Digital Government
DOD expands use of Netscape products
The Defense Department has expanded its departmentwide contract with Netscape Communications Corp. to include several new offerings and to allow Netscape products to be used to secure topsecret communications. The license, which DOD inked with Netscape in October 1997, originally covered Communica
Digital Government
EC program presents 'single face'
An electronic commerce service provider has kicked off an effort to create a 'single face to industry' for government EC, a plan that would compete with similar government programs. Loren Data Corp., a valueadded network, announced this month in the Commerce Business Daily that it is looking for i
Digital Government
Formula helps lower-paid workers
Retiring federal employees not covered by the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) in most cases lose some Social Security benefits as a result of the pension they receive for their federal service. One method by which the government reduces these Social Security benefits is called the windfa
Digital Government
Commercial chips put nukes, satellites at risk
The Defense Special Weapons Agency (DSWA) is working on a solution to protect commercial chips in nuclear missiles and communications satellites from being crippled by an increase in radiation associated with aboveground nuclear tests. Commercial multiplechip processor modules, which guide nuclea
Digital Government
DOD's Cohen rolls out Joint Electronic Commerce Program Office
Secretary of Defense William Cohen this month officially unveiled the Joint Electronic Commerce Program Office, which will work on accelerating the development and use of electronic commerce throughout DOD.
Digital Government
OMB exec says emergency funds from appropriations bills won't help Y2K fix
A top Office of Management and Budget official told a congressional subcommittee today that attempts to strip Year 2000 emergency funding from appropriations bills would not help agencies move forward in fixing the millennium bug.
Digital Government
Nortel plans to acquire Bay
Angl ing for a leading role in the Internetbased communications market, telephone equipment vendor Northern Telecom Ltd. announced plans last week to acquire data networking company Bay Networks Inc. in a deal valued at $9.1 billion. The acquisition should provide more product choices to federal a
Digital Government
Air Force cuts quick deals for PC BPAs
In an action that caught many PC manufacturers and resellers by surprise, the Air Force Standard Systems Group (SSG) last week quickly and quietly awarded two blanket purchase agreements for desktop computers and servers to Micron Electronics Inc. and Dell Computer Corp. The awards mark the end of
Digital Government
Starlight delivers software to improve data streaming
Starlight Networks Inc. last week introduced a new product designed to improve the performance of multimedia applications by simplifying the process of streaming over the Internet audio, video and other types of information. Streaming involves sending multiple types of data, such as audio, video, s
Digital Government
Controllers slam radar system outages
With new replacement systems still two years away, radar screens at a major air traffic control center in New England are blanking out at an increasing rate, forcing a shift to backup systems that are not always online and increasing the likelihood of midair collisions. Additionally, controllers ch
Digital Government
NASA lifts off with ODIN
In what may mark a dramatic shift in the government's management of desktop PCs, NASA last week awarded contracts to seven vendors under a governmentwide program worth up to $13 billion for outsourcing computer hardware, software and management services. The Outsourcing Desktop Initiative for NASA
Digital Government
Federal Bytes
BIRTH OF A NATION? Leave it to Rep. Steve Horn (RCalif.) to inject a little levity into his often very serious hearings. Horn, chairman of the House Subcommittee on Government Information, Technology and Management, was overseeing a Year 2000 hearing earlier this month when the discussion turned t
Digital Government
DOE calls for upgrade to Los Alamos super
The Energy Department has launched a $65 million upgrade of a supercomputer that is used to monitor the nation's nuclear stockpile, and the agency was expected to begin installation last week of a new machine that is capable of 3 trillion floating point operations per second at Los Alamos National
Digital Government
Survey Says City/County GIS Use Up, But Environmental Potential Not Realized
Survey Says City/County GIS Use Up, But Environmental Potential Not Realized
Digital Government
DOD awards largest-ever electronic credit card pact
The Defense Department last week tagged U.S. Bancorp Payment Systems division for the largest electronic purchase card contract ever awarded a contract that DOD expects will help the department develop electronic commerce. The 10year contract, which is scheduled to begin in December, provides U.
Digital Government
SGI/Cray system lowers vector computing cost
Silicon Graphics Inc./Cray Research last week unveiled a new supercomputer based on its popular vector technology that is designed to provide users of its earlier, proprietary Cray computers with a migration path toward future systems built from commodity parts. The Cray Scalable Vector 1 (SV1), in
Digital Government
CIO keeps focus on people
Perhaps no chief information officer in government has a past as varied as the General Services Administration's Shereen Remez. She has worked as a psychologist, an archivist, a marketing executive and a public affairs official. If that weren't enough variation, Remez plays classical guitar and is
Digital Government
Bill revamps procurement training
A House subcommittee last week approved a bill that would make sweeping changes in how agencies manage their procurement work force, requiring the administration to create standards for procurement training and education and to develop new ways to measure the performance of the procurement system i
Digital Government
Preparing for CSOC launch
The two teams bidding to provide space operations services to NASA are proposing 'virtual mission control centers' that will tap Internet and other commercial standards for data acquisition and communications. Boeing North American Inc.'s Space Systems Division and Lockheed Martin Space Mission Sys
Digital Government