[balug-talk] Good Letter in San Francisco Chronicle Today

[aurora]

My wife worked in a non-profit (>100 employee, multi-million dollar budget).
One day she brought back a file from work and ask me to load it on our
computer to continue the work. The problem is the file is stored on a 3.5"
floppy, which none of our 5 computers can read. So I handed her a USB key.
She could not figure out how to use it at her office next day. I bet it
won't help anyway as they are using Windows 98 which I doubt would have the
needed driver. Finally I taught her how to transfer the file using Yahoo
mail.

I think this situation is probably quite common in many government or
business
organizations. While we consider their system is ancient and
obsoleted, Windows 98 is merely 8 years old
after
all. They really live in a difference pace and to say their system has
reached end of life is really untenable.

Makes me think thin-client
computing really have a big role to play in a rapidly changing world of IT.

wy


On 10/9/06, Michael T. Halligan <michael at halligan.org> wrote:
>
> > Who said anything about "forcing?"
> >
> > My guess is that the police would be delighted to get any improved
> > tools to enable them to do their jobs better.
> >
> > What a shame that despite SFPD's  proximity to Silicon Valley and
> > politicians niggling over bringing wi-fi to the city, a simple move to
> > modernize police IT at all (maybe before the above letter), sits as a
> > "quiet" issue.
> >
> > I am familiar with the Southern Station which looks like a huge
> > building, but in which the police operate out of cramped offices.  The
> > computers I saw last year on a visit looked like hand-me-downs from
> > Goodwill-- and it seems, and I suspect-- they have never been changed
> > or upgraded.
> > We know (at the very least) that Linux would give those old computers
> > new lives.  Imagine new computers with Linux!  I'd put Linux against
> > Windows at High Noon any day.
> >
> > Part of the obvious problem at the Southern Station is that being in
> > such an old building, it might be somewhat expensive to rewire their
> > network-- but here in San Francisco we have many IT people needing
> > work-- and would love to do something for the community.
> >
> > *Linux, or not, there should be an investigation and auditing of the
> > police department's IT capabilities and needs. What is the plan?  Is
> > there a plan?*
> >
> > Recently, I have been in contact with an investigator about a crime I
> > witnessed on the street.  I happened to have my digital camera which I
> > used while the victims and I were chasing the suspect.
> > I was rather embarrassed that one of the lead investigators in the
> > case was unable to receive my photos over e-mail.
> > I burned copies to a CD, which he lost after the police gave it to an
> > attorney.
> > The investigator asked me to burn another copy.  I think it was
> > embarrassing to him because he admitted to me that he "knew very
> > little about computers" and that he did not know how to make a CD.  I
> > made him a second copy.
> >
> > Of course this is just an anecdote and it does not mean that other
> > police would be as unskilled-- but again, my own experience from
> > working at businesses where Windows on old computers were utilized is
> > that people throw up their hands in despair over un-defragmented and
> > bug-infested hard drives and and keep records in more old-fashioned
> ways.
> >
> > I think it would be nice if this discussion grows.
> > Quite often I read elsewhere that many criminal successes depend on
> > being able to afford and utilize technology better than cash-strapped
> > police departments.
> > Linux as an OS does have many pluses:
> >
> > It is easier to set up and learn today than in the past.
> >
> > Many institutions, and governments are turning to Linux.
> >
> > Linux probably has the best language support, a huge plus in a
> > multi-cultural city like San Francisco.
> >
> > Linux is cheap and versatile.
> >
> > Linux communicates with other OSs today-- and can be made highly
> > portable.
> >
> > As the letter writer pointed out-- it is not buggy or crash-prone.
> >
> > And it will likely remain more cost-effective than Windows and slower
> > to become obsolete.
> >
> > What have I left out?
> >
> > The only major "drawback" I see for implementing Linux in government
> > (including Law Enforcement offices) offices is that it will eliminate
> > the high-roller schmoozing that opens the doors to the most highly
> > rewarded criminals in our society-- the ones that steal from the top
> > of it by adding on "unplanned fees" and charges for cost overruns and
> > bloated salaries.  The ones who get kick-backs and dividends from
> > crooked officials.
> >
> > Whereas our police may be unskilled with the latest programs and
> > hardware-- I believe that is only because they have neither.
> > Maybe BALUG could plan a program to address the subject "Linux and Law
> > Enforcement."
> >
> > Sincerely,
> >
> > Robert B. Livingston
> > San Francisco
> >
>
> I don't doubt that techies and reasonably intelligent individuals can
> use Linux on the desktop. However, if you've ever managed to go through
> the process of dealing with a towed car, or paying a parking ticket,
> only to watch our fine local government lose the paperwork, mis-enter
> payment information, an d then issue a warrant, you'd be rather
> frightened that these savants might some day have to use anything more
> complicated than Windows 95.
>
> I'm not quite sure where you get the idea that SF has a lot of
> unemployed tech people. Tell that to the 20 recruiters a week who e-mail
> me thinking that I might want to sell my business and take higher risk
> and a lower salary at their crappy dot-com job. Or to all of my friends
> at start-ups constantly asking me if I know any web
> coders/sysadmins/network architects looking for a new gig. Business is
> booming right now. If it isn't, then you're not looking in the right
> places.
>
> As incompetent as our local government is, I shudder to imagine them
> trying to figure out the Xwindows way of cut & paste.
>
>
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