Ideas
Another Government Dashboard
The Office of Management and Budget on Tuesday announced the debut of another <a href="http://www.reginfo.gov/public/jsp/Utilities/index.jsp" target="blank">IT dashboard</a>, this time as a window into the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs.
Ideas
Crowd-Sourced Digitization Kicks Off
A new experiment in crowd-sourced digitization kicked off last week with the inaugural meeting of the International Amateur Scanning League. This new club's first task will be to organize its volunteers to digitize 1,500 DVDs from the National Archives and Records Administration so that the content can be shared on YouTube, the Internet Archive and Public.Resource.Org's Public Domain Stock Footage Theater for free.
Ideas
The Administration in 140 Characters
The Democratic National Committee last week announced a new job opening sure to invite a flood of responses. The position? <a href="http://my.barackobama.com/page/s/socnetsmanager" target="blank">Social networks manager</a>, otherwise known as Barack Obama's twitterer.
Ideas
DARPA's Mad Science?
Wired had a field day decrying Darpa's proposed project, BioDesign, as a "mad science" project to "re-write the laws of evolution to the military's advantage, creating 'synthetic organisms' that can live forever -- or can be killed with the flick of a molecular switch." If that sounded just a little alarming, the fine print of Darpa's FY2011 budget didn't help placate enraged readers.
Ideas
Xbox to Aid E-Health?
The Xbox, Microsoft's powerful video game console, may soon be good for more than just virtual basketball games and war simulations. Company researchers currently are looking to adapt the device to various healthcare needs, including the transfer and display of electronic medical records.
Ideas
OSTP Launches New Web Site
The Office of Science and Technology Policy on Wednesday announced the launch of its redesigned <a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/eop/ostp" target="blank">Web portal</a>, which updates the old site's features and incorporates a few new ones.
Ideas
Get Ready for Cyber ShockWave
A Washington think tank will host a simulated cyberattack on the United States on Tuesday to demonstrate how the government would respond to a large-scale attack on the nation's computer systems and networks.
Ideas
Taking Twitter Too Far?
Sun Microsystems Chief Executive Officer Jonathan Schwartz late last week announced his resignation on Twitter. His <a href="http://twitter.com/OpenJonathan/status/8620937722">tweet</a> incorporated a bit of haiku -- Financial crisis/Stalled too many customers/CEO no more -- and fell just below the platform's 140-character maximum. When major private sector players start using social media to break news, will others follow suit?
Ideas
Operating Status: Down
With record-breaking snow pounding the Washington area over the weekend (and more expected tonight and tomorrow), much has been made of the Office of Personnel Management's decision to close the federal government two days in a row. Feds in the DC/Maryland/Virginia area have been so anxious for news that OPM's operating status page has been down for brief periods on both Sunday and Monday nights.
Ideas
Use E-mail or Pay $15,000 Penalty?
Small businesses that don't have email may find themselves in trouble with the Labor Department, according to The Pension Department, a New York-based consultancy.
Ideas
OGOV Compliance Site Launches
Over the weekend, the White House quietly launched a new Web site aimed at tracking agency compliance with an open government directive released in December.
Ideas
Crowdsourcing Contests Continue
When it comes to brainstorming solutions for just about anything, federal agencies under the Obama administration like to turn first to their employee suggestion boxes -- which often are attached to major rewards.
Ideas
DHS Launches Its Open Gov Site
The Homeland Security Department launched an online tool for citizens and those involved in security to suggest ideas for enhancing transparency at the agency.
Ideas
Open Government Deadline Eve
Tomorrow (February 6) marks the next deadline in the Obama administration's Open Government Directive, the date by which agencies must have a new Web page up and running.
Ideas
NASA's Version of R2
NASA and General Motors Corp. unveiled on Thursday a robot the two organizations have developed for use in space exploration and car manufacturing. What's striking about Robonaut 2 is the dexterity of its fingers, although its thumb is rather elongated. The YouTube video below shows R2, as it is referred to, gently moving back a piece of cloth to pick up a manila envelope.
Ideas
DHS Wants Public Dialogue
The Homeland Security Department completed the first step of a three-step process to better link operations to agency missions by submitting a review of long-term strategic goals to Congress. Technology played a crucial role, said a DHS official, by providing representatives from all segments of the homeland security community with the opportunity to contribute.
Ideas
Announcing: The Nextgov Awards
Nextgov has launched the <a href=http://www.nextgov.com/nextgov_awards/>Nextgov Awards</a>, an inaugural program to recognize federal managers who have shepherded a program, policy or management practice that is not only innovative, but bold and brave.
Ideas
Senate Confirms Johnson as GSA Chief
The Senate today confirmed Martha Johnson as General Services Administration administrator, nearly ten months after her nomination to the post.
Ideas