Digital Government
Rapid Battlefield Visualization tops list of ACTD projects
The Pentagon unveiled its Advanced Concept Technology Demonstration (ACTD) candidates for fiscal 1997, with information technologies for the battlefield leading the list of programs that could make it from development to the field in the near future. Many of these initiatives are part of an overall
Digital Government
NASA executive keeps mission operations flying high
Dolly Perkins sits in her office and quietly describes the electric feeling of suspense that envelops NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center during a launch. Walking down the hall, 'you can feel people are very intent,' Perkins said. 'They can be very anxious. If you're in the control room, there's ten
Digital Government
Cray alleges dumping following $35M award to NEC
Cray Research Inc. last week accused Japan's NEC Corp. of dumping supercomputers in the United States as a result of its winning a fiveyear, $35 million deal to supply the highend machines to the National Center for Atmospheric Research. Cray asked that both the Commerce Department and the Intern
Digital Government
Editorial
The decision by the Defense Information Systems Agency to move ahead with the systems integration contract on its nextgeneration network acquisition in spite of a protest is only the latest example of what critics charge is a pervasive Defense Department attitude. Many DOD officials really believe
Digital Government
OMB-led effort would offer single format for companies
The House Government Reform and Oversight Committee recently passed legislation that would require the Office of Management and Budget to appoint a committee of industry and government representatives to establish standards for data reported to multiple agencies by private companies. Rep. Steven Ho
Digital Government
GCCS misses July deadline
The Defense Information Systems Agency missed its endofJuly deadline for replacing the antiquated World Wide Military Command and Control System (WWMCCS) with the Global Command and Control System (GCCS), but a top agency official expects to have the program back on track by the end of August. Re
Digital Government
House boosts Justice; Commerce, State suffer
In its continuing effort to fight crime, the House last month approved increases for many Justice Department information technology programs, particularly those in the FBI and the Immigration and Naturalization Service. But those increases came at a cost. The House approved smaller increases for so
Digital Government
Draft RFP released for Virtual Data Center Services program
The General Services Administration late last month released the final draft request for proposals for a governmentwide program for outsourcing services called the Virtual Data Center Services program. GSA's Federal Systems Integration and Management Center (Fedsim) anticipates releasing an RFP by
Digital Government
Protest Rains on Award
The recent agreement by the National Center for Atmospheric Research to lease NEC Corp. supercomputers has sparked allegations of dumping by unsuccessful bidder Cray Research (see story, page 10). NCAR uses supercomputers to conduct atmospheric and related research, such as the climate change proje
Digital Government
Gavel falls for last time on IT protest jurisdiction
Wednesday is the final day that the General Services Administration's Board of Contract Appeals can accept bid protests for information technology contracts, concluding its decadelong role as an arbiter for these oftencontentious cases. Beginning Thursday, vendors seeking relief from alleged cont
Digital Government
Industry seeks federal partnership
Industry is aiming to pressure government to work with it on standards for digital mapping technology, a move that would go a long way toward tying together the estimated $5 billion worth of geospatial data the government generates every year. Corporations and industry consultants recently formed a
Digital Government
DOD taps NASA for charting mission
The armed services and the scientific community will have access to a previously unavailable wealth of topographic data as a result of a cooperative agreement inked last month by the Defense Mapping Agency and NASA. Under a memorandum of understanding signed by the two agencies, NASA will launch th
Digital Government
Appeals process packed with pitfalls
A recent case brought before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit shows how difficult it is for feds to wend their way through the thicket of confusing rules and regulations covering appeals and grievance procedures. This case involved a distribution clerk with the U.S. Postal Service
Digital Government
HP, Lexmark debut new printers at both ends of market
Printer market rivals HewlettPackard Co. and Lexmark International Inc. both announced new printers in the last week each targeting different parts of the market with prices ranging from less than $250 to nearly $15 000. Lexmark introduced a color inkjet printer that can serve small offices while
Digital Government
NARA's plan: More rhetorical vision than working strategy
Now is the time for all good people to tell the National Archives and Records Administration how to get its act together. NARA recently issued an ambitious, 10year strategic plan (available at http://www.nara.gov) titled 'Ready Access to Essential Evidence' and is seeking feedback on the plan from
Digital Government
Survey finds feds behind curve
House members said they were 'appalled' by a survey released last week that showed a majority of federal agencies have done very little to develop plans to cope with the Year 2000 problem, prompting the House oversight committee that conducted the survey to issue failing grades for most agencies. O
Digital Government
New regs help FASA, FARA, ITMRA get going
The Clinton administration and the General Accounting Office have issued more than a dozen regulations that carry out various provisions of the Federal Acquisition Streamlining Act, the Federal Acquisition Reform Act and the Information Technology Management Reform Act, including: Repeal, as of Aug
Digital Government
GSA to test competition in large metropolitan areas
The General Services Administration last month unveiled plans to award by the end of next year the first in a series of contracts designed to spur competition for telecommunications services in large metropolitan areas that have a high concentration of federal users. GSA's Federal Telecommunication
Digital Government
Schedule 70A sales drop 11 percent
Business in the first half of fiscal 1996 went from bad to worse on General Services Administration Schedule 70A, according to a new report by International Data Corp. Overall, revenue for Schedule 70A for Unix workstations and other large systemsrelated products dropped 11 percent compared wi
Digital Government