[Gllug] Government IT projects and wasted money

[James Courtier-Dutton]

On 17 June 2011 15:38, Alistair Mann <gllug at lgeezer.net> wrote:
>
>>  Why not just use the same thin client OS for all three projects?
>
> Because that's not a desirable choice when viewed in a context where
> accountability for decisions is more important than the quality of that
> decision.
>
> Hypothetical question: HMG moves all staff to os/2. 10 years later they
> discover a newly belligerent Chinese have left potentially malicious
> payloads all through some updates. How many civil servants know Windows,
> Linux, Sun Ray? How many can be retrained (and by whom?) before the  Chinese
> learn that we know and do something about it?  Now, how desirable was it to
> use the same thin client everywhere?
>

Ah! but Project A and Project B might be using the same one, they just
don't know! ;-)
Me thinks I will sound like I am quoting "Yes Minister" soon.
Quote "Apparently the fact that you needed to know was not known at
the time that the now known need to know was known, and therefore
those that needed to advise and inform the Home Secretary perhaps felt
that the information that he needed as to whether to inform the
highest authority of the known information was not yet known and
therefore there was no authority for the authority to be informed
because the need to know was not at that time known or needed."
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