Digital Government
DOD to launch secure Net transactions
In a major milestone of its paperless contracting initiative, the Defense Department in June will create one of the first largescale programs that uses publickey security technology to allow vendors to view contract data and to submit bids over the Internet. Publickey infrastructure, which is be
Digital Government
Book addresses CIO job scope, gives advice
This is the first in an occasional series of book reviews that relate to federal information technology issues. Information Management: A Government Executive's Guide, a book recently published by PricewaterhouseCoopers, is a good reference for new and experienced chief information officers or any
Digital Government
Kosovo crisis brings barrage of Web activity
(Agency) By Heavy World Wide Web traffic has become a fact of life for U.S. Air Force and NATO Webmasters since the March 24 launch of the U.S.led NATO bombing mission in Yugoslavia as thousands of people have turned to the Web as their primary source for information. The two sites dealing with th
Digital Government
DIA taps 8 for commodity buys worth $200M
The Defense Intelligence Agency last week awarded eight blanket purchase agreement contracts for PCs and peripherals together worth about $200 million. The DIA Information Technology Commodities BPAs, awarded to BTG Inc., Compaq Computer Corp., CWPS Inc., Dell Computer Corp., Inacom Government Syst
Digital Government
FPI: Overstepping procurement bounds?
I pose three questions: Should a federal agency be required to get waivers from another federal agency when planning to acquire products from commercial sources? Should one agency put procedures in place that allow it to request cancellation of another agency's solicitation? Should one agency ever
Digital Government
Roster Change
Cmdr. Scott Bernard, chief of network operations for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was appointed to the faculty at Syracuse University. He is teaching a course on systems analysis and design for the university's School of Information Studies. Bernard was promoted to his current post at the JCS in Janu
Digital Government
Monitoring made easy
Now that the move from mainframecentric to distributed computing is a fait accompli, the bigiron stalwarts who insisted that centralized management made mainframes the best solution may be having the last laugh. Agencies that have jumped from mainframe to client/server architectures are finding i
Digital Government
FAA conducts end-to-end Y2K test
The Federal Aviation Administration scheduled a test for Saturday at Denver International Airport to demonstrate how its air traffic control systems will operate in the Year 2000. The endtoend test was designed to involve every air traffic control system at Denver that is used to manage aircraft
Digital Government
SecurePC 2.0: Fast, easy, transparent
Desktop file encryption software is often a loselose proposition: It creates an annoying security obstacle for end users to circumvent, and it's a big headache for administrators. However, we found SecurePC 2.0 from RSA Data Security Inc. a winwin data protection solution because it is functional
Digital Government
GPO: Feds not coordinating electronic info
The federal government does not plan or coordinate the massive amounts of electronic information it disseminates to the public, according to a federally commissioned study released late last month. The Government Printing Office, which commissioned the report, concluded that there is an 'overall la
Digital Government
ASAP expands asset tracking
ASAP Software Express Inc. last week announced a new assettracking program that will allow agencies to keep better track of the desktop software products they buy and how those products are being used. The Custom Information Option (CIO) is an expansion of ASAP's current Internet Tracker and Inter
Digital Government
NARA plans electronic image filing rules
Just as federal agencies are grappling with how to manage their email and word processing files, policymakers are calling attention to preserving another category of digital records images. As agencies have moved to paperless business processes, they have created millions of pages of electronic
Digital Government
DOD centers boost super power
Two new supercomputers purchased for $12 million by the Aeronautical Systems Center at WrightPatterson Air Force Base, Ohio, will nearly double the peak computing capacity at the center's computer lab. Two systems, an IBM Corp. RS/6000 SP with the company's new Power 3 processors and a Compaq Comp
Digital Government
Cabletron Launches $100 Million Network Equipment Giveaway
Networking equipment Cabletron Systems Inc. is giving away an estimated $100 million grab bag of network equipment to organizations in the government, education and nonprofit communities who need just a few components to get their networks up and running.
Digital Government
Connecticut Legislature Launches 'CSPAN' on the Web
Connecticut's General Assembly last week began providing coverage of the state's House and Senate proceedings over the Internet.
Digital Government
MCI gets call for pay phones in Albania
MCI Worldcom next week plans to install a satellitebased pay telephone facility to serve 2,000 troops stationed at a base in Tirana, Albania.
Digital Government
DIA taps 8 for IT products, support
The Defense Intelligence Agency today awarded blanket purchase agreements worth a total of $200 million to eight vendors for information technology products and services.
Digital Government
Air Force outfits tankers with high-tech navigation systems
The Air Force plans to upgrade 550 of its tanker aircraft with cuttingedge commercial information technologies that will significantly improve flight safety by providing pilots with enhanced awareness of their surroundings and improved navigation capabilities.
Digital Government
PTO awards contract to safeguard electronic transactions
The Patent and Trademark Office yesterday announced that it plans to award a contract to Entrust Technologies Inc. for a secure system to supply encryption and digital signature technology for a range of electronic commerce applications.
Digital Government