Unisys Gets DHS Contract Worth Up to $750 million 119
feamsr00 writes "In an affirmation of its business relationship with Unisys Corp., the Department of Homeland Security awarded the Blue Bell firm a "bridge" contract worth up to $750 million.
Some controversy erupted in the fall after it was reported that the government was auditing a Unisys contract because the company had possibly overbilled the Transportation Security Administration by as much as 171,000 hours of labor and overtime. TSA is a division of the Homeland Security department.
Unisys is also to upgrade the Department of Homeland Security's headquarters facility in Washington."
Thank God for the Government's Incompetence ... (Score:3, Funny)
wink wink nudge nudge (Score:2, Interesting)
It's not a bug, it's a feature (Score:2)
pardon me? (Score:5, Interesting)
Man I wish I was in security right now.
I just find it amazing how security experts are getting paid such big bucks yet according to recent audits show they arent really making things all that much safer.
Re:pardon me? (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:pardon me? (Score:2)
Reminds me of the BASF commercial. "we don't make the things, we make them better.."
Being that they can't make things much safer, I would guess that is all they have to do.
Now remind me the job of the press? Here are the current "headlines" on CNN. I could not make this up.
National
Abramoff pleads guilty in casino case
Unable to produce visa, teen is jailed
Police: Pups get si
Re:pardon me? (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:pardon me? (Score:1)
Well, D'oh. They really can't you know?
The only real, practical affect they can have is to put as at considerably more danger from them.
Now be a good boy, take off your shoes, drop your pants and spread your checks, for your own safety.
KFG
Re:pardon me?-Money Bags. (Score:1)
KFG
Re:pardon me? (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:pardon me? (Score:4, Interesting)
that's great. (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:that's great. (Score:5, Funny)
I mean, atleast, if its anything like TV.
Re:that's great. (Score:3, Interesting)
None of this was necesssary in the least. They could have operated without an ops center and with a projector in the conference room. In fact Ops wasn't used on a reg
Re:that's great. (Score:2)
Isn't that the sort of crap Enron did?
I worked in an Ops Center for a traffic control center... they had huge plasma screens to watch their soap operas. Stunning...
Re:that's great. (Score:2)
Sadly, it's not just television.
One of our labs now has multiple plasmas that were purchased so the operators could "view activity of several machines simultaneously". Nevermind that the resolution of the plasmas allows only for the at-a-glance viewing of three or four machines and have to be zoomed to a specific box for actual study (still, at an unacceptable resolution). More importantly, ignore that the same amount of money burned on the plasmas and switchboxes c
Re:that's great. (Score:3, Informative)
Re:that's great. (Score:2)
-h-
A more corrupt version of IBM (Score:2)
Does Unisys actually make any innovative products or provide useful services, or do they just drain money from corporations and governments run by foolish PHBs (Pointy Haired (Bosses || Bureaucrats))?
Re:A more corrupt version of IBM (Score:1, Funny)
Re:A more corrupt version of IBM (Score:5, Insightful)
Their Clearpath (mainframe) servers are nice, IMO. (Score:3)
Re:Their Clearpath (mainframe) servers are nice, I (Score:1)
Re:Their Clearpath (mainframe) servers are nice, I (Score:2)
Picture #1 [unisys.com]
Picture #2 [unisys.se]
Clearpath Home Page [unisys.com]
Clearpath Dorado OS2200 Home [unisys.com]
Clearpath Dorado Specification Sheets [unisys.com]
Sample Spec Sheet [unisys.com]
Clearpath Libra MCP Home Page [unisys.com]
Clearpath Libra Specification Sheets [unisys.com]
Sample Spec Sheet [unisys.com]
Not much relationship to Dell boxes, I'm afraid.
Re:Their Clearpath (mainframe) servers are nice, I (Score:1)
http://www.unisys.com/products/clearpath__servers
Re:Their Clearpath (mainframe) servers are nice, I (Score:2)
Clearpath server sizes (69" tall, 1200 pounds). (Score:2)
The largest Clearpath Libra on the first spec sheet (running a mixure of MCP and x86 processors) is 69" tall, 43" deep, 27" wide, and 1160 lbs.
