Digital Government
IT jobs duck outsource lists
Agencies last week released lists of thousands of jobs that could be outsourced to private companies, including some of information technologyrelated jobs. But critics say the way agencies released the lists could hurt vendors and federal employees who may want to challenge them. The initial group
Digital Government
Calculating costs, cautions from war
The hightech information systems that U.S. and NATO forces employed against Yugoslavia this year ended up contributing confusion, according to a toplevel draft briefing prepared for the commander of U.S. forces in Operation Allied Force. Draft briefing slides prepared for Adm. James Ellis in an a
Digital Government
Florida Pioneers EDI-based Purchase Card
Mostly a curiosity just a couple of years ago, the use of purchase cards appears to be an inexorable part of the future of procurement for state and local governments.
Digital Government
DOD re-sold Y2K-sensitive excess supplies
The Defense Department donated or sold hundreds of thousands of computers, medical devices and other electronic equipment to state and local agencies, hospitals and other public institutions that could fail to operate because of Year 2000 problems. In a report released this week, the Pentagon's ins
Digital Government
Intercepts
NAVSAT SETBACK. Stratos Mobile Networks prevailed in its legal protest against the award of an $112 million contract to Communications Satellite Corp. for 64 kilobits/sec satellite service to Navy ships worldwide, a key component of the Navy's Information Technology for the 21st Century project. Th
Digital Government
Marketplace
Wireless Link Passes Test in Rural Virginia Rep. Rick Boucher (DVa.) last month helped unveil a wireless communications system in Blacksburg, Va., that reduces the costs involved in bringing broadband service the 'last mile' into rural homes and businesses. The Local Multipoint Distributed Service
Digital Government
Wild File's GoBack cures hard drive headaches
Wild File Inc. claims that GoBack is a product that saves users from all of the worst headaches that can strike computer users. Other utilities tidy up many of the problems of daily computer usage, but some of the big problems, such as loss of critical system files, overwriting important documents,
Digital Government
U.S. to push moratorium on global Internet tariffs
U.S. lawmakers said last week that they would push for a permanent moratorium on electronic commercerelated global Internet tariffs when the World Trade Organization meets next month in Seattle.
Digital Government
LA names new leader for IT agency
The city of Los Angeles last week named Jesse Juarros as general manager of the Los Angeles Information Technology Agency. Juarros, promoted from assistant general manager, replaces John Whang, who recently left the agency to explore an opportunity in education, according to an agency spokeswoman.
Digital Government
Clean up GSA service schedule procedures
I yield to nobody in my admiration for the changes in the General Services Administration's information technology contracting operations since 1993. The agency has transformed itself from dinosaur to space warrior. Under the leadership of Roger Johnson and David Barram and in a world where defense
Digital Government
Securing the Link
To meet a federal mandate to reduce welfare rolls, the Florida Department of Labor and Employment Security needed to find a way to transmit data securely with new privatesector partners while allowing them access to internal databases.
Digital Government
Notebook Class of '99 Earns High Honors
You couldn't ask for much more from the notebook computer industry. Since the Test Center's annual notebook roundup last fall, vendors have improved nearly every aspect of their systems, from processor speeds and hard drive capacity to system weight and battery lifeall while dropping the average p
Digital Government
What rules govern agency publicity?
A reader asked the following question: Are there any limits on agencies' advertising campaigns to promote their contracting capabilities? What rules govern agency publicity and advertising efforts? Advertising of the sort discussed in this question has become rampant in recent years. Many people th
Digital Government
Linux takes NOAA by storm
In what may be the first competitive government contract involving the Linux operating system, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration last month tagged a Reston, Va.based company to provide a Linuxbased supercomputer that promises drastic improvements in the ability to forecast dang
Digital Government
CryptCard: Tight security for the mobile work force
Specifically designed for government agencies intent on combating unauthorized access to sensitive and confidential data for its mobile users, Global Technologies Group Inc.'s CryptCard is a standard PC Card that slides into any PCMCIA slot on a notebook computer. Unlike some smart card security so
Digital Government
Smart Pay, SmarTrip
When it comes to metropolitan rail systems, the Washington, D.C., Metro ranks as a relative newcomer, having arrived on the Capitol City scene about 20 years ago. But that hasn't stopped it from grabbing the lead in the race with other urban areas to find better and faster ways to move passengers t
Digital Government
Three hot technologies for the millennium
What are the most important new technologies for federal agencies? After more than a year of intensive research and analysis, the General Services Administration's Federal Technology Service has come up with three answers: 1. Enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems and services. These powerful s
Digital Government
MUSE shows off air traffic tech
San Diego A package of software and workstations designed to help air traffic controllers better visualize the flow of airplanes near airports highlighted the annual Air Traffic Controllers Association meeting here last week. The software, developed by Albuquerque, N.M.based MUSE Technologies I
Digital Government
In for the long haul
Pete Fridman, a telecommunications manager at the General Services Administration's Federal Technology Service, had been at the forefront of federal telecom long before the word 'competition' entered the vocabulary of those buying phone service. Fridman was involved in the evaluation of GSA's FTS 2
Digital Government