Digital Government
Visionics unmasks face-recognition tech
Looking to expand its reach in the federal market, facerecognition vendor Visionics Corp. last week released a product that allows users to sift through huge databases of facial images to find a match for a particular individual. The new product, called FaceIt DB, is designed to allow federal offi
Digital Government
The 1998 Federal 100 Judges
Each year's selection of the Federal 100 is different from that of previous years because the process reflects the concerns and the personalities of the particular panel of judges as well as the environment in which the selections are made. For example, five years ago there was little, if any, ment
Digital Government
NARA guides agencies in digital file disposal
The National Archives and Records Administration told agencies last week that they should make specific plans to preserve or dispose of important electronic records, but plaintiffs who are challenging federal recordkeeping practices in court said the new policy will not protect key digital files. A
Digital Government
Labor's site sets up virtual meetings
While many agency World Wide Web sites are simply electronic brochures describing missions and services, the Labor Department has launched a site that provides users with nearly the same service they would receive if they were to meet personally with a Labor representative. Labor uses a Webbased e
Digital Government
DOJ scraps large-scale JCON rollout
The Justice Department scrapped a mammoth office automation program that was part of a $500 million contract with GTE Government Systems Corp. and awarded two blanket purchase agreements that the agency will now use to fill much of its office automation needs. DOJ originally awarded the Justice Con
Digital Government
New team good news for procurement reinvention forces
The Clinton administration's new acquisition reform leadership team is coming into place. The president recently nominated Deidre 'Dee' Lee, senior procurement executive at NASA, for administrator of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy. Stan Soloway, a consultant for the Contract Services Asso
Digital Government
Prime Partners
It should come as little surprise that in the 'Show Me State,' Missouri's purchasing executives demand proof of whether their PC provider is delivering value to state desktop buyers. But by applying the state motto to its PCbuying practices, the Missouri state government has put in place an innova
Digital Government
ERDAS software performs NITF translation
Imagery software vendor ERDAS Inc. earlier this month released an application that lets imagery analysts and electronic map makers using the latest version of the company's flagship product translate their files to and from a digital imagery standard used by government agencies and other organizati
Digital Government
Union backers fight bill outsourcing IT
Supporters of federal unions squared off against industry representatives last week at a congressional hearing on proposed legislation that may require the government to hand over certain information technology functions such as datacenter operations and software development to the private sec
Digital Government
FMS launches trial for digital checks
In a pilot that may help the government meet a mandate to electronically issue all federal payments by next year, the Financial Management Service plans to cut its first electronic check perhaps as early as this week. During the next 18 months, FMS expects to issue as many as 1,000 digital checks p
Digital Government
Intercepts
* Schmoozing Hamre. According to my Ering antenna site, Microsoft Corp.'s chief information officer, John Connors, dropped in last week for a highlevel sales call on Deputy Secretary of Defense John Hamre, and topping his list of conversation topics was the Defense Department's Medium Assurance P
Digital Government
European ATM vendor teams with Timeplex
Officials at Timeplex Federal Systems Inc. announced this month that their company will serve as the 'marketing and sales arm' for Alcatel Data Networks, a business unit of the European telecommunications equipment giant that previously has eschewed the federal market. Timeplex Federal president Wa
Digital Government
Plan blends C3 office with intelligence, recon
The Pentagon's central command, control, communications and intelligence (C3I) office will have its mission dramatically widened under a draft plan awaiting final approval from top Pentagon management. Defense Reform Initiative (DRI) plans released last week for the Office of the Assistant Secretar
Digital Government
Government, industry must hammer out rules of engagement
Outsourcing is back in the news. A new bill, offered up by Rep. Steve Horn (RCalif.), could result in a dramatic increase in the outsourcing of federal activities. Sooner or later, the federal government will go the way of private industry, and outsourcing will catch on. But the politics of the tr
Digital Government
CIO Council official slams NIST's security response
A top official with the CIO Council this month called for the council to take over control of a civilian computer security response team from the National Institute of Standards and Technology and eventually turn it over to the private sector. Mark Boster, deputy chief information officer at the Ju
Digital Government
New solutions fix problems small & large
The government's century datechange problems span a range of systems, from the unseen processors that run federal and military buildings' security systems to mainframes that handle the distribution of government checks. More and more, industry vendors offer solutions that cover that same span. CTA
Digital Government
Clinger-Cohen? A work in progress
While overshadowed by the news that the Defense Department once again is buying the equivalent of goldplated screws, two watchdog agencies have turned up evidence that agencies have been using multipleaward taskorder contracts to circumvent competition and to funnel business to favored vendors.
Digital Government
DOD wields smart weapon
The Defense Department's recent revelation that it has the ability to attack cybercriminals that threaten the United States an offensive information warfare capability should come as no surprise. The ability to strike back at an enemy attack, electronic or otherwise, and the ability to capture
Digital Government
LAN War
The local-area network operating system battle now looks like a two-company fight.
Digital Government