work in the worst disaster. I'm not surprised a guy whose job is to save insurance companies as much money as possible returns from the biggest claimant ever without sympathy. I'm surprised only that you'd admit it, and have lost touch with sympathy so much that you'd think I'd respect your opinion as "fair" when your interest conflict is so clear.

BTW, 1/3 of those police officers deserted in the hurricane - and they weren't so great in "good times", either. As for Nagin, his reelection is part of what's still wrong with New Orleans. But that doesn't make the city deserve more destruction. It deserves more help.

Re:

[Doc Ruby]

What are you talking about? Those Red States are getting all the Federal money, and all the Blue States are paying it. Those Red States are majority White and Republican.

The "statistics" are simple. And the Republican Congress for the past dozen years has funneled the welfare into those states to reward their cronies and to attract more welfare hounds, still mostly White and Republican, to swell their Congressional and Electoral College representation. All while raising the Federal expenses to vast, unprece

Re:

[Doc Ruby]

Slavery ended 141 years ago. I don't believe that only 3 generations span over 140 years, especially in New Orleans among the Black population. Even if this person you mention exists, she was lying to you. I don't think that represents the hundreds of thousands of people in New Orleans. I don't know how you pick the people you deal with, but if you believed her story, I'm not surprised you can't tell that she doesn't represent them.

My own experience shows something very different. I know many people who tol

Re:

[Doc Ruby]

The math says that you're mad at a poor 87 year old woman who lost everything because she hasn't cleaned up a destroyed house packed with mud.

Thanks for clarifying how happy you were to carry a gun around New Orleans, looking for battles with unarmed men.

I hope you're glad that your home is dry and clean today. Which Welfare State would that happen to be in?

Re:

[Doc Ruby]

What do you do for a living in NOLA? How were you able to return to town, or stay, without your career being interrupted?

How is it clear to you that the local poor people have no interest in working in rebuilding jobs? The poor people I knew when I lived in town have tried to get work, sometimes successfully, but usually not - not when they can't compete with the "immigrants". Many of whom are illegal, regardless of your hangups about the term, because they are not legally entitled to work in the US at all,

The Smell

[Apocalypse111]

Great, Wi-Fi all over N.O. Does this mean that I can maybe surf somewhere that doesn't smell of stale urine?

No, that'd mean I'd have to get that kind of access *outside* of N.O. too.

Another reason non free software sucks.

[twitter]

This really struck me:

... The company has offices in Colorado and New Jersey, and the plan was for employees to fly there and keep working. The company expected to lose use of its data center, but by taking copies of its backup tapes and CDs of its software and software licenses, planned to create a new data center in Colorado, according to Jeremiah Tangen, IT administrator at the firm.

1. Data - check
2. Customized applications - check
3. Licenses - get out of here!

Don't forget the licenses as your save your

Re:Stupidity

[eln]

If you're going to rebuild the city (and they are, except for apparently the lower 9th ward, which by the looks of it will just be allowed to remain a pile of rubble that even the cops are afraid to go into until it crumbles entirely to dust), it would be idiotic to put old technology in there. They're going to be spending billions to dig big trenches and replace poles and whatnot, do you expect them to do all of that and put in, say, cloth insulated wiring?

NO will get the most current technology because it makes sense to rebuild in such a way that you won't have to be digging up the same streets 5 years from now to upgrade wiring that was obsolete when you first installed it.

Re:

[mrxak]

I think the main point is, why are they rebuilding the city where it was before? Why not move the city farther away from the coast and above sea level? It's just asking for another big disaster, possibly even this fall, and all this shiny new equipment will be wiped out. It's not the level of technology, it's the investment in a place just waiting for another wipe-out.

Re:

[plague3106]

Probably because NO is very much a port city, just like Philadelphia or NYC. Moving the city further from one of their main industries will just make the port more expensive to run.

Hopefully one of the technological advances will be new levies and such...

FWIW, I don't think NO has ever been hit by a storm which 'wiped out' the city before... its unlikely to happen again in the near future, I'd think.

Re:

[mrxak]

They've had close calls before, and a Katrina-like event was predicted years in advance. It's only a matter of time before it happens again.

