tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4433144336299288135.post571599393478304279..comments2024-03-26T13:27:26.499+00:00Comments on Zelo Street: Covid Test Farce - Let’s Blame MicrosoftTim Fentonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00726447899972084146noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4433144336299288135.post-61268803157981850932020-10-05T19:46:39.132+01:002020-10-05T19:46:39.132+01:00How pathetic this is. Anyone who knows anything ab...How pathetic this is. Anyone who knows anything about large data sets knows that Excel is not an appropriate application. When I worked with data over 10 years ago, we used database systems such as SAS to analyse and to provide summary data. When you think of the millions of pounds that have been wasted on test & trace you'd think they could have spent a few more thousand pounds to buy a decent PC, a decent database system, and a few experts who know how to use this stuff.Andrew Barkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14162701707167239983noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4433144336299288135.post-91569956517960537212020-10-05T15:57:07.379+01:002020-10-05T15:57:07.379+01:00Cos excel has a lovely easy "convert from CSV...Cos excel has a lovely easy "convert from CSV" dialogue in the file menu. Perfect for incompetents to look clever with...Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18427497910595745506noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4433144336299288135.post-55062332962612777702020-10-05T15:35:01.339+01:002020-10-05T15:35:01.339+01:00What is particularly amusing is that this govt and...What is particularly amusing is that this govt and its pals reckon they are "data gurus" and know data science better than anyone else (see D. Cummings for details). Even the most junior data scientist would tell you how inappropriate Excel is for any sort of data manipulation once you get past 1000 rows!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4433144336299288135.post-60128767646612299532020-10-05T15:05:44.575+01:002020-10-05T15:05:44.575+01:00Willie "fucking" Carson strikes again.Willie "fucking" Carson strikes again.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4433144336299288135.post-4843081344663951322020-10-05T14:53:29.496+01:002020-10-05T14:53:29.496+01:00Par for the course in a low tech, historically und...Par for the course in a low tech, historically underfunded NHS. Data would originally have been generated by CCG's and individual hospital trusts running on software long ago forgotten by the rest of humanity. According to pre Covid government figures, of the 1.37 million PCs and laptops used in the NHS, at least 463,784 are still running Windows 7 with little or no remaining support by Microsoft.david walshnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4433144336299288135.post-31598850493846835142020-10-05T14:42:25.805+01:002020-10-05T14:42:25.805+01:00Nothing to do with Excel. Unsurprisingly the Mail ...Nothing to do with Excel. Unsurprisingly the Mail was wrong. <br /><br /><i>One PHE official admitted that it was behind the error, saying: “It’s an IT issue involving data being transferred from one system onto another one. It’s entirely PHE’s fault. It’s our bit of the process.</i><br /><br />https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/oct/05/england-covid-cases-error-unknown-how-many-contacts-not-traced-says-minister Arnoldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12536283325894194176noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4433144336299288135.post-40668402920520292572020-10-05T14:09:44.187+01:002020-10-05T14:09:44.187+01:00Probably just more bullshitting - make it look lik...Probably just more bullshitting - make it look like some nerd made a cock-up on his laptop rather than it was a sneaky way of trying to manipulate the figures.<br /><br />Do you remember last week when we were getting large increases in NI, Scotland, Wales and Universities but mysteriously the UK's case numbers stayed at around the 6500-7000 level? This was accompanied by a raft of articles about how things are 'levelling off' which made it look like the half-assed measures from the gov were going to save us from a second lockdown?<br /><br />They'll most likely pull a reverse cock-up this week - announce huge increases for a few days then be back to 6000 just in time for favourable coverage and the Tory press telling us we're sorted.<br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4433144336299288135.post-25140291681871505462020-10-05T13:20:06.864+01:002020-10-05T13:20:06.864+01:00It was an "accident".
Of course it was....It was an "accident".<br /><br />Of course it was.<br /><br />An "accident" that lowered the figures.<br /><br />Ho yus indeed.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4433144336299288135.post-32231498552269446022020-10-05T13:02:41.548+01:002020-10-05T13:02:41.548+01:00I've heard a more plausible explanation that a...I've heard a more plausible explanation that a manual transfer of data to another computer.<br />An Excel spreadsheet has over 16m cells, and the max size of an Excel file 8gb [Citation needed]. More than enough to record daily infection figures. Possibly not enough for track and trace.<br />Arnoldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12536283325894194176noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4433144336299288135.post-12839003579316554172020-10-05T12:30:09.330+01:002020-10-05T12:30:09.330+01:00For crying out loud, they expect us to believe tha...For crying out loud, they expect us to believe that nobody involved had the wit to OPEN ANOTHER TAB? And why Excel, when you'd need a tracking database? Access at the very least, many others are available. <br /><br />It used to be said that for a certain social class, it was enough to know that things worked, not how they worked. Looks like that needs updating. Andy McDonaldnoreply@blogger.com