United Kingdom VII: Taking Pride in Your Success

[nakamura]

Test and trace biggest waste of cash ever.
I only visited one place that needed it. It should have been mandatory but typical British ignorance and cowardice stopped it happening.

We seem to confuse social responsibility and caring for communism.

[Hirst]

I've never had the app as I simply don't trust this government with direct access to my phone data knowing their track record for IT systems. Any time where a sign-in is required there's always been a paper form to write your name and contact details (sometimes the staff do it for you).

[Soundwave]

I've never had the app as I simply don't trust this government with direct access to my phone data knowing their track record for IT systems. Any time where a sign-in is required there's always been a paper form to write your name and contact details (sometimes the staff do it for you).

Yeah there is the security aspect as well & I've seen a lot of places have paper forms as well...I wonder how many Mickey Mouses they've had to call

Thing with the App is from what I gather is you can actually turn the tracing off within the app itself anyway so you can have it, sign in & then turn the tracing off
Also as it relies on Bluetooth to see how close you are to someone I only ever have my Bluetooth on in the car or at home for streaming purposes so don't suppose it would actually ping me anyway

It's all a farce & has always been this way

Neil

[QualityChimp]

Whether people have decided to use it or not is a separate argument.

It shouldn't have cost £37Bn and if it did, it should have worked.

It didn't stop the 2nd and 3rd lockdowns and we're on our way to figures that could warrant a 4th, but it won't happen.

Scathing report blasts ‘unimaginable’ £37bn cost of coronavirus test and trace system
No measurable evidence that scheme made difference in slowing progress of pandemic, cross-party committee finds

Someone somewhere is getting disproportionally rich, whilst we cut aid donations.
Loads of MPs who signed into law for it to stay at 0.7% by David Cameron and repeated in Johnson’s 2019 election manifesto, were happy to vote to repeal it.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/foreign-aid-vote-boris-johnson-commons-b1883349.html

[Cassius_Smoke]

It also represents more than just having aid to the poorest. Countries that get this aid tend to be happy about it and look favorably on the UK.
I mean heaven forbid something happens that means the UK needs to find business deals with other countries and a nice bargaining chip would come in handy.

[Dogg Thang]

It shouldn't have cost £37Bn

It might be that I'm just not seeing it but I find it amazing that this part isn't shouted about everywhere. What possibly could have cost even a fraction of that amount to set this up? What technical challenge is in here that would require either so much manpower that it would add up to that or so much advanced rare technical expertise that the only people who could do it would charge a fortune? What should something like this have cost?

[Budge74]

It's an obscene amount of money.

Hubble Telescope $5 billion
Chanel Tunnel $21 billion
Mars Rover $3 billion

With enough left over to buy everyone on the planet a bar of choc.

[Brad]

The Joint Strike Fighter project cost $100 billion. That project took years and was plagued with delays and went massively over budget. Less than 3 x the cost of track and trace and paid for by multiple countries. This is for a fighter jet. Just think how complex that is and how long it must take to design such a thing. Track and trace took a few weeks to make a phone app. How could it possibly cost even 1 billion to make it? HOW!!!???

[charlesr]

This is what happens when it doesn't go to tender. Charge whatever you want and employ a couple of switched on Indians to whip up an app and a few database connections.

[charlesr]

The report said NHS test and trace must “wean itself off” its reliance on private-sector consultants, after figures showed it was still employing around 2,500 in early February on an estimated daily rate of £1,100 a head – with the highest-paid individual costing taxpayers £6,624 a day

[wakka]

That's me. Each visit to the forum during the working day is costing taxpayers about £500 a pop, but I think we can all agree that my posts are well worth it.

[charlesr]

Yes we all agree

[nakamura]

It's a ****ing app that's says hey you've been near this person that manually entered a positive test.

It's an app that a skilled dev could make in their sleep.

Oh and 42,000 new cases.

[Neon Ignition]

https://coronavirus.data.gov.uk/

Footie does its job - over 42,000 cases today

[MartyG]

How could it possibly cost even 1 billion to make it? HOW!!!???

I'd like to see a project cost breakdown as a headline figure on its own is a bit meaningless.

I'd have been happy to put a bid in for £100 mil - and it would have worked

20 days at £850 a day, totalling £17,000 and £99,983,000 in miscellaneous expenses.