Digital Government
SDSC offers archiving tips
Agencies can use current technologies to build a system to preserve electronic records and to ensure longterm access to them, according to a new report by the San Diego Supercomputer Center (SDSC). But the report noted that better software is needed to operate such a system easily. The report, com
Digital Government
A matter of good timing
Dennis McCarthy stood in front of the Master Clock time display at the U.S. Naval Observatory in Washington, D.C., looked at his watch and again at the display and declared his watch 40 seconds fast. Most folks would accept a 40second deviation, but not McCarthy, who serves as director of the Dire
Digital Government
Lockheed Martin plans $2B satellite system
Lockheed Martin Corp. plans to spend $2 billion on a worldwide satellite system designed to complement the Global Positioning System and other systems designed to ensure the integrity and availability of GPS signals for air navigation such as the Federal Aviation Administration's new GPSbased navi
Digital Government
State Senators Testify Before House Panel on 'Legislating in the Information Age'
Senators from Florida, Minnesota and Nevada told a hearing of the U.S. House of Representatives' Rules Committee July 16 about ways to improve and streamline the legislative process in the Information Age.
Digital Government
Rockwell system slashes PTO call waiting times
About a year after installing an automatic call distribution (ACD) system from Rockwell International Corp.'s electronic commerce division, the Patent and Trademark Office has drastically reduced the length of time callers have to wait for patent information. PTO installed Rockwell's Spectrum Integ
Digital Government
PowerBook G3: Thinner, faster, more efficient
For those of you who need a notebook computer but eschew Microsoft Corp. products, you'll be happy to learn that Apple Computer Inc. has added two new versions of the PowerBook G3 to its impressive line of notebooks. Both versions come in the same case, but one features a 333 MHz processor, and th
Digital Government
DOD tests software to reclaim land
A Defense Department environmental research program is using imageanalysis software to assess damage to plants caused by military maneuvers in the desert and other arid areas. DOD's Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program (SERDP) has been evaluating software developed by SPSS Inc.
Digital Government
Airports resist new tests
A Federal Aviation Administration proposal that would require Year 2000 tests of emergency support equipment and other ground controls early on Jan. 1 is unnecessary and might cause some airports to shut down temporarily, an official of the Airports Council InternationalNorth America (ACINA) said
Digital Government
The Y2K sentries
The problems could be as large as all of Los Angeles losing power or as small as three people getting stuck in an elevator. Or, as most people hope, nothing could happen at all. But come midnight Dec. 31, when computer systems all over the world must face the final test for the Year 2000 problem, a
Digital Government
Biometrics points to greater security
Biometrics, an automated method of recognizing a person based on physical or behavioral attributes, has long been used by the government's supersecret agencies for accesscontrol applications and by law enforcement for largescale fingerprint applications. Now, as the cost of the technology has de
Digital Government
IBM prepares RS/6000, AIX upgrades
IBM Corp. this fall plans to offer an upgraded version of its RS/6000 server coupled with an enhanced release of its AIX operating system that together provide recordbreaking World Wide Web server performance, the company claims. During recent benchmark testing conducted by IBM, the company's RS/6
Digital Government
IBM security kit proves easy to use, affordable
You are on your way home from a business trip. At the airport, you set your briefcase down while you buy a cup of coffee. In a split second, the briefcase with your notebook PC inside is stolen. The company's insurance will cover the cost of replacing the notebook, but you are worried about the pro
Digital Government
Congress considers security policy changes
In the wake of the theft of nuclear weapons secrets at the Energy Department, government personnel who have criticized their agencies' information technology safeguards have become targets of intimidation, prompting some members of Congress to consider issuing topdown security policy changes. Last
Digital Government
Vendors rail against proposed FAR changes
Federal contractors and labor unions are gearing up for a fight over a proposed procurement regulation that would allow contracting officers to deny vendors business if they violate federal laws.
Digital Government
Merisel, D&H move to expand fed business
Two computer product distributors, Merisel Inc. and D?#038; Amp;H Distributing Company Inc., recently announced changes designed to grow their business with resellers that sell in the federal market. Merisel, El Segundo, Calif., has signed an agreement with Allied Telesyn International, Sunnyvale, Calif., to
Digital Government
Hill slams Interior's trust fund system
Senators, trust fund experts and American Indians last week blasted an Interior Department plan to spend as much as $60 million on a new computer system to track and compensate American Indians for commercial mining on Indian property and leases of tribal land. Interior acknowledges that it has poo
Digital Government
Federal Bytes
CATCHING THE Y2K CONSPIRACY BUG. Just when it seemed like the fears of the Year 2000 doomsayers and conspiracy theorists would prove to be overblown, Wired magazine reported last week that some members of Congress are publicly discussing the possibility that President Clinton will use potential com
Digital Government
Roster Change
Marty Wagner, associate administrator in the General Services Administration's Office of Governmentwide Policy, last month was named an exofficio member of the CIO Council. Although he is not a chief information officer, Wagner was named an exofficio member because of his office's role in providi
Digital Government
The reinvention of GSA
The General Services Administration has much to celebrate as it marks its 50th anniversary this month. The agency's recent decision to close its last eight office supply and distribution centers in favor of purchasing over the Internet reminds us that, perhaps more so than any other agency, GSA has
Digital Government