Digital Government
How small biz can get bigger piece of IT pie
Consolidation in the federal information technology industry is on people's minds. The schedule for this year's Executive Leadership Conference includes a workshop on mergers and acquisitions. And rumors have been circulating about smaller companies up for sale. Some are quick to attribute the merg
Digital Government
A Self-made businessman
Reinventing government to operate more like the private sector may go down in history as the Clinton administration's idea, but Charles Self has been at it for almost 30 years. As far as he is concerned, there is no reason why the government should not function like a business. 'I guess my moniker
Digital Government
Navy to meld two IT pacts in $800M deal
The Navy plans to merge two highprofile information technology contracts for enterprise database and server technologies into a single contract worth $800 million. The Navy's Information Technology Umbrella Program, which oversees all Navy IT contracts, plans to issue a request for proposals that
Digital Government
Intercepts
BIG DMS BUCKS. Throwing money at a problem does not always guarantee a cure. Take DISA's muchdelayed Defense Message System which is under development by Lockheed Martin. According to a GAO report released earlier this summer, DISA has spent skads of money but still may fall short of its stated go
Digital Government
Hurricane watchers can storm fed Web sites
As Hurricane Bonnie approached the Southeastern coastline last week with winds of 115 mph and heavy rain, several government World Wide Web sites provided users with detailed information. The National Hurricane Center's (NHC) Web site at www.nhc.noaa.gov should be the best place to start for the la
Digital Government
DISA launches $4B 'hemispheric' telecom net buy
The Defense Information Systems Agency this month surprised potential bidders for a wideband telecommunications network that would span the Pacific, South America and the Caribbean when it doubled the estimated value of the network from $2 billion to $4 billion. In releasing the request for proposa
Digital Government
Dunn, Acer join to offer PCs to feds
Dunn Computer Corp. announced a deal last week that will have the company providing its federal customers with PCs made by Acer America Corp. The PCs will bear the brand name 'Dunn by Acer' and will be available on Dunn's federal contracts. Under the agreement, Acer will build desktop and portable
Digital Government
OFPP's Lee sets reform agenda
On the job only three weeks and still awaiting essentials like business cards, Deidre 'Dee' Lee, the new director of the Office of Management and Budget's Office of Federal Procurement Policy, wants to spend her 28month term locking procurement reform firmly into place. But Lee, whose appointment
Digital Government
IRS to test public-key tech for electronic tax filings
The Internal Revenue Service this month awarded a contract for a pilot program to take place next year that will test the technology that permits taxpayers who send their returns electronically to sign them digitally. The IRS awarded a contract to VeriSign Inc., Linthicum, Md., to conduct the pilot
Digital Government
AFITC show biggest ever
The Air Force today kicked off the 1998 Air Force Information Technology Conference in Montgomery, Ala., and by all accounts the conference will exceed past years' conferences in size and scope. 'This year we sold out a lot earlier than last year,' said Air Force Capt. Tom Hansen, the conference ch
Digital Government
CyberSign pens signature tech
CyberSign Inc., San Jose, Calif., has developed a biometric signature product that the U.S. Postal Service is testing to speed up bulk mail delivery by making it possible for the agency to authenticate and validate orders from mailers who sign their names on a digital pad and pass the captured data
Digital Government
Hamre memo raises bar for DOD Y2K
Deputy Secretary of Defense John Hamre last week put senior Defense Department officials on notice, assigning specific responsibility for Year 2000 testing and verification and outlining specific tasks that must be completed by Nov. 1. In a memo dated Aug. 24 and sent to the secretaries and underse
Digital Government
Round Two
A story on LG Electronics USA Inc. [FCW, Aug. 24] incorrectly identified Alan Bechara. Bechara is the vice president and chief operating officer for Comark Federal Systems.
Digital Government
Set-Asides
Group charter extended The Commerce Department has extended the life of a federal advisory committee charged with developing a new standard for the government's use of publickey security products. Commerce extended the charter of the Technical Advisory Committee to Develop a Federal Information Pr
Digital Government
Raytheon wins B-2 bomber training, logistics contract
The Air Force last week awarded Raytheon Training Inc. a 10year, $150 million contract to provide the full range of contractor logistics support services for the stealth bomber. The B2 Training System includes aircrew and maintenance training devices, hardware and software support, software and c
Digital Government
Federal Bytes
OLD HABITS DIE HARD. Participants of a recent General Services Administration information technology security seminar were taken by surprise when an auditorium sound system began blaring what was believed to be radio communications traffic between Washington police officers and dispatchers. The sem
Digital Government
GSA: New system will check funding shortfalls
A new information management system at the General Services Administration's Public Buildings Service (PBS) should guard against a repeat of a reported shortfall of $847 million in a pool funded by rents that agencies pay to GSA. But the fund may still feel the effects of the shortfall for several
Digital Government
Fedwire
Microsoft nears secure milestone Microsoft Corp. has submitted Windows NT 4.0 server and workstation and Windows NT 5.0 server and workstation operating systems to be certified for a federal government standard for securing sensitive but unclassified data. Microsoft is expected to announce shortly
Digital Government
Intel unleashes new PII, Celeron chips
Intel Corp. last week unveiled its 450 MHz Pentium II processor and two lowcost Celeron processors running at speeds of 300A MHz and 333 MHz. Other vendors have responded to these releases with a flood of new server, workstation and desktop products that will be on government procurement vehicles
Digital Government