A nationwide chain of copy shops that offer other business services will give free e-mail time to families of service people in the current conflict. Tim Mullan manages a Kinkos Copy Shop in downtown Des Moines’ Capitol Square and explains the rental of computers with high-speed access is growing in popularity. They have “T-one” lines, which connect fast to the Internet and can send even large documents, with their high speed and capacity. Relatives of soldiers on active duty are being told standard mail could take weeks to arrive, but they can send email to many service people. People need to show some I-D that proves they’re military-connected and they can use the shop’s computers to access the internet and exchange communications with loved ones in uniform. Mullan says the copy-shop staff cannot help a customer figure out what some service person’s email address might be. As long as they’ve got an address they can send their messages and talk “almost instantly” with loved ones overseas. Not all Kinkos shops have high-speed computer access but those that do will offer up to half an hour of time online free to relatives of active-duty soldiers. The chain has branches in Sioux City, Omaha, the Quad Cities, Cedar Rapids, downtown Des Moines and Clive.
