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City Of Houston To Offer Free Email To Residents 277

Posted by timothy from the howdy-y'all dept.
Don Symes writes: "The City of Houston is getting ready to roll out 'free' email and web-hosted word processing. First to libraries and fire stations(!?), poorer areas, then to those who can afford ISPs." It would be interesting to compare the cost of Internet Access Technologies' multi-million dollar contract with private ISP access, especially for the dozen other cities considering similar deals.
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City Of Houston To Offer Free Email To Residents More

City Of Houston To Offer Free Email To Residents

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  • [wishful_thinking] they're able to give each resident their own copy of Linux if they wanted to as well. [/wishful_thinking]

    • Unfortunately they would also have to give each resident their own computer to run it on. I doubt very seriously if OS license cost is the blocking point for anyone that hasn't bought a computer.

  • B.F.D. (Score:2)

    by FFFish ( 7567 )
    My local library has been offering free Internet access for a couple years now. Before that, you could get free access from a few government agencies.
    • gah, I was under the impression that /. was an erudite and thoughtful crowd before I followed your advice.
      I'm soooo disillusioned.

      jaz

    • They're not offering free 'net access; they're providing free email and web-based word processing. email != Internet !!!

      To be able to use the service at home, users still need an account at an ISP. If they don't, then they need to use 'net access at a library or whatever.

      - Jester
    • Just noticed the bit about Word. Same thing as with the 'net access: there's been free access to it in my town for at least five years. All part of the "employment insurance" program: to get people into jobs, they gotta have access to the tools that'll get 'em hired.
    • From the article, it doesn't sound like this is what they're considering, but a while back a federal program was being considered to assign each social security number would have an email address associated with it and government documents, such as ta forms, legal notices, etc. would be delivered via email. The idea was scrapped for technical, security, and privacy issues.

      The question is, does Houston expect to do something similar with their system or are their goals more limited.

      --CTH

    • Re:B.F.D. (Score:2, Informative)

      by Glenn R-P ( 83561 )
      The Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore, MD, offered low-cost shell accounts ($36.00 per year) for several years (ca. 1996-98) until they were forced by some commercial ISP to stop the "unfair competition".

    • Re:B.F.D. (Score:2, Informative)

      by GlassUser ( 190787 )
      You're even more right than you know, BFD. Public libraries already provide free access to free email. What they're actually doing is planning to provide word processor and spreadsheet access in addition.

  • well (Score:1)

    by kraada ( 300650 )
    it's a start. next maybe we'll work on getting the poor food, shelter and jobs. i doubt it, but in the meantime, at least they can surf the web and pretend to be rich :)

    • Re:well (Score:3, Insightful)

      by Frymaster ( 171343 )
      increasingly, email is an important vehicle for finding a job. if you can't afford the internet, maybe you need a job... if you haven't got a job, you can't afford the internet.

      now the firestation comes to the rescue.

      • &lt alice-cooper &gt

        I can't get a job 'cause I have the 'Net,
        Can't get the Net 'cause I don't have a job,
        Don't you know where you are?
        Lost in America
        Lost in America
        Lost in America, lost!
        &lt /alice-cooper &gt

      • An unemployed man goes to apply for a job with Microsoft as a janitor. The manager there arranges for him to take an aptitude test -- (Floors, sweeping and cleaning).

        After the test, the manager says, "You will be employed at minimum wage, $5.15 an hour. Let me have your e-mail address, so that I can send you a form to complete and tell you where to report for work on your first day.

        Taken aback, the man protests that he has neither a computer nor an e-mail address. To this the MS manager replies, "Well, then, that means that you virtually don't exist and can therefore hardly expect to be employed.

        Stunned, the man leaves. Not knowing where to turn and having only $10 in his wallet, he decides to buy a 25 lb. flat of tomatoes at the supermarket.

        Within less than 2 hours, he sells all the tomatoes individually at 100% profit. Repeating the process several times more that day, he ends up with almost $100 before going to sleep that night. And thus it dawns on him that he could quite easily make a living selling tomatoes. Getting up early every day and going to bed late, he multiplies his profits quickly.

        After a short time he acquires a cart to transport several dozen boxes of tomatoes, only to have to trade it in again so that he can buy a pickup truck to support his expanding business. By the end of the second year, he is the owner of a fleet of pickup trucks and manages a staff of a hundred former unemployed people, all selling tomatoes.

        Planning for the future of his wife and children, he decides to buy some life insurance. Consulting with an insurance adviser, he picks an insurance plan to fit his new circumstances. At the end of the telephone conversation, the adviser asks him for his e-mail address to send the final documents electronically.

