Dear silicon.com... File-sharers, women in tech and the price of 'experts'

This week, readers had a thing or two to say about the Home Office consultancy bill and were not best pleased by the mounting cost of ID cards. The latest in the debate over music downloaders and sharers also got a lots of comments, while women in IT - or lack of them - sparked a huge debate.

Price of 'experts'
ID cards fuel £147m consultancy bill

"Expertise"? Rubbish.
If they had employed any 'experts' then we wouldn't have this nonsense of an ID Card. I suspect that, once more, the only thing this highlights is total incompetence at the Home Office.
-- Roger Huffadine, Worcester

The report implies two things: either,
1. They are employing good consultants at high rates of pay, then ignoring the advice.
Or
2. The consultants are just giving the answers the Home Office bigwigs want to hear.

Either way, it is an unacceptable waste of money and it is long overdue that those of us that pay for it (the tax-payers) have a proper way of indicating our displeasure.
-- Jeremy Wickins, Sheffield

Why is it necessary to employ so many consultants? Have the levels of endemic incompetence become high enough to justify this massive additional expense? The Home Office expect widespread public support on various issues…they can't even manage their own jobs without high levels of guidance.
-- Radical Meldrew, Suburbs

Editor's choice

silicon.com editor Steve Ranger flags up his picks on the site this week...

♦ Photos: Australian broadband goes for a deep-sea dive
♦ FBI cyber crime chief on botnets, web terror and the social network threat
♦ Peter Cochrane's Blog: Instant delays
♦ Photos: Charles Babbage's masterpiece reincarnated
♦ Legal Eye: Could you end up footing your e-crime bill?

Why must they keep throwing our money at a lost cause?
-- Galley Slave41, London

Because, despite all our protestations, they are going to bring it in. And if you don't believe that, look at the number of failed attempts to bring in longer detention for suspected terrorists, they will keep hammering away at that until the next election so don't expect them to drop the NIR and ID card scheme either.
-- Karen Challinor, UK

File-sharers: To ban, or not to ban?
Europe: Don't ban internet file-sharers

"Sorry officer I didn't know I couldn't do 70mph through a school zone…
So you're letting me off? And I can keep doing the same thing over and over again?"

That's real life for you.
-- Tony, Romford

Sorry, Tony, wrong argument. There is a chance that inappropriate use of speed could lead to death or injury of one or more people. Breach of copyright is a whole different box of frogs, since no one will ever die or be physically injured as a result of it.

With the exception of Billy Bragg last week, I have not heard artists making too much of a fuss about this issue - it is the huge record cartel that is trying to hold on to its monopoly long after the rug has been pulled out from under its feet. The industry is desperately hoping that artists don't realise they no longer need the record companies, and that the balance of power has changed so that the artists can get fair remuneration for their work, and not have terrifyingly one-sided contracts that benefit only the company.
-- Jeremy Wickins, Sheffield

Perhaps it's time the music industry started to embrace music file distribution instead of fighting it. It seems bloated corporations like in the music world see the only way to protect their revenues is by using draconian measures to retain the status-quo (no pun intended). But like business models of a 1960s/1970s recorded music industry, they're totally out of fashion and not listening to the listeners.
-- Austin Holdsworth, London

Where are all the women?
Wanted: Women must save IT industry

So, looking at recent stories on silicon.com it's a list of industry prejudice in order of acceptability when you think about it:
"Oh we'll have a graduate they don't need paying much, failing that we'll have an immigrant, bit more expensive though and failing that I suppose we'll have to settle for a woman..."

And by all means they should keep looking everywhere except at the older generation. We'll still be here when they run out of options, we'll still have the skills they need in depth and we'll still be ignored because they think we are past it.
-- Karen Challinor, UK

I think the report misses the point. While IT only seems attractive to a fifth as many women as men, the main problem is in attracting the young.

What young person would be well advised to move into a sector which is moving itself offshore as fast as it can?

Perhaps business analysts need to be moved away from the cost-conscious IT cost centre and towards the money-making core business. "Don't expect promotion if you're missing IT skills."
-- Andrew Robb, work

Or of course, they could start utilising the existing huge talent pool... of the 40-year-old-plus IT workers.

Proven expertise, demonstrable experience. And not necessarily demanding high salaries.

But, of course, the real shortage is in post-graduates (or young), limited experience, will work for all hours on all tasks, for peanuts. Read between the lines - there is no skills shortage, just a fodder shortage.
-- Alan L, UK

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