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UK city to give councillors iPads

MacHiavelli

MacHiavelli

macrumors 65816
Original poster
May 17, 2007
1,257
942
new york
http://technologme.com/council-plans-to-spend-40000-on-ipads/2280/

“Leicester City Council is preparing to issue all 54 councillors with the Apple tablet computers from next May.

Labour councillor Sarah Russell, who is awaiting delivery of the highest-spec 64 gigabyte model, said: ”We’re trying out the iPad to see whether it improves the way we work as councillors. If it does, and it can replace costly printing, then the council could potentially save £90,000 each year. I have a laptop but it is quite heavy, meaning it is awkward to take to several meetings in a day”
 
I suppose it might cut down on IT repair costs, what with them running ancient XP machines. I live near Leicester!
 
Oh joy. More money wasted, of course this is gonna strengthen the UK economy. Even if they have iPads they'll still have to print. So they won't save anything. Stupid government lol.
 
nice to see they properly analysed their requirements - I also NEED a 64G 3G for taking note and email......

typical.....

£37,800 for 54 of them vrs the 16G wifi at £23,166!
 
I think they should get it themselves if they want the top-of-the-line version.
 
I think it's a great idea. They won't need to print as they can just read the stuff they would normally print straight off the screen. Rather than carry it with them as they wouldn't normally take their laptop with them. I use mine almost exclusively for work now, even though I bought it for myself. It's an awesome productivity tool.

And to the person who compared the costs of the 64GB 3G to 16GB wifi. Please.. 16GB is NOTHING, when you are working. I have, since i got it in may, almost filled my 64GB 3G with work documents, spreadsheets, pdf's, etc etc and have had to remove apps so I don't fill up. And the 3G so they can use it for e-mail etc is invaluable. It's also pretty handy as if they leave one on the train, their IT admin can remote wipe it from Exchange.

Think, before you pontificate..
 
doobry said:
I think it's a great idea. They won't need to print as they can just read the stuff they would normally print straight off the screen. Rather than carry it with them as they wouldn't normally take their laptop with them. I use mine almost exclusively for work now, even though I bought it for myself. It's an awesome productivity tool.
Click to expand...

Certainly. And I think the maintenance costs would go right down, with them being simpler and all that. Less training costs as well. But the Government's supposed to be cutting costs, not creating more :(

dooby said:
It's also pretty handy as if they leave one on the train, their IT admin can remote wipe it from Exchange.
Click to expand...

Oh, definitely. It would save important tax stuff getting leaked again, like it has a few times fairly recently...
 
Would there be such an outcry if the article had phrased it as

"Leicstershire council reduces IT costs by £20-40k by purchasing councilors iPads".....

It's just tabloid nonsense looking to make a story when there really isn't one. If it wasn't iPads, the council would be purchasing laptops so what's the big deal?



Move along, nothing to see here....
 
Hello, MRForums :) - Long time lurker, new poster.

On to business...

I'm a bit apprehensive of this as a use of taxpayers' money to be honest. I spent a number of years in local government running a project akin to this (laptops for councillors) and was disappointed by the real uptake/usage.

While there were a few who did endeavour to make use of the systems as intended (credit where it's due), this really just felt as if the councillors were being given 'free kit'. In a lot of cases, the laptops supplied went promptly to their kids for them to use, and never saw the light of day in a council meeting. Printed material was still being generated at a considerable volume, alongside the ongoing management and development of the solution.

While, to be fair, the uptake did improve after a number of years at the project (due in part to an ultimatum of use it or lose it) in real terms, considering the time and effort spent in development and support (and associated hardware costs) it never really yielded a tangible benefit to the electorate. While expected savings of £20-40k sound great the reality is that it's very *very* difficult to see these savings materialise. Been there, done that, didn't want the tee-shirt.

Furthemore - opting for the TOTL 3G models really does underline the 'free junkets' approach that the councillors seem to favour, why not go for baseline and use the wireless in the chamber?

Good luck to them, though.
 
OK, this is silly season tabloid fodder, but it's compounded by the same council announcing they're going to cut up to 1,000 jobs to save money.
 
I think it's a great idea that will take a little while to catch on. If it were me, it's a no brainer. But, for the tech-skeptics out there, a little push might be needed. Perhaps they also need to institute a paper budget to limit the frivolous printing? Why do they need hard copies of legislation, regulations, etc?

PDF is a lot cheaper and you can do the same thing in iBooks as on a hardcopy (highlight, bookmark, take notes, etc) except ball it up into paper and throw it at someone to make your point :)

Security could be an issue, but really, what's the difference between leaving your iPad on the train and leaving your briefcase on the train? Oh yeah, you can remotely wipe your iPad.
 
BigDavey said:
Furthemore - opting for the TOTL 3G models really does underline the 'free junkets' approach that the councillors seem to favour, why not go for baseline and use the wireless in the chamber?

Good luck to them, though.
Click to expand...

because, if they leave it on the train, they can't wipe it until whoever finds it walks past somewhere they have in their wireless history before they sell it to the papers or worse.. With 3G it's wiped within a minute of the clown who lost it realising what he/she has done..

Think of it as added security.

Also, without 3g, you can't work on the train, in the pub, in the car in a traffic jam*, etc etc etc.

*all places I've found myself working on mine..
 
doobry said:
Also, without 3g, you can't work on the train, in the pub, in the car in a traffic jam*, etc etc etc.
Click to expand...

These people are councillors, not merchant bankers or consultant surgeons. Why would they need a 3G connection to fill in their expenses claims wherever they happen to be?
 
testcard said:
These people are councillors, not merchant bankers or consultant surgeons. Why would they need a 3G connection to fill in their expenses claims wherever they happen to be?
Click to expand...

Perhaps it would be good first to know how they actually work. For all we know, they may actually have a valid use case for the iPad (or they may not). Without actually understanding how the iPad is going to help them do their job, I find it challenging to understand all the negative sentiment.
 
You would probably find the negative sentiment less "challenging" if you lived in Leicestershire (as I do) and paid an extortionate Council Tax (local amenities tax) to keep these idiots in a job.
 
I work for the NHS and have bought my own for use at home and at work. There is no way in the current climate that I would have it paid for by the NHS. Most councillors could afford to buy their own out of their generous expense allowances. Talk about shooting yourself in the foot! I'm sure this is more about feeding their bloated egos that making the best use of council tax payers money.
 
freelander said:
I work for the NHS and have bought my own for use at home and at work. There is no way in the current climate that I would have it paid for by the NHS. Most councillors could afford to buy their own out of their generous expense allowances. Talk about shooting yourself in the foot! I'm sure this is more about feeding their bloated egos that making the best use of council tax payers money.
Click to expand...

Totally agree. If Leicester Council told me they had around £40,000 in loose change sitting in their bank account and could spend it on hiring a couple of nurses for a local hospital or buying iPads for their Councillors I know which option would get my vote.
 
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