        When the man replies that he has no e-mail, the adviser is stunned, "What, you don't have e-mail? How on earth have you managed to amass such wealth without the Internet, e-mail and e-commerce? Just imagine where you would be now, if you had been connected to the internet from the very start!"

        After a moment of thought, the tomato millionaire replied, "Why, of course! I would be a floor cleaner at Microsoft!"

        Moral of this story:

        1. The Internet, e-mail and e-commerce do not need to rule your life.

        2. If you don't have e-mail, but work hard, you can still become a millionaire.

        3. Since you got this story via e-mail, you're probably closer to becoming a janitor than you are to becoming a millionaire.

        4. If you do have a computer and e-mail, you probably have already been taken to the cleaners by Microsoft.


        Not true in the details, but true enough in concept. Plus, it throws in a little MS bashing. Everyone loves that...
        • Um, yeah, except that the manager would just call him at home, and, this being MS, they would probably give him an e-mail account accessable from a kiosk in the break room. What a bizarre way to manage maintenance... Not true in concept at all...
  • kansascity.com tried that last year and I don't think it took off too well. I don't know anybody who has a @kansascity.com address, and I've never recieved email from anyone with a @kansascity.com address(not even a SPAM message).


    • kansascity.com tried that last year and I don't think it took off too well. I don't know anybody who has a @kansascity.com address

      I'll pass on the obvious jokes.

      In this situation of free email, the obvious point is that the folks who will be getting the email are folks with less education. This would be true if you imagine that personal income is generally proportional to education.

      I can imagine the poor tech support flogs who have to help these folks out, Unless they make them go through a long and extended glass first. or have it at a city facility or a hall for a long time until the folks get certified that they are expert enough to have it set up at home.

      It appears that the computer market has reached saturation in the US with maybe 60% of US homes having a computer. The other 40% may not be able to afford one, or the learning curve is a bit too steep.

      I can see this. It can get really ugly.

      - - -
      Radio Free Nation [radiofreenation.com]
      is a general news site based on Slash Code
      "If You have a Story, We have a Soap Box"
      - - -

      • Unless they make them go through a long and extended glass first.

        I'm having a hard time picturing the process you describe. Should I imagine these newbies viewing a CRT through the bottom of a beer glass? Or using a display two miles away with a telescope (which is certainly an extended (spy)glass.)
        I can see this. It can get really ugly.

        I get it! A looking glass.
  • Why would anybody want to get on the net to word process, or am I merely misunderstanding this statement?
    • Say you didn't have access to a computer at home, or consitant use of any single computer at all, it would start to make a little more sense.

      The whole idea, as I see it, is that you get their equivilent of a "web folder" where you can store all of your files. Working on your resume? A school project? Learning for learning's sake? You can go to any place that has an Internet connection and have access to your word processing application and files.

      No pesky disk problems or anything else to worry about. (with the possible exception of crackers, Government snooping/eavesdropping, project failure/lack of funding resulting in lost documents, etc.)

    • You simply misread. What's been on the local news around here is that the city will offer free email for all residents, and that many public computers will word processing programs installed onto them (MS Word I would assume), and those computers would be the same computers you always see people browsing the web on from the library.
  • I'm always in favor of pushing technology to every individual who wants it, and so I like the idea of offering these kinds of services.

    I'm skeptical, though, that the people motivated and able to use it aren't already in possession of an e-mail address from somewhere. Does an illiterate who can't read or type really have much benefit from e-mail access? Isn't it possible that the Internet market is approaching saturation? Does anybody who wants to get online (especially in a major city) not already have at least a Hotmail or Yahoo! address through their local library, school, friends' house or Internet Cafe?

    Nonetheless, if it improves communication and helps people, especially those who can't afford a computer or Internet Access of their own, I'm all for it.

    Coach

    • Re:Great idea, but will it reach its potential? (Score:4, Insightful)

      by spudnic ( 32107 ) on Monday August 20, 2001 @08:17PM (#2200460)
      No, no, no, and finally, no. I've worked with a couple of freenet projects. We took donated old PC hardware, fixed it up and provided it free of charge (along with a free account with an ISP) to people who just couldn't afford to pay.

      Strange as it may seem to you, there are people who can't afford this who can read.

      Some are old folks who use the Internet as a companion when nobody else is around. Others are inner-city and/or very rural kids whose parents are so screwed up that they can barely afford to keep the electricity on, much less provide connectivity.

      The Internet to them can be a form of escape. Not only in the sense of a mental escape from their harsh reality, but in a physical escape from the poverty that surrounds them by utilizing the information that they then have access to via the 'net to make a better life for themselves.

      No, not everyone who can read has ready access to a computer and the Internet. Not even close.

