Ideas
A High-Tech First Family
Heard on the National Mall from a young man during the inauguration ceremonies, when, on the jumbotron, the Obama's daughters, Malia and Sasha, and their grandmother, Marian Robinson, walked through the Capitol to their seats:
Ideas
CTO Update: Nix Warrior and Kundra
Sources say <a href="http://techinsider.nextgov.com/2009/01/warrior_or_kundra_for_cto.php">speculation</a> that Barack Obama's federal chief technology officer will be either Padmasree Warrior, the CTO at Cisco Systems, or Vivek Kundra, the CTO for Washington, D.C., is not correct.
Ideas
Warrior or Kundra for CTO?
Business Week <a href="http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/jan2009/tc20090115_815265.htm">reported</a> that Barack Obama will appoint as the federal chief information officer either Padmasree Warrior, the CTO at Cisco Systems or Vivek Kundra, the CTO for Washington, D.C.
Ideas
What One Doctor Thinks of EHRs
Electronic health records got a lot of attention on Thursday, with House Democrats putting $20 billion in their stimulus package to help pay for digitized medical records and Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., holding a hearing on the subject. During the hearing, Mikulski warned about a "techno-boondoggle" if a network of health records isn't managed properly. What could possibly go wrong? Ask your doctor next time you go in for a visit about electronic health records. I did, and I didn't hear what I expected.
Ideas
What's Next: Software Never Events?
Nextgov <a href="http://www.nextgov.com/nextgov/ng_20090112_2005.php">reported</a> on Monday that "more than 30 public and private cybersecurity organizations released a list of the 25 most dangerous software programming errors" so that agencies could put pressure on software vendors to make sure these errors were did not exist in their programs that they sell to government.
Ideas
Benchmark for Obama's Web 2.0 Vision
Barack Obama said he will use technology to reach out to Americans to ask for input on policies and to make government operations more transparent. The Obama administration might just have a benchmark on how using technology to engage the public may or may not change Americans' feelings about their government.
Ideas
Cybersecurity Subcommittee Takes a Hit
Cybersecurity proponents suffered a loss with the <a href="http://www.house.gov/apps/list/press/ri02_langevin/prcommitt10609.html">announcement</a> by Congressman Jim Langevin, D-R.I., that he will take a leave of absence from the House Homeland Security Committee and return to the Armed Service Committee, where he served until January 2007, when House Speaker Nancy Pelosi asked him to serve on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.
Ideas
24: Art Imitating Reality?
Die-hard fans of the Fox Emmy-winning drama 24 enjoyed two full episodes Sunday night that focused on a breach of the firewall that protects the national infrastructure. Sound familiar?
Ideas
Feds: Sick Like Europeans
It's flu season, the time of year when employees call in sick. But if you are a Belgium government worker, flu season seems to last year round. In some Belgium government departments, employees take an average of 35 days of paid sick leave a year, according to a <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123145414405365887.html"><em>Wall Street Journal</em> brief</a> on Friday.
Ideas
But Can it Hug You Back?
A solicitation from the a Defense Department research group has caught the attention of the blogosphere. Defense's Small Business Innovation Research, which gives money to small tech companies to develop early-stage research and development projects, asked companies to submit ideas for a computer program that mimics a conversation between a child and his or her deployed parent.
Ideas
AF Counter-Blogs with Trolls
The Air Force, which has not been the most enthusiastic of the services in its support of the blogosphere, has developed a <a href="http://freshspot.typepad.com/.a/6a00d83451f23a69e2010536ab4efc970b-popup">counter-blogging model</a> to help those in the Air Force respond to negative blog posts. The step-by-step, binary process leads a possible Air Force commenter on how to categorize posts -- is it a "troll," a "rager," "misguided," or an "unhappy customer" -- and how to respond.
Ideas
A Chance for Smart Highways
Barack Obama <a href="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=97973470">said last month</a> that he wants to spend billions of dollars on building new roads and repairing those that are worn out. If Congress passes spending on highways, it could provide an opportunity to invest in technology that could reduce traffic congestion.
Ideas
CTO Named on Wednesday?
<em>The New York Times</em> <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/05/us/politics/05spend.html?_r=1&ref=todayspaper">reported</a> on Monday that Obama plans to name his chief technology officer on Wednesday.
Ideas
Why Cyber Spending Will Increase
Barack Obama <a href="http://www.nextgov.com/nextgov/ng_20080718_2930.php">pledged</a> last summer to make cybersecurity a priority, but a better barometer of just how high network security will be on an Obama administration agenda is to look at where federal contractors are investing. And they are betting big on cybersecurity, <a href="http://news.cnet.com/8301-1009_3-10130225-83.html">according to CNet news</a>.
Ideas
A Call for More Social Networking
Craig Newmark, founder of Craig's List, wrote Dec. 29 on The Huffington Post Web site that the Federal Web Managers Council "itching for inauguration, but they're not waiting." He cites some points in a Dec. 23 <a href="http://www.usa.gov/webcontent/documents/SocialMediaFed%20Govt_BarriersPotentialSolutions.pdf">Web council paper</a> on what policies and strategies an Obama administration should ask agencies to do when it comes to social networking.
Ideas
More on the CTO
It's looking more like the chief technology officer whom Barack Obama says he plans to appoint will be more involved in technology policy and public outreach than government operations.
Ideas
Bye-Bye TSAT
The Air Force today killed off its over-budget and long delayed $16 billion Transformational Satellite Communications program, but promised a slimmed-down reincarnation minus some expensive and challenging technologies.
Ideas
One Rosy IT Spending Outlook
If you want to feel better about the prospects for information technology spending, CompassIntelligence.com is the place you want to go. <a href="http://www.govtech.com/gt/articles/572700">They say federal IT spending</a> will hit nearly $100 billion by 2012. They also report that federal IT spending in 2008 increased 5.3 percent and they forecast 2009 spending will jump 5.5 percent again.
Ideas
The Chief Technology Outreacher
It's not exactly clear exactly what the responsibilities will be for Obama's new chief technology officer, but Carolyn Brubaker, head of business development for civilian agencies at Microsoft Federal, has some general thoughts. Brubaker, who last month was assigned the extra duty as the company's new chief transition officer (the first of its kind as far as we can tell), told Nextgov on Friday in a sit-down interview that the CTO might focus less on government operations and more on outreach to the public. According to talks she and her team at Microsoft have had with Obama's transition team, it's likely social networking technologies are going to be the CTO's main responsibility.
Ideas