4 ms·

Looks like it's being done by http://www.smartronix.com http://www.smartronix.com Let's hope it turns out better than their site, which doesn't look that great

Looks like it's being done by http://www.smartronix.com http://www.smartronix.com Let's hope it turns out better than their site, which doesn't look that great (to me), uses Flash, doesn't validate, and doesn't degrade gracefully when JS is disabled.

prodigal_erik 17y ago
Yeah, having <A CLASS="dnn_dnnmenu_ctldnnmenu_spmitm MainMenu_MenuItem" HREF="javascript:__doPostBack('dnn$dnnMENU$ctldnnMENU','53')" STYLE="text-decoration: none;" TITLE=""> <FONT CLASS="dnn_dnnmenu_ctldnnmenu_spmbar dnn_dnnmenu_ctldnnmenu_spmitm MainMenu_MenuItem MainMenu_MenuBar" STYLE=""> ABOUT US </FONT> </A> in your portfolio really says something. But judging by "Smartronix Awarded FAA National Airspace System Modernization Program in Alaska" and "Smartronix Unveils the Rugged USB Hub", it looks like their specialty is enduring the government procurement process, not web publishing. Which doesn't make me feel any better.
jonknee 17y ago
It usually takes a large established firm with a government contract record to get a winning bid. They in turn outsource parts to contractors (with preference to minority and veteran owned firms). They are most likely just the project coordinators.
- gojomo 17y ago
  And each level of indirection increases the quality of the ultimate delivery?
  - omouse 17y ago
    Makes it easier to deal with that large amount of data there is. As long as the overall objective is clear ("enhance government transparency with structured public data") then it's not a huge problem to sub-contract it. It's not indirection, it's delegation. A single company cannot handle all the political departments and regional divisions on its own.
  - jonknee 17y ago
    None of the subcontractors could do the job themselves, so having one firm manage the contract may be fairly efficient. Much easier than sending out RFPs for 20 different tasks on the same project and then having to get them to all work together nicely.
- imajes 17y ago
  Right. this time around, Smartronix are working with one of the firms who spoke to the Sunlight Foundation about doing the 'right thing' - talk to #transparency on freenode and @cjoh on twitter. I think there's lots of reasons to believe this project might work, and it's seen as being fairly cheap- the rest of the bids were in the 50-60MM range.

prodigal_erik 17y ago

Yeah, having <A CLASS="dnn_dnnmenu_ctldnnmenu_spmitm MainMenu_MenuItem" HREF="javascript:__doPostBack('dnn$dnnMENU$ctldnnMENU','53')" STYLE="text-decoration: none;" TITLE=""> <FONT CLASS="dnn_dnnmenu_ctldnnmenu_spmbar dnn_dnnmenu_ctldnnmenu_spmitm MainMenu_MenuItem MainMenu_MenuBar" STYLE=""> ABOUT US </FONT> </A> in your portfolio really says something. But judging by "Smartronix Awarded FAA National Airspace System Modernization Program in Alaska" and "Smartronix Unveils the Rugged USB Hub", it looks like their specialty is enduring the government procurement process, not web publishing. Which doesn't make me feel any better.

jonknee 17y ago

It usually takes a large established firm with a government contract record to get a winning bid. They in turn outsource parts to contractors (with preference to minority and veteran owned firms). They are most likely just the project coordinators.

gojomo 17y ago
And each level of indirection increases the quality of the ultimate delivery?
- omouse 17y ago
  Makes it easier to deal with that large amount of data there is. As long as the overall objective is clear ("enhance government transparency with structured public data") then it's not a huge problem to sub-contract it. It's not indirection, it's delegation. A single company cannot handle all the political departments and regional divisions on its own.
- jonknee 17y ago
  None of the subcontractors could do the job themselves, so having one firm manage the contract may be fairly efficient. Much easier than sending out RFPs for 20 different tasks on the same project and then having to get them to all work together nicely.
imajes 17y ago
Right. this time around, Smartronix are working with one of the firms who spoke to the Sunlight Foundation about doing the 'right thing' - talk to #transparency on freenode and @cjoh on twitter. I think there's lots of reasons to believe this project might work, and it's seen as being fairly cheap- the rest of the bids were in the 50-60MM range.