Surviving without communications

The WSJ has a fascinating story looking at how New Orleans city officials were out of contact for days following Katrina. They ended up going to Office Depot and found a way to set up Internet phones. [Subscription required, but try this link.]

When emergency power finally returned to the Hyatt, Scott Domke, a member of the city's technology team, remembered that he had recently set up an Internet phone account with Vonage Holdings Corp. He was able to find a working socket in a conference room and linked his laptop to an Internet connection.

At 12:27 a.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 31, the mayor's inner circle made its first outside call in two days. Eventually, the team was able to get eight lines running from the single Vonage account. That evening, the phone rang and it was President Bush calling from Air Force One.