      • Well, if you say so. I'm certainly supportive of extending Internet services to anybody who wants them - they just seem awfully extended now.

        My grandparents have Internet access. I have friends in Los Angeles who can barely afford rent who manage to get e-mail. My uncle got WebTV, my friend "E" doesn't have a computer but checks his Yahoo! mail from a friend's house 2-3 times a week.

        Most of the public libraries I've been in lately have web terminals where one could access Hotmail or other web-based mail services for free.

        If there really are that many people who will use it then I'm all for helping them out. I'm just skeptical that the well is really that much deeper.

        -Coach-

      • load "linux",8,1

        I'm impressed :-)

  • How come they call it "Hewston"? (Score:3, Insightful)

    by unitron ( 5733 ) on Monday August 20, 2001 @07:47PM (#2200352) Homepage Journal
    Is Hosuton anywhere near Houston?

    Will the spammers be signing up all the poor people down there to do their dirty work for them? What kind of terms of service will the city impose and how bad does somebody have to screw up to lose their privileges, and how soon will the fight start over whether it's privilege or right?

    • Will the spammers be signing up all the poor people down there to do their dirty work for them?

      An interesting question - hadn't occured to me. A new variation on the "Make money stuffing envelopes at home" scam could be the "Make money remailing spam" scam. Of course, this leads to the question of what proof of residency is going to be required to get an account? What stops spammers from just strolling in (or sending agents to do so) claiming to be "Carlos Moreno" ("Charlie Brown" for the Spanish-impaired) and asking for their free account.

      ...which they proceed to use to spam mercilessly until it's yanked (if it ever is) and they just stroll into a different library or fire station and claim to be "Dave Smith" and ask for their free account...

      What kind of terms of service will the city impose and how bad does somebody have to screw up to lose their privileges, and how soon will the fight start over whether it's privilege or right?

      Yet another important question. Can a spammer, who is a legitimate resident of Houston (or Hosuton) have their account revoked for ANY reason?

      I still like the idea of widening Internet access with programs like this, but these are troubling questions that don't appear to have any easy answers.

      -Coach-

      • ...which they proceed to use to spam mercilessly until it's yanked (if it ever is) and they just stroll into a different library or fire station and claim to be "Dave Smith" and ask for their free account...

        Ah, but these "fire stations" are actually an elaborate sting operation set up by disgrunted sysadmins. Those guys sitting around sharpening their axes to a razor edge are the same ones that got paged at 3:00 am when the mail server buckled beneath a torrent of spam. They've put out a lot of fires, but not the thermal kind.

        When "Dave Smith" asks for his free account, they take his thumbprint and the computer links him up with "Carlos Moreno" whose account was TOS'd last night. Yes, spammers are stupid.

        "OK, Dave, we just need you to lay your head on the desk for a minute. Yeah, right on that deep groove."

  • My favourite part... (Score:4, Funny)

    by wrinkledshirt ( 228541 ) on Monday August 20, 2001 @07:47PM (#2200353) Homepage
    In the section on other acts of corporate philanthropy...

    * Microsoft. The software giant last year announced it will donate $100 million in cash and software over 5 years to the Boys & Girls Clubs of America to build 3,000 centers where kids can use PCs.

    Far be it for me to sound cynical, but I wonder how much of that $100 million "in cash and software" is software licenses?

    • 4 points for that post, wrinkled shirt. 4 points!

    • Do the math. 3,000 centers. Let's say 10 computers per center (high?). Let's say $100 per copy of Windows, plus $150 (?) for the home version of Office. That's only $7.5 million.

      Sorry to be the one to douse the "hardy har har" Microsoft bashing.

      But don't worry ... you can still be cynical by believing they are faceless automotons only doing it as a PR stunt, and they couldn't care less about the actual children.

  • Cool (Score:3, Insightful)

    by sllort ( 442574 ) on Monday August 20, 2001 @07:48PM (#2200359) Homepage Journal
    Cool! Maybe someday they'll catch up to the Cleveland Freenet [cleveland-freenet.org], 8 years of free publicly accessible e-mail!

    This is a great step forward to catching up with Cleveland.

    • Re:Cool (Score:3, Insightful)

      by drsoran ( 979 )
      Yea, but the problem with Cleveland Freenet was that you needed a computer to access it. 99% of the time these days, anyone who has a computer should be able to afford at least dialup Internet access. If you can't afford $10/month for Internet access then you can't afford the electricity you're wasting with a computer either. Anyone who wants to be on the Internet is already on it. The rest are just cheapskates and technophobes. Do we WANT them on the Internet?

  • Isn't that useless? (Score:3, Interesting)

    by MSBob ( 307239 ) on Monday August 20, 2001 @07:48PM (#2200360)
    ''We expect to have (people) standing in line to use the Internet,'' says Denny Piper, the city's chief information officer.

