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Egypt Cuts the Net, Net Fights Back 232

GMGruman writes "Egypt's cutoff of the Net enrages the Netizenry, who are finding a bunch of ways — high tech and low tech — to fight back, from dial-up to ham radio, from mesh networks to Twitter. Robert X. Cringely shows how the Net war is being waged, and asks, Could it happen at home, too?" Sure, it could. On the same topic, reader dermiste writes "In reaction to the Egyptian government crackdown on the Internet, the French non-profit ISP French Data Network set up a dial-up Internet access. This way, anyone in Egypt who has access to a analog phone line and can call France is able to connect to the network using the following number: +33 1 72 89 01 50 (login: toto, password: toto)."
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Egypt Cuts the Net, Net Fights Back

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  • What's the Catch? (Score:1, Interesting)

    by Rinnon ( 1474161 ) on Saturday January 29, 2011 @09:15AM (#35042072)
    Call me Paranoid, but an ISP based in France, that is Not for Profit, is offering Dial Up to anyone in Egypt? Is this out of the goodness of their hearts, or are they charging an arm and a leg? I mean, I know they're Not for Profit, but that doesn't always meant they offer all services free. If they ARE offering it for free... I can't help but wonder what their angle is. I mean, good on them but... why? Also, I wonder how this is going to affect relations between Egypt and France, if at all.
  • by McTickles ( 1812316 ) on Saturday January 29, 2011 @09:16AM (#35042078)

    Yeah it is an association where members split the overall cost of the network.

    I'll possibly go with them eventually because other ISPs in france insist on making you pay for services you do not want, like TV...

  • Toto...?! (Score:4, Interesting)

    by Ghoser777 ( 113623 ) <fahrenba&mac,com> on Saturday January 29, 2011 @09:22AM (#35042114) Homepage

    Would that be a homage to the group Toto, "famous" for the song "Africa"?

    It's gonna take a lot to take me away from you
    There's nothing that a hundred men or more could ever do
    I bless the rains down in Africa
    Gonna take some time to do the things we never have

  • by sllim ( 95682 ) <[achance] [at] [earthlink.net]> on Saturday January 29, 2011 @09:26AM (#35042124)

    Yesterday when I read that Egypt had pulled the plug on the internet the first thing that went through my mind was, 'the people will find a way.'. The second thing was, 'I can't wait to see how they do it. This is going to be fascinating.'. Since then I have been contemplating ad-hoc wireless networks and dialing into 56k modems thousands of miles away.
    I have been chewing at the bit (haha! I made a pun!) for any information as to how this little project is proceeding.

    The best Cringley's article can muster is a French company offering 56k access for free and the words, 'Wireless mesh network'. That is all fine and dandy.
    I am happy and impressed that the French company is offering there resources to the Egyptian people. Big round of appluase for those guys. But the geek in me is not impressed. Dialing out of country to a 56k connection is just so bloody obvious. I want to know the bloody details of the wireless mesh. I want to know about the sap that has hacked his satelite dish to give internet access to his town.

    I want more. It has to be out there.

  • by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 29, 2011 @09:29AM (#35042140)

    http://www.nowpublic.com/world/egypt-protests-residents-open-wifi-networks-protestors-2751360.html [nowpublic.com]

    I submitted a seperate story on this - before seeing this story.
    Any ways - I think this gives greater significance to the WiFi p2p protocols - couple of links I can find in a rush:

    http://netsukuku.freaknet.org/ [freaknet.org]
    http://sourceforge.net/p/widi/home/ [sourceforge.net]

  • by mangu ( 126918 ) on Saturday January 29, 2011 @10:09AM (#35042294)

    doesn't anyone want to talk about about the fact that the good old US of A is supporting a brutal regime that murders and tortures its own people?

    If the USA didn't support any regime that murders and tortures its own people it would have very few relations to other countries. It's all a matter of proportion. Egypt is less brutal than other countries in that region, they have a relatively moderate stance regarding international relations, they try not to let Muslim radicals do too much harm.

    Don't get me wrong, I think Mubarak should step down, but Obama is right in taking a cautious approach to that crisis.

  • by MrL0G1C ( 867445 ) on Saturday January 29, 2011 @11:43AM (#35042664) Journal

    If the USA didn't support any regime that murders and tortures its own people.......

    It doesn't just support them politically it actually trains their police how to do this: Leaked U.S. Military Manual:

    How to Train Death Squads and Quash Revolutions from San Salvador to Iraq. [informatio...house.info]

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