Cosmic Log: Techies stand up to the storm

MSNBC: Techies stand up to the storm: Even as another monster hurricane is bearing down on the Gulf Coast, high-tech types are helping disaster workers cope with a flood of data: Who survived Hurricane Katrina, and who's looking for those survivors? What places haven't yet been checked? Which places are likely to provide havens from the storm, and which places are particularly hazardous?

We highlighted some of the technologies that were being employed just after Katrina hit, and during the peak of the search-and-rescue effort. Information technology emerged as a vital factor in the relief effort's successes, as well as its failures. Now those technological tools will be put to the test once again by Hurricane Rita.