Tech Search

Patrick Matthews,

Defense Department,

Silver Spring

As a government worker who returned to the federal... workforce four years ago and a long-practicing architect, I find the federal government has the most modern and updated equipment and software.

But the federal workforce lacks the training and abilities to use this equipment and software anywhere near its potential. I have seen expensive plotter equipment worth thousands of dollars unused because there was no real use in the first place. Most architect/engineer firms outsource their print work to print houses or subcontractors in order to bill the customer for the service. The federal government buys equipment they neither need nor know how to operate efficiently.

William Hess

Navy Department, Annapolis

My laptop isn't the issue, it's the software we run: WinXP, IE6, Office2003, etc.

Or, perhaps more important, it's the software we are not allowed to run. That would be anything that hasn't proven itself to have even a hint of vulnerability over the past five years. New in 2006? Too new for us, yet.

Wait another year or two. Then we'll be safe, right? Web 2.0? Fuggetaboutit.

Somewhere along the way, the computer security people failed to balance risk against the possible harm of a hacker giving the agency a bad name. Nor does leadership want the opportunity to show up on the front page of The Post, hence the disinclination to take risk that might ruin their careers. Can't blame them.

On top of that, we are not permitted to bring a personal cell to the office if it has a camera on it. Really? Have you tried to find one of those? Why is that? Security, of course.

Somewhere along the way, the security people forget that they grant security clearances to those people it trust. And, if I do not have a clearance, I'm not supposed to even see classified data, yet alone take pictures of it, right? That leaves me unable to stay connected to friends and family like the rest of the world. Is this a formula for happy employees?