Tech Connects Us in the Midst of the Storm

While we prepared, rode through and assessed the damage, technology informed us, entertained us and connected us to friends and family.

The oft-repeated advice in news reports, conversations with family and on-line in the lead up to the storm was to charge your cell phones. The new twist this year was the addition of instructions on how to use Twitter via text messaging (SMS). The Wall Street Journal included it in a list of storm-related apps and advice. Twitter shared its own list of who to follow for emergency updates (as did Patch in Northern Virginia). For complete Hurricane Sandy coverage from Patch, click on the news tab above and then click on the Hurricane Sandy section.  The American Red Cross encourages us to post that we are Safe and Well in areas that may be cut off from reliable information in situations when disasters lead to mass displacements of people. …

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Tech Trends

A Technology Kit for Emergencies

Prepare now for the next time we're without electricity.

There have been ample opportunities over the past weeks to be reminded of how much we rely on electricity. Perhaps the first few hours without power are okay, even possibly fun as we indulge in memories of camping. Then the need to hunker down sinks in, as we eat the second (or third) quart of softening ice cream and put another thawed steak on the grill. We intended to be better prepared for the next emergency, but oops! Where to start? Forewarned is forearmed. Local services, such as Fairfax County’s Community Emergency Alert Network (CEAN) provide traffic and weather notices to your phone, via email or other options. Visit Fairfax County’s Website for links to a variety of local and national alert services and sign up. The United States…

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