Ineffective Government? Blame the computers!

Those and PEBKAC errors are serious pain in the necks ;)

A guy I used to work with told me about one of his co-workers who would screw up anything if it had to do with computers. His last name was Werb. So, they would use him for quality control testing, and if the software passed Werb testing and was deemed Werb proof, they knew they were good to go. It's a term I still use today. :)

This irks the ish outta me. They can push through a stimulus package of nearly a trillion dollars yet they can't make sure Washington has the latest technology??? Fail.

How about this quote from Peter Orszag: "It's time to bring the government into the 21st century." Really dude? Shouldn't that have been done 10 years ago, you know, when the 21st century started?

White House budget director blames old computers for ineffective government - The Hill's Hillicon Valley (http://thehill.com/blogs/hillicon-valley/technology/75965-white-house-blames-inefficient-government-on-outdated-technologies)

Well, how are they supposed to work when the Clintons removed all of the W keys and stuffed food in the floppy drives?

Funny thing is I have this great new computer and all I know how to do is use the programed sites our company has for us to do business. My gaol this year is to learn how to scan and save customers documents instead of having a file for each one. I'll have to add some kind of back up syatem but thats not a big deal.

Her is local goverment at its best. In Norfolk Va. the guy in charge of building a new light rail syatem is fired for 47% over runs and loosing $80,000.
HRT head Michael Townes, under fire, agrees to retire | HamptonRoads.com | PilotOnline.com (http://hamptonroads.com/2010/01/hrt-head-michael-townes-under-fire-agrees-retire)

Two days after he is fired (agreed to retire) he gets a national award for transportation. I guess they give the award to anyone who has cost over runs and looses tax payer money.
HRT's Townes receives national transportation honor | HamptonRoads.com | PilotOnline.com (http://hamptonroads.com/2010/01/hrts-townes-receives-national-transportation-honor)

47%?!?!?!?!?!?

Geesh.

The article is horse shit. Old outdated computers my ass.

1. The decision making process is what slows everything down the most. The decision making process cannot keep up with the advancement of operating systems. Maybe that is why people think that the computers are old, but that is not the case. The computers themselves have a natural phase out cycle, it just takes forever to decide on an image.

2. The gov't has technology there, but as always security trumps performance. Not only that but sometimes you have all the right stuff, just not enough of it.

3. If and when I can think of a 3 it will go here.

Things just always sound better in threes.

47%?!?!?!?!?!?

Geesh.

About each % point equals about a million more its going to cost so right now its about 45 million over budget. This light rail system only runs about 7 1/2 miles and I'm guessing will get little use.

Technology in gov't is a disaster. I have worked as a defense IT contractor and now I work for a local gov't in their IT dept. The problems are the same...nobody except the IT workers have a clue what IT really means and what IT should be doing for it's customers. If the right people aren't in charge and lobbying for IT resources and investment then nothing happens. The computers are the simple stuff. It's easy to throw away an old machine and buy a new one. It is the SYSTEMS that are woefully behind. We run a financial package here bought, configured and deployed in 1994. 16 YEARS AGO!!! We're not a podunk little town. It was a POS then and it's an even bigger POS now. Except now it suffers from "Bus Screwed" syndrome. If the wrong person gets hit by a bus my city might as well shutdown because we're screwed. An ounce of strategic planning and long term vision would have cost little and put us in better shape today. But that aint how it works. Local/state/federal it is all the same. Too many stupid people who don't care and not enough smart people advocating for the right things.

Technology in gov't is a disaster. I have worked as a defense IT contractor and now I work for a local gov't in their IT dept. The problems are the same...nobody except the IT workers have a clue what IT really means and what IT should be doing for it's customers. If the right people aren't in charge and lobbying for IT resources and investment then nothing happens. The computers are the simple stuff. It's easy to throw away an old machine and buy a new one. It is the SYSTEMS that are woefully behind. We run a financial package here bought, configured and deployed in 1994. 16 YEARS AGO!!! We're not a podunk little town. It was a POS then and it's an even bigger POS now. Except now it suffers from "Bus Screwed" syndrome. If the wrong person gets hit by a bus my city might as well shutdown because we're screwed. An ounce of strategic planning and long term vision would have cost little and put us in better shape today. But that aint how it works. Local/state/federal it is all the same. Too many stupid people who don't care and not enough smart people advocating for the right things.
You can have the best computer in the world but if people don't know how to run the system its a waist. I have a great system in my office and I probably use about 1% of what it can do. I'm a sales person not an IT guy so it just goes un used.

Technology in gov't is a disaster. I have worked as a defense IT contractor and now I work for a local gov't in their IT dept. The problems are the same...nobody except the IT workers have a clue what IT really means and what IT should be doing for it's customers. If the right people aren't in charge and lobbying for IT resources and investment then nothing happens. The computers are the simple stuff. It's easy to throw away an old machine and buy a new one. It is the SYSTEMS that are woefully behind. We run a financial package here bought, configured and deployed in 1994. 16 YEARS AGO!!! We're not a podunk little town. It was a POS then and it's an even bigger POS now. Except now it suffers from "Bus Screwed" syndrome. If the wrong person gets hit by a bus my city might as well shutdown because we're screwed. An ounce of strategic planning and long term vision would have cost little and put us in better shape today. But that aint how it works. Local/state/federal it is all the same. Too many stupid people who don't care and not enough smart people advocating for the right things.

1994? Damn I bet Y2K was a bitch! ;)