America’s Cities Are Running on Software From the ’80s
https://www.bloombergquint.com/businessweek/america-s-cities-are-running-on-software-from-the-80s
City governments like the government as a whole is really behind when it comes to technology.
Their issues are of their own making.
something as simple as budget reclassification can fix a lot of this.
for instance "Cloud computing" saves boatloads of money in reality, but they are complaining that it cant come out of the proper budget category. Well, then FIX it. But if I know these idiots, they'll opt for the more expensive option of building their own data centers instead of fixing the accounting.
In addition, there are different ways (and less expensive ways) to solve certain problems.
comically enough, the article mentions "whaaa we can't use a mouse". Well, the reality is that in MANY of these applications, the requirement of using a mouse slows things WAY down, especially for data entry type terminals. instead of type-tab-type-tab-type-tab, users are required to type, look down, move the mouse, click, then type the next field, repeat 10k times per day.
A simple assessment of the issues could solve a lot of it. Not to mention, having the latest operating systems and word processing software often requires mass upgrades of desktop hardware when the old stuff was working just fine.
There are a lot of moving parts and compatibility concerns in environments like this, a simple upgrade form Office 2010 to 2012 for instance, can potentially break all sorts of automated functions and import capabilities.
theres a lot of considerations missing from this article... but above all, I get hung up on people thinking they must have the newest software for everything... it's just like the smartphone scam. there is no logical or reasonable requirement for it other than companies stop developing security patches for it. It's just a circular money grab and it really torques me off if you can't tell
