Acquisition
Contractors dodge ACORN scandal for now
The broad language of a House-approved bill to defund ACORN could have taken money away from some government contractors but the passage of the appropriations continuing resolution seems to have quieted those fears.
Cybersecurity
Sen. Collins says DHS should lead cybersecurity, not White House
Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs ranking member Susan Collins is preparing cybersecurity legislation that would give the Homeland Security Department -- and not what she calls a "White House czar" -- primary authority to protect federal civilian and private computer networks from attacks.
Digital Government
Recovery.gov asks citizen developers for ways to improve site
Contractors overhauling the site, scheduled to debut on Sept. 28, want online transparency advocates to propose ideas to make spending data available to other sites.
Digital Government
Michigan unveils strategy to garner stimulus IT funds
Faced with high unemployment, a $2.8 billion budget deficit and the struggling automotive industry, Michigan officials hope the federal government's information technology investments provide the state with a long-term windfall.
Digital Government
New refueling jets to be fully loaded with high-tech equipment
Air Force's fleet of tankers will provide Internet access, texting, satellite communications and GPS navigation on unclassified and classified networks, including connections for medics' laptops.
Digital Government
VA to issue emergency payments to vets for education benefits
Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric K. Shinseki authorized on Friday emergency payments of up to $3,000 to student veterans who have not received a payment this semester under the post-9/11 GI bill.
Digital Government
NIST readies Smart Grid security architecture
A cybersecurity working group is developing a security architecture and comprehensive set of security requirements to accompany the Smart Grid framework being developed by NIST's office for Smart Grid interoperability. A preliminary report is expected to be released for comment shortly.
Ideas
An Unlikely Federal Contractor
Doing business with the federal government is a notoriously difficult endeavor. The myriad of regulations make the barrier to entry extremely high for the average entrepreneur unfamiliar with the BeltWay of doing things. But one two and a half year old tech company's recent entry onto the GSA Schedules program may provide a preview of the Obama Administration's strategy to bring innovation to the government.
Digital Government
The Tip of the 9/11 GI Bill Iceberg
Top officials of the Veterans Affairs Department revised the figures they <a href=http://www.nextgov.com/nextgov/ng_20090923_3317.php>put out yesterday</a> on payments it has made to veterans under the post-9/11 GI bill, and said that of today, only 24,186 vets have received checks, or roughly 12 percent of the 200,000 claims it expected to receive by the end of the summer.
Modernization
3 questions to consider before moving a data center to the cloud
Remaking data centers in the image of a cloud means delivering IT services to internal customers with operations that are efficient, flexible and fast.
Modernization
DISA’s view from the cloud
Henry Sienkiewicz explains why DISA set up an internal cloud-computing service and what it means for operations.
People
At a glance
More employees are working away from the office, according to a recent OPM report.
Digital Government
Telework Town Hall
<a href="http://twitter.com/wiredworkplace">Wired Workplace</a> has been trying to follow the <a href="http://twitter.com/#search?q=%23TeleworkTHM">Twitter updates</a> from Thursday's Telework Exchange town hall meeting, at which Office of Personnel Management Director John Berry and U.S. Chief Technology Officer Aneesh Chopra were scheduled to speak, but surprisingly, there haven't been many tweets. Luckily, Alyssa Rosenberg at <em><a href="http://blogs.govexec.com/fedblog/2009/09/talking_telework_with_opm_dire.php">Government Executive</a></em> and Ed O'Keefe at <em><a href="http://voices.washingtonpost.com/federal-eye/2009/09/berry_teleworking_sales_pitch.html">The Washington Post</a></em> have some details from the meeting.
Cybersecurity
USCIS redesigns Web site to improve usability, access
Obama administration sees redesigned site as a model for others.
People
Agency insourcing plans make industry nervous
Although industry hears the rumblings of insourcing, experts say agencies aren't arriving at the potential savings with a full perspective of the government's costs.
Cybersecurity
Outsourcing some services could be risky
The Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency plans to outsource disaster recovery planning, raising security questions.
Modernization
Agencies prepare for merged Dell-Perot Systems
Agencies and experts say Dell and Perot Systems will continue providing the same level of service.
Modernization