Digital Government
Army opts for BPAs to buy software, peripherals, chips
The Army Small Computer Program office last week decided to cancel plans for an indefinitedelivery indefinitequantity contract for PC software peripherals and chip upgrades opting instead for blanket purchase agreements that will be more limited in scope. The Standard System Technology Support1
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Hughes, NYC vendor team on Army project
Hughes Training Inc. earlier this month turned to a Wall Streetbased vendor to help develop the distributedobject architecture that will be at the heart of a major Army simulation training program. The Fusion Systems Group Inc. runs Sun Microsystems Inc.'s New York Object Reality Center which spe
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A lesson learned, again
In recent weeks Defense Department officials have acknowledged that the Defense Message System as originally conceived was too much of a 'grand design.' It prescribed complex and costly solutions where a simpler architecture that relies more on commercial technology might better meet users' needs.
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Vendors gripe about D.C. telecom contract
Despite industry skepticism officials at the General Services Administration last week said they believe they will see 'robust competition' for its forthcoming contract to acquire nextgeneration telecommunications services for federal locations in the metropolitan Washington D.C. area. The agency
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AWARDS
Chesapeake Systems Integration Inc. A $12.9 million award to provide contracting and technical support. Hill Air Force Base Directorate of Contracting Building 1215 OoAlc/6050 Gum Lane Hill Air Force Base Utah. Professional Software Engineering Inc. A $1.8 million award for software engineering se
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FAA's new aeronautical system will ease flight-plan filing
The Federal Aviation Administration plans this year to roll out a new intranet system that will make it easier and faster for military pilots to plan and file flight plans and to access uptotheminute weather data.The Aeronautical Information System (AIS) will replace the current 20yearold text
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Atlanta's Fingerprint ID System Not Just For Criminals
Atlanta's Fingerprint ID System Not Just For Criminals
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Letters to the Editor
Chart stats I found the chart titled 'Federal Financial Losses From Security Breaches' [FCW May 26 Page 42] very interesting. The legend shows that there were 34 respondents (presumably to a survey) by the Computer Security Institute. How were they selected? How accurate was the data they provided?
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House mulls slashing DOD work force
A key congressional panel has called for slashing the Defense Department acquisition work force by 40 percent and Pentagon headquarters staffs by 25 percent predicting the cutbacks will save $15 billion during a fiveyear period. The House Committee on National Security inserted these provisions wh
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FEDERAL BYTES
Technophobia for all ages At a hearing last week on electronic funds transfer a representative from the American Association of Retired Persons explained that elderly people sometimes have difficulty using new technology. That is something that should be taken into consideration when the government
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INDUSTRY WATCH
Iomega debuts Ditto MaxIomega Corp. last week announced Ditto Max a tape backup drive which supports 3.5G 5G 7G or 10G compressedcapacity cartridges. Ditto Max's multiplecapacity feature is designed to prevent users from outgrowing their tape backup gear as their hard disks increase in capacity.
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House panel bolsters NIST security role
Members of the House Science Committee last week introduced legislation to provide strong federal guidance and commercial tools that will push civilian agencies to protect their computer systems. The Computer Security Enhancement Act of 1997 which would revamp the 10yearold Computer Security Act
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Vendors unveil the first Net PCs
NEW YORK PC vendors at the PC Expo conference last week demonstrated the first products supporting the Net PC specification which aims to create a class of inexpensive and easytomanage PCs. (For more PC Expo coverage see Page 45.) The Net PC specification devised by Intel Corp. and Microsoft Co
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FDC willpurchaseSylvest
FDC Technologies Inc. last week entered into an agreement to purchase Sylvest Management Systems Corp. a Lanham Md. integrator specializing in networking and open systems. The pact will make Sylvest a subsidiary of FDC according to an industry source. FDC is the main operating unit of Federal Data
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FEDWIRE
GSA to meet with FTS 2001 bidders The General Services Administration's Federal Telecommunications Service will meet oneonone during the first two weeks of July with prospective prime bidders on the controversial FTS 2001 longdistance service contracts. The agency last week asked vendors to subm
Digital Government
INS taps Lockheed for $83M pact
The Immigration and Naturalization Service this month awarded Lockheed Martin Corp. a contract worth up to $83 million to manage a system that allows federal agencies to check if immigrants are legally eligible for federal benefits. Lockheed will provide technical support and automated data process
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Treasury head questions necessity of IRS board
Treasury Department Secretary Robert Rubin said last week that a proposal to establish a new governing board for the Internal Revenue Service 'could create an uncertainty' that might 'make it more difficult to do what we need to do' to improve agency operations including computer modernization. Ear
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Agenda
JUNE 2327 ATM Year 97. San Jose Convention Center and the Fairmont Hotel. San Jose Calif.This event will address the entire scope of Asynchronous Transfer Mode alone and in relation to other broadband technologies.Call (800) 2004884 Web www.tticom.com/atmyear97. 2327 Ninth Computer Security Inci
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SSG joins the elite group of software developers
The Air Force Standard Systems Group the Defense Department's largest central development activity late last month joined an elite group of software organizations after successfully completing an exhaustive sixyear effort to improve the management of its development processes. The Headquarters Sta
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