Ideas
Federal Health Sites Lead Pack
As technology observers we're often quick to highlight when the government lags behind the private sector. That's why it's important to take note when the public sector does something better, which seems to be the case when it comes to providing electronic health information.
Ideas
Idea: Unified Cybersecurity Committee
The government relations firm Livingston Group sent <a href="http://www.govexec.com/nextgov/1209/120309j1.pdf">letter</a> to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and minority leader John Boehner recommending Congress unify the plethora of committees that hold jurisdiction over cybersecurity.
Ideas
Access and Technology
The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform held a hearing on Wednesday on a topic that doesn't usually reach our radar: the manner in which local radio stations receive the ratings that determine their audience size and advertising rates. The debate that took place highlighted the difficulty of creating a balance between using technology for outreach while preserving access for all groups.
Ideas
Metro IT Money Unspent
Washington's Metro system has spent only eight percent of the economic stimulus funds it has budgeted for information technology, according to the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority. The Recovery Act enacted last February provided the beleaguered transportation system with $10.65 million for hardware and software to improve maintenance, monitor network traffic and protect Metro systems for disaster recovery.
Ideas
Nothrop Grumman forms cyber consoritium
Federal contractor Northrop Grumman <a href="http://www.irconnect.com/noc/press/pages/news_releases.html?d=179362">announced</a> a Cybersecurity Research Consortium Tuesday morning that will combine its own research expertise with that of Carnegie Mellon, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Purdue University to develop solutions to counter cyber threats.
Ideas
Flight Sims Prep Fighter Pilots
DefenseNews has an interesting article today on how gaming technology is <a href="http://www.defensenews.com/story.php?i=4396100&c=FEA&s=SPE">playing a larger role</a> in military pilot training. As the technology has improved, so has the level of realism in the simulations. This is crucial because it helps pilots prepare for the range of events they may encounter when flying during a mission.
Ideas
Movement On Net Neutrality
Today's Federal Register includes an <a href="http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2009/pdf/E9-28062.pdf">official notice</a> from the FCC that it is proposing a rule that would "preserve the open Internet." Net Neutrality has been a hot topic in recent days; last week a White House official <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/24/AR2009112404175.html">spoke out in favor</a> of the concept and took a shot at the broadband industry.
Ideas
Open Government Directive?
Remember the open government directive - the guidance that President Obama on his first day in office <a href="http://www.eda.gov/PDF/Memo_PresidentObama_FOIA.pdf">memoed</a> his administration about. He said he wanted recommendations by May 21 for regulations -- to be issued by the Office of Management and Budget -- that would put the principles of transparency, collaboration and participation in government into practice.
Ideas
If at First You Don't Succeed . . .
Maine has to have one of the longest running system-development sagas going. In 2001, the state awarded a contract to CNSI to build a Medicaid claims processing system. After numerous delays and cost overruns, Maine turned the system on in January 2005. The system immediately began <a href=http://www.cio.com/article/20133/Maine_s_Medicaid_Mistakes>misreading claims</a>, resulting in millions of dollars worth of medical bills that doctors and hospitals field to go unpaid.
Ideas
Tracking Your Twitter Account
The Web and everything related to it seems to be 2.0 these days, but Google Analytics Evangelist Avinash Kaushik's 2.0 take on Web analytics deserves the version two status. Not only does he methodically outline a new approach to analyzing Web metrics, but he offers some advice on how to measure the success of social media tools.
Ideas
RATB: Independent or an Agency?
Officials at the board overseeing stimulus spending and Recovery.gov have stressed to Nextgov that they are part of an independent body, not the White House. Ever since Congress established the Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board last winter, officials have said they should not be described in print as White House officials or government agency officials.
Ideas
Mashups Finger Stimulus Fishiness
A federal mashup tool has generated tips for investigations into stimulus fraud and fingered ineligible people who are receiving funds, the independent watchdog overseeing stimulus spending told lawmakers on Thursday.
Ideas
DHS: Former 'whipping boy' of Congress
The Homeland Security Department served as "the whipping boy" of Congress during the Bush administration, which only magnified challenges faced by the young organization, said the former cyber chief of DHS during a roundtable discussion Thursday.
Ideas
Air Force Needs More PS3s?
Part of my job involves searching through , the online home for almost all procurement-related federal notices. The vast majority of the technology-related notices in <a href="http://www.fedbizopps.gov/">FedBizOps</a> are pretty standard: hardware purchases and requests for information for new security software. Occasionally you'll see a notice about a bigger upcoming project.
Ideas
Commitee Passes Cybersecurity Bill
The House Committee on Science and Technology approved a bill Wednesday to support cybersecurity research and training, and the development of clear cybersecurity standards for federal agencies to follow.
Ideas
Recovery.gov Won't Warn Users
The independent board overseeing Recovery.gov is rejecting calls for a disclaimer on the stimulus-tracking Web site to indicate that some job creation figures are inaccurate.
Ideas
Data.gov: Where's the Beef?
Considering the amount of resistance the White House has faced recently on everything from health care reform to the ballooning deficit, it would appear that President Obama's honeymoon is officially over. That means it may be time to start questioning how successful his administration has been in terms of delivering on promises to bring unprecedented transparency to the executive branch by publishing government data online.
Ideas
A Cold '11 Budget, But Warmth for IT
The Office of Management and Budget has <a href="http://www.nextgov.com/nextgov/ng_20091113_3188.php?oref=topnews">asked</a> civilian agencies to ready themselves for fiscal 2011 budgets to be frozen at fiscal 2010 levels or, even worse, to be cut by 5 percent because the Obama administration is facing record deficits, which could become a drag on Democrats in elections next year.
Ideas
Social Media Rx for Drug Safety
An industry group representing pharmaceutical companies is proposing that the Food and Drug Administration require a FDA-certified emblem - akin to a Good Housekeeping seal - on Web content that contains medication information.
Ideas