    No wonder. If you're only giving them 1000 access points (PCs) for the whole of Houston then no wonder they'll have to queue for or even book their internet access. What good is a free email account when you dont have easy access to it?

    • Houston already has access in libraries and schools, though the computers in the schools are generally not open to the public and those in the libraries are often crowded. However, the public library system [lib.tx.us] insists that the computers in their libraries are to be used for research purposes only, and the librarians will enforce this policy when there's a queue. This makes me wonder if they talked to the mayor's office about this plan, because according to the Houston Chronicle [chron.com] all they're doing is installing software in those same crowded public libraries.
    • I don't think that the majority of Houstonians are going to be using these access points. In general, I think that people who can afford their own computer and internet service will be using that, and not the public access point.

      It's like cell phones. If you've got one on you, and you've already paid for it, why bother using a public phone, even if the cost per call is cheaper?

  • It wouldn't be Government unless.... (Score:4, Funny)

    by EABinGA ( 253382 ) on Monday August 20, 2001 @07:49PM (#2200363)
    ''We expect to have (people) standing in line to use the Internet,'' says Denny Piper, the city's chief information officer.

    What would a true government programm be if it didn't involve standing in a line?

  • My city has had internet access in their libraries for years. In fact they recently upgraded all the machines to p4 1.7 gigers. Each machine also has Office, so anyone can type documents or do spreadsheets.

  • Why? (Score:2, Interesting)

    by alen ( 225700 )
    There is Hotmail, Yahoo and a ton of other free email services. Why spend tax payer money for another one? What is it going to offer that the other ones don't? You can have all the email accounts you can track, but you still need a computer to access them.
    • If everybody has an email address, verified by the government, then the possibility of accurate, electronic voter representation becomes nearer to reality.

      Check your email, vote on a few issues, update your resume, log-off and go about your business.

      • Isn't it easier to just have computer centers and let them access private services? Hotmail or yahoo for email. Monster for job searches.

        As far as voting on the internet. When pigs fly, which with current tech isn't too far of.

  • Firestations? (Score:2, Insightful)

    by suwain_2 ( 260792 )
    Yeah, my local news ran something on this.

    Apparently, police and fire stations will have public Internet access. Does anyone else find the concept of going to the fire station to send e-mail to be a bit bizarre? "Hi, sorry it's taken me so long to respond, but I haven't been able to get to the local fire station this week..."

    Also... Don't get me wrong, I have no reason to doubt the integrity of the police, but some people do. So... Wonder what they'll think about Internet censorship if you do your e-mail from a *police station*?

    And yet another thing - won't people be in the way? I don't quite see this taking off that well, but if it does, it could become a pain to get to these local places for "normal" reasons...

  • Why is a government organization spending money to create a service that people can already get for free via the private sector? It seems like the only people that gain are the politicians (and maybe the advertisers since they have a another couple thousand email accounts that they can feel free to spam). They can pat themselves on the back for "narrowing the digital divide", when in fact they are doing no such thing.


    If they really want to make a different, why not provide vocational training for the disadvantaged so they can actually learn a skill to help them better themselves. Now, that would be money better spent.

    • Where can I get a computer for free? Please, sign me up!
      • FreePC [freepc.com]
        eMachines [emachines.com]

        Doh! Nevermind.

      • Where can I get a computer for free? Please, sign me up!

        It's called used hardware. Now that the new stuff is so cheap, it shouldn't be too much trouble to hunt down an old 486 or even a Pentium for next to nothing. Kinda like how the poor drive used cars instead of new ones. (Hell, I drive a used car, if only because I'd rather piss away my money on computer toys :-)) It also says something about America when people who are "poor" have cars, but I digress.

        Not that there isn't merit to having a few publically accessable Internet-connected PCs in libraries and such, it's just not that big a deal. If the politicians really wanted to help, they'd quit making it so damn difficult to build new (fiber optic) cable plants to compete against the existing antiquated communications infrastructure, assuming there's much to compete with in the first place. No more legal monopolies in exchange for taxes--er, "franchise fees", 'kay?
    • it is big words spoken by big people that make it all seem sooo great.

      we have a poverty rate... we are spending money on free e-mail for the public... I don't see e-mail being a large priority over food/shelter.

      are they going to start putting e-mail stations in the shelters so that the "residents" there can have a place to send out their resumes for new jobs?

    • If they really want to make a different, why not provide vocational training for the disadvantaged so they can actually learn a skill to help them better themselves. Now, that would be money better spent.


