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Domain: hants.gov.uk

Stories and comments across the archive that link to hants.gov.uk.

Comments · 8

  1. MS shop finds that MS has a lower TCO? News@11!! by Stolpskott · · Score: 1 · on Microsoft Cheaper To Use Than Open Source Software, UK CIO Says

    Hampshire CC is at least a partially Microsoft environment, as their SAP ERP system is hosted on SQL Server (M$ have a case study from 2012 on the migration from Oracle/Unix), so their IT admins probably already have significant experience with the administration of MS packages.
    http://www.microsoft.com/cases...

    Based on the wording of their "Hantsweb" site detailing their software standards, the standard desktop OS is Windows 7, with Vista/XP being phased out or supported on a "best effort" basis and other operating systems not allowed to connect to the domain, so with the exception of any Unix admins left who used to look after their old database servers for the SAP environment, they are an exclusively MS shop possibly with some iOS expertise so that they can look after iPhones and iPads. They do not even support non-IE web browsers, having standardised on IE8...
    http://www3.hants.gov.uk/itsch...

    On that basis, the cost of user training and admin training for non-MS systems plus the added complexity of a platform change within the organisation is going to make the TCO of future MS solutions lower than an open-source alternative, especially if they get a good discount in return for another positive case-study.

    The open source options may well be a better technical fit, once the pain of a platform migration is out of the way, though.

  2. Re:It was good they were jerks. by loshu · · Score: 1 · on UK Teachers Say Censor The Internet

    It can also be an old fashioned name.

    The phrase "Sweet fany adams" comes from a butchered girl + some sailors + a can of meat.

    http://www.hants.gov.uk/museum/curtis/fannyadams/i ndex.html

    'Fanny' is also apparently still Navy slang for a large can of meat

  3. Re:FYI by shawb · · Score: 1 · on BBC News Under The Bonnet

    And then there's the term for the place that pedestrians cross the street, usually marked with thick white lines, or the Zebra Crossing. Wow... I thought that British comedians were joking, or at least exaggerating when they made fun of the royal bureaucratic language. These Crossing give pedestrians the right of way however they must make sure that all traffic has stopped before they use the crossing. This doesn't even get into the pelican, puffin and toucan crossings.

    All this without even getting into this stuff. Try throwing some Cockney into a conversation, and you just end up with confused looks. Which I suppose is the point.

  4. Re:Lets hope the *software* is better! by gerardlt · · Score: 1 · on DARPA Grand Challenge Teams Submit Videos to DARPA

    Here's my solution to collision detection

  5. Re:Why government certified? by Squeamish+Ossifrage · · Score: 3, Insightful · on U.S. Government Certified Wireless Security Products?
    Well, I think there's a big difference between "government regulation" and "government certification." Regulation is forcing you to do (or not do) something, while a certification is just providing information. As long as the certification isn't legally mandated, this doesn't strike me as bein so big a problem: It may be wasteful or stupid, but it's not opressive.

    I tend to dislike government involvement at least as much as the next guy (which is sort of ironic, considering what I do) but this seems fairly reasonable. One thing that governments have done for a long time is establish standards (especially units of measure) and test whether products live up to their claims vis a vis those standards. I don't think it's that big a jump from certifying that a "pound" of flour really weighs a standard pound to certifying that a wireless networking hub offers the security it claims to.

  6. Re:This is some VERY cool stuff! by Fred+Ferrigno · · Score: 1 · on Robotic Mini-sub to Inspect NYC Water System

    A little bit of Googling showed that York is a city in a North Yorkshire, whereas Hampshire is a county.

    Another useless bit of information brought to you by a few seconds of boredom and Google.

  7. Accessibility and simplicity by Sir+Polymorph · · Score: 1 · on How Should Government Web Sites Be Designed?
    Hampshire County Council in the UK is a good example of a site that is designed with access in mind. It has won numerous awards for clear speech and accessibility, including the Royal National Institute for the Blind "See It Right" internet award. It has also been cited by Bill Gates as a good example of the use of internet technology in government.

    I am slightly biased, I work there.

  8. Accessibility and simplicity by Sir+Polymorph · · Score: 1 · on How Should Government Web Sites Be Designed?
    Hampshire County Council in the UK is a good example of a site that is designed with access in mind. It has won numerous awards for clear speech and accessibility, including the Royal National Institute for the Blind "See It Right" internet award. It has also been cited by Bill Gates as a good example of the use of internet technology in government.

    I am slightly biased, I work there.