Author Archive
Digital Government
NSF funds innovative IT research
The Digital Government program, a relatively new and innovative arm of the National Science Foundation, has awarded about $7 million in grants for 16 research projects designed to improve government services using cuttingedge information technology. The proposals range from an application that let
Digital Government
Panel explains gridlock at the nation's airports
A panel of aviation experts agreed today that air traffic delays are getting worse, but testimony differed sharply when it came to assessing blame.
Digital Government
Angering controllers, Congress considers privatizing parts of air traffic management
Congress edged closer to turning over the operation of a key portion of the nation's air traffic control system from the Federal Aviation Administration to a private entity, a move sharply questioned by the air traffic controllers union.
Digital Government
MUSE shows off air traffic tech
San Diego A package of software and workstations designed to help air traffic controllers better visualize the flow of airplanes near airports highlighted the annual Air Traffic Controllers Association meeting here last week. The software, developed by Albuquerque, N.M.based MUSE Technologies I
Digital Government
Harris pursues FAA telecom biz
San Diego Harris Corp. announced last week at the annual convention of the Air Traffic Control Association that it would lead a team of Baby Bells and other companies in pursuit of the Federal Aviation Administration's expected contract for integrating its telecommunications systems, which has a
Digital Government
Webmasters endorse council
The Federal Webmasters Forum, a loose confederation of federal employees who work to advance the role of the Internet in government, last week voted to establish a new council that would attempt to develop policies for the increasing number of issues evolving from the rapid growth of digital government.
Digital Government
CIO Council to request its first-ever budget
After three years of depending on the fiscal largesse of federal agencies for operating money, the federal CIO Council this year plans to send its firstever budget request to Congress.
Digital Government
White House shifts encryption strategy
The Clinton administration last week released the details of a new information security and privacy strategy that loosens export controls on encryption technology and provides law enforcement agencies with powerful tools to read encrypted messages by criminal suspects. The strategy would be carried
Digital Government
House committee authorizes $4.8B for basic IT research
The House Science Committee last week unanimously passed a bill to set aside $4.8 billion in funding for information technology research for the next five fiscal years. The bill, the Networking and Information Technology Research and Development Act, would funnel more than half of the money to the
Digital Government
Report shows that credit agencies behind tech curve
A new study concludes that federal credit institutions, such as the Federal Housing Administration, the Department of Veterans Affairs' loan program and the Rural Housing Service, face a tenuous future because they are not using new technologies that have been embraced by privatesector lenders. Ne
Digital Government
CIO Council adopts rules to fight software piracy
The CIO Council has voted to adopt a set of guidelines that would help agencies prevent employees and private government contractors from illegally pirating computer software. The governmentwide policy, which was approved Aug. 24 by a nearunanimous vote, gives federal chief information officers th
Featured eBooks
Digital Government
USGS, map company team on digital national atlas
The U.S. Geological Survey announced last week that it will team with private industry to develop an electronic National Atlas of the United States, an exhaustive and detailed catalog of maps of the country. USGS wants to develop CDROM, DVD and Internet products, National Atlas managing editor Jay
Digital Government
Agencies virtually lure job seekers
As the Internet swiftly becomes important to finding and hiring employees in the private sector, some federal agencies also are aggressively going online to lure job seekers, while others are doing little on the World Wide Web to sell themselves. Agencies such as the Internal Revenue Service and th
Digital Government
NSF grants set stage for IT research initiative
The National Science Foundation doled out $50 million in information technology grant money to research institutions nationwide last week as a precursor to the Clinton administration's initiative to support basