TSA spent $47,000 on an app that shows left or right arrow - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: Homer J Simpson
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 06, 2016, 11:21:45 pm
content: http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2016/04/tsa-spent-47000-on-an-app-that-just-randomly-picks-lanes-for-passengers/http://www.businessinsider.com/guy-makes-47000-tsa-app-in-10-minutes-2016-4http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3525262/TSA-paid-IBM-47-000-app-randomly-told-passengers-left-right-created-developer-10-MINUTES-20.html

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: April 06, 2016, 11:46:54 pm
content: CASH COW!

author: linux-works
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 06, 2016, 11:59:57 pm
content: tsa = "thousands, standing around"but hey, security THEATER is worth something, I guess. if you can't do anything real, I guess acting like you're doing something is what the clueless ends up doing.I wonder when this 'rule by fear' trend, world-wide, will start to fade? will it, in our lifetimes?

author: XOIIO
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 07, 2016, 02:09:32 am
content: ... my god, on so many fronts.I mean, that ignorantly blissfull look, just looking down, tapping a screen, and then repeating what it showed everyone already, and the fact that they spend anything above the cost of a beer on this... you'd think for that budget they would have at least rigged it up with facial recognition to do it by itself.

author: rx8pilot
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 07, 2016, 02:13:41 am
content: I am in the wrong business. My customers are generally looking for value.

author: retrolefty
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 07, 2016, 02:26:47 am
content: I'd only be impressed if the TSA selected the vendor by random methods.

author: Cubdriver
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: April 07, 2016, 11:30:44 pm
content: It's oh so easy for government agencies to piss away OPM (other people's money).-Pat

author: CatalinaWOW
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 08, 2016, 01:11:40 am
content: To be fair the developer probably did spend less than 100 dollars developing the app. Spent the rest proving that he or she had used non-discriminatory methods in the development of the software. That no insects, birds, animals, plants or extraterrestrials were harmed by the process. That all pertinent government standards for development of software were considered. That set asides for economic development zones were not violated, and that the coder did not do his twenty minutes of work outside of normal working hours without compensation. Getting outside verification that proper accounting methods were used. And so on ad nauseum.All governments accrete this stuff in the name of fairness or in an attempt to prevent repetition of past sins. All commercial operations that deal in any way with the government (that is all of them in some way or another) pick up some of it out of necessity. And many large commercial organizations add their own layer for exactly the same reasons the governments do.

author: Kilrah
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: April 08, 2016, 05:39:24 am
content: Not to mention hundreds of man hours spent in meeting discussing the color of the arrow, the angle at which to hold the tablet, etc...

author: suicidaleggroll
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 08, 2016, 02:36:56 pm
content: I do a lot of government work at my job, and the last two posts, while somewhat tongue-in-cheek, are right.It doesn't matter how menial the job, all of the bureaucracy involved makes the project cost a MINIMUM of ~$40k. The last project we had like this was for $45k. The admin department spent months and about $30k of the money working back and forth with the sponsor just to finalize the statement of work. The job finally made its way down to me, I did it in about two days, and the rest of the money was spent on documentation, conference calls, and meetings discussing the results.That's just the way it works with the government. Everything costs tens of thousands of dollars more than it should because there is so much oversight and documentation involved in order to ensure no money is being embezzled or going to waste, that you end up wasting all of the money on oversight and documentation...

author: XOIIO
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 08, 2016, 02:38:47 pm
content: Quote from: suicidaleggroll on April 08, 2016, 02:36:56 pmYou should have charged more and cut down on some conference calls.

author: VK3DRB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 09, 2016, 12:24:09 pm
content: We are in the wrong business. There's an old saying "People are very good with other people's money." That is especially true with governments.

author: GreyWoolfe
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: April 11, 2016, 12:41:10 am
content: My company works with various Gov't agencies providing digital imaging and biometric solutions. We are in the middle of an equipment refresh for the program I work under. I was laughing inside when an IT admin and I were talking about the refresh and he made a comment about the $800 flatbed scanner. I wanted to say "Hey, you did want support for the length of the contract, didn't you?", but I know when to keep silent. ()==laughing inside.I had nothing to do with the contract, just the peon in the field keeping things working. It's also nice not to have to work with the public.Gov't drones are generally more fun to be around especially if you have been working with them for a while.