Digital Government
IRS slow reaction to bounced checks costs treasury $20 million
Inspector general also reports that the agency needs to improve oversight to detect unauthorized access to taxpayers' personal information.
Digital Government
Real-time reporting on bank bailout funds and stimulus spending needed
Current auditing practices used to track trillions of dollars lead to billions in waste and fraud, but technology could quickly stop abuses, specialists say.
Modernization
Think tank makes high-tech suggestions for human rights movement
Center for American Progress recommends using federal funds on technology to help defend human rights abroad.
Ideas
Feds Offer 38,484 Budget Cuts
Federal employees conceived 38,484 ways to cut the federal budget during a month-long contest that ended last week, Office of Management and Budget officials said on Monday.
Digital Government
First Texting, Now GPS
According to New York State Gov. David Paterson, it's time to add truckers, who might be following GPS-enabled map systems, to texting drivers as the latest high-tech road hazard.
Ideas
Be an Analysis Ninja
Google Analytics Evangelist Avinash Kaushik detailed how to measure the success of a government Web site on Google's <a href="http://googlepublicsector.blogspot.com/">Public Sector Blog</a> last week. And his first instruction was <em>not</em> to turn to any of the tools Google offers in its analytics toolset.
Ideas
Recovery.gov Enhances Downloads
The board overseeing stimulus spending has provided Internet users with a bulk download of all federal contract results, after transparency activists griped that Recovery.gov's data was hard to analyze. The new <a href="http://www.recovery.gov/FAQ/Pages/DLCenter.aspx">data set</a>, labeled "AllNationwideContracts.zip," is a single spreadsheet listing the status, location, funds awarded and jobs created for projects across all 50 states.
Digital Government
Windows 7 review: 'New' OS is just Vista with small changes
Microsoft's Windows 7 has been touted as a new, better-running operating system. But despite the addition of a few handy features, the GCN Lab finds that it looks just like the Vista OS, has a lot of the same annoying quirks as Vista and delivers no difference in performance from Vista.
Cybersecurity
Secret Service plans IT reboot
The Secret Service seeks information from companies as it prepares to modernize its information technology infrastructure.
Modernization
VA offers grave-locator service to mobile devices
The VA has expanded its nationwide grave locator service so the service is available on smart phones.
Digital Government
GreenGov Challenge
The White House on Monday <a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/Introducing-the-GreenGov-Challenge-A-Bottom-Up-Approach-to-Greening-Government/#TB_inline?height=220&width=370&inlineId=tb_external&linkId=2">announced a new online program that challenges federal and military personnel</a> to submit their own clean energy ideas and suggestions and vote on others. The new GreenGov challenge is running in coordination with National Energy Awareness Month, and any federal employee or military member can submit a clean energy idea from Oct. 19 through Oct. 31.
Cybersecurity
SSA needs more planning for data systems upgrades, GAO says
The SSA is exchanging data more than one billion times a year and needs to do more to prepare for an increasing data exchange caseload, the GAO says.
Digital Government
Indiana fires IBM from $1.3 billion welfare contract
Indiana fires IBM as the prime contractor on a $1.34 billion contract to overhaul the state's welfare system.
Digital Government