PALM BEACH COUNTY, FL (BocaNewsNow.com) — OPINION — We try not to opine too much here at BocaNewsNow.com, but the latest update from the Palm Beach County Clerk’s Office of their public-facing computer system is somewhat of a head scratcher. We are all about public records. We love Florida because law makers in our state saw it fit to apply sunshine not just to the beaches, but to everything that goes on in government. But sadly, law makers didn’t ban aging Microsoft products from making their way into systems that the public uses.
Case in point: the upgrade of the Palm Beach County Clerk’s computer system. It is based on Microsoft’s “Silverlight” system which — quite simply — means you have to download something to make it work. It is not fast. It is also cumbersome. While booking photos now appear next to the court records of everyone charged with a criminal offense in the county, trying to read or isolate the information that you’re looking for went from very fast to extraordinarily slow.
We are very tech savvy at BocaNewsNow.com, so it’s not a matter of not understanding how it works. It’s quite simply trying to understand why every element of information has been given its own hiding place.
See for yourself here:
This is not a slam against Sharon Bock or any of her employees who tirelessly work to please the masses. It is, however, a suggestion that perhaps Microsoft wasn’t the way to go — and perhaps streamlining data so the general public can find it quickly and easily should be under consideration.
We welcome opposing points of view.
