Digital Government
Watchdog group gives Obama mixed review on openness
OpenTheGovernment.org says the White House is moving toward becoming the most open in history, but criticizes it for spending large sums to create and secure classified information.
Cybersecurity
NIST releases cybersecurity guidelines for smart grid
Guidelines are a good step forward, but they focus only on securing individual devices, not on tightening security for how different parts of the system will be connected, experts say.
Digital Government
FCC posts data sets, plans site redesign to be more like a dot-com
Application programming interfaces allow visitors to search Internet speeds in counties, broadcast licenses and census data.
Digital Government
White House kicks off contest website to find fixes to big problems
Agencies can post a competition to Challenge.gov in minutes by filling out an online form with details of the initiative.
Digital Government
Air Force operates a mini-FedEx hub to provide relief in Pakistan
Mobile communications system offers three classified data connections, three unclassified connections and three phone lines.
Digital Government
Working From Home on Labor Day
Access to fast Internet speeds that make working from home and on-the-go easier seem to be on the rise nationwide, just in time for Labor Day.
Ideas
When I Grow Up . . .
In a recent <a href=http://www.cio.com/article/603965/The_New_New_CIO_Role_Big_Changes_Ahead> article</a> on how chief information officers can become part of an organization's senior leadership team (rather than an order taker who makes sure the e-mail or data center doesn't go down), CIO.com quotes Tom Davenport, professor of management and information technology at Babson College in Wellesley, Mass.:
Cybersecurity
Tell Me About Your Security Career
I found this little gem of an <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/30/AR2010083001935.html">article</a> today, which reminded me of the importance of finding and training cybersecurity professionals. It's no secret there aren't enough well qualified professionals (or cyber warriors) to keep up. But it might be a secret that the ones with the training don't always have a career path to follow.
Digital Government
VA Catches Up on GI Housing Payments
Veterans attending college under the post-9/11 GI bill did not receive an increase in their basic housing allowance for the 2010 spring semester due to the clunky claims processing system that was in place until just this month.
Digital Government
IT jobs can get pretty down and dirty
People monitoring the Internet for unsightly content have to look at the disgusting material day after day. Others build IT infrastructure in war zones and repair undersea Internet cables that connect continents.
Cybersecurity
DHS starts Predator UAV flights in Texas
The Homeland Security Department on Sept. 1 began flying regularly scheduled unmanned Predator aircraft surveillance flights from Corpus Christi, Texas, expanding the department’s total unmanned air surveillance capabilities to the entire Southwest land border.
Digital Government
GAO bows to CIA decision to waive conflicts of interest
GAO’s ruling is evidence that it won’t second-guess agency officials' decisions to waive organizational conflicts of interest.
Digital Government
Branding Health IT. Ouch!
Quick, what is the first image that comes to mind when you think about team work, as in "health IT is a team effort -- one that requires different players working together toward the common goals of increased coordination, quality, safety and efficiency in our health care system?"
Digital Government
VA completes automating claims processing system
Officials said the VA has sped processing time for new claims under the Post 9/11 GI Bill.
Modernization
HTC Evo's 4G service takes smart phones to new dimensions
The Evo is hands-down a Reviewer’s Choice winner in this roundup because of two crucial things: the device's bountiful jaw-dropping features and the outstanding performance of those features on the device.
Modernization
Samsung Captivate makes good use of its Android OS
For most agencies, the Captivate would be a perfect mobile device because it walks a careful balance between the easy-to-manage BlackBerry and the power and capabilities of the Evo.
Modernization
iPhone 4.0 a great device that deserves better reception
Despite its problems with AT&T, the iPhone’s easy-to-use navigation and sleek construction makes it easy to overlook the antenna nightmares. I reviewed a $199, 16G unit running Version 4.0.1 of Apple's iPhone operating system and found it hard to criticize anything else about the phone.
Digital Government
IBM supercomputer to challenge humans on 'Jeopardy'
IBM will put its natural-language processing research to the test this fall, when its Watson supercomputer goes up against human players on "Jeopardy."
Cybersecurity