Microsoft Sinks Teeth Into New Orleans

An anonymous reader writes: "The New Orleans Times-Picayune is reporting that Mayor Nagin is considering letting Microsoft upgrade the city's computers free of charge. The catch? New Orleans eventually has to buy the software and Microsoft gets to use the city as a marketing model to push this on the rest of the country." According to the article, a similar system Microsoft developed for Oklahoma "is expected to expand into accident reporting, video arraignment and automated pawn-shop-ticket tracking." So don't worry about privacy -- it's all taken care of. Open bidding's taken care of too: "Because these services are considered a gift, the city won't have to publicly bid the project." Sounds like dirty pool to me.

Comments

Why New Orleans is doing this

[localroger]

Much as I hate Microsoft, I have to admit this is a smart move on Nagin's part. What the linked article fails to point out is the nature of the system Microsoft is replacing -- an antediluvian mainframe system whose contractor has kept getting the nod because of entrenched patronage since, literally, the days when Elvis was alive. It doesn't mention the death threats (!) which members of the Nagin administration received when they started inquiring about the computer contract.

Basically, Nagin got elected on a platform of cleaning up the corruption and he'd sign a contract with the Devil himself to get rid of the current scumbags. Wait, he actually did just do that. Well, I for one can't blame him under the circumstances.