      No, you're forgetting that this is Houston. Here, the first priority is trucks. The government has done a great job so far, because now every family here has at least one truck.


      Unfortunately, we now have a "maximum-GVW divide". It seems that many poor and minorities only have a short bed, a regular cab, or (shudder), a compact pickup. These people will never catch up with the affluent class who drive late model super-duty 4x6s with V10 engines.


      If they really, truly want to make a difference, they should provide a free crew-cab extended bed pickup to every family. Only then will we have social justice in Houston.

    • If they really want to make a different, why not provide vocational training for the disadvantaged so they can actually learn a skill to help them better themselves. Now, that would be money better spent.

      An even better way to make a difference would be to eliminate minimum wage laws, which serve as a barrier to employment for those with few marketable skills. Get people into the workforce and let them learn on the job, real world style.

      I remember when I worked at a bike shop many years ago, there was a guy from the homeless shelter up the street who would stop by several days a week asking for odd jobs. I think he made regular rounds of all the businesses downtown, and we were just one stop of many. Anyway, the bike shop owner would pay him to clean the parking lot every Saturday, and would often find other odd jobs for him to do. The guy was hard working, punctual and honest, but really didn't know how to do anything but pick up cans.

      My point is that people like this are on the verge of entering the workforce, but the value of their labor is less than minimum wage. There are many employers who would give them an entry-level position doing odd jobs like keeping the parking lot clean, but are not able to reconcile the payroll expense of a minimum wage position with the value of the person's labor.

      There are some who are upset by any suggestions to lower or elminate the minimum wage. I realize that most people have a gut reaction that 'people need a living wage'... but jobs simply do not materialize out of thin air. Higher minimum wages cause higher unemployment. Lower minimum wages result in lower unemployment. Ergo, it is more humane to eliminate minimum wage laws.
      • All that is aside from the fact that minimum wage laws hamper free trade.

        If someone want (or needs) to work for less than minimum wage, then they should definately be able to.
  • When Joe Sixpack starts to need email for
    things like job-hunting, things like this
    will be damned important.
  • It was just a matter of time before someone said this anyway, so I will.

    Why should taxpayers be forced to pay for someone else's Internet access? It's bad enough we have public schools and public libraries. Also, why should the lazy and ignorant be the first to benefit from this?

  • Forced Charity (Score:1, Flamebait)

    by Richthofen80 ( 412488 )
    What a waste of money.


    I bet every hard working taxpayer in that city will examine his paystub with pride, knowing his labor paid for internet access for others. Never mind if that citizen wanted the money to pay for others or not. No, we should never consider that. only consider the poor, internet-less.


    Someday, when people stop vomiting on the constitution of the United States, and the philosophy and principles it stood for, people will stop this nonsense. but for now, it's forced charity.

    • I bet every hard working taxpayer in that city will examine his paystub with pride, knowing his labor paid for internet access for others.
      Nope, Houston taxes sales, not income.
    • People like you are the reason most nations have a representative democracy. If people got to chose what their tax dollars where spent on then we would have no infrastructure* or defense**.
      But, since we do get a say in who we elect to make these decisions, if you are pissed that your money got spent on something that you don't like then you can vote them out.

      *The internet.
      ** The internet.
    • "I bet every hard working taxpayer in that city will examine his paystub with pride,"


      I don't believe Houston has an income tax. Or any other local government for that matter. I'm not sure any local government even has the right to tax income. Sales tax, yes. Property tax, yes, but not income tax.


      "and the philosophy and principles it stood for,"


      What, you think this is taxation without representation? You don't think there was a public quorum on this?


      "but for now, it's forced charity."


      ... and you have nobody else to blame but yourself and your neighbors.

    • Never mind if that citizen wanted the money to pay for others or not.

      What part of "there's nothing certain in life except death and taxes" do you not understand? Deal with it or run for mayor.

  • Id guess they chose libraries and firestations,

    cause everywhere has one or the other? :)

    On a side note, a numbr of counciles out hear in

    .au have offerd free or cheep ($0.50 us an hour)

    access to the net for a few years, they also

    offer word prossesing, scaining and printing..

    basicly so those who cant offred computers can

    still use them, its a great idea..

    Though the email and web hosting, now thats

    something i havent herd of, but is it realy

    needed? In our libarys theres just info sheats

    up on Hotmail and a few free hosting sights..

    do they realy need to spend public money on

    some? mind you i havent used either hotmail

    or free hoasting for years.. so maybe they

    are worse then they used to be.

  • Hate to be a cynic, but since when has *anyone* paid for email that didn't want to? Its been a free-via-ads industry since at least 1995... practically an ice age ago in internet time.

    • How long will that continue?

      Hotmail will not be free for long and other mail providers are dropping like flies.

