{"id":14463,"date":"2012-11-02T13:10:47","date_gmt":"2012-11-02T18:10:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/techcitement.com\/?p=14463"},"modified":"2012-11-02T13:43:40","modified_gmt":"2012-11-02T18:43:40","slug":"tech-companies-and-good-samaritans-step-up-in-aftermath-of-superstorm-sandy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/techcitement.com\/hardware\/tech-companies-and-good-samaritans-step-up-in-aftermath-of-superstorm-sandy\/","title":{"rendered":"Tech Companies And Good Samaritans Step Up In Aftermath Of Superstorm Sandy"},"content":{"rendered":"
I drove from Boston to Queens, NY today so that my family and I could be part of my wife’s nephew’s bar mitzvah<\/a>. The ceremony was originally supposed to take place in his own community of Long Branch, NJ, but the family was forced to move it to my wife’s parent’s synagogue in Queens because Long Branch is reeling from the aftermath of Sandy and has no power. On the three and a half hour drive, we counted no fewer than three dozen power utility trucks and tree company trucks driving south in convoys. Some of the power utility trucks were from Wisconsin. The trucks came to help out Massachusetts in the aftermath of Sandy and now that their work is done in the Greater Boston area, they’re heading south to the tri-state area to help there. We also spotted National Guard vehicles heading south in a convoy. This is only a small sampling of the companies of all sizes and good samaritans helping people out in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy that bring out the good in just about everyone.<\/p>\n The first good samaritan item that caught my eye is this image posted by George Takei<\/a> on Facebook. An 11-year-old girl in Hoboken, NJ who has power created a temporary internet cafe<\/a> to allow anyone who needs to charge their devices. All she asked for was a small donation to the American Red Cross in return.<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n In addition to this young girl, companies are also stepping up to help people power up. Duracell<\/a> has deployed its PowerForward trucks<\/a> to give out free batteries and give people a chance to charge their mobile devices<\/a>. Verizon has also deployed Wireless Emergency Communication Centers<\/a> to allow people to charge devices. Verizon is also providing free use of internet-connected devices at these centers to those who need, and it has announced the suspension of late fees and device disconnects because of late payments. AT&T<\/a> and T-Mobile<\/a> announced<\/a> they are opening up their cellular networks to each others subscribers and not charging roaming fees. Comcast<\/a> announced<\/a> that its XFINITY internet service WiFi hotspots would be free to anyone in the areas affected by Hurricane Sandy.<\/p>\n