So Obama and his team are beginning to get settled into their offices… if they could find them, meeting staffers for the first time, looking for the bathroom and the powder room, signing forms and paperwork… kinda like the first day of school all over again. While doing my daily news-scanning, I ran across a few interesting articles that had me scratching my head in various degrees.
Washington Post — Staff Finds White House in the Technological Dark Ages
From the Washington Post
This is one of the first challenges that they’ll have to face.
No Macs anywhere, just computers outfitted with six-year-old versions of Microsoft software. Laptops are scarce and assigned to only a select few. No instant messaging, no cellphones for some, definitely no BlackBerrys… no Facebook, no Twitter, no Flickr, no… anything remotely modernised and Web 2.0 related?
The White House?
C’mon!!! How’re they going to function?
The White House is a beuraucracy all within itself. It practically runs itself, and is apparently very resistant to change. According to the article, “The White House itself is an institution that transitions regardless of who the president is. The White House is not starting from scratch. Processes are already in place.” Sheesh!!!
In other words, as far as the Oval Office is concerned, all your base are belong to us, Mr. President. 
At least they still let you use a BlackBerry!
For a country that’s one of the more advanced on the planet, you know this is one of the things at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue that has to change!
“Change” leads me to the second thing that had me holding my head… with laughter, though!
From the Big Picture
Seriously though, they have a mountain of debt to climb. With over 10 TRILLION dollars in debt, they’ll need all the help they can get!
Help… hmm… so who’s volunteering?
Well, DARPA is! Don’t know who they are? Well, if it weren’t for them, you and I wouldn’t be having this conversation now! 
They’re the ones responsible for designing and implementing what we’ve come to know as the Internet, waaaay back in the 1960’s. Now they want to help stimulate the American economy… which I hope will eventually ‘trickle down’ to the rest of us!
A top DARPA official wrote an ‘open letter’ to Obama… here’s an article from The Register (one of my favourite tech sites) that talks about it:
DARPA Fix! - El Reg.
I say give them a go. They’ve done great work thus far, and if anything, it’ll be a shot in the arm for the US scientific community.
I wonder though. What will they conjure up?
Will it be anything like this?
"Samtron Imperius" - Sinfest Web Comic
For our sakes, I really do hope the new Sheriff in town finds that “Change” button, and pushes it quickly.
The whole world is waiting for it!
Peace and Rice,
jw
Hahaha… All your base are belong to us. Classic.
It’s weird, after the inauguration I was expecting a massive sweeping reform that was going to save the planet, but so far the only thing that’s happened is a quiet settling in.
So let’s hope the “change” button gets punched asap.
Well, elitekitty… things take time, I guess. I realise that they’ll need to get acclimatised to the way things are now, if they really want to make their improvements worthy, worthwhile and lasting. Change for change sakes does no one any good!
That being said, I know that they’ll be bouncing up several more “Samtrons” as time goes by. If the White House is in the state that its in, and its supposed to be and have “the best of the best”, then, heaven help all the rest!
Thanks for commenting!