      Yahoo will not exist in 3 years.
  • the printer is on fire!

  • Digital divide (Score:4, Insightful)

    by Faux_Pseudo ( 141152 ) <Faux.PseudoNO@SPAMgmail.com> on Monday August 20, 2001 @08:07PM (#2200426)
    We saw an opportunity in the information age . . . to bridge the digital divide

    Can some one tell how bad the digital divide was before the information age?

    Needless to say I am really happy that since the information age is here we can fix this problem.

    • Re:Digital divide (Score:2, Funny)

      by Anonymous Coward
      Can some one tell how bad the digital divide was before the information age?

      It was basically Boole and Turing on one side, and all the other slobs in the world one the other. Things have gotten better pretty steadily since then.
      • Maybe it's just late, but that's one of the funniest two sentences I've read online, ever. Wish I had mod points right now. I'm tempted to use that for a .sig quote.
    • Can some one tell how bad the digital divide was before the digital age?

      Only the poor were divided from their digits for stealing bread, or attempting to escape slavery. The rich were left with all digits intact. In the era of the computer, the digital divide strikes even harder: Without digits, it's much harder to type.



      Support stem cell research that might lead to cloning fingers and toes so we can finally close the digital divide, now that the electronic age is here!

  • This will not help the poorest. (Score:4, Interesting)

    by Rimbo ( 139781 ) <rimbosity@sbcglobal . n et> on Monday August 20, 2001 @08:10PM (#2200442) Homepage Journal
    I noticed a small bit when RTFA:

    "People who verify their residence will get a SimDesk account number to access the software, including word processing, and e-mail."

    What precisely does "verify your residence" mean? My guess is that it means you will have to have a house, or an apartment, or some other solid place to live. People who are living out of a cardboard box need not apply. So although this is lowing the bar, certain people will still be denied access.

    Despite that, this is a dramatic step in the right direction. Although some say that only a thousand access points is too few, remember that the majority of Houstonians won't be using the public terminals -- they have their own connections -- and they probably don't even go into the neighborhoods where these will be installed.

    Anyhow, if people who can't afford the 'net are lined up to use these, that's a good sign to me. What I'd be most afraid of is that these people would simply have no interest in using them, either due to ignorance or because a particular library terminal is part of a gang's turf.
    • What I'd be most afraid of is that these people would simply have no interest in using them, either due to ignorance or because a particular library terminal is part of a gang's turf.
      Disinterest due to ignorance is likely. However, I don't know about your part of the country, but here in Houston our problems with street gangs don't extend to use of computer terminals at public libraries.
    • Perhaps the "people who are living out of a cardboard box" can verify their address by using the police stations if they'll be using their computers to send e-mail.

      "Oh, I live at [insert address], cell number 3."

      I'm also wondering how annoyed these police officers and fire fighters will be with people walking into their stations just to use a computer. Seeing strangers walk in and out of the station throughout the day would sure annoy me.

    • You'll have to watch out for the background image-tagged workstations. :)
    • What precisely does "verify your residence" mean? My guess is that it means you will have to have a house, or an apartment, or some other solid place to live. People who are living out of a cardboard box need not apply. So although this is lowing the bar, certain people will still be denied access.

      ...

      Anyhow, if people who can't afford the 'net are lined up to use these, that's a good sign to me. What I'd be most afraid of is that these people would simply have no interest in using them, either due to ignorance or because a particular library terminal is part of a gang's turf.

      I was a bit shocked to read your post- obviously a humerous post, I thought, nicely done - but it got modded up as interesting, and people seemed to be taking it seriously...

      Why, when you think "free email accounts", do you immediately think of gang memebers and homeless people? Like others have said, homeless people probably have more to worry about than catching up on MAKE $$$ FAST FROM HOME!!! mesages, and gang members probably don't care for email. Don't get all your information about the "poor" from COPS and the 6 o'clock news...

      When I hear this, I think more of my aunt. She's got a good job, in a call-in service department, even has a manager's position, but isn't paid what she's worth. Unlike many of us, she has to make decisions like "Cable or Internet Access?". She can't use her work email for personal reasons, and was really enjoying the free email account Juno, but was annoyed at the limitations (couldn't follow any web links, for instance).

      There are probably lots of people like this, who have friends and family that have computers and email, but that they can't personally afford a computer and dial-up account, or have to decide amoung entertainment options, or even between necessities. What Houston is doing is making the first steps toward a universal system that these folks could use to check their email once a week or so, and learn the joys of the hoax email.

      It's also a step toward email addresses linked to a physical address - a marketer's dream. These kinds of services will probably be more profitable than the other "free" email services, and quickly you won't be able to get a free account without giving up an address.

