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The new president-elect for the U.S. isn't even in office yet and he is already wrapped in scandal. Fortunately we can live with this one as it had to do with whether he carried a Zune or an iPod, but given some were calling this -- and I'm not kidding -- "Zunegate," I thought the event was interesting. But it did showcase how closely we are watching the guy and probably did more for Zune, significantly more, than every penny Microsoft has spent marketing the platform.
A Naive View of Government Procurement
Posted by: Hugmup 2008-12-19 05:03:26 In reply to: Rob Enderle
This article reflects a naive view of government procurement. The government has several different methods of purchasing things. In the case of a Blanket Purchasing Agreement or a GSA Schedule contract, the terms, conditions, and prices are pre-negotiated. Agencies can purchase things on these contracts by making a desktop comparison of three vendors and by justifying their choice. That justification has to be good, but it doesn't have to be based on price. Then for very large procurements, there are Invitations for Bids, in which the award is based solely on price. This only works with commodities that are identical regardless of the source. Finally, there are Request for Proposals, in which the bidder has to write a technical proposal with pricing. The evaluation criteria are revealed to the bidders in advance and consist of a combination of factors, including price and features: say, uptime, physical size, and proposed user training. This procurement vehicle is designed to prevent the government from getting cheap crap.
Occasionally the system doesn't work, but, cynicism aside, most of the time it does. This is why intelligence agencies and the US Army have a lot of Macs, and it is why the Army's main web site (www.army.mil) runs on OS X servers. Check it in Netcraft.
Apple is in the enterprise (Axel Springer Verlag and Google are the largest customers) and in government (such as the US Army). Apple just doesn't crow about it.
Occasionally the system doesn't work, but, cynicism aside, most of the time it does. This is why intelligence agencies and the US Army have a lot of Macs, and it is why the Army's main web site (www.army.mil) runs on OS X servers. Check it in Netcraft.
Apple is in the enterprise (Axel Springer Verlag and Google are the largest customers) and in government (such as the US Army). Apple just doesn't crow about it.
"Obama strikes me as a function over form guy..."
If you really believe that, I feel safe in completely ignoring anything you say from now on, Mr. Zune-derle.
The election of Barack Obama is the ULTIMATE triumph of form over function. For proof, look no further than the designer logo for "The Office of the President-Elect," which is a creation of his graphics department, not an actual government entity.
The President-Elect's politics -- the ones that anyone has been able to pin him down on -- are thoroughly conventional big-government liberal. His appointments so far suggest that his administration will be characterized by "change" that consists of going back about eight years.
Obama is the Mac Cube of politics: "It's pretty...but what does it do? And why does it cost so much?"
If you really believe that, I feel safe in completely ignoring anything you say from now on, Mr. Zune-derle.
The election of Barack Obama is the ULTIMATE triumph of form over function. For proof, look no further than the designer logo for "The Office of the President-Elect," which is a creation of his graphics department, not an actual government entity.
The President-Elect's politics -- the ones that anyone has been able to pin him down on -- are thoroughly conventional big-government liberal. His appointments so far suggest that his administration will be characterized by "change" that consists of going back about eight years.
Obama is the Mac Cube of politics: "It's pretty...but what does it do? And why does it cost so much?"