Such CMOS mainframes are smaller than their predecesors, but they aren't desktop boxes.
I'm curious what you've seen? Some sort of MCP emulator?
I work for Unisys.... (Score:4, Interesting)
Reading a story about 'us' overbilling, generally being corrupt is a bit of a non event. Breaks my fucking heart to see some of the shit that goes on with middle and upper management, coming into the office every day means giving up a bit (read: a lot) of self respect, unfortunately I've got bills to pay
Re:I work for Unisys.... (Score:4, Interesting)
I work for Unisys, they're a pack of assholes. We sell expensive services to PHB's and effectively do very little. Front line workers are treated like imbeciles, customers are milked more than I thought could have been possible.
Management is little short of insulting, the day I recieved training manuals on "How to ensure you're not dealing with a terrorist organisation", was the day I started looking elsewhere for income. A company like this wasting money feeding the ol' terror machine is something I just don't want to be a part of anymore.
A lot of the time a problem arises, there's more discussion on how to avoid fixing it, or making it an "out of scope" issue than there is discussion on how to fix the problem and avoid it in the future.
Believe what you like, but maybe somebody will read this and look elsewhere for an outsourcing solution, maybe they won't. Clearly that won't have any impact on you.
Re:I work for Unisys.... (Score:1, Interesting)
DHS Windows upgrade (Score:5, Funny)
WMF patch rollout Tuesday.
Re:DHS Windows upgrade (Score:2)
WMF patch rollout Tuesday.
But it's Unisys. Shouldn't that be a GIF lawsuit rollout Tuesday?
Unisys! Ah, the memories.... (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Unisys! Ah, the memories.... (Score:2)
That might even be the American Way, but if so, that mere fact isn't enough to make me endorse it.
Re:Unisys! Ah, the memories.... (Score:2)
CompuServe simply dropped the ball by using LZW compression in their GIF image specification.
Unisys acted like a bunch of jerks after the fact, but they didn't start the fire. CIS did.
Some supporting information [cloanto.com]
Disclaimer: I worked for Unisys for 4.5 years in the late 80's and early 90's, and I also knew a number of friends and acquaintances who
Unisys custom edition (Score:1)
Uni baby, build some machines for the country; you see,
We've got some awful PCs
Uni baby, and deploy down the office tonight
Uni baby, an out-of-space USB drive too, light blue
I'll wait up for you dear
Uni baby, and...
--oh, fuck it... help?!? I don't even know (or care--they patented GIFs, so I don't like 'em so much) if Unisys does what my remix says they do, and it sounds like crap anyhow. I see why you stuck to the basics.
I wonder (Score:5, Funny)
Does this "bridge" contract involve the sale of a bridge somewhere in New York City to someone?
bleh (Score:2)
(I might think about the GIF Bronx Expressway though, if it reduces the traffic.)
Hell of an ROI (Score:2, Insightful)
http://www.opensecrets.org/softmoney/softcomp1.as
Cronyism is the end result of democracy (Score:4, Insightful)
Here's the root of the problem: abuse of Constitutional authorized power combined with what is NOT voter apathy but citizen time value. A billion dollars is only $1 per day per citizen: you and I are not going to fight tooth and nail to get rid of a billion dollar contract. Yet a small group of 5 CxO's from Unisys will. Money is not the problem, the corrupt political structure of the federal government is.
Voting is not going to change the structure: those 5 CxO's will happily work with whoever is in power. We've already given UP those powers, there is no taken them back.
If you want to see changes, do it with your life as I did. Take your money out of the stock market and 401Ks and put it into your own business or local businesses you have control of (and actually profit from!). Take your money out of the bank and pay off all your debt -- whatever is left over is perfectly safe in gold or silver. Talk to your employer and see if you can become a contractor and find ways to write-off as much as possible under the tax code. Don't take loans, don't have a credit card, don't be concerned with social security and medicare. You can do it on your own, and you can stop supporting the monsters in office.
