Digital Government
Missing agency plans hinder Y2K cost projections
Although under pressure to estimate the total cost of the Year 2000 computer problem, the Office of Management and Budget cannot determine if additional funding is needed because most federal agencies did not submit their contingency plans with cost estimates on time, the OMB director said today.
Digital Government
Moving the feds from difficult buyer to smart buyer
Traditionally, the federal government has been a difficult buyer. By a difficult buyer I mean one that imposes lots of extra costs and risks of doing business on vendors. Extra costs have included those arising from unique contract clauses, such as Buy American, or governmentunique specifications,
Digital Government
Northern Va. vendors see growing influence of feds
Outsourcing, performancebased contracting and the Year 2000 and beyond are playing a major role in shaping the rapidly expanding information technology market in the Washington, D.C., area, according to federal and industry executives taking part in a roundtable discussion last week. Hightech
Digital Government
Feds submit access plans for disabled
Federal agencies last week submitted to the Justice Department reports that explain how the agencies plan to comply with a law that requires them to provide disabled workers with access to computers. The Workforce Investment Act of 1998 requires agencies to ensure that federal employees who are bli
Digital Government
Panel OKs Internet gambling ban
The Senate Judiciary Committee late last week overwhelmingly approved a bill to prohibit gambling on the Internet. The Internet Gambling Prohibition Act of 1999 (S. 692) passed the committee 161 and moves to the full Senate for debate.
Digital Government
Air Force keeps IT tests on track
Despite the strain placed on its communications specialists during the threemonth air war in the Balkans, the Air Force is forging ahead with preparations for a major information technology experiment later this summer because of its importance to the service's longterm strategy. Scheduled to tak
Digital Government
Benefits fraud backfires
If you are looking for a shortcut to riches, don't try to swindle the workers' compensation system, or you'll wind up in rags. A number of postal workers have learned to their chagrin that stiff fines and financial penalties await those who try to defraud the U.S. Postal Service by filing false
Digital Government
Symantec upgrades remote-access tool
Symantec Corp. last week released a new version of its dialup remoteconnectivity software, adding centralized management, security and other features. Many federal employees already use pcAnywhere software to dial in to their localarea networks and gain access to Microsoft Corp. Windowsbased de
Digital Government
An ideal seal for privacy in the federal government?
Privacy is a major concern of Internet users visiting commercial and government World Wide Web sites. In the private sector, one response has been the development of 'seal' programs, such as the Good Housekeeping Seal, certifying that a site meets the minimum privacy standards. Is this an approach
Digital Government
Integrated Criminal Justice Workshop This Week
The Center for Technology in Government and the U.S. Justice Department's Office of Justice Programs will hold a workshop June 2324 in Minneapolis to discuss integrating criminal justice systems at all three levels of government.
Digital Government
GSA: Agencies will pay for late telecom switch
General Services Administration officials warned that agencies that are late in transitioning to the new FTS 2001 longdistance network will have to pay the government's excess costs of providing duplicative telecommunications services to FTS 2001 users and to those who have not completed the transition.
Digital Government
Java perks up federal applications
Like the real world in general, the computer world suffers a TowerofBabel proliferation of incompatible languages that make cooperation and communication difficult. In the real world, idealists concocted the idea of Esperanto, a single, global language to replace the many languages used worldwide
Digital Government
ODS Networks applies statistical analysis to security
Using technology originally developed for ultrasecurityconscious federal customers, ODS Networks Inc. last month introduced an offtheshelf software package that enables agencies to collect and analyze data on network intrusions and related security problems. The product, called CMDS Enterprise,
Digital Government
Letters to the Editor
NARA is coping Thank you for publishing the recent article 'NARA must learn to cope electronically' [FCW, May 31]. We agree with concerns raised by the author, Timothy Sprehe, which is why we are undertaking initiatives he described and others. Most FCW readers know that we have produced new guidan
Digital Government
Cyberattacks spur talk of 3rd DOD network
As part of a strategy to defend its unclassified networks against relentless cyberattacks, the Pentagon may establish a new network to handle electronic commerce and other interactions with the public while cutting off all other existing connections to the Internet. The proposal follows an increase
Digital Government
Report berates DOE lab security
A report issued last week by a special panel of senior intelligence and security officials on what some experts are calling the worst case of espionage in U.S. history has increased the scrutiny of government computer security programs and policies and has caused many to question the government's c
Digital Government
Flat-panel displays: Sleek CRT alternatives
Flatpanel displays. The words conjure up images of those futuristic EtchASketchlooking slates you see on portable computers and hospital TV shows. Actually, the term flat panel rarely refers to notebook displays, which are necessarily flat. Rather, it designates the PC displays that have emerge
Digital Government
IRS modernization plan garners GAO praise
The General Accounting Office in about two weeks is expected to release a rare positive report about a federal information technology plan in this case cautiously complimenting the Internal Revenue Service on its initial funding plan to manage its highprofile modernization effort. In the report
Digital Government
Fedwire Briefs
Hamre, McGuirk win Eagle Awards John Hamre, deputy secretary of the Defense Department, and James McGuirk, president of Unisys Federal Systems, last week won Federal Computer Week's Eagle Awards for outstanding accomplishments in the world of federal information technology. Hamre won the top govern
Digital Government