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

Rapper Snoop Dogg joins cybercrime fight

Get ready to bust a rhyme against cyber crime with a contest cosponsored by Symantec's Norton and rapper Snoop Dogg.

People

Waving the public service banner at the Kennedy School

An event during the first week of classes illustrates why it can be a challenge to attract students to work for government, writes blogger Steve Kelman.

Digital Government

Social media helps NRC combat brain drain

Government Computer News

Modernization

Less than half of 'Net connections meet FCC speed goal

A Federal Communications Commission report released on Thursday examining Internet access subscriptions found less than half of U.S. subscribers currently get broadband service that meets or exceeds speed targets set by the commission in its national broadband plan.

Cybersecurity

DHS to expand cybersecurity program for researchers

Officials believe giving cyber specialists access to information about real-world network attacks could lead to better solutions to protecting computers.

Digital Government

VA completes education claims system in time for fall semester

Fully automated network works through complex calculations to determine veterans' tuition payments and housing allowances under the 2008 GI bill.

Digital Government

Barack Obama Hates Fat People

Even if you've followed closely the government's plan to move the country's health care system from paper to electronic medical records, you may have missed a heretofore hidden provision that will allow pointy-headed bureaucrats to track the Body Mass Index of God-fearing, corn-dog loving citizens and, when necessary, ration the health care of individuals determined by the government to be (and I use the technical language here) lard buckets.

Digital Government

Fighting the Flu with Your Cell

Last year's response to the pandemic H1N1 flu was mired by delays in manufacturing what was supposed to be the most powerful tool for preventing widespread fatalities: a vaccine. This year, one of the most powerful tools may just be your cell phone.

Digital Government

Up Next: The e-Patient Terminal

In the almost forgotten era before the Internet, if you were sick enough to go to a hospital, all you had do was lie in bed, have doctors and nurses care for you, and you eventually got better.