FBI Delays Computer-System Contract

Carl Bialik from the WSJ writes "The FBI postponed until 2006 the awarding of a huge computer-overhaul contract, gun-shy after a $170 million failed first effort, the Wall Street Journal reports: 'Much is riding on the project's success. Congress and other overseers pilloried the FBI for its reliance on paper records, forms and file cabinets. The FBI only last year completed the rollout of the Internet to its agents and analysts. And even though the bureau installed a computerized case-management system in the mid-1990s, it relied largely on aging, less-agile technology to do so. And it did little to eliminate the department's notorious number of paper forms -- currently numbering more than 1,000.'"

Efficient computers for the FBI?

[Eli Gottlieb]

Wait, I thought we WANTED them using yesterday's technology and losing efficiency to it? Remember, these are the folks who spy on our emails, who can perform searches without warrants nowadays... we want them at least two steps behind the citizenry.

Efficiency

[mrogers]

It's good to know those forms will now be scanned in and turned into 1,000 PDFs. That should lead to an enormous increase in efficiency.

Conspiracykiller

[slashedmydot]

When I watched The X-Files 10 years ago I thought: "this is bullshit, the government is way to incompetent for that kind of stuff".

These kind of screwups are very effective conspiracykillers...

Re:The cheapest solution is readily available!

[LiquidCoooled]

Don't Americans have the CIA, the IRS, the Military, MiB and others to deal with?

Yes, there is a covert agency who get jiggy with it whilst protecting the earth from the scum of the universe.

Re:Conspiracykiller

[Xugumad]

Maybe that's just what they want you to believe. In fact, CmdrTaco is an FBI agent, carefully manipulating stories on /. to give the impression that the FBI is incompetent, but not so incompetent that you become suspicious.

</tinfoilhat> :)

No more X-Files

[Null537]

I guess it will have to go back to the "Unexplained" category because there will be no use for filing cabnets.


The U-Files just isn't as catchy.