      BTW - my aunt was able to upgrade from my hand-me-down computer to a shiny new Dell - her workplace sponsered reduced-cost computers through payroll deductions, along with Internet Access. This is a great move for companies - you get employee loyalty, give them a real benefit, and they train themselves to use computers on their own time. This isn't the first time I've seen a company's self-interest result in an employee getting a personal home computer - maybe companies aren't so evil...

      • don't underestimate it's usefulness

        after you become homeless it's hard to break the cycle

        not having a contact point only increases the effect of homelessness, no one can offer you a job or a place to live if they cannot contact you

        I've spoken to some youth workers who help homeless kids with email addresses (they used free services like Hotmail) and they were surprised how much it helped, even things like keeping contact with each other and youth workers

        isolation is increased when communication is cut off, if you have no phone and no snail mail address, an email address may give you a little more stability...

        MAKE $$$ FAST FROM HOME!!! is hardly going to be important to them, as they don't have homes, but being able to email a resume... that's another story...

  • Houston to Give Itself Legal Headaches;Mediocre PR (Score:4, Insightful)

    by lawyamike ( 199551 ) on Monday August 20, 2001 @08:11PM (#2200446) Homepage
    This is nothing more than a boondoggle, a misallocation of resources. Why don't they also give everyone a yourname.houston.tx.us web page, or any other service that is easily available gratis for everyone whom would take advantage of it.

    If the private sector is performing a service amicably -- e.g., providing free e-mail accounts to anyone with web access -- why would a locality waste even a tiny bit of resources to accomplish the same?

    The odd legal twist on this -- that reason that I am even posting on this thread -- is that the Houston e-mail account doubtlessly will be more constrained than AOL or its ilk in what it can and cannot do to subscribers.

    For example, let's say that some enterprising young tech at Houston's e-mail server decides to start reading e-mail at random, with the intention of invading privacy. That could satisfy the state action requirement necessary to make out a constitutional claim, with attorneys fees available for even a suit that garners only nominal damages.

    For a more dramatic example, let's say that the e-mail system is administered in a way that creates a disparate impact on racial minorities. Let's say that some nut commandeers a server and spams hatemail across the ether. The state could be liable where a private actor would not be. (The constitutional generally only prevents state action that impinges on a citizen's rights, not the same conduct undertaken by a private actor.)

    That's without even touching on the potential liability under Title VI and other federal statutes if the e-mail program employs federal funds.

    Why would any municipality want to do this?

  • Poorer areas? (Score:2, Interesting)

    by phalse phace ( 454635 )
    Just how will this change anything? There are already many free e-mail providers out there (e.g. Yahoo! Mail [yahoo.com], Hotmail [hotmail.com], email.com [email.com],... etc.). If they're so concerned about bridging "the digital divide by making computers accessible to every Houstonian," wouldn't it be a better idea to get computers into these poor homes first, so they'll have a way to access the Internet without having to go to libraries, fire stations, or police stations every time they want to check their mail or do anything else? Houston could even provide the poorer areas with free (or discounted) Internet access, or they could use one of the few, but remaining Free Internet providers.

  • You have to see the good side of this (Score:3, Interesting)

    by PRIME ( 11123 ) on Monday August 20, 2001 @08:13PM (#2200451) Homepage
    As a resident of Houston, it's actually a breath of fresh air to hear about forward thinking initiatives such as this. NO, this does not = free Internet access (as some readers have concluded) but this does give many of Houston's less fortunate (read poorer) citizens access to resources otherwise reserved for those who can afford a computer and regular Internet access. In my eyes, every step to elevate citizens beyond their financial boundaries, through the use of technology, is commendable.

    On another note, Houston is also experimenting with electronic voting tablets. They've already invested millions and have held a mock election. I hope this is the beginning of a trend. When I was in SF for training a few months back, I couldn't help but notice the "Peace Love and Linux" symbols on every other sidewalk corner downtown. The perception of a Linux loving community is pretty cool and very forward thinking.
  • So, will they have the right to monitor your email, since it's a service provided by the government?
  • I believe Westplex Information Network started in 1994 or 1995.
    www.win.org

    You get a free e-mail address and lynx dialup access for free and in addition you can pay $8/month for a PPP connection.

    It's more or less a good service. It does have short outages from time to time and during busy periods it gives you a two hour window to stay online and then you get booted and have to dial back in. This is by design.