Re:Stupidity

[cayenne8]

"They've had close calls before, and a Katrina-like event was predicted years in advance. It's only a matter of time before it happens again."

True...but, the damage potential now is due in great part from the erosion of the coastal wetlands...lost in GREAT part, but, the slicing and dicing of it for pipelines for oil and gas to come in from the Gulf, and canals cut into it for transportation of such. You do realize that about 30% of your energy comes through this area don't you? Remember that 'little' gas crunch that happened after Katrina? Hmm? Well, a lot of the flood damage potential is due to the sacrifices and all that New Orleans and southern LA has put into giving the US this place for energy harvest, refinement and transport. We need money now, in forms of giving us a more fair share of off shore drilling lease royalties, to ensure that the coastal wetlands that are the best and a natural barrier from hurrican surges can be rebuilt and maintained...funds that are continuous and dedicated to that.

In another post you said "Move the City"...do you really think that is possible? Let's see, San Francisco is on a fault line, and they had some pretty bad damage awhile back, and are due for another catastrophe..maybe we could move SF? New Orleans is a major port city!! It is not only a source of a lot of importated goods, but, more importantly, all large percentage of exports from the central part of the US go through there...not really possible further up river.

Give a little thought to helping NOLA...it has been her longer than the US itself...nearly 300 yrs old. It has given the US cultural gifts, it is a strategic port city, and a central point for much of the energy the US needs. I don't see any other states shouting to let them build new refineries in 'their backyard', and the east coast, Florida, and the west coast all bad drilling for oil...so in trade for us letting people do that in our area...give us a fuckin' break, and instead of criticism, how about some help...perm. help.

I'm having to live outside NOLA for now...I desperately want to go back to live there, I do work there...but, I gotta see if the city and state will get their act together, and restart this city as it should be, and clean house. (Good start by taking over almost all the previously failing schools and making them charter schools), but, also, if we'll be able to get insurance on a house, and if the Corps. of Engineers, can and will build a comprehensive levee system that is built in a smart fashion, and not a half assed one like last time, that failed way before it should have and nearly killed the city.

Lastly...c'mon...we're part of the US. You can see what the Dutch did for their special town of Amsterdam. Is NOLA not that important for the US? If not for sentamental value, then for business as I've listed above. We send tons of $$ to other countries as foreign aid....why not keep a little of that to take care of our own...just give us the tools to protect ourselves, and we'll gladly keep exporting culture, fun, and energy for the US.

Re:

[mrxak]

Considering just how much damage was done, and how many people cleared out/died, I'd say that it's a lot more possible to move the city now than it would be to move a city that's fully populated. If San Francisco got evacuated and basically got wiped out, then yeah, I'd probably recommend that most people stay away from that area in the future. But they haven't completely evacuated (or I should say, gave a weak attempt at completely evacuating), so it makes no sense. Also, earthquake threat is a lot less se

Re:

[cayenne8]

"they are 50 miles downriver."

You obviously don't know what you're talking about...the Port of New Orleans has entrances just off Tchopitoulous St. it is a MAJOR port for commercial traffic connecting sea and river. No wonder you posted anon.

Here's [neworleansonline.com] a nice little reference about the Port...

Re:

[mrxak]

If Seattle got wiped out by a volcano and everybody evacuated, I'd suggest they move the city someplace better next time too. It's pretty obvious where volcanos are located, and if one was to erupt and then go dormant, I would not suggest you build a big city on top of it again. That would be terminally stupid.

If a city got completely destroyed in California and it was obvious it would have another earthquake again at any time and do the same thing, I would suggest they move the city too. But fault lines ar

Re:

[Lumpy]

and it would be stupid to do.

Drop in a pantload of fiber everywhere and call it done. puttin in the "advanced" crap is pure BS and is only a way for contractors to pad their pockets with extra cash.

Fiber is cheap, do it right, not "advanced".

Re:Stupidity

[cayenne8]

"If you're going to rebuild the city (and they are, except for apparently the lower 9th ward, which by the looks of it will just be allowed to remain a pile of rubble that even the cops are afraid to go into until it crumbles entirely to dust"

Don't kid yourself..it isn't just the 9th ward that isn't seeing any rebuilding action....ANYWHERE that was flooded, is still pretty much dead. I used to live on the very edge (poor side) of the Lakeview area. Last time I was there a month or two ago, I was amazed at how it still looked like an atom bomb had gone off there...that area is still mostly a ghost town too...hardly anyone living there, hardly any rebuilding. A lost of the debris and trash is gone, but, that's about it.

