Digital Government
SMS revamps jukebox line, introduces modular units
SMS Data Products Group Inc. has overhauled its jukebox line with the recent introduction of modular, upgradable units that can be daisychained, rackmounted or operated in standalone mode. The new Millenia Series, offered at the same price point as the company's older NETower line, features a me
Digital Government
Vendors add Pentiums, desktops to Army pacts
ORLANDO, Fla. Vendors vying for a piece of the $300 millionplus Army PC market kicked off the summer selling season last week, introducing upgrades to all the key standard contracts managed by the Army's Small Computer Program (SCP). The vendors unveiled the new product lineups at the SCP's sem
Digital Government
The voices of America and other countries
A recent press release touted the Voice of America's new World Wide Web site. Nothing unusual about that lots of federal agencies have Web sites. What made this press release different was the glaring absence of the VOA Web site address. This is not the first time. Once before, when the VOA sent
Digital Government
Atlanta to test people, traffic systems
Athletes from around the world will not be the only ones gathering in Atlanta this summer to test their prowess in the centennial Olympics. Numerous federal agencies are using the Olympic Games as an opportunity to test new computer systems designed to ease the strain that an estimated 2 million vi
Digital Government
HCNS puts security funds near half-billion mark
Defense Department spending on information security could hit more than half a billion dollars between now and 2001 as a result of language inserted into the 1997 Defense authorization bill by the House Committee on National Security (HCNS). The committee also included what it called "substantial
Digital Government
GIS helps link Grand Canyon's ecosystems
In a project conducted this spring to replenish the Grand Canyon's river beaches and habitat for endangered fish, the Bureau of Reclamation used geographic information systems (GIS) to begin measuring for the first time how the many different components of an ecosystem are linked. In March and Apri
Digital Government
OPM's claims rules: `dumb and dumber'
Remember the dumb interim rules the Office of Personnel Management issued last year regarding resolution of disputes over health insurance claims? Well, OPM has finalized those rules and made them even dumber. To recap, in 1995 OPM issued interim regulations that said that if a federal worker was u
Digital Government
New Warp version to be voice-enabled
In September 1966, Gene Roddenberry and NBC introduced a novel concept to the American TV audience: A "space opera" called "Star Trek" debuted, and with it came a vision of our technological future. One concept "Star Trek" introduced was the idea of interacting with the computer by voice. In
Digital Government
Bill seeks Year 2000 compliance
Rep. John Tanner (DTenn.) is considering introducing legislation that would require businesses and individuals exchanging electronic information with the federal government to be Year 2000compliant. The legislation would have the effect of setting a standard for how companies and individuals repr
Digital Government
CheckPoint opens federal office to sell firewalls
Internet firewall provider CheckPoint Software Technologies Ltd. opened a federal office to pursue network security opportunities. The Israeli company hired David Steinberg, former vice president of federal systems at Bay Networks Inc., as federal region manager and opened an office in Alexandria,
Digital Government
NISMC chief speeds technology to the fleet
"The folks in the rear often don't send the right gear" is a complaint Rear Adm. James Davidson, commander of the Naval Information Systems Management Center (NISMC), has grown accustomed to in his decadeslong career in the Naval Aviation Supply Corps. But thanks to input from his daughter, an A
Digital Government
ROSTER
Vice Adm. Arthur Cebrowski has been nominated for assignment as the Navy's director of space and electronic warfare. He now serves as director of command, control, communications and computers for the Joint Staff. The Pentagon has not yet named a replacement for him as J6. Charles Force has left hi
Digital Government
Round Two
The Reinventing Government Discussion List (REGOL), identified in the April 29 Gateway Guide, has been discontinued.
Digital Government
Supporting risk takers
The announcement recently by the National Institutes of Health's contracting office that it would launch a large, multipleaward contract for services sparked a great deal of comment and interest from many parts of the government. To some, it represents turf encroachment. They worry that if NIH is
Digital Government
RFC hits the street for $500M managed networks pact
The U.S. Postal Service recently released a request for comments for its Managed Network Services (MNS) contract, worth more than $500 million, according to some estimates, making it one of the largest outsourcing contracts for a network and the biggest contract for a routed internetwork outside FT
Digital Government
Object technology gains ground
Not long ago, objectoriented technology was earning itself a bad name. People had begun calling the programming paradigm "the next CASE." And that wasn't a compliment. As was the case with computeraided software engineering, object technology was idealized as a solution for faster and better so
Digital Government
Caere reorganization serves integrators
Caere Corp., Los Gatos, Calif., has reorganized its operations into two divisions that will market highend imaging and desktop products separately. Dean Hovey, the vice president and general manager of Caere's new Imaging Products Division, said the firm plans to promote its highend, optical char
Digital Government
FAA to pool safety data
Just days before the crash of a ValuJet DC9 in the Florida Everglades, the Federal Aviation Administration proposed an international initiative to identify safety threats before accidents occur by pooling safetyrelated data from all corners of the aviation industry. Although the FAA and other gro
Digital Government
Competing encryption modes vie for acceptance
Civilian agencies are even further away from standardizing on an electronic messaging encryption method, as dispute over the suitability of three competing standards already in use intensifies. What is becoming clear is that Fortezzabased encryption, to be used in 2 million Defense Department PC s
Digital Government