    They're working on offering DSL.
  • Houston's had free internet access in libraries for as long as I can remember. So what's so good about offering email?
    The effort will (hopefully) involve an appropriately scaled public information campaign -- that's probably the only way to reach a good number of the city's residents who stand to benefit from email.
    It's easy to say that the effort would work just as well if the promoted hotmail or yahoo, etc., but would that be appropriate? What if hotmail goes under (or gets hacked!) - as a Houston taxpayer, I don't want city employees providing free tech support for those services.
    Now if the email is anything like the public works projects going on downtown, we're in big trouble (along the lines of 4,000 servers providing about 10 email accounts), but nevertheless, I think this is a good idea.Spam, we can just turn them on to Houston's spamgourmet [spamgourmet.com] :)
  • What a stunningly transparent vote-buying scheme. Let me get this straight. They are not adding any new PCs - they are just giving free email and document storage.

    What the heck is wrong with Yahoo, Hotmail, etc etc ad nauseam? Secret answer: they don't generate votes for incumbents. PCs in fire stations? Good to know my house burned down because of the queue to get that government pr0n.

    I love the headline: "Houston citizens get free-email." No, it's not free. It will be paid for by your fellow citizens - most of whom work for a living.


    go ahead, mod me down - my dogma will chew the tires off your karma.

  • First to libraries and fire stations(!?)


    Naah. No fire stations, they got confused. They mean fire hydrants, because nowadays everybody and their dog has e-mail.

  • I saw the chaser for this on the evening news tonight, proclaiming "free internet access for all Houstonians." But then my dad changed channels to a Simpsons rerun, so I didn't watch the actual story.



    Certainly neat to see it on /. though...

  • We can call it "Minitel".

  • Well (Score:2, Informative)

    by Scoria ( 264473 )
    As a pseudo-resident, I'll say this:

    Lee Brown, the mayor of Houston, has his priorities all wrong. He neglects the city and builds the new stadiums (for the "Houston Texans" (I wonder what kind of genius came up with that name), and the Astros) with the name of the energy company, Reliant, tagged onto it. So now the Astrodome is part of "Reliant Park", which consists of the "Reliant Astrodome", "Reliant Astroarena", "Reliant Stadium (a new one)", etc. We're taxed for it.

    Also, Houston does nothing for free. If this ever becomes more than a plan, you can rest assured that it will be slow and pathetic. Or, better yet, they'll make you pay -- and it will still be slow and pathetic.

    This is what I see in Lee Brown and the management of Houston. They have much bigger fish to fry, imo. Try the roads or the school system, not something to inflate this city's already gigantic ego...

    I'll shut up.
  • While I don't think free email provided by the state is really all that useful, I do like the direction thay're going. What people really need is free broadband. In my opinion, broadband is just as importand as other utilities such as electricity and running water. While the latter aren't exactly free, it would be nice if the govn't would do something about shoddy BB providors.
  • perhaps it can help you forget about the disparity in education, substandard housing, and, for that matter, legal representation. Oh, and when you're looking for jobs online, be sure to mention how you don't have any high-tech training because the poorly-funded school systems can't afford as much as a working 386.

    Yup, this'll fix that whole digital divide right up.

  • Wisconsin decided to provide free voice mail for the homeless...


    http://www.jsonline.com/news/metro/aug01/voice1108 1001a.asp> [jsonline.com]

  • Has anyone thought of Carnivore, since it's technically a government ISP, though not a .gov domain?

    Yes, there will be people dumb enough to send a threatening letter to the president using that e-mail.

  • "...and we leave you tonight with scenes from the City of Houston where residents today were up in arms because of a 'bug' in their email. City commissioners last year elected to use Hotmail as their free mail provider only to find some 'hackers' are able to read users' email. Well, Tony, looks like all their base certainly don't belong to them!"
  • This free service (known as 'SimDesk') also allows for access to software? While the article did not specify exactly what type of software will be available, I certainly hope the City of Houston has researched the possible legal ramifications of offering access to Microsoft products to each Houston resident. And, I hope the City's legal staff reviewed its city's selection for the mark of this service.

    This gratis act may arguably result in one of the largest assessed licensing fees in history and a lawsuit by SimCompany.

    I'd like to see the face of the attorney for the software maker of SimCity, SimTower, the Sims, blah blah everything Sim when he/she sees this story.

    How much, exactly, does the city of Houston have in cash reserves?
    • I'd like to see the face of the attorney for the software maker of SimCity, SimTower, the Sims, blah blah everything Sim when he/she sees this story.

      That'd be Maxis. Don't fuck with them, all they have to do is hit the disaster button a few times and Hsouton is hsitory!

  • or there's a news story about how some molestor hooked up with a kid using his paid by Houston connection or crack dealers are running a free website - blah blah fucking blah. Then the sanctimonious pricks will be screaming to pull the plug faster than you can say "Whaaaaaat about the Chilllllldrennnnnn!!!!!!!!!"

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