Digital Government
Custom solutions dominate Internet-based electronic commerce arena
The Air Force and Hughes Data Systems Irvine Calif. have been working for six months to establish an electronic ordering system that allows federal buyers on the Desktop V contract to order products over the Internet. Using the International Merchant Purchase Authorization Card (IMPAC) and a recent
Digital Government
Draft plan requires agency use of key-recovery technology
While the debate on encryption policy continues to play out this month on Capitol Hill a technical advisory committee has yet to decide whether to force agencies to include the controversial key recovery in a standard it is developing for governmentwide use. The committee which is developing a stan
Digital Government
Powell positions Sequent as new mainframe alternative
Casey Powell chairman and chief executive officer of Sequent Computer Systems Inc. sees a fairly welldefined market for his company. In general Powell is positioning Sequent's highend servers as a mainframe alternative. But that does not mean Sequent plans to go headtohead with the mainframe ve
Digital Government
DOD merges four IT, logistics groups
Last month the Defense Department merged four separate information technology and logistics groups into the LifeCycle Information Integration Office (LCIIO) to make it easier and less expensive to manage and access shared acquisition and logistics information. LCIIO is composed of the Continuous A
Digital Government
Intercepts
* The end of the DT V tunnel. I'm picking up strong signals from my downtown D.C. Small Business Administration mobile unit as well as from my permanent site in Montgomery Ala. that indicate an "everybody wins" resolution to the Desktop V 8(a) fracas that is in the air. Originally awarded to Inte
Digital Government
Panel urges greater spending to protect U.S. infrastructure
The federal government should invest $1 billion in information security research and development over the next seven years to shore up the defenses of the nation's critical infrastructures against cyberterrorists and hackers according to a presidential commission. Potential vulnerabilities in infor
Digital Government
NPR: Still more vision than reality
When Vice President Al Gore introduced the National Performance Review four years ago he envisioned federal agencies moving from 'an Industrial Age government to an Information Age government " reinventing themselves using information technology. Despite some progress the NPR still remains more a
Digital Government
Vendors unveil a variety of mainframe-access solutions
Several vendors are rolling out products to meet what they believe is increasing customer demand for mainframe access via World Wide Web browsers. A diverse group of companies is promoting a range of technical solutions that aim to tap mainframe resources through the ubiquitous Web browsers. Networ
Digital Government
IT feds ready to advise District of Columbia
When the District of Columbia financial control board hires a consultant to develop an information resources management plan for the city federal agencies are likely to be called on to help. 'We expect to participate in the crosscutting IRM discussion' that was mandated in the balancedbudget bill
Digital Government
Navy tests the 'new world' of larger LANs
The Navy last week ramped up an experiment to test how information technology can improve the Navy's performance in battles. In the socalled 'Ring of Fire' experiment the USS Coronado two carriers and their air wings a threeship amphibiousready group and the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU)
Digital Government
Air Force shifts C2 apps to PCs
The Air Force Air Mobility Command is porting one of its key command and control applications from a workstationcentric architecture to a PCcentric architecture which is expected to make the software less costly to deploy and easier to manage. The Command and Control Information Processing System
Digital Government
Apple's Mac clone purchase draws mixed reviews in federal market
Apple Computer Inc. last week agreed to buy the largest Macintosh clone vendor a move that played to mixed reviews in the federal market. Apple said it plans to purchase the 'core assets" of Power Computing Corp. in a stock transaction valued at $100 million. Apple will buy Power Computing's licen
Digital Government
Agencies earn failing grades for draft plans
Three congressional Republican leaders last week slapped a failing grade on agencies' draft reports that detail ways agency managers plan to measure how their business practices including information technology help them meet mission goals. The drafts are agencies' first crack at complying with the
Digital Government
IMC chair focuses on strategic concerns
As the government focuses more intensely on applying business principles to information technology programs, federal executives will need less in the way of technical knowledge and more of the analytical skills required for making smart investment decisions. Frank Lalley, associate deputy assistant
Digital Government
Panel reaches accord to break GPO monopoly
The Office of Management and Budget has agreed with the Senate Rules and Administration Committee staff on a plan to revamp federal printing rules that would end the Government Printing Office's 102year monopoly on agency publishing. The proposed legislation which has not yet been drafted would le
Digital Government
BPAs blitz to top of the charts (Part 2)
After a year of explosive growth for the multipleaward schedule (MAS) program the General Services Administration plans in fiscal 1998 to apply tighter oversight of blanket purchase agreements (BPAs) to encourage small groups of agencies to cooperate on schedule purchases and to kick off a new mar
Digital Government
NPR's biggest obstacle to IT
The government's inability to ensure the security and privacy of information exchanged electronically between individuals and the government is 'the single biggest problem in delivering on the promises" of the National Performance Review according to the program's deputy director Greg Woods. Altho
Digital Government
Shift to self-funding spells success for SSG
As the Air Force's primary information technology group kicks off its annual conference this week it will be concluding a year marked by one of the most revolutionary changes in the organization's history. For most of its three decades of existence the Air Force's Standard Systems Group Montgomery
Digital Government
CBD Watch
Internal Revenue Service. Electronic tax administration. Sol. TIRNO97R00071. (CBD Aug. 29) The IRS is planning to release a draft request for proposals on Sept. 15 for electronic tax administration (ETA). The objectives of this RFP are twofold. First the IRS plans to increase transmission volumes g
Digital Government