Digital Government

DOD to send Y2K team to Russia

The Defense Department this month will send a team to Russia to take part in the first official bilateral planning session on the Year 2000 computer problem, officials said last week.

Digital Government

Intercepts

BIG FISH, SMALL POND. Kevin Carroll, former Army CACW[OO] chief and now an acquisition poohbah at the Army Materiel Command, has decided to leave his AMC HQ post for a new job as program executive officer for Standard Army Management Information Systems. His departure is imminent, according to re

Digital Government

DOJ suffers from financial management problems

Persistent problems in financial management at the Immigration and Naturalization Service are the No. 1 barrier to a bettermanaged Justice Department, according to a General Accounting Office report released last month.

Digital Government

Vendors display converged net technology

The buzzword at the ComNet '99 conference late last month in Washington, D.C., was 'convergence,' with many exhibitors announcing and demonstrating products aimed at running voice over the Internet and other data networks. Vendors said they are seeing increased interest in these products among fede

Digital Government

Industry, feds team to tackle interoperability

Industry heavyweights and government agencies are working together to develop an Internetbased tool that makes it easier for organizations to field systems that can exchange data seamlessly. The Interoperability Clearinghouse would give information technology planners fast access to volumes of tec

Digital Government

Twisters test FEMA system

A computer system developed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency to assist disaster victims in a timely manner appears to have endured its first test in the wake of tornadoes that ripped through Tennessee and Arkansas last month. FEMA officials used the National Emergency Management Informat

Digital Government

IT weaknesses hinder Interior's management of trust accounts, ALMRS

Problems with systems for managing American Indian trust accounts and for tracking records on land leases and mineral rights are the core technology issues hindering better management at the Interior Department, according to a General Accounting Office report released last month.

Digital Government

CrossPad captures written notes

With the introduction of the CrossPad, the A.T. Cross Co., long known for its fine pens, has secured a place for penmanship in the Computer Age.

Digital Government

Old systems, missing data put EPA at risk

Outdated computer systems and missing data are two significant barriers to the Environmental Protection Agency's ability to perform its job, according to a General Accounting Office report released last month.

Digital Government

Fax servers lower costs, ease administration

Tested By Andre Kvitka As easy and reliable as it is to share electronic files via e-mail and the Internet, agencies cannot survive without the ability to share hard-copy documents. And although it incorporates rather ho-hum technology, the fax machine remains the standard way of transmitting paper

Digital Government

GSA kicks off key security contract

(Several agencies have signed on to a proposed governmentwide digital certificates contract, giving the digital government initiative a boost. But vendors are concerned about how much money they can make on the contract and about technical hurdles. The Access Certificates for Electronic Services (A

Digital Government

GAO faults USDA's telecom and service center efforts

The General Services Administration's Federal Technology Service last week awarded its $25 billion information technology services and support contract to 10 vendors.

Digital Government

HUD remodels, simplifies home page

The most requested information on the Department of Housing and Urban Development's World Wide Web site is simple: how to buy a home. It has not been simple, however, to get to that information through the many layers of the agency's Web site. But that changed last week when HUD unveiled a new look

Digital Government

Customs seeks quick $12M to fix slowdown

The Customs Service is looking for an additional $12 million this year to shore up its aging Automated Commercial System, which it uses to process $1 trillion in imports to the United States annually. Since June, ACS has suffered three slowdowns that delayed clearance of goods through U.S. ports fo

Digital Government

Y2K could hamper State's visa application process

The General Services Administration's Federal Technology Service last week awarded its $25 billion information technology services and support contract to 10 vendors.

Digital Government

Public data at SSA not secure

Weaknesses in computer systems at the Social Security Administration have exposed the agency to external and internal intrusion, jeopardizing sensitive information to unauthorized users, according to a report released last month by the General Accounting Office.

Digital Government

Federal Bytes

HAVE A COW. Moove over, Gateway. Edge Technologies has taken the cow theme to bigger pastures. Edge operates a cowmating service on the Internet to help farmers find the perfect bull genetically, that is for their cow. Edge collects data from the Agriculture Department and other organizations

Digital Government

Y2K, financial management woes plague DOD

eaknesses in financial management practices and in the use of financial computer systems pose the top challenge to better performance at the Defense Department, according to a General Accounting Office report released last month.

Digital Government

GSA gives employees Seat preview

Employees of the General Services Administration had their first glimpse of what life will be like under Seat Management desktop outsourcing last week in a presentation sent to offices across the country by multicast and satellite. Over the next two years, GSA will transition maintenance of all its

Digital Government

Sign of the times

Now that Congress has passed legislation that will push agencies to the brink of the muchenvisioned paperless government, federal users are focusing as never before on digital signature technology a method of authenticating the identity of a person who has 'signed' an electronic document and of