Yes, indeed, VOTE. But, shall we take odds on the number of problems that will occur? :-) Many states are using new computerized systems. If these actually work in most cases, it will be a huge triumph for Information Technology. Back in 2000 I tried to get a discussion going about what an awful job IT did in letting states linger with 1970s punch-card technology. There were some general lessons to be learned there about the need to get rid of legacy technologies, etc.. But people thought I wanted to start a political discussion and refused to have a "best practices" discussion. I was bummed. ;-) But that's OK. It wasn't really Cisco-focused.
But what do we know about these new computerized touch-screen systems? I heard that they were paperless. So is the data going to be transmited to a server somewhere? Are the devices connected via wireless or wired? Is there a Cisco switch? A router? How does the data get to the state authorities? How was the new system tested? What are the security issues, not to mention the reliability issues? Does it scare anyone else that we don't know anything about these systems? Shouldn't something about them be published? Did they go through a code reivew by experts in programming and security? Accoring to this article, Theresa LePore, the Queen of Chad, Supervisor of Elections in Palm Beach County, Florida, signed an agreement with Sequoia Voting Systems, the makers of Florida's new system, to protect their "trade secrets," which effectively prohibits any party contesting an election from examining the machine or its programming. Scary. http://www.commondreams.org/views02/0805-07.htm Then again, maybe everything will go smoothly. If it does, it's a great credit to the programmers and network administrators who made it work and troubleshooted problems that happened in real-time. _______________________________ Priscilla Oppenheimer www.troubleshootingnetworks.com www.priscilla.com The Long and Winding Road wrote: > > For those United States residents, Tuesday is election day. No > politics > here. No flames here. You have a right and a privilege that is > rare in > today's world. Please take the appropriate amount of time to > get to your > polling place and exercise the right that many have fought and > died for. > Your vote DOES count. > > -- > > www.chuckslongroad.info > > Message Posted at: http://www.groupstudy.com/form/read.php?f=7&i=56867&t=56758 -------------------------------------------------- FAQ, list archives, and subscription info: http://www.groupstudy.com/list/cisco.html Report misconduct and Nondisclosure violations to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
