If you go to the FEMA website's Claims area and scroll down to the bottom of the page, can only support claims submitted via the Internet Explorer Web browser. Plus, you have to be running Internet Explorer 6, which, as I noted in a post I made on the political-oriented Huffington Post site yesterday, "isn't compatible with some older computer operating systems that may be in place at already cash-strapped public assistance agencies or in homes of relatives who are providing shelter to evacuees."

"Perhaps more annoying," I wrote, "the FEMA Claims site is not compatible with the wirleess Web browser interfaces of BlackBerry and Palm Personal Digital Assistants. Given that some of the relief workers who may be helping untold thousands with claims are sure to use these devices, the fact that these sets are technically disenfranchised from displaying and relaying FEMA Claims is inexcusable.

Based on how well Blackberries performed in the first couple of days of disaster -- you have 3 different text message routes that requires only a small slice of cell-tower availability -- it sounds like they will become more and more "standard issue" for disaster recovery teams.

Why would FEMA make a site that didn't work with everything? It would seem like for a FEMA form:

Step 1. Basic standard HTML, not sexy flashy fancy or even stylized
Step 2. Compliant HTML with some style
Step 3. Maybe some optional javascript for form assistance
Step 4. Maybe some DHTML for realtime form assistance through verification

If you need to do something in a claim form that can't be done in HTML 2.0, you've started on the wrong track.

BBHub