TSA Radomizer costs mega bucks to create

Ways that our tax dollars are spent for good (really?) and for bad.
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Commander
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#1 TSA Radomizer costs mega bucks to create

Post by Commander »

I remember back in the good old days of the TRaSh 80 computers when I was in school, learning how to create a random number from 1-6 to simulate a die roll. Later in life, I created a program for all the die rolls needed for AD&D character creation to help speed things. In the chat rooms of the late nineties, some games were played using random number generators. It was simple fun.

Fast forward to 2016. Our government has paid an estimated $336,000± to create an iPad app to randomly point an arrow to the left or right. That's right folks, left or right. not even a 2d4 (2-8) or 3d6 (3-18). Either an arrow to go left, or right.
Watch it in action https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_KmFJ2gGzw.

Geek.com reports that the total project cost was $1.4 million, but that number includes hardware (the ipads) and training. read rest of he story here http://www.geek.com/apps/tsa-paid-1-4-m ... t-1651337/.

If you're really into geekdom, you can watch an youtube video of a programmer write a similar app in less than 10 minutes, here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6GEpqmPL3bg. This programmer suggests that at his pay scale of $100 an hour, that the work to create the app was around $10.
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luke strawwalker
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#2 Re: TSA Radomizer costs mega bucks to create

Post by luke strawwalker »

Sounds like a typical gubmint operation. I want my tax dollars back.

Course it was probably some Congresscritter's BIL that did the programming and got the contract.

Methinks this is probably the modern day equivalent of "$500 toilet seats". IOW, money to pay for the alien spaceport at Area 51...

Later! OL J R :)
My MUNIFICENCE is BOUNDLESS, Mr. Bond...
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