Digital Government
Sun, Compaq servers go head to head
With Microsoft Corp.'s Windows NT eating up more of the server market Sun Microsystems Inc. last week made its first major foray into the workgroup server arena with a new lowend Unix system that supports Unix and PCbased clients. A day earlier Compaq Computer Corp. unveiled two new highend mod
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Oracle and Informix focus on Windows NT as strategic platform
During the past several weeks database vendors Oracle Corp. and Informix Software Inc. have emphasized the significance of the Microsoft Windows NT platform to their longterm corporate strategies. Although both vendors have delivered products for the Windows NT platform for awhile they have focuse
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Feds urged to plug software hole in Unix, NT servers
Security experts are urging network administrators to plug a software hole present in all Unix servers and many of Microsoft Corp.'s Windows NT servers a hole that already has been used to redirect portions of Internet traffic. The vulnerability exists in software called the Berkeley Internet Nam
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Final schedule rule draws industry fire
The General Services Administration last week released its final rule on schedule contracts to a lessthanappreciative industry audience retaining the government's ability to conduct postaward audits as well as a requirement that vendors offer the government the same discounts and price reduction
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CD-ROMs to replace Navy medical books
The Navy and the University of Iowa College of Medicine next month will begin developing a CDROM that will give naval doctors quick and easy access to medical information to treat sailors at sea. The information contained on the CDROMs will be similar to what is available on a young but popular W
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Intercepts
DISN defectors? My CONUSwide antenna network has started to pick up strong signals that DISA director Lt. Gen. David Kelley and the gang over at Courthouse Road face wholesale defections by the services the Defense agencies and the unified commands as a result of the oneyear DISN network delay th
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NASA tests unique GPS technology on shuttles
Software to give astronauts more navigational controlBY JENNIFER JONES'mailto:jjones@fcw.com'jjones@fcw.com N ASA has used recent shuttle missions to test Global Positioning System (GPS) technology that was specially developed for the agency and could give astronauts more direct control in navigati
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Federal Bytes
Show me the money The good news about the plethora of blanket purchase agreements (BPAs) is that vendors have more opportunities to sell their goods and services. The bad news is that there is that much more ground to cover without any guarantee of business. Consider Datatrac Information Services I
Digital Government
Reinvention can't prevent WAAS woes
Last week's revelation that the Federal Aviation Administration's main satellitebased navigation program will cost nearly $350 million more than originally anticipated was hardly a bombshell [FCW Aug. 18]. It is certainly not the first government program or for that matter the first FAA program to
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GSA hikes FAST fees to stem financial loss
Most General Services Administration regional offices that operate a multibilliondollar governmentwide information technology procurement program for 8(a) companies are plagued by financial losses and excessive competition between regional GSA offices nationwide according to sources at the agency.
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DOD branch eyes mega software deals
The health care arm of the Defense Department is considering huge departmentwide blanket licensing deals to supply office automation email and database software for the tens of thousands of workstations throughout the branch's Military Health Services System (MHSS). Sources said the DOD Health Aff
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Resellers put System Commander software utility on GSA schedule
System Commander a widely used consumer software utility that allows users to run multiple operating systems on a single desktop is now available for government buyers. V Communications Inc. the maker of System Commander last week negotiated General Services Administration schedule contracts with G
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Hold onto your paperwork: Uncle Sam plays by the book
A recent decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals underscores the importance of retaining documentation if you are involved in a dispute with Uncle Sam. The case involved Esmeraldo Reydanas who applied for a retirement annuity based on various positions he held with the Navy at Subic Bay Philippines f
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Round Two
An Industry Watch brief in the Aug. 11 issue of Federal Computer Week should have stated that Government Technology Solutions Inc. has signed an exclusive General Services Administration schedule contract to offer Internet Java security software from Finjan Inc.
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Microsoft's ties bolster Apple's biz
The technology accord between Apple Computer Inc. and Microsoft Corp. will boost prospects for the Macintosh platform in the federal market and promises greater interaction between Windows and Macintosh clients. That is the analysis of industry executives regarding the new ties between the sometime
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Intercepts
JMCOMS star. Kenneth Slaght program manager for the Navy's Joint Maritime Communications System made the rear admiral (lower half) promotion list adding clout to the project designed to serve as the afloat pipeline for the Navy's IT21 project. Lillian Fishburne commanding officer of NCTAMS EASTPAC
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NASA CIO Ronald West announces retirement plans
Ronald West chief information officer at NASA last week announced plans to retire within the next few months. West who was named CIO in March 1996 said he will retire to his native Texas when he leaves the government. His replacement has not yet been appointed he said. Before accepting the CIO posi
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Agenda (JUMP)
OCTOBER 69 Technology Commercialization Certificate Program. Wheeling W.Va.Presented by the National Technology Transfer Center. Call (800) 6786882 Web www.nttc.edu. 610 Gartner Group Symposium/ITxpo 97. Walt Disney World Dolphin Hotel. Lake Buena Vista Fla. The event will offer industryspecifi
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How can potential organizational conflicts of interest be avoided?
A company official raised the following topic: When may an agency waive an organizational conflict of interest (OCI)? How can potential conflicts be avoided? As discussed in previous columns OCIs arise when a person is unable or perceived as unable to render impartial advice to the government or wh
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