COBOL Cowboys Aim To Rescue Sluggish State Unemployment Systems
State officials say aging computers systems that rely on a pre-Internet programming language may be causing delays in processing jobless benefits. The Texas-based group COBOL Cowboys wants to help.
Bill Hinshaw's phone has been ringing off the hook lately.
From his home in Gainesville, Texas, which Hinshaw describes as "horse country," he runs a group called the COBOL Cowboys. It's an association of programmers who specialize in the Eisenhower-era computer language. Now their skills are in demand, thanks to the record number of people applying for unemployment benefits.
Many state unemployment systems run
