I had thought the original value absurd and wondered how it could have made it into print. It is comparable to the annual revenues of Northrop Grumman.

While I was tracking down this information I ultimately noticed it was corrected in a text box at the top of the original article here: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/12/AR2006021200942_2.html

More to the topic at hand, I think the concerns are valid but exaggerated. The bulk of the funds most likely go to local governments and outside this noted “scientists and researchers” group. However, I couldn’t find any clear, simple breakdown of the grants managed at grants.gov.

The problem does seem to have some validity and ought to have been readily avoidable. Grants.gov is also a work-in-progress with only a (rapidly increasing) portion of the grants programs and process covered to date.

While a work-around solution has been provided it appears inadequate. So despite my criticism of the (IMHO alarmist) press I would hope an open process which is platform neutral will evolve.

Simple – take for example a bio-genetics algorithm engine – why would I, as a company, build it for MacOS when the requests are all for the Wintel platform or even Linux (for the past decade).

Which database is build so robust for the Mac platform that offers interoperability with mainframes as well as run of the mill PC applications. Linux yes…

I would prefer working on my business rather than trying to figure out all the crap it would take it get everything figured out on the Mac. First show me the apps – then ask me the money!!

Any Mac developers writing drug discovery apps?

In today’s IT Blogwatch, we look at 3GSM World Congress in Barcelona. Not to mention a question of love …

It used to be on the numbers of people who were working for you. If you were a GS 15, and had 250 folk in your division, you received a very nice bonus, and you were at the top of the CS pay scale unless tou were a Supergrade.

Now, the Microsoft pushers walk in, and show the GS 9-10-11 people just how to develop Web Pages that only respond to Internet Explorer, using Microsoft software to develop the web sites.

After All, NOBODY ever got fired by recommending Microsoft.

Now, IMHO, the crux of this problem is that IBM bought out the little Windows-only software development company that was producing the panes for this application.

Come On!! What in the hell are you to expect when Apple threw away IBM’s chips and went for Intel?

The problem still lies in the fact that the Government IT weenies are still under the control of Redmond.

It’s been Microsoft’s stated desire, for years, to establish their own “standards” for the Internet so that others must buy into Windows XXX, IE xxx, and their offspring in order to business on the ‘Net.

Governments are truely angelic ;-), the right hand totally ignore what the left does…

Actually, the IBM acquisition of PureEdue is probably the best news for Mac compatibility. Grants.gov is committed to having a cross platform/native Mac solution by November 2006, as is IBM, and this is what has been planned all along.

IBM provides Mac versions of many of its enterprise products, such as Tivoli Storage Manager, and these issues have literally nothing at all to do with the Intel transition. I’m actually quite astounded people have been bringing it up.

In any event, as has been noted above, the University of Wisconsin has released a standalone package for using Grants.gov on Mac OS X as a service to the community. The package uses Citrix client software and a special settings file to access the central Citrix server provided by Grants.gov, allowing users to access and use the PureEdge software via the remote Windows machine running Citrix server software:

http://apple.doit.wisc.edu/grants.gov/

Regards,

Dave Schroeder das@doit.wisc.edu http://das.doit.wisc.edu/

After IBM “bought the company” the promise made by PureEdge was “called into question”, the story says. Apple migrates to Intel chips. Inquiring minds want to know!