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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Y2K's Legacy: Not a Waste
Writer Farhad Manjoo has an <a href=http://www.slate.com/id/2235357/>article</a> on Slate about the government's victory over the Year 2000 computer bug. In brief, computers didn't crash as date fields clicked over from 99 (for 1999) to 00 (for 2000) as was widely feared because the federal government, working in concert with companies and other countries, worked to rewrite software code to show four digits for years instead of two.
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We Want Your Comments
You'll notice a new feature on Nextgov today. You now can submit a comment on a Nextgov article using the Disqus platform, which you will find at the bottom of each article. The application replaces the site's Forum section, with the expectation that if readers see comments at the bottom of an article it will encourage a dialogue.
Ideas
TSA Nominee Doesn't Check Out
My <em>Government Executive</em> colleague Alyssa Rosenberg has some <a href="http://blogs.govexec.com/fedblog/2009/11/vetting_gone_wrong.php">harsh but fair words</a> about he Obama administration's vetting process:
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Cybersecurity Goes Mainstream
Sunday night, the CBS news program <em>60 Minutes</em> devoted its first <a href=http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=5578986n&tag=contentMain;cbsCarousel>15-minute (or so)</a> segment to cyber espionage, quoting such experts in the space as Jim Lewis, director of the technology and public policy program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies; Mike McConnell, former director of National Intelligence; and Rep. Jim Langevin, D-R.I., co-founder and co-chair of the House Cybersecurity Caucus.
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FDA on Pharma Ads 2.0
This week the Food and Drug Administration is holding <a href="http://www.fda.gov/aboutfda/centersoffices/cder/ucm184250.htm">hearings</a> on the promotional use of social media by the pharmaceutical industry. Consumers, advertisers and the health care industry are anxious to know how FDA will advise drug companies on harnessing the viral power of social networking while protecting consumers from bogus medical advice.
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