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Re:NY Times releases military surplus gear data on GitHub by dublinben on Tuesday August 19, 2014 @04:51PM (#8199743)
If we're lucky, those massive armored vehicles will be parked behind the station, and left to deteriorate. They're so expensive to operate, small departments are loathe to actually use them. If we're unlucky, we get the events in Ferguson, MO.
Re:NY Times releases military surplus gear data on GitHub by dredmorbius on Tuesday August 19, 2014 @08:29PM (#8200574)
Some years back I was in the position of managing a few systems for a nonprofit. It had been awarded equipment through a donation program. Some of this was usable. Some ... was not. One particular item turned out to be such a white elephant that it was literally more sensible to try to sell it and replace it with something more economical. Which other branches of the nonprofit were doing, though I never convinced the GM of ours to do.

Equipment that's not actually usable isn't an asset.

(And yes, I'm keeping this all pretty intentionally vague.)

Re:NY Times releases military surplus gear data on GitHub by GabrielF00 on Tuesday August 19, 2014 @11:41PM (#8201002)
Yup. Nonprofits are not often not very sophisticated about technology and it often takes them a long time to learn that some donations are just not worth the trouble.

I once worked for a non-profit with a video production program for teenagers. They accepted some 1970s film editing consoles that were donated by a local college. The executive director did not realize just how impractical and cost-prohibitive it is to teach kids how to edit movies on 16mm film. I was pretty proud of myself when I found someone to take those editing consoles.

Re:NY Times releases military surplus gear data on GitHub by lotsofmangos on Tuesday August 19, 2014 @08:48PM (#8200617)
Let me guess. Was it actually a white elephant?
Re:NY Times releases military surplus gear data on GitHub by dredmorbius on Tuesday August 19, 2014 @11:40PM (#8200999)
Despite certain outward similarities, no.

A white elephant would have been more useful.