Digital Government
Airlines' efficiency set to soar
HONOLULU Airlines next month will be able to reduce flight time and save fuel on flights across the Pacific Ocean by using satellitebased data communications to file new flight plans electronically while en route. The Federal Aviation Administration has tested the procedure, known as Dynamic Air
Digital Government
Gaining speed
In the past year, the speed of the standard desktop system bought by federal agencies has more than doubled, paving the way for improved performance on applications such as 3D graphics and video teleconferencing for distance learning and training. Now, thanks to advances in PC chip manufacturing,
Digital Government
Why are FEHBP costs up?
Average annual subscriber premiums for the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP) rose $132 in 1998 and will increase by $88 in 1999, a much higher increase than has been experienced by health care customers in the private sector. Unfortunately, no one seems able to come up with a satisf
Digital Government
Set-Asides
Next FMS sked detailed The General Services Administration and the CFO Council last month sent a memo to the Office of Management and Budget detailing plans for the next generation of the Financial Management System Software (FMSS) schedule and asking OMB to modify the Federal Acquisition Regulatio
Digital Government
Four nab infowar pact
The Air Force last week tagged four vendors under one of the Defense Department's most comprehensive information warfare contracts to begin building systems that will support the Pentagon's 21st century warfighting strategy. Under the fiveyear, $353 million Engineering and Technical Support Servic
Digital Government
Navy, Lotus reach agreement
The Navy has reached an agreement with Lotus Development Corp. to purchase up to 500,000 seats of its entire suite of groupware as part of the Navy plan to build a massive, worldwide intranet that would support everything from electronic commerce to battlefield communications. The Navy has agreed t
Digital Government
Center takes on cyberterrorism
The nonprofit Institute for Security and Defense this month opened a technology center to work with federal agencies to help them defend against the growing threat from cyberterrorists. The Center for Technology and Terrorism Studies, based in Los Angeles, will train employees from the Defense Depa
Digital Government
Air Force shows how to get more for less
A few issues ago I wrote about Terry Little, an innovative program manager at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., who used various principles of acquisition reform to achieve better than a 50 percent cost savings on a 'smart bomb' kit called joint direct attack munitions (JDAM) [FCW, Sept. 7]. Well, Terry
Digital Government
Super Web tool rescues GILS
A group of federal agencies and vendors are creating a super World Wide Web crawler and search tool that would help agencies automatically index their electronic documents and make it easier for the public to find federal information. The software, called the Advanced Search Facility, is being deve
Digital Government
Federal Bytes
LOOK OUT, DAVID LETTERMAN. Talk about selfdeprecating. Officials at the Federal Aviation Administration's Nexcom program recently posted on the agency's Web page (www.faa.gov/nexcom/template.htm) a top 10 list that FAA managers might find, well, interesting. Under Joke of the Month is a list of 'T
Digital Government
Security in numbers
After numerous, publicized cyberattacks, the Clinton administration is considering putting its money where its mouth is to protect key computer systems from hackers, cyberterrorists and criminals. It's high time that security claims its own piece of the president's budget request, but money is just
Digital Government
I-TIPS aids spending analyses
The Information Technology Investment Portfolio System sounds like a fancy method for finding the next hot technology stock, but in reality it has nothing to do with investing in a 401(k) or mutual funds. The World Wide Webbased ITIPS helps federal chief information officers and information techn
Digital Government
Executive training gains momentum
David Hammond was becoming increasingly frustrated with his job at the Coast Guard. Changes in the way his shore facilities division was managed were not going as quickly or smoothly as he had expected. After a particularly contentious meeting one day last year, he went directly to his desk and fil
Digital Government
Trade system gathers international support
Members of the international trade community earlier this month threw their support behind a U.S. government plan to build a $256 million computer system for processing imports and exports. The International Trade Data System ultimately would link 350,000 businesses with 104 U.S. federal agencies t
Digital Government
Six sensational systems
Testing by Andreas Uiterwijk For this comparison of the latest desktop PCs, it's a good thing the numbers singled out a winner although just barely because we would have had a hard time choosing.
Digital Government
GTE's inResponse tackles deluge of e-mail from Web
GTE unveiled a product last month that will help agency Webmasters manage the growing amount of email sent to their agencies' World Wide Web sites. The tool, called inResponse, is an email response management product that helps Webmasters route, respond to and track email inquiries sent from Web
Digital Government
Round Two
A phone number for Novell Inc. that appeared in the Oct. 19 review of NetWare 5.0 was incorrect. The correct phone number is (800) 3214272. In the Nov. 2 review of computerbased training, the phone number for Asymetrix Learning Systems Inc. was incorrect. The correct number is (800) 4486543.
Digital Government
Industry Watch
OAO wins lion's share of ODIN NASA this month awarded OAO Corp. the largest portion of the massive Outsourcing Desktop Initiative for NASA (ODIN), one of the first large federal initiatives that allows agencies to privatize the desktop environment. The contract, which initially will be worth $154 m
Digital Government
Comark surges to $50 million milestone
Acquisitions, mergers and upandcoming companies are causing a shift in the federal reseller market. One company making itself known is Comark Federal Systems, which this year is expected to pass the major milestone of $50 million in sales. Comark's sales have ballooned from $19.7 million in 1996
Digital Government