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In our country, out of all the government web sites, the online tax filing system is the one that works the best. Admittedly, the standard isn't very high. You'll have no excuse to not pay tax 
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string CreateHeadline(string governmentInstance, int years)
=> $"{years} years of failure, {governmentInstance} unable to fix computer system.";FTFY, at least now you won't have to type out the entire headline every time this happens, which is at least once a year 
Like the Dutch GGD, the party who was responsible for tracking COVID cases, testing and vaccination.
The system was insecure and also, Excel reached the maximum number of rows (yes, they used Excel to track cases)! 
Our Belastingdienst (Dutch IRS) has internal troubles as well, but not only with their systems.
A couple of years ago it was the police who bought a new system that doubled the time of paperwork.
And that's just what I remember.
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It still boggles my mind that after N attempts and N-1 failures, you'd stop digging, step out of the very deep hole, and ask yourself, "Are we insane?"
Charlie Gilley
“They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.” BF, 1759
Has never been more appropriate.
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Out of interest (I am in the UK), I skimmed this article, and when I saw the line...
Yet the system still runs code from 1962, written in an archaic programming language almost no one alive understands.
...my immediate thought was COBOL (though it could be assembly language).
The trouble is that the IRS, like banks, deals with financial information and "knows" that the existing code "does the right thing" so any new system has the uphill task of proving it gets exactly the same result as the millions of lines of existing code which only a handful of people now understand and which, in any event, is a moving target as new tax rules are added and the code base grows.
So the end result is ancient code on ancient hardware long after it should have been replaced because no-one wants to be the one to commit to a change it case it all goes pear-shaped.
And, of course, if/when it does get replaced in 2030, after 68 years, parts of the replacement, which was started in 2009, will be older than the 1962 system was when it was decided a replacement was needed in 1982!
On the flip side, a lot of people here probably make their living maintaining decades old code! 
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this ->
is a moving target as new tax rules are added and the code base grows.
I was thinking perhaps APL, but looking at the list of companies that the IRS has used, I would bet COBOL as well.
As for the career thing - honestly, I would love to take a look at the code base. Databases are well understood now. I support a manufacturing system written in FORTRAN in the early 80s. Moving to .net, MySql and a report writer would reduce the code base by 90%. I just haven't gotten around to it. 
Charlie Gilley
“They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.” BF, 1759
Has never been more appropriate.
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Maybe it's fixed in Windows 11. I had 3rd party code for multiple desktops on Windows Xp and 7. It was wonderful.
Windows 10 comes along, and MS has *their* version and my favorite app goes bye bye. Fine - I'll ctrl-windows left/arrow to swap desktops. Desktop changes but it won't tell you what desktop you are on (see footnote below).
Seriously, I have to click on task view to find out what desktop I am on?
You push crap out to me all the time, and you cannot give me a shaded popup? You know, something useful and not half baked like your elephanting operating system?
breath, deep breathes... lower BP.
---------------------
As an aside to my rant, for those of you who use multiple desktops, how many? I'm up to 6.
Charlie Gilley
“They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.” BF, 1759
Has never been more appropriate.
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Try 'Win->Tab' followed by 'Shift->Tab'. You can choose which desktop that way quite easy. Or use the little 'window selection button' if it is on your taskbar, right next to the start button and mouse it.
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I get that, but work with me. MS's implementation allows me to name desktops. Don't you think it would be useful to show the title of the desktop when doing so? That was my point.
Charlie Gilley
“They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.” BF, 1759
Has never been more appropriate.
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Huh? It shows the names at the top of the screen, after the Win->Tab.
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Okay, yes, I agree, but I'm a fussy user . I love keyboard shortcuts. Why cannot windows shift left/right show my the title? I want to move fast and not leave the keyboard.
Charlie Gilley
“They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.” BF, 1759
Has never been more appropriate.
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*lol* Win7 and Win XP.
Not sure, but how many years back do you support your apps?  
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smart a$$. I have apps running on CE 4.1 from 2004. My customers never kill anything off until it's inevitable .
Looking at my 2 Xp VMs, 3 Windows 7 VMs...
Charlie Gilley
“They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.” BF, 1759
Has never been more appropriate.
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Hear! hear!
Just the other day I answered a question about a 2007 installation. End customer moved from an XP machine.
Mircea
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excuse me? we're laughing here
Charlie Gilley
“They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.” BF, 1759
Has never been more appropriate.
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windows XP was the last time they came out with a decent OS. 
I have clients still running on it, trouble free.
"Old Man look at my life" - Neil Young
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charlieg wrote: Maybe it's fixed in Windows 11
Not quite: the "Task View" icon shows the desktops when you just hoover over it. There is a little blue dot indicating the current one.
charlieg wrote: As an aside to my rant, for those of you who use multiple desktops, how many? I'm up to 6.
Usually 2, sometimes 3. Me think 6 is a bit much. Maybe it's time to join Desktop Anonymous for a desktop detox 
Mircea
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Around 30 but please don't make me count how many groups and icons I have in my Start menu. And what did Microsoft do in Windows 11? Removed grouping in Start menu 
Mircea
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I have a folder of short cuts that I put on my taskbar. It is like a mini start menu for my top 9 apps.
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charlieg wrote: for those of you who use multiple desktops, how many?
I tried multiple desktops and found it utterly confusing as to what stuff was where. Navigating with Win/Shift Tab kept cramping my fingers. Moving stuff between desktops, can't even remember the keyboard/mouse gymnastics to do that.
The idea is cool, the implementation sucks. Hence I have a laptop workstation with three monitors and a second laptop also with three monitors. (Both counting the laptop's monitor.)
I find it a lot easier to control 6 monitors as "desktops" across two computers from one mouse and keyboard using Synergy than all that gawdawful mouse, keyboard and wand waving. Desktopum-Appearum!
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It's not like Microsoft's version has been around since 2006[^] or anything.
"These people looked deep within my soul and assigned me a number based on the order in which I joined."
- Homer
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You know, it was so long ago when I went out and bought that other s/w. Maybe I just didn't see the reference.
Charlie Gilley
“They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.” BF, 1759
Has never been more appropriate.
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