Digital Government
Second wave of E-Rate funding announced
Universal Service Administrative Co. last week notified more than 1,000 schools and libraries that they would receive funding for telecommunications access as part of a second wave of ERate funding.
Digital Government
Hampton Roads, Va., Residents Can Access Web Site for Local Y2K Information
Citizens in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia now have a World Wide Webbased resource for information about Year 2000 issues in the region.
Digital Government
War game: U.S. must research biological warfare recovery
A war game simulation conducted last week by the National Defense University concluded that the United States should focus on advanced information technologies to help manage the chaos that would likely follow a biological weapons attack within the nation's borders.
Digital Government
New Visualization Tool Targets Environmentally Sensitive Development Projects
Evans&Sutherland Computer Corp. today released a visualization tool designed for real estate developers, consulting engineers, architects and municipal planners involved in urban or suburban development projects.
Digital Government
Energy debuts portal for environmental data
The Energy Department this month launched a World Wide Web portal site that will provide environmental and safety information to 125,000 departmental employees and contractors as well as the public. Richard Kiy, acting principal deputy assistant secretary for environment, safety and health at DOE,
Digital Government
The reinvention of GSA
The General Services Administration has much to celebrate as it marks its 50th anniversary this month. The agency's recent decision to close its last eight office supply and distribution centers in favor of purchasing over the Internet reminds us that, perhaps more so than any other agency, GSA has
Digital Government
Roster Change
Marty Wagner, associate administrator in the General Services Administration's Office of Governmentwide Policy, last month was named an exofficio member of the CIO Council. Although he is not a chief information officer, Wagner was named an exofficio member because of his office's role in providi
Digital Government
Federal Bytes
CATCHING THE Y2K CONSPIRACY BUG. Just when it seemed like the fears of the Year 2000 doomsayers and conspiracy theorists would prove to be overblown, Wired magazine reported last week that some members of Congress are publicly discussing the possibility that President Clinton will use potential com
Digital Government
Hill slams Interior's trust fund system
Senators, trust fund experts and American Indians last week blasted an Interior Department plan to spend as much as $60 million on a new computer system to track and compensate American Indians for commercial mining on Indian property and leases of tribal land. Interior acknowledges that it has poo
Digital Government
Merisel, D&H move to expand fed business
Two computer product distributors, Merisel Inc. and D?#038; Amp;H Distributing Company Inc., recently announced changes designed to grow their business with resellers that sell in the federal market. Merisel, El Segundo, Calif., has signed an agreement with Allied Telesyn International, Sunnyvale, Calif., to
Digital Government
Vendors rail against proposed FAR changes
Federal contractors and labor unions are gearing up for a fight over a proposed procurement regulation that would allow contracting officers to deny vendors business if they violate federal laws.
Digital Government
Congress considers security policy changes
In the wake of the theft of nuclear weapons secrets at the Energy Department, government personnel who have criticized their agencies' information technology safeguards have become targets of intimidation, prompting some members of Congress to consider issuing topdown security policy changes. Last
Digital Government
IBM security kit proves easy to use, affordable
You are on your way home from a business trip. At the airport, you set your briefcase down while you buy a cup of coffee. In a split second, the briefcase with your notebook PC inside is stolen. The company's insurance will cover the cost of replacing the notebook, but you are worried about the pro
Digital Government
IBM prepares RS/6000, AIX upgrades
IBM Corp. this fall plans to offer an upgraded version of its RS/6000 server coupled with an enhanced release of its AIX operating system that together provide recordbreaking World Wide Web server performance, the company claims. During recent benchmark testing conducted by IBM, the company's RS/6
Digital Government
Biometrics points to greater security
Biometrics, an automated method of recognizing a person based on physical or behavioral attributes, has long been used by the government's supersecret agencies for accesscontrol applications and by law enforcement for largescale fingerprint applications. Now, as the cost of the technology has de
Digital Government
The Y2K sentries
The problems could be as large as all of Los Angeles losing power or as small as three people getting stuck in an elevator. Or, as most people hope, nothing could happen at all. But come midnight Dec. 31, when computer systems all over the world must face the final test for the Year 2000 problem, a
Digital Government
Airports resist new tests
A Federal Aviation Administration proposal that would require Year 2000 tests of emergency support equipment and other ground controls early on Jan. 1 is unnecessary and might cause some airports to shut down temporarily, an official of the Airports Council InternationalNorth America (ACINA) said
Digital Government
DOD tests software to reclaim land
A Defense Department environmental research program is using imageanalysis software to assess damage to plants caused by military maneuvers in the desert and other arid areas. DOD's Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program (SERDP) has been evaluating software developed by SPSS Inc.
Digital Government
PowerBook G3: Thinner, faster, more efficient
For those of you who need a notebook computer but eschew Microsoft Corp. products, you'll be happy to learn that Apple Computer Inc. has added two new versions of the PowerBook G3 to its impressive line of notebooks. Both versions come in the same case, but one features a 333 MHz processor, and th
Digital Government