Digital Government
FEDWIRE
PRC snares GOES support pact The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration late last week awarded PRC Inc. a $26.6 million contract to support the agency's Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite Data Distribution System (GDDS). PRC, the incumbent on the contract, will provide opera
Digital Government
SGI to acquire Cray in $740M buyout
Silicon Graphics Inc.'s purchase of Cray Research Inc. is bringing sighs of relief among federal supercomputer users who were concerned about Cray's longterm technology leadership. SGI announced last week that it will purchase Cray for about $740 million in a deal expected to close in April. The m
Digital Government
Intercepts
WORMS, Germany Live from 5th Sig. The Interceptor has moved his flyaway rig here, to the HQ of the Army 5th Signal Command, to get the kind of information on Operation Joint Endeavor he'd never find prowling the Ering. This week he will deploy a special ruggedized Interceptor unit to Bosnia, C
Digital Government
State preps draft RFP for $100M buy
The State Department this month will release a draft request for proposals (DRFP) for its $100 millionplus State Information InfrastructurePC LocalArea Network (SIIPC LAN) procurement, an office automation contract that will standardize office hardware and software in department offices worldwi
Digital Government
New macro viruses infect agencies
Federal computer users are being threatened by malicious new "macro" viruses involving Microsoft Corp.'s Word and Excel programs, prompting agency warnings about potential widespread damage. First discovered last summer, these viruses have already hit Energy Department and other government facili
Digital Government
Multifunction Devices
As government agencies strive to do more with limited funds, a new class of computer peripherals is gaining visibility: the multifunction device. Because they combine the features of different office machines into one piece of equipment, multifunction devices offer inherent value. But buyers need t
Digital Government
FEDERAL BYTES
It's Only a Movie After witnessing Sen. Ernest Hollings' (DS.C.) acting debut in the film "City Hall," we began a search for roles for other members of Congress. We came up with the perfect vehicle for Sen. James Exon (DNeb.), the crusader who will protect us from Internet obscenities. The film
Digital Government
Navtip goes for COTS buy
More than a year after issuing its first draft solicitation for a $2.4 billion telecommunications infrastructure buy, the Navy this month plans to release a revised version focusing less on voice and more on data services supporting the Defense Message System. The Naval Telecommunications Infrastru
Digital Government
Commerce exec picked to head GSA
David Barram, deputy secretary of the Commerce Department and a former Apple Computer Inc. executive, has been chosen to succeed Roger Johnson as head of the General Services Administration. The appointment represents the second consecutive time President Clinton has selected a business leader to a
Digital Government
Extending protection to Net transmissions may hurt access
Extending copyright protection to works transmitted over the Internet could restrict public access to government data and impose new burdens on users of computer networks, including taxpayerfunded libraries, Congress was warned recently. At hearings before the House Judiciary Committee's Courts an
Digital Government
Editorial
President Clinton's plan to issue an executive order directing federal agencies to donate millions of dollars worth of excess computer equipment to our nation's schools deserves a special mention. According to General Services Administration figures, federal agencies donated $88.6 million in comput
Digital Government
Troops dial up stateside data
ZAGREB, Croatia The Army has extended powerful telecommunications networks so deep into Bosnia that infantry company clerks can use their PCs to easily tap into databases in the United States, according to topranking communications and computer experts in the Army 5th Signal Command, Defense In
Digital Government
Lumina targets fed market with multifunction device
Lumina Office Products has introduced the Lumina 2000, a multifunction device that incorporates a scanner, fax machine and copier. Lumina's product differs from most multifunction peripherals in that it lacks a printer. Lumina targets the large installed base of potential customers who already have
Digital Government
DISA fires back at AT&T
In a sharply worded response to AT&T's protest of the multibilliondollar Defense Information Systems Network procurement, the Defense Department struck back, airing myriad complaints about the longhaul AT&T Defense Commercial Telecommunications Network (DCTN) contract, first awarded to that compa
Digital Government
Nortel disbanding federal unit
Northern Telecom Inc. is dismantling Nortel Federal, the division of the company that had traditionally dealt with federal customers. Nortel Federal employees were notified of the plan last month. A number of Nortel Federal executives have been laid off as a result of the ongoing restructuring, acc
Digital Government
Round Two
The article "Nonprofit research centers hit with strict funding limits" [FCW, Feb. 19] incorrectly stated the size limits imposed on the Software Engineering Institute. SEI initially had a ceiling of 250 employees, which has since dropped to 155.
Digital Government
Oracle unveils Universal Server product
Oracle Corp. last week introduced and began shipping a new version of its Oracle7 relational database management software, which forms the kernel of its Universal Server platform. Like the Informix Software Inc. database platform of the same name, Oracle's Universal Server allows users to manage mu
Digital Government
HUD sets rules for use of new software
The Department of Housing and Urban Development this year will require state and local governments to use a mapping software to apply for the $7.5 billion HUD doles out every year to support housing and community development programs. The software, called the Consolidated Planning System (CPS), is
Digital Government
IT component expected to reach $300M to $400M
The Census Bureau plans to spend $300 million to $400 million on technology to support the 2000 census and expects to release solicitations for services and equipment this summer. To conduct the 2000 census, the Census Bureau will need everything from laptop computers and modems for data collection
Digital Government