Digital Government
Rep. Horn gives agencies 'F' for Y2K work
The Clinton administration's overall grade for handling the Year 2000 problem dropped to an F in the quarter ended May 15, according to a report card issued today by a House Republican.
Digital Government
Making the case for performance-based service contracting
The same day back in 1994 when President Clinton signed the Federal Acquisition Streamlining Act, senior agency officials gathered in a meeting room nearby to sign a pledge for a pilot program on performancebased service contracting (PBSC). Almost four years later, the results are in: PBSC is a wi
Digital Government
Active Software expands integration offering
Active Software Inc., which is part of the emerging enterprise application integration market, announced last week 23 new 'adapters' that allow organizations to integrate information from various applications and other data sources. The adapters are readymade system interfaces that run as part of
Digital Government
DOD launches high-tech command post project
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) last week kicked off a fouryear, $20 million project to develop interactive decisionsupport information technologies that military commanders will use in future wars. The socalled Command Post of the Future initiative will transform today's c
Digital Government
New Y2K Supplier Audit Services
ILM Corp. is offering custom Year 2000 supplier audit services to agencies looking to accurately gauge their suppliers' readiness for the millennium.
Digital Government
Remote Windows NT, 95 features flawed
A Minneapolis firm has discovered multiple flaws in Microsoft Corp.'s use of an Internet Protocol that could lead to security breaches for remote access and virtual private network (VPN) users of Microsoft's Windows NT and Windows 95. The flaws could allow a hacker to access passwords and private i
Digital Government
INS plans to award two more pacts for records management
The Immigration and Naturalization Service this week plans to award two contracts as part of a $170 million project to better manage the agency's millions of records, with the possibility of developing automated workflow and imaging capabilities. The two awards one to Ahtna Development Corp., Anc
Digital Government
BLM moves land records to Web
The Bureau of Land Management went online last month with a World Wide Web site of land records that individuals researching family history can use to find information on their ancestors. The public can access BLM's 'land patents,' which record the transfer of land from the federal government to pr
Digital Government
California East
On its own, Northern Virginia has become a national technology center for communications and commerce, with some 1,800 companies specializing in Internet services, electronic commerce, software development, telecommunications and systems integration.
Digital Government
Feds mount telemed expedition on Everest
When veteran mountain climber Rob Hall and seven others realized they were about to perish in a fierce snowstorm on the south summit of Mount Everest in 1996, their last hope was a satellite phone that Hall had carried with him during their ascent. Although it allowed Hall to say his last goodbye t
Digital Government
Bill targets logistics outsourcing
The House has hogtied the Army's $1 billion program to modernize its logistics operations, with obscure language tucked into its version of the fiscal 1999 Defense authorization bill. The story of the Wholesale Logistics Modernization Program (WLMP) highlights the political battle that sets those w
Digital Government
Tune Up Your Site With Web Server Monitoring
As World Wide Web sites have become more mission critical, Web servers have grown increasingly powerful, with such advanced capabilities as clustering and loadbalancing. Nevertheless, most of the best Web server packages lack a critical feature: selfawareness. Where are the bottlenecks that are s
Digital Government
A new angle on network management
A new class of network monitoring tools based on the World Wide Web has given administrators a window into the health of their networks. Having a browserbased interface makes network device management easier because it enables network managers to log onto a system from anywhere on the network and
Digital Government
Customs improves system to track drug smugglers
During the next six months, the Customs Service plans to complete a threeyear, $17 million upgrade to the computers it uses to track airplanes flown by suspected drug smugglers, creating what the agency claims is the most modern air surveillance system in the country. The Domestic Air Interdiction
Digital Government
Vendors line up for NASA ODIN deal
Seven vendors will vie this month for the award of the $5 billion Outsourcing Desktop Initiative for NASA (ODIN) for governmentwide outsourcing of hardware, software and services. Together with a similar General Services Administration Seat Management contract, also scheduled for award this month,
Digital Government
Commercial PCs take to the field
Once upon a time, when MilSpec ruled, buying a computer was relatively easy. Vendors wrote down exactly what they believed the soldier, sailor, airman or Marine needed, presented those requirements to a contractor, and after some time for testing and refinement, the computer was ready for the fiel
Digital Government
Designing the Virtual Statehouse
Have you ever wondered why state capitols have domes? Or why some bank entrances are flanked by tall columns? Over time, architects have crafted elaborate codes for designing city structures and spaces.
Digital Government
RMS joins forces with Intellisource
Intellisource Inc. and RMS Information Services Inc. announced last week that they will merge their operations into a new services integrator concern under the name The Intellisource Group. The addition of Intellisource, a Fairfield, Conn.based company that provides integrated solutions for nonco
Digital Government
Committee plans to publicize geographic privacy policy
Members of the Federal Geographic Data Committee this month will begin a push to make federal computer users aware of a new policy designed to protect private information that may be stored in geographic information databases. Nationwide, hundreds of agencies from the Environmental Protection Age
Digital Government