Ideas
3 Reasons Why Open Source Means Better Security
Many U.S. IT professionals prefer open source software to proprietary tools because of increased security. Government agencies are also now taking heed.
Modernization
Can PaaS carve out its place in the federal cloud?
Platform as a service offers obvious upsides, but agencies are still working through specific needs and uses.
Digital Government
NIEM: The key to improved information sharing
The National Information Exchange Model's usefulness extends far beyond its origins in justice and law enforcement.
Digital Government
Sandia looks to open-source robot tech
The national lab is developing more energy-efficient motors to improve the endurance of legged robots used in disaster response.
Digital Government
NSA returns to open source
The National Security Agency wants the private sector to use its NiFi tool to handle commercial big-data needs.
Digital Government
Bug Accidentally Shut Down Military Open Source Software Portal
Problems with a backup system are preventing Pentagon from recovering Forge.mil.
Digital Government
Los Alamos uses Wikipedia to predict disease outbreaks
Researchers aim for "an operational disease monitoring and forecasting system with open data and open source code."
Acquisition
A bold approach to transforming IT acquisition
Without a future vision and an appetite for risk, reforms lead down a rabbit hole. There is a better way.
People
18F hackathon aims to involve more women in civic tech
GSA's innovation hub hosts training day and coding collaboration geared toward women in technology.
Digital Government
PwC pitches open-source electronic health records
Firm touts cost and flexibility in its VistA-based bid for an $11 billion defense health record contract.
People
Picking up the open-gov torch
Obama administration officials are confident a solid foundation and a new team will support open-government plans even after the departure of two key leaders.
Cybersecurity
Is open source really a security concern?
A new report suggests common components contain serious vulnerabilities, but an open source advocate argues that's only half the data.
Digital Government
9 things to look for in an open-source project
Although there is no litmus test for "good" open source, there are several indicators of a healthy project, writes GitHub's Ben Balter.
Digital Government
Turn your smart phone into a microscope
The Pacific Northwest National Laboratory is pushing out its mobile phone microscope tech to the public.
Digital Government
FindTheBest launches federal-agency spending tool
The new site is aimed at the general public rather than contractors or others in industry.
Digital Government
KBase harnesses gene data for researchers
The new open software and data platform developed by scientists at DOE labs relieves research biologists from acting as programmers.
Digital Government
What do 800,000 people have to say on net neutrality?
The Sunlight Foundation has teased patterns and sentiments from the FCC's massive data set of net neutrality public comments.
Digital Government
Can social media analytics and open data pair up?
Broader access to Twitter analytics could aid government in reaching out to and serving citizens on social media.
Modernization
What went into NASA's big website migration
The space agency has reduced costs for its websites as a contractor completes the first phase of migration to Drupal and the cloud.
People