Unisys is not the bad guy here: they are taking advantage of the system the voters put in place.
Re:Cronyism is the end result of democracy (Score:1, Funny)
In the same sense that the guy putting a brick through your window and robbing you blind isn't the bad guy, he's just taking advantage of your inadequate security measures.
Don't kid yourself sir, Unisys, the guys who cut my paycheque every month, are indeed a bunch of bad guys.
Re:Cronyism is the end result of democracy (Score:2)
Re:Cronyism is the end result of democracy (Score:1)
And learn some skills that allow you to care of yourself. Spinning, weaving and knitting are a good start and rather meditative.
KFG
Idiot (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Idiot (Score:4, Interesting)
Correct. True wealth without initiating force against anyone else.
not having investments for your future beyond retirement is idiotic.
I have investments and I recommend everyone invest in their own businesses or the businesses of those they know and trust. My investments make between 20% and 50% a year on average -- as a profit payment (dividend). I still have growing equity above and beyond.
If you don't trust stocks, invest your 401k's in bonds (and lose out on returns... but have the warm fuzzies knowing you didn't take a risk).
Bonds have never kept up with the true cost of living increase. Prices go up because of currency inflation by the central banks -- in a free market prices go down because the money supply is fixed. I would never invest in bonds, they're the true suckers' investment.
I have my finances worked out such that I will be able to retire early and live off the interest, minus inflation - leaving an estate to donate as I see fit and money to pass on to my children when I feel they are ready upon my death.
If you trust the government to keep the dollar solid. I don't. If I'm wrong, the worst that happens is what? My gold is worthless? I don't see that happening, as gold has been relatively stable for thousands of years. If you're wrong, what can happen? Massive debt, worthless stocks and no savings.
I profited well off of my 401k's and stocks. The lifetime trend of the stock market is about 9% a year.
No, you don't. You profit off of buying a stock at a sucker's price, never earning a dividend (which is true profit of the company) and hoping you can sell it off to some sucker at a higher sucker's price. Even factoring in the money you're "profiting" in, you're barely keeping up with true consumer inflation! 9% annually? The Federal Reserve is currently printing 10-15% inflationary dollars annually, which will eventually cause prices to rise by that figure once the dollars return to the common market. My investments in local businesses offer me a TRUE profit plus the increase in share prices. Your investments offer you no dividend, right?
You can't do much better than that. Small companies are hit and miss. Hit and do a lot better, miss and lose it all. (Not to mention harder to get your money out if an emergency comes up)
I lose on 1 out of 10 companies, usually my entire investment. On the 9 out of 10 that don't fail, I make 20-50% annually. I double my money as a profit in 2-4 years, and I still own the company. Even factoring in the 100% loss on the failed investments, I double my money in approximately 5.5 years and I still retain control. Anyone can do this, and it doesn't require a stock broker who is making money on you if you win or if you lose.
On top of all that, the stock market is experiencing what the Austrians have been talking about for 2 decades: an increased valuation due to the easy credit and currency counterfeiting of the central bank. Greenspan prints new money and sends it out at 1-4% interest. The lemmings get this money as increased wages and easy loans. The lemming sees this money at 4% can make him 9% in the market, so he invests there. Millions of other lemmings do the same, causing a supply shortage based on the increased demand that the Federal Reserve created -- causing the stock prices to go up. Artificial price increase.
Then the market crashes, so the Board drops interest rates lower and counterfeits more new money (legally). This gives the lemmings even more money at a lower interest rate, and what do they see now? Houses are going up 10% annually! Said lemmings then invest in the housing markets, hoping to be the "flip it!" millionaire by 40. Except houses are depreciating assets, just like cars and clothes and food. Houses need maintenance, new houses replace old ones -- houses go down in price in a free market. Why did our hous
Re:Idiot (Score:2)
> Federal manipulation of currency inflation and interest rates makes dollar savings worthless.
> Savings of any form in the US dollar will get you exactly that. No worth.
