Digital Government

Wyoming high schools, agencies get videoconferencing

Under a $3 million contract with Tandberg Corp., Wyoming will install videoconferencing systems in all of its 76 high schools as well as the Wyoming Girls School, the Wyoming Boys School, the Department of Education and the Department of Administration and Information.

Digital Government

Federal Bytes

Y2K PROTECTION. The Year 2000 problem certainly has attracted its share of deviants and kooks, and no one knows that better than the federal employees working on the issue. In fact, General Services Administration employees have begun taking measures to protect themselves from hundreds of prisoners

Digital Government

W.Va., Microsoft set up pilot for senior citizens

West Virginia, a state technical school and Microsoft Corp. have set up a technology training pilot program for the state's senior citizens.

Digital Government

Roster Change

President Clinton last week named Joshua Gotbaum as controller and executive assistant director at the Office of Management and Budget. As OMB controller, Gotbaum will be the head of the Office of Federal Financial Management, coordinating such things as the use of financial management systems and

Digital Government

Environmental groups press EPA on info office director

A coalition of environmental groups has asked the Environmental Protection Agency to appoint as the head of its new Information Office the director of an organization that helps government agencies make public information available online.

Digital Government

Budget shouldn't cut innovation

The lengthy and contentious process of putting together the nation's budget always forces agencies to take a hard look at funding priorities in light of economic realities. But NASA's experience with the House of Representatives last month is a painful reminder that much damage can be done in the n

Digital Government

Industry Watch

Online bookseller offers fed special Fatbrain.com (www.fatbrain.com), an online professional bookstore, is targeting government users by offering to set up custom online bookstores specific to an agency's needs and interests. The company carries business and technology publications, including thos

Digital Government

Fedwire Briefs

USPS set to launch PC Postage Postmaster General William Henderson was scheduled to hold a news conference today to announce the launch of the U.S. Postal Service's Internetbased PC Postage program as well as one or more PC Postage products that will be available in stores this summer. The PC Pos

Digital Government

Federal Bytes

HEADSUP THINKING. Rep. Constance Morella (RMd.) recently chaired a hearing that focused on possible lapses in computer security directly resulting from Year 2000 remediation efforts lapses that could raise the risk of theft, fraud or corruption by unscrupulous programmers. But Morella offered s

Digital Government

E-mail may be key to electronic democracy

Lowly email may be the key to creating an interactive public commons necessary to make electronic democracy work, according to online election evangelist Steven Clift.

Digital Government

Michigan judge blocks online law

A federal judge in Michigan last week blocked enforcement of a new state law that would have criminalized online communications judged harmful to minors for carrying sexually explicit matter.

Digital Government

Clinton creates National Infrastructure Assurance Council

President Clinton signed an executive order last week creating the National Infrastructure Assurance Council, the final organization to be established in an overall structure to protect the critical infrastructure of the United States against cyberterrorism and other attacks.

Digital Government

National Conference of State Legislatures adopts new policies

The National Conference of State Legislatures adopted myriad new policies at the close of its annual meeting last week, including some dealing with states' roles in Internet taxation.

Digital Government

Roster Change

Col. Gregory Premo, deputy director of the Programs and Architecture Office in the Army's Office of the Director of Information Systems for Command, Control, Communications and Computers, last month was assigned to the position of deputy director of operations at the Defense Information Systems Age

Digital Government

Group proposes common licensing rules

A U.S. organization that works to unify state laws today overwhelmingly approved a controversial proposal to adopt common licensing rules for software and other information technology transactions that critics say would hold IT companies hostage to the whims of software vendors.

Digital Government

Marketplace

Companies Combine to Offer Education 'Portal' Services Leading computer, Internet and education service companies have joined forces to take thinclient computing to the nation's schools, something they believe could bring schools within reach of the Holy Grail of technologyenabled education: a co

Digital Government

The Y2K sentries

The problems could be as large as all of Los Angeles losing power or as small as three people getting stuck in an elevator. Or, as most people hope, nothing could happen at all. But come midnight Dec. 31, when computer systems all over the world must face the final test for the Year 2000 problem, a

Digital Government

Federal Bytes

ROCKIN' WITH BILL. Last week the Commerce Department awarded governmentwide IT services contracts to 29 small businesses. The contracts were awarded under the auspices of the Commerce Information Technology Solutions program, called 'Commits.' However, Commerce officials tell us that the acronym is

Digital Government

Set-Asides

Top 10 digital list wanted A pair of nonprofit advocacy groups last week called on the public to help identify the 10 most wanted government documents that should be available online but are not. The Center for Democracy and Technology and OMB Watch have teamed up to send virtual 'Wanted!' signs to

Digital Government

Navy takes common-sense tack

The Navy once again has proven itself to be in the forefront of the federal information technology community with its rare ability to design programs that combine innovation and pragmatism. In the latest case, the Navy has decided to make what it calls a 'sweeping shift' in information management a