Army migrating computers to Vista ?!?!

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: Richard Forno <rforno () infowarrior org>
Date: May 22, 2009 11:28:26 PM EDT
To: Dave Farber <dave () farber net>
Subject: Army migrating computers to Vista ?!?!


Dave,

This is today's "WTF" news item, and one that makes absolutely no  
sense whatsoever -- does the Army think
Vista will offer added value and/or security because it won't be as  
widely-used as Windows 7?  Or is this just a case of deploying  
obsolete and  inferior products just because they've been paid for  
under some "strategic plan" from years back?  I find this absolutely  
absurd!   -  rick



Army migrating computers to Vista
May 20, 2009
By Gary Sheftick and Delawese Fulton

http://www.army.mil/-news/2009/05/20/21389-army-migrating-computers-to-vista/

WASHINGTON (Army News Service, May 20, 2009) -- The Army is migrating
all of its Windows-based computers to Microsoft's Vista operating
system to bolster Internet security and standardize its information
systems.

The systems change, which includes swapping Office 2003 for Office
2007, is set to be completed by Dec. 31.

About half of the Army's 744,000 desktop computers have already
installed Office 2007, estimated Dr. Army Harding, director of
Enterprise Information Technology Services for the Army's G-6. She
said about 13 percent of the computers have migrated so far to VISTA.

The migration was mandated in a Fragmentary Order published Nov. 22,
2008. It was sent out Army-wide as FRAGO 2 to Department of the Army
Executive Order 056-05.

"It's for all desktop computers on the SIPR and NIPRNET," Harding
said, referring to both the classified and unclassified networks. She
added that the only exemptions are standalone weapons systems.

First-time Vista users will discover added support for data
encryption, a new Windows Explorer, upgraded icons and navigation
structure. There are also graphical replications of clock, calendar,
weather and Outlook mail functions.

The switch to Office 2007 actually began earlier than the Vista
migration, Harding said.

The new Office suite provides more straightforward document security,
according to reviews, which add there's better integration throughout
applications. But the new tools interface is not always intuitive and
many reviews say there's a steep learning curve.

In the continental United States, the Army has installed Vista so far
in about 44,000 computers. Fort Campbell, Ky., is leading the charge
with more than 5,350 computers migrated to Vista, according to G-6 data.

Fort Stewart, Ga., has about 3,800 computers installed with Vista.
Fort Lewis, Wash., and Fort Drum, N.Y., both have more than 2,150
computers migrated.

Fort Jackson, S.C., has just over 1,000 of more than 7,500 computers
converted to Vista. But Directorate of Information Management
officials there say they are on track to meet the December deadline.

"The goal is to minimize the impact to the installation's training
mission," said Marcus D. Good, chief of the Information Technology
Systems Support Division at DOIM.

"We want to handle this migration in a way that makes sense to the
organizations fielded."

"As for the impact on Fort Jackson, the DOIM has been working with the
installation's IT professionals and Information Management Officers
from many different organizations to test Vista in a controlled and
limited deployment," Good said.

Fort Jackson's DOIM officials say the initiative will strengthen Army
LandWarNet security by reducing opportunities for hackers to access
and exploit government computer systems.

"The Army has been testing Vista since its release and has run it
through the Army Golden Master program. The Army Golden Master program
is responsible for the release of the Army standard baseline
configurations for commonly used computing environments within the
Army Enterprise Infrastructure, the team responsible for making sure
applications that ran on XP will run on Vista," Good said.

As with the implementation of any new technology, there will be
challenges to overcome -- not to mention this will be a change for
users who have gotten comfortable with Windows XP and Office 2003. The
new look and feel will take some time to adjust to, Good said.

The Soldier Support Institute staff was first to begin migrating to
the new operating system at Fort Jackson.

Sharon Reed, chief of IT at the Soldier Support Institute said the
division is providing several resources to facilitate the transition
for its employees and customers.

"During this process, we are offering several in-house training
sessions, helpful quick-tip handouts and free Army online training,"
Reed said.

Reed added that because several of the division's employees already
use Vista and Office 2007 at their homes, it has shortened the
learning curve for SSI overall.

The 171st Infantry Brigade started the Vista system last week, said
Lashanda Howard, DOIM Vista migration project leader.

Howard said the roll-out is well planned and strategic. Classroom
computers, dayroom and kiosk computers, new computers (such as life
cycle replacement computers) and computers with minimal impact to
mission readiness will be part of the initial implementation.

Soldiers and employees who have never used the operating system, can
preview it and begin training by visiting http://usarmy.skillport.com
and https://train.gordon.
army.mil/.

(Delawese Fulton writes for the Fort Jackson Leader newspaper.)




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