Getting Internet After Government Shuts it Down

I haven't been covering the Egyptian protests because I feel so many others are doing it better than I could. I prefer exploring peripheral questions around it.

For example, how do you keep in touch after the government takes down the Internet? PC Magazine asked exactly that question recently. As it turns out, getting access to the Internet might be fairly simple. You just go back to basics.

"In the land of no Internet connection, the man with dial-up is king."

Dial-up modems using basic land lines were the original method for connecting to the Internet. And it's harder to shut down the entire phone system than the Internet. More than a few of you probably have old computers lying around with dial-ups or you could buy an external USB dial-up modem for ~$20-30. 

Protestors have been able to get online through various creative methods including fax and ham radio.

The Egyptian crisis has also sparked the creativity of geeks and nerds everywhere, as they figure out ways to circumvent the next government-mandated Internet shutdown by developing Apps for the Apocalypse or developing local wi-fi networks. As one of the comments aptly observes, there doesn't have to be a political conflict for this article to be relevant...these new (old) tools might find use during a local natural disaster or terrorist attack. 

(h/t InstaPundit)