April 1st, 2009
HHS tells vendors get the FAT out
A directive awaiting the signature of incoming HHS Secretary Kathleen Sibelius states future health contractors must avoid use of Microsoft’s controversial FAT32 technology, ZDNet Healthcare has learned.
In practice it means file names will be limited to 8 characters until the industry agrees on a replacement. (An explanation of the image, and the story, comes from L. Seymour in Australia.)
A department spokesman explained that it’s part of the Administration’s drive to run a more open government.
“It makes no sense to support as standards systems owned by a single company where we could be held up. We got enough of that from Wall Street,” said A.P. Foole.
“Besides, this will assure our future standards are light weight.”
A Microsoft spokesman said the company will comply by shipping an MS-DOS version of its Microsoft Amalga software to current hospital customers.
“Until we can get a fix put through it’s green screens for everyone,” he said.
P.S. Hey guys, it was an April Fool’s joke. Didn’t y’all understand the illustration, or use the link referencing it?
Dana Blankenhorn has been a business journalist since 1978, and has covered technology since 1982. He launched the Interactive Age Daily, the first daily coverage of the Internet to launch with a magazine, in September 1994. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.
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| 04/01/09