While I'd say your investment in gold is a bit risky - it seems like gold-prices have been rising continously for almost 6 years now (http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000081&s id=au0kxz2v7Sm8 [bloomberg.com]), but gold can de-valuate quickly and then nobody wants to buy it - I'd also
Re:Idiot (Score:2)
If you want an investment that's been around for a while, try the trio of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. That's been a good investment every since life began.
Re:Idiot (Score:1)
Re:Idiot (Score:2)
Re:Idiot (Score:2)
Re:Idiot (Score:1)
Reading your makes me feel like I am at some sort of Dale Carnegie training class. This post is about the wonders (and ridiculousness) of Unisys and government contracts, if you please...
Re:Idiot (Score:2)
Greenspan prints new money and sends it out at 1-4% interest. The lemmings get this money as increased wages and easy loans. The lemming sees this money at 4% can make him 9% in the market, so he invests there. Millions of other lemmings do
What Financial Advice!! (Score:2)
Re:What Financial Advice!! (Score:2)
Wow... not that the Bass Brothers aren't noteworthy.... according to UTWatch [utwatch.org], the Bass Brothers are notorious for their lengthy ties to Bush Sr and GW Bush, attempts to whiten up the Yale classics curriculum, and for (!) adding alcohol and tobacco ads to state park flyers. Oh, and their bankrolling Harken at a key moment in GBush Sr's involvement there,
Re:What Financial Advice!! (Score:2)
For me, metal pr
Re:What Financial Advice!! (Score:2)
http://goldmoney.com/en/charts/usd120.png [goldmoney.com]
Re:Idiot (Score:3, Interesting)
You can invest internationally on a 401k. Its called diversification. My 401k did better than 9% and I sleep very well at night. Some of my funds did 40+% last year.
Sure, if you want to earn $15-$25 per hour. Ev
Re:Idiot (Score:2)
That's great. Considering the annual rate of currency devaluation by all the central banks, 40% is a great profit. Hope it stays that way, especially with fuel and energy costs skyrocketing again.
Which is money in the bank cause when my son gets sick I take him to the hospital without thinking twice. $20 copay? Who cares.
It is thinking like this that makes medical bills so high and insurance premiums so high. Insurance was meant for emeregencies, not to pay your docto
Re:Idiot (Score:2)
you dont invest in currency!!!! you invest in companies. the STOCK market. Small cap. Large cap. Foreign markets. Currency devaluation is irrelevant. It only matters to you because it gives you the warm fuzzies about owning gold.
If you're interested in a long term bet, I'll bet you 2 ounces of gold that your stocks in 5 years have declined majorly and your retirement programs will fall so hard you'll have to work an extra 15-20
Re:Idiot (Score:1)
Re:Idiot (Score:1)
Houses are indeed depreciating assets. Land on the other hand...
To quote the late, great Sam Clements..."Buy land, they're not making any more of it."
And that statement is as true today as it was a century ago. Just look around the 'burbs -- you'll see. While your post is a bit over the top, my useless degree in finance gives me just enough understanding of market dynamics to know you're mostly right. However, so long as we
Re:Idiot (Score:2)
You'll have to worry about the bullets flying through your walls from the shooting from the urban warfare that will result when society collapses.
If you're that worried, get lots of non-perishable food and bulletproof your walls.
Re:Cronyism is the end result of democracy (Score:2)
I think you hit the nail on the head there.
The US is just to big. That makes the dollar figures so large that even a little graft is worth a fortune.
It seem to me that the countries that do a really good job are between 2 and 3 million in population. If only we could go back to a loose collection of states (and split a few of the big states).
Re:Cronyism is the end result of democracy (Score:2)
While I am anti-State entirely, I can definitely agree that a coalition of independent states that compete with one another would be far better than what we're living
Re:Cronyism is the end result of democracy (Score:2)
Wouldn't it be better if it was a coalition of independent states that work together?
