[PLUG-TALK] Resolved: Rumor Control Websites

Rich Shepard rshepard at appl-ecosys.com
Wed Aug 26 13:19:21 UTC 2009


On Tue, 25 Aug 2009, Larry Williams wrote:

> The downside is that some web page developers actually look for that
> information to customize the page to suit your browser and, as necessary,
> OS. Masking those might cause more problems than it solves.

   There's a flip side to this OS recognition. A certain huge software
company continues to write its web server software to (gasp! gasp!) exclude
access by anyone who dares to not use their OSes. In the early 1980s they
would not run applications produced by others, or play nice with DOS
produced by DR or IBM. More than two decades later they've not changed.

   Last week I tried to register my company as a small business vendor for
several very large contractors operating a nearby federal government
facility. Arriving at the Web page to log in or register as a new vendor was
a dead end. Clicking on the "Register" button produced nothing. Two browers
here had the same results, and so did attempts by my colleague from his
systems.

   A telephone call revealed that the hosting system (developed and
maintained by Lockheed) will not permit access by any client host not
running this one company's software. The site's tech contact e-mailed the
forms to me so I could print, complete. scan, and send them back.

   Why sites operated by, or on behalf of, governments and funded by public
money should be access restricted ought to be asked by those in a position
to affect change.

Rich

-- 
Richard B. Shepard, Ph.D.               |  Integrity            Credibility
Applied Ecosystem Services, Inc.        |            Innovation
<http://www.appl-ecosys.com>     Voice: 503-667-4517      Fax: 503-667-8863



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