Disaster Preparedness Means More Than Clicking A Button On Your Blackberry

I know they mean well, and some bean counters and marketing gurus probably think they have come up with one hell of new revene stream. But . . I am not impressed with the Terrorism Survival Bundle for Windows Mobile.

If you haven't heard about this yet, Microsoft is selling a new package. Here are the details from the online catalog. It appears not to be a joke:

"If and when there is another terrorist attack, you need to know immediately what to do, no matter where you are or what you are doing. Your chances of minimizing the danger and inconvenience are enhanced if you've made common-sense preparations in advance, as well as knowing what to do afterwards.

"The Bundle includes:
- Terrorism Survival Plan Database and Terrorism Survival Response
Database
- Planning & response for terrorist attack scenarios
- Full-color Cover Page, Storage Card Compatibility, Searchable Records"

I'm sorry. Disaster preparedness is too important to be left to "just-in-time training." The first thing we teach in safety and crime avoidance courses -- and would also be taught in any terrorist disaster drill program -- is simple . . . HAVE A PLAN. Depending on your Blackberry or i-Phone does NOT a plan make.

Click here to read what others have had to say about this product.

The bottom line -- as well meaning (or greedy) as the intentions might be, it is going to give users a false sense of security. Depending on this software to get you out of a jam in the middle of a terrorist incident, should one occur, is about as sensible as a parent believing government is here to protect their children from crime and we don't need to carry firearms for self protection. Thinking families know better.

Nice try, but no thanks. Well . . . actually . . . not even a nice try.