Modernization

Why Christmas Is an Agonizing Time for App Developers

A hit can mean millions of new downloads. But it also usually involves spending millions on marketing.

Digital Government

Analysis: A HealthCare.gov Warning Taken out of Context

Issa hasn't shown that consumers' data was ever at great risk.

Emerging Tech

2013 Was a Lost Year for Tech Innovation

Not a single breakthrough product was unveiled -- and for reasons outlined here, Google Glass doesn’t count.

Digital Government

Researchers: It Is Trivially Easy to Match Metadata to Real People

Telephony metadata NSA collects does not include customer names, but it's easy to figure them out.

Digital Government

Edward Snowden: Congress's Failures Forced My Hand

The NSA leaker says House and Senate leaders "elected" him by failing to do their oversight jobs themselves.

Digital Government

Emergency Alert System May Go Commercial

The current system is dogged by inefficiencies that could cost lives, FEMA says.

Cybersecurity

Bitcoin spoof Dogecoin loses real dollars

Financial Services

Digital Government

Good Cheer to All

A note of gratitude for this digital pulpit – and the NextGov news pages.

Emerging Tech

How Astronauts Nearly Missed Taking the Iconic Earthrise Photo on Christmas Eve, 1968

New NASA video weaves together the audio recordings from inside the orbiter with illustrations and imagery.

Digital Government

Obamacare Deadline Extended Until Christmas Eve

Administration officials are allowing consumers who want Jan. 1 coverage more time, citing heavy traffic concerns.

Emerging Tech

DARPA Contest Lets Robots Compete to Save Humanity From Itself

Competition incentivizes technology that could save lives in disaster scenarios.

Acquisition

10 reports worth a second look

Among the most interesting Critical Read pieces FCW published in 2013 were ones covering the security clearance process, performance management and FISMA.

Digital Government

A fun party game for the holidays?

"Revolutionary Road" by Richard Yates contains a number of colloquial phrases that have all but disappeared from the language.

Modernization

Census Dropping BlackBerry, Will Outfit Surveyors with iPhones

The iPhone pilot is the first step to a bring-your-own-device strategy for Census surveyors.

Emerging Tech

Behold: The World's First Digitally Signed International Agreement

Diplomacy, by ID card.