Digital Government
GPS tracks shifting land masses
The satellitebased Global Positioning System (GPS) first developed by the Defense Department to provide highly accurate position and location information has evolved into a technology with many more civilian applications than military. Hikers consult $200 receivers to help them bushwhack across un
Digital Government
Draft policy would treat Web info as fed records
Agencies will have to treat all information posted to their World Wide Web sites as federal records and establish oversight bodies to manage sites and control content according to an early draft release of Office of Management and Budget guidelines obtained by FCW. The guidelines prepared in July a
Digital Government
Excalibur Tech targets complex retrieval apps
The concept of the Joint Intelligence Virtual Architecture a brainchild of the Defense Intelligence Agency has fired up imaginations at Excalibur Technologies Inc. a company specializing in the kinds of search and retrieval capabilities JIVA requires. The details of JIVA itself discussed publicly f
Digital Government
Hackers attack CIA home page
The CIA Web site breakin early Thursday morning came only hours after the Senate passed a bill designed to crack down on computer crimes by hackers. Hackers apparently affiliated with a Swedish group changed the name of the intelligence agency to the 'Central Stupidity Agency ' altered links to se
Digital Government
Rushing to judgment obscures crucial details
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit recently heard an appeal from Donald C. Newton an Air Force employee who had unsuccessfully appealed his firing to the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB). Newton was an aircraft engine repair supervisor at Tinker Air Force Base Okla. He had been
Digital Government
RAID not always best bet
As discussed in your Sept. 9 Tech Briefing the demand for online storage is growing dramatically in almost every area of government. But there are only three reasons RAID would be the storage solution of choice: habit VAR sales efforts or mistaken demand for instant access. The sales certainly are
Digital Government
FEDWIRE
Bandwidth Manager orders begin A T&T quietly walked away from a protest on the award of a key Defense Information Systems Network (DISN) procurement to MCI as the Defense Information Systems Agency issued a flurry of delivery orders against the contract. AT&T Government Markets decided not to prote
Digital Government
Census unwraps RFP for DCS 2000 system
The Census Bureau gearing up for the Year 2000 decennial census released late last month a request for proposals for its Data Capture System 2000 the imagebased system that will process the millions of census forms that the public will fill out. As 2000 census forms come in DCS 2000 will digitally
Digital Government
Air Force lifts suspension; ZDS ready to fix problems
The Air Force quickly reversed course on its suspension of the Zenith Data Systems Desktop V PC contract reopening it just six days after the Standard Systems Group (SSG) temporarily halted the placement of new orders. SSG will allow ZDS to ship Desktop V orders in 30 days instead of the required 1
Digital Government
Compartmented Mode Workstations still in demand for secure applications
Despite having been orphaned by the Defense Intelligence Agency Compartmented Mode Workstations still are being produced enhanced and sold to the Defense Department. And there is even a growing sense of a potential market for spinoffs in the civilian government and commercial sectors. CMW a type of
Digital Government
Air Force suspends Zenith PC contract
MONTGOMERY Ala. The Air Force Standard Systems Group abruptly suspended ordering on Zenith Data Systems Corp.'s Desktop V contract throwing lastminute fiscal year ordering into turmoil.~ ~Competing vendors exhibiting at the Air Force Information Technology Conference here last week moved quickly
Digital Government
Internetworking, firewalls, videoconferencing in demand
LAN/WAN internetworking Internet firewalls and videoconferencing products are among the best sellers on the government's networkoriented contracts according to integrators and resellers who reported a heavy sales volume during the summer buying season. A recent International Data Corp. study showe
Digital Government
Unisys sets course within crowded services market
In hopes of standing out in a crowded systems integration marketplace Unisys Federal Systems Division is concentrating its information technology services business in its defined areas of core competency. The McLean Va.based unit of Unisys Corp. plans to emphasize three areas: network integration
Digital Government
Last-minute bargains lure desktop shoppers
With two weeks left in the busy government buying season and a budget of $2 000 what desktop machine can you put on your desk? According to an informal survey undertaken by Federal Computer Week PC vendors and resellers are offering a wide range of desktop configurations for about $2 000 the pric
Digital Government
Ex-postal worker's case lost in mail
When the U.S. Postal Service went through a nationwide reorganization in 1992 and 1993 Russell Crandall and 88 other "preferenceeligible" (veteran) employees were demoted. The group of 89 appealed their demotions to the Merit Systems Protection Board. The MSPB reversed the Postal Service's actio
Digital Government
Digital punches up Windows NT line
Digital Equipment Corp. last week revved its Windows NT strategy with new Pentium and Pentium Probased models across three product families and positioned itself to be a player on several major upcoming government buys. Last week's rollout included a Pentiumbased notebook with power management an
Digital Government
Analyst teaches old feds new tricks
Tim Shaughnessy a procurement policy analyst with the Internal Revenue Service can attest to the veracity of one of the most common maxims in procurement reform circles: No matter how many laws change improvement in the procurement system depends upon agencies adopting a new "culture."~ ~Shaughne
Digital Government
Proposals for Part 15 released
The Clinton administration last week proposed longanticipated revisions to the Federal Acquisition Regulation designed to improve communications between agencies and vendors and give government contracting officers more discretion over how they make purchases. The proposed changes to FAR Part 15 w
Digital Government
NIH advertises with `shock jock'
The National Institutes of Health has taken to heart the philosophy that government should act more like a business purchasing drivetime advertising on three local radio stations last week including during the morning broadcast of 'shock jock' Howard Stern to publicize its ImageWorld and Chief
Digital Government