Ideas
Open Government Directive Arrives
The White House, <a href="http://techinsider.nextgov.com/2009/11/remember_the_open_government_directive.php">at long last</a>, has a release date for the transparency directive that President Obama announced on his first day at work: Tuesday, Dec. 8 at 11:00 a.m.
Ideas
Public Vote on Ways to SAVE
FedBlog guest blogger Dan Munz had an <a href="http://blogs.govexec.com/fedblog/2009/12/save_some_money.php">interesting post</a> on Monday about the White House allowing the public to vote on the president's <a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/save-award">Securing Americans Value and Efficiency (SAVE) award</a>:
Ideas
FDA, That's an Apple, as in iMac
Blogger <a href="http://www.techcrunch.com/author/mg/">MG Siegler</a> at Tech Crunch recently <a href="http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/12/04/fda-imac/">wrote</a> the delivery -- or lack thereof -- of his new Apple iMac <em>computer</em>. It seems was held up in Louisville, Ky., because UPS, which was delivering the package, said it had filed documents with the Food and Drug Administration and the Agriculture Department to get approval. Did the word "apple" confuse the agencies?
Ideas
Bailout Transparency Bill Advances
A bill aimed at shedding sunlight on bailout spending <a href="http://www.nextgov.com/nextgov/ng_20091117_2830.php">finally passed</a> the House this week and now goes to the Senate, where <a href="http://www.nextgov.com/nextgov/ng_20090917_7212.php">IT vendors</a>, <a href="http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d111:SN00910:@@@P">several Republicans</a> and the <a href="http://www.cdt.org/blogs/heather-west/tarp-transparency-moves-senate">Center for Democracy and Technology</a>, a civil liberties group, are cheering it on.
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