No...for the most part, any part of the city and outskirts that was flooded...is still dead, and I dunno when/if it will come back. Hell, FEMA and the other agencies can't get off their asses to tell everyone officially how much they will have to raise there houses in order to get insurance...

And that brings up insurance...hell, will you be able to get it again?

But, no..it isn't just the poor 9th ward with troubles or New Orleans east...the wealthier parts hit are in just as bad a shape...

Re:Stupidity

[russ1337]

They went wi-fi cos they learned that the standard internet tubes fill with water....

Re:Stupidity

[CoonAss56]

The only thing that is stupid is your anon comments. What about the businesses and residents that live here? FYI, the cost for replacing the copper is the same as fiber, so just are we to do to please your ignorant ass? Here's a heads-up, the people that live here-(ME) don't give a rat's ass about anybody's opinion about why we should do this and why we should do that. This is our HOME and we will do as we see fit.

Re:

[cayenne8]

"I don't mean to be a dick, but I live in Houston and I am sick and tired of all of the New Orleans residents who are still living here. The majority refuse to try and fit in or acknowledge in any way that the city of Houston has bent over backwards for them..."

On this, I hear ya, and feel for you. Katrina really did kind of "flush" NOLA...the city needed it, but, I feel sorry for the other cities and states that have gotten stuck with it. I'm talking about the criminal elements, mostly from

Your Hell

[Doc Ruby]

Yeah, let's just let a major, ancient American city get destroyed by our government's incompetence and just let it rot, because we just don't care. Later, when the tornadoes/earthquakes/droughts/locusts come through your town, we'll cut our losses by writing you off.

Who the hell are these fake "Americans" who don't understand even the most basic concept of Union? They hate America, and must be kept away from any kind of power or influence. Or we'll all be left with our own post-katrina cities.

Re:

[Doc Ruby]

More Anonymous Coward hatred of an America you see as disposable.

Re:

[cayenne8]

"Ancient?!? You do know America is a recent thing, right?"

Well, NOLA is older than the US. I believe it was established in about 1718....so, if we survive...we'll be coming up on our 300th birthday soon.

Re:

[stunt_penguin]

That's not that old either. The city I live in has been around for more than 900 years, and it's fairly young in global terms. The cities that American bombs pounded the shit out in recent years are more than ten times older than any facet of Americanism, whatever that is.

Almost no part of American culture or settlement can truly be considered ancient. Learn to look at things in perspective.

Re:

[LWATCDR]

So let's not invest in LA or San Francisco since they are on major earthquake faults.
Forget about Seattle and large sections of Oregon since they are on major earthquake faults and have volcanoes near by.
For get about St. Louis since it is also on an earthquake fault.
New York City? Also could be hit by a major hurricane.
Miami and Houston should also be written off.
Hurricanes are unpredictable New Orleans might go 100 years without getting hit.
Before anyone pipes up with there proof that global warming is go

Re:

[LWATCDR]

I know that that they where so happy the french quarter was undamaged as well as may other locations.
The majority of the problems would still have be resolved if state and local goverments had a working evacuation plan.

Re:Stupidity

[kfg]

. . . you should go tell those Japanese to abandon their tiny island country so that the next earthquakes won't destroy their lives. . .

Actually, they tried that a while ago and we told them to knock it off.

KFG

Re:

[Qzukk]

Well, we're trying to catch up to Japan. We're not quite there yet, but hopefully we've learned enough that by the time New Orleans is destroyed again we'll be able to build New Orleans-3 overnight.

Re:

[mabu]

I just can't fathom why people are investing IT infrastructures in a sinking city, extremely susceptible to flooding because it's below sea level. Eletronics under several feet of water don't perfrom very well.

I can't fathom why someone would invest in any technology in Silicon Valley or San Francisco, where at any moment with no notice, a huge earthquake would destroy the place. Electronics under several tons of debris don't perform very well.

Every place on the planet has inherent risks. As an ISP in New