This week's missive is written by Dennis Fowler, one of the members of
the Internet Press Guild (IPG). He tells the story better than I, a
story about how a small community helped its own.
Before the internet, before Windows was a gleam in Bill Gates' eye,
Ross Greenberg pioneered computer anti-virus software. In the mid '80s
his Flu-Shot protected against all 81 viruses loose at the time. It's
impossible to know how many computer users owed the health of their
systems to his work. Ross also became a computer journalist, and in
the '90s, a member of the IPG (www.netpress.org), a non-profit
organization promoting excellence in journalism about the Internet.
Also, for the last two decades he has battled the relentless,
crippling onslaught of Multiple Sclerosis.
But the slow decline in his physical abilities couldn't slow his
active mind. When Ross could no longer type he used voice activation,
dictating articles to his computer, sending them over the internet,
first from his home office in upstate New York, then from Atlanta,
Georgia, where he'd relocated so his wife and caregiver had family
support.
Then, early this year, the marriage crumbled, and he found himself in
a nursing home, confined to a motorized wheelchair, his computer left
behind, without even a phone of his own. While his mind was still
clear, he was cut off from his livelihood, his IPG colleagues, the
internet, the world.
Ross's plight came to the attention of the IPG when, through the
generosity of Rebecca, the home's administrator, he painstakingly
pecked out a brief e-mail, using one finger, to a fellow IPG member,
who passed word along to the Guild.
Naturally the IPG wanted to help. A valued colleague was imprisoned by
circumstance. Could the money be found for at least an inexpensive
laptop computer and an internet connection so Ross could rejoin the
world?
IPG members, many of whom had never met Ross, opened their wallets.
Even those who were themselves struggling with unemployment and a
shrinking market came up with $10 or $25. Within days they'd pledged
more than enough to buy a laptop and get him back online. The nearest
IPG member, an hour and a half north of Atlanta, volunteered to
deliver the system.
Problem solved?
Not exactly.
With his handicaps, Ross needed the muscles and know-how of someone in
the Atlanta area to help him. He needed voice activation software, a
microphone. Even the simple act of slipping a CD into a drive was a
challenge, hooking up cables an impossibility. With no IPG members in
the immediate area, a plea for help went out to the Atlanta PC User's
Group (ATLPCUG), a group of people who'd never heard of the IPG. Who
only knew of Ross from the dark ages of computer history or as a
byline in a magazine.
Despite this they immediately responded. ATLPCUG President Tom Baley
contacted long-time member Al Gruensfelder, President of Atlanta based
Always-Care ? Nursing Service, who agreed to help. Other ATLPCUG
members took up a collection at their March meeting and offered
hardware for the project.
Wisely, the first thing Gruensfelder did was vist Ross. A laptop, it
turned out, wasn't the best solution. Instead Gruensfelder offered to
retrieve Ross's massive, fully equipped but inoperative desktop
system. Still recovering from back surgery, with the help of Ross's
son, Al wrestled it into his van and took it to Frontech Computer
Inc., a business his company had worked with for twenty years.
Frontech's owner, Charley Jin, donated company workspace and labor by
Kevin Capossere, Frontech's Technical Manager. Campossere had to
virtually rebuild the system to get it running again, wrestling with a
major operating system upgrade, replacing damaged hardware. The money
donated by IPG and ATLPCUG members was used to replace parts, upgrade
software, purchase a table to hold the system and subscribe to CLEAR
Wireless for the Internet connection.
By late March, after countless trips by a tireless Al Gruensfelder
between various stores, Frontech and the home, punctuated with
imprecations to the digital gods, Ross Greenberg had his workstation,
on a two foot by four foot CostCo table raised on blocks to
accommodate his motorized wheelchair. He had an internet connection, a
new printer, a 24" monitor, and a new friend named Al. Three days
later he dictated an e-mail to the IPG. Ross was back!
Thanks to the efforts of a lot of good people, and donations from
across the country, Ross Greenberg is again active in cyberspace, the
internet extending his mind's reach far beyond the walls of his
nursing home room. Now he is working with other nursing home residents
to bring them in touch with friends and relatives via the internet.
Proving once again what a powerful force computers, the internet and
friends from around the world can be in drawing people together,
enabling the disabled who can, in turn reach out to help others.
