City computer contractor shuts down / Plan to help bridge the 'digital divide' fell short of expectations
Source: By CAROLYN FEIBEL, Houston Chronicle (TX), May 2, 2008, 12:03AM
SimDesk Technologies, the company that provided online computer applications to Houston residents through a controversial contract with the city, has gone out of business.
..... At the behest of former Mayor Lee Brown, the city awarded SimDesk a $9.5 million contract in 2002 with the hopes that the service would help bridge the "digital divide."
.......The contract was controversial from the beginning, with accusations that J. Dennis Piper, the city's technology director at the time, had favored the company in the bidding process.
..... As part of the amended contract, the city stopped paying SimDesk in 2004, having paid only $2.5 million on the contract. SimDesk agreed to continue providing the service to 800,000 public users until 2010. But no more than 30,000 people ever used SimDesk through the city's contract, Lewis said.