Digital Government
Troubled weather-forecasting system gets go ahead
ate last month Commerce Department Secretary William Daley gave the goahead for full deployment of a system designed to improve weather warnings and shortterm forecasts.
Digital Government
New GPS civilian signals to cost as much as $700 million
A White House announcement last week to improve the accuracy and reliability of the Global Positioning System by adding two new civilian signals could end up costing as much as $700 million a bill that civilian agencies will have to pay, according to a source familiar with the proposed systems architectures.
Digital Government
Finding frequencies for new GPS signals proves difficult
The departments of Defense and Transportation need to resolve a number of key issues before the two agencies can go ahead with a plan announced last week to add two new civilian frequencies to the Global Positioning System, according to DOT.
Digital Government
Russians selling navigational jamming device
The Senate late last week established a special committee to address the Year 2000 problem.
Digital Government
Notebooks from Digital, Toshiba feature mobile-ready Pentium IIs
Digital Equipment Corp. and Toshiba America Information Systems Inc. are among the 15 laptop vendors announcing their first Pentium IIequipped notebooks following Intel Corp.'s release last week of the highly anticipated chip for the mobile market. The new Pentium IIs for mobile PCs, running at cl
Digital Government
Review tests NASA's security
The National Security Agency, the supersecret agency known for its computer security expertise, soon will begin trying to penetrate NASA's missioncritical systems as part of a comprehensive security review by the General Accounting Office of agencies' key computer systems. Jack Brock, GAO director
Digital Government
Senate establishes special Y2K committee
The Senate late last week established a special committee to address the Year 2000 problem.
Digital Government
Audit mess tied to schedule woes
While members of Congress and the General Accounting Office last week blamed inadequate information technology systems for agencies' inability to create accurate financial statements, federal financial officials complain they are unable to purchase quality financial management systems (FMS) through
Digital Government
Set-Asides
Census dumps online plan The Census Bureau last month announced it will not allow citizens to respond to the 2000 census via the Internet because the agency is concerned about security and the perception that the confidentiality of census information might be compromised. The bureau will develop an
Digital Government
HUD halts IT maintenance work to support Year 2000
Faced with less than a year to make its computer systems Year 2000compliant, the Department of Housing and Urban Development this month stopped routine maintenance on five of its largest systems so that programmers can devote their full attention to fixing the date codes in the systems. Under the
Digital Government
Contract success sparks thoughts for MAIQ follow-on
A General Services Administration contract for governmentwide systems integration services has nearly reached its $840 million ceiling years ahead of schedule, and agency officials plan to meet later this month to discuss a followon contract. GSA awarded the multipleaward, indefinitequantity 960
Digital Government
Federal Bytes
Justice pays the Bill (Gates) Microsoft Corp. is the company people love to hate, but it also makes the software people love to use. The Justice Department, which has engaged in a long and sometimes rancorous tussle with Microsoft about alleged violations of antimonopoly laws, appears to be yet an
Digital Government
Fastlane steers AF base network traffic analysis
Fastlane Software Systems Inc. has landed the first purchase order for its Xni network traffic analysis and security software tool, through a contract with the 15th Communications Squadron at Hickam Air Force Base in Honolulu. Xni is designed to provide a graphical view of network usage and traffic
Digital Government
FAA, industry team on LAAS
In an effort to reduce development costs and risks, the Federal Aviation Administration will work closely with industry to develop the specifications of a new satellitebased program that will help planes make precision landings at airports under inclement weather conditions. The LocalArea Augment
Digital Government
Gauss lays out IT plans for Spawar
Rear Adm. John Gauss, who last month took over as commander of the Navy's Space and Naval Warfare Command (Spawar), said he wants to deliver information to users as just another utility such as power and phone connections. The programs and projects Gauss plans in the near term will allow Navy user
Digital Government
Fedwire
CDSI tapped for Senate LAN pact The U.S. Senate Sergeant at Arms late last month awarded a contract to Computer Data Systems Inc. for about $50 million worth of localarea network support services. CDSI will operate and maintain the Senate's Washington, D.C., LAN, which connects about 9,000 desktop
Digital Government
Switched Ethernet emerges as high-speed LAN favorite
Although the demand for more network bandwidth could lead some agencies to adopt Fast Ethernet or other highspeed networking technologies, network vendors also are pushing switched networking as a more practical option. Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM), Fast Ethernet and highspeed token ring all
Digital Government
IRS wants flexibility in modernization effort
The Internal Revenue Service last month launched its muchanticipated contract worth more than half a billion dollars to modernize its outmoded information technology systems. Release of the request for proposals for the Prime systems integration project had been delayed for almost four months as I
Digital Government
Intercepts
* The Great CIO Saga (continued). The campaign for the key deputy CIO slot at DOD continues unabated, with the fervor usually found in a smalltown election but then, the Pentagon does resemble a small town, albeit with a disproportionate number of supercharged egos. As Intercepts fans remember,
Digital Government