Digital Government
STARS delayed again; FAA seeks tech patch
One of the Federal Aviation Administration's largest modernization projects appears to be on the rocks, with the agency scrambling to field interim systems as delays mount and a new report indicates significant performance problems. The $1 billion Standard Terminal Automation Replacement System (ST
Digital Government
'Melissa' tests DOD procedures
When the fastspreading Melissa virus began wreaking havoc on computer systems across the country last month, the Defense Department relied on what may become the model for designing an integrated, enterprisewide approach to information security. To battle Melissa, DOD put into motion a clearly def
Digital Government
Managers should not be paid overtime
Congress recently introduced legislation that would allow most federal managers below the GS15 level to begin to receive 'time and a half' for each overtime hour they work. This legislation, the Federal Employees Overtime Pay Act of 1998 (H.R. 582), would amend existing legislation to increase the
Digital Government
GSA reopens financial schedule
The General Services Administration last month reopened its schedule for auditing and financial management services in what agency officials hope is a move that will fill a growing gap at agencies experiencing shrinking staffs and growing auditing troubles. Several federal regulations and mandates
Digital Government
Norton 2000 stamps out elusive Y2K bugs
Are all the applications on your desktop Year 2000compliant? Are any hidden Year 2000 bugs lurking in the spreadsheet and database data files on your desktop PC? Merely doing a visual check through your files is unlikely to uncover all the subtle date bugs that could afflict your system. That's wh
Digital Government
DFAS preps outsourcing pact
The Defense Finance and Accounting Service, which is responsible for managing up to $24 billion worth of financial transactions for the Defense Department, may put up for bid the information technology support services for four major payroll accounts. It is a move that could set the stage for anoth
Digital Government
Iraq-bound pilots make do with old technology
ABOARD THE USS KITTY HAWK Pilots of strike aircraft aboard this aircraft carrier, which recently headed toward the Persian Gulf for air operations over Iraq, routinely rely on commercial handheld Global Positioning System receivers to help navigate their older 'Tomcat' fighters not equipped with
Digital Government
IRS center pilots imaging system
The Internal Revenue Service is using new imaging software to instantly store and retrieve complex files that involve negotiations and settlements with taxpayers who are unable to pay their debts in full. The new technology, being piloted at the IRS service center in Austin, Texas, is designed to r
Digital Government
Vendor builds security hub
Network Associates Inc. last week announced a new security solution that is designed to make it easier for organizations to integrate information generated by products from different vendors. The company also announced several key partnerships to bring the solution to the federal market. The initi
Digital Government
Secure Computing weds password token, smart card
Secure Computing Corp. this week will introduce a card product designed to serve as a 'token' for security applications, but it also can serve as a tool for other applications. The e.ID (electronic identity) 'multicard' is intended to be used to authenticate a user's identification, either by gener
Digital Government
DOD boosts telecom, computers in Balkans
The Defense Department has started to beef up its computer and communications assets to support tactical and humanitarian operations in and around Albania, Macedonia and Yugoslavia, with planning for even more extensive networks under way to support ground operations in Kosovo, FCW has learned. Def
Digital Government
SDBs encouraged to obtain certification
The Small Business Administration has begun to urge companies that want to secure small, disadvantaged business status to obtain government certification. The certification becomes mandatory after July 1 for any company seeking federal business as an SDB subcontractor and already is mandatory for S
Digital Government
IRS exec says planning key to modernization effort
A tax executive at the Internal Revenue Service today said the agency has put a tight grip on the purse strings for the multibilliondollar project to modernize the agency's computer systems in order to make certain that preliminary planning for the modernization is solid before money is spent.
Digital Government
Federal Bytes
'MELISSA' INFILTRATES DOD. When the 'Melissa' virus began assaulting computers nationwide last month, we at Federal Computer Week jumped into action, launching phone calls into the newly formed Defense Department Joint Task Force for Computer Network Defense. Imagine our surprise, however, when the
Digital Government
IG claims HUD not Y2K-compliant
Despite the Clinton administration's assertions that the Department of Housing and Urban Development's major computer systems are Year 2000compliant, the agency's inspector general reported last month that systems are still vulnerable to the millennium bug. The IG's report concluded that because o
Digital Government
Searching for the right engine
When Emma McNamara was studying library science in graduate school almost 15 years ago, she was given an assignment to imagine the library of the 21st century. She envisioned sensors that could read patrons' thoughts and retrieve the information they wanted. Now acting director of the Environmental
Digital Government
Fedwire Briefs
Records officers form group Federal records officers from 45 agencies last week formed a new interagency group through which they aim to have more of an influence on government information management policies, including electronic recordkeeping. The Federal Information and Records Managers Council
Digital Government
Drumbeat simplifies Web development
World Wide Web development has a dirty little secret: It's not as easy as it looks. Bringing together a database, business logic and a Web server can involve complex, sometimes immature, technology that can be daunting for the novice developer. Elemental Software hopes to change all that with Drumb
Digital Government
Intercepts
CLEMINS EXTENDED? I picked up a lot of scuttlebutt during a Western Pacific swing earlier this month that Adm. Archie Clemins, commander in chief of the Pacific Fleet and the chief proponent of the Navy's IT21 strategy, could have his tour extended well beyond the threeyear mark, which would be i
Digital Government