FBI need new computers
>Old computers
In addition, the FBI has less capability than many home computer users to collect, transmit and analyze information.
More than 13,000 FBI computers are four to eight years old, meaning they cannot run today's basic software or allow agents to move to different functions with a mouse.
``The productivity loss and frustration that result are enormous,'' the FBI's Bob Dies told a Senate panel in July. Dies is assistant director of the information resources division.
Most smaller FBI offices have low-speed Internet access, and agents cannot electronically store photographs, graphics and charts, Dies said. Some sensitive classified and criminal data are available only on paper.
``The FBI is the greatest collector of information in the world,'' but ``there is material that is unanalyzed,'' said Robert Bryant, a former deputy director under Freeh.
A $242 million, three-year plan to upgrade FBI systems is under way, but ``at the dawn of the 21st century, the FBI is asking its agents and support personnel to do their jobs without the tools other companies use or that you may use at home,'' Dies testified.[snip]
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