Just FYI (Score:3, Insightful)
So while it's something you can make money on trading in the short ter
Re:Just FYI (Score:3, Insightful)
Just FYI, gold is not an investment. Gold is a store of wealth, a currency, a money. I would never tell you to buy dollars as an investment, why would you think I meant gold is an investment? Gold is merely the same thing as a bank, except it isn't manipulated like the banking cartels are, and it isn't controlled by fiat as the dollar is.
Don't let the receant upswing fool you, unless this defies history, it's only temporary.
Historically, gold as been the only store of wealth t
Re:Just FYI (Score:2)
THIS is where your entire argument falls apart. The fac
Re:Cronyism is the end result of democracy (Score:2)
If I told you I could save you 50 cents a year, but I just need you to spend a few hours calling your representative, would you? Probably not.
If I told you I could earn you US$150,000,000 a year and all you need to do is give about 40% of that back to lobbyists, would you?
This perspective is really important when you realize that it isn't the money that is corrupt, it is the Congress that is abusing the Constitutionally limited powers they're
overbilled? (Score:2)
We should be in awe of Unisys, not arguing over who billed who.
Overbill ?! of course !! (Score:4, Informative)
Unisys is one of the most unethical companies I have done business with. What can you expect though, our major contract is with Dell. So Dell is awarded a contract and then Unisys fullfills the service end of that agreement. So not only do I work for an awful company I get to deal with crappy Dell hardware, and a Dell Helpless desk (as the customers on my site have come to call them).
It is no surprise that Unisys overbilled the TSA. We are constantly told to put time on both our tickets and another accounting method. In effect this often double bills our customer or increases the time that we put on calls. In an eight hour day I have often done 15-20 hours worth of work. I often work reimaging one or two systems an complete other calls, but on a busy day a may really only perform 10-12 hours worth of work in 8 hours.
I am currently looking for a new job. I try to be as honest as I can and still follow this screwed up system. Although when a company chooses the lowest bidder they do get what they pay for. And the Dells and Unisyses of the industry are going to make the profit margin by cheating their customers. It's a good thing I like the company that I support.
If anyone has a desktop position open in Phoenix, AZ check out my resume [mgbrownefamily.net]
--
So who is hotter? [homestarrunner.com] Ali or Ali's Sister?
Re:Overbill ?! of course !! (Score:2, Insightful)
Unisys morale (Score:3, Interesting)
I see something like twenty posts from Unisys and ex-Unisys employees here that are overwhelmingly negative about the company. I see only *one* that's remotely positive, and that's from a guy who says that he's so detached from Unisys that he barely knows who he's working for -- and *that's* what he considers good.
Re:Unisys morale (Score:2)
My wife worked for a while on a Help Desk at Unisys (MACS/InfoHub in Eagan), and morale there was absolutely terrible because most of the folks there were over
Unisys - Top-Ranked Google Search (Score:2, Offtopic)
1. Bill B
Nov 8 1996, 3:00 am hide options
Newsgroups: comp.sys.unisys
From: Bill B (b...@prolog.net) - Find messages by this author
Date: 1996/11/08
Subject: Unisys/Arete 1200 ???
Reply to Author | Forward | Print | Individual Message | Show original | Report Abuse
I have a Unisys / Arete 1200 and I'm not sure what I am going to
Not a problem (Score:2)
Hey, what's
between friends?
Say it ain't so! (Score:2)
But they have the way out! [slashdot.org]
Not any more (Score:2)
That being said, in many respects the company has committed itself hard to Microsoft technologies internally. Outlook/Exchange is the one and only email client and email server, Microsoft IM through Exchange is the only IM client, etc.
But the "we have the way out" campaign is quietly realized insid
Re: (Score:2)
Oopsie! (Score:2)
"...the company had possibly overbilled the Transportation Security Administration by as much as 171,000 hours of labor and overtime."
Uh-oh.
Look, I don't really know how to tell you this, but those 171,000 hours? That's... uh, well, that'd be my fault. Back in '99, somebody asked me to get Windows ME running stable, and I haven't left my desk since.
Sorry. Should be done any day now.
Bermuda Offshore Triangle (Score:1, Interesting)