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back to article Treasury considers Coins replacement

HM Treasury is looking at the possible replacement of the Combined Online Information System. A spokesperson for the department told GC News that work has begun on Project Oscar, which could possibly lead to the creation of a new database called the Online System for Central Accounting Reporting. If it is adopted, it would …

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  1. Whitter

    Title

    Type your comment here — plain text only, no HTMLAnd here I thought they were going to dump 1p and 2p coins at long last. Worth more as metal than a coin or so I've hear on the rumor mill, though its illegal to smelt them.

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    1. Lottie
      Reply Icon

      I thought so too,

      I need 1p pieces. Make decent plectrums for playing bass.

      1 2
  2. Pete 2 Silver badge

    Great acronym

    ... for a government reporting website:

    O - bsfucation

    S - pin

    C - onfusion

    and

    R - hetoric

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  3. Samo

    Headline misleading?

    Huh, I came into this article thinking that the gov is going to give up coing for something like RFID purses or something...

    Instead, all I get is an article about a dodgy gov project that is going to get replaced.

    Ah well, I'll just use my PayWave card then!

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  4. stalker
    Stop

    Shouldn't this be...

    Treasury considers C.O.I.N.S replacement? not the replacement of the sterling Coic, but the fully capitalised acronym COINS?

    I got interested for about 5 seconds before I started reading.

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  5. Harry
    Unhappy

    "I thought they were going to dump 1p and 2p coins at long last. "

    I think we probably all did.

    What we're probably less sure is whether the author intentionally failed to capitalise the acronym or did it by mistake.

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    1. Anonymous Coward
      Reply Icon
      Anonymous Coward

      This

      Misleading title is misleading.

      What the deuce, reg.

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      1. Sarah Bee (Written by Reg staff)
        Reply Icon

        Re: This

        I've got a great idea - let's all get over it!

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  6. Alan Firminger

    Watch and learn

    This is a first test for our new coal gov. We will see if they are as nutty as New Labour were about big computer based projects.

    1 1
  7. Anonymous Coward
    Unhappy

    Title Schmitle

    *sigh*

    I too was expecting some new coins to look forward to... I was hoping the fiddly 5p was going to be made easier to pick up by people who, like me, still bite their finger nails.

    Our coins are very boring compared to the Euro coins, especially the 1 (or 2...?) Euro which has 2 colours. Shiny shiny...

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  8. Anonymous Coward
    Stop

    Oh , lol!

    I see what they did there C.O.I.N.S., ha very clever!

    I hate to imagine how much money was paid to some nobend marketing agency to come up with that little name!

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  9. Graham Bartlett

    Project Oscar?

    I for one welcome our Grouchy fiscal overlords...

    2 1
  10. Jon Double Nice
    Coat

    They should try NOTES

    New Online Thingybob, Erm, System

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  11. John Smith 19 Gold badge
    Boffin

    COINS is what reports governent project spending.

    It's the source of those reports on *what* departments spend how *much* on *what* IT projects.

    So yes its replacement which *should* promote even greater transparency on govt spending (particularly IT spending) on a *regular* (as opposed to one off) basis *does* matter.

    It's the thing that *enables* the coalition to publish such information in the first place.

    And El Reg to report it.

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  12. thenim
    WTF?

    what ho? This daily wail style of articles with...

    sensationalist bylines to attract views??? smacks of desperation...

    I thought pinky and perky running the country has made a sensible decision for a moment there...

    far more interesting than some random government ICT project that will no doubt be over budget and delayed by four years - just in time for the new government to scrap it...

    Is it using Access? I think some details on the underlying technology should be given, considering that this is an ICT rag?

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    1. Sarah Bee (Written by Reg staff)
      Reply Icon

      Re: what ho? This daily wail style of articles with...

      A 'byline' is an author's name. You mean a headline. This is a slightly cheeky headline which I can't believe has thrown so many of you into a tailspin.

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      1. thenim
        Reply Icon

        don't want to get into an argument with one in the field of journalism, but..

        strictly speaking a "byline" is not only an author's name, typically it can summarise the article as well (what, for example, would you call the line that appears under the headline on your home page?).. But yes, I meant "headline" in this case, typing faster than my brain/finger filter could cope...

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        1. Sarah Bee (Written by Reg staff)
          Reply Icon

          Re: don't want to get into an argument with one in the field of journalism, but..

          That's a subhead.

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  13. Whitter
    Thumb Up

    Subhead

    At a forum I frequent, we had (have?) a running thread thinking up headline/subheadlines combos, in a vain attempt to mimic those we all envy from El Reg. We really were pi$h in comparison to the real thing.

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  14. stalker
    Flame

    knickers twisted....

    ...much? I expected better from el reg after an outcry of this magnitude than just "get over it". Come on, you have to admit we have a point........

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    1. Anonymous Coward
      Reply Icon
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: knickers twisted....

      Hmm. Unlike some, we don't write headlines for search engine optimisation purposes. We try to entertain as well as inform.

      So no, I don't accept our COINS| Coins pun is unacceptable.

      Now, to be a journalist nerd:

      UK newspaper style is to not use full stops in acronyms - we write:

      "IBM" not "I.B.M."

      It is also, although this is in decline somewhat, standard UK practice to turn four letter or longer acronyms into words, if they sound like words.

      So CDMA, but Nato, Nasa and... Coins.

      The Guardian sums up British usage here - http://guardian.co.uk/styleguide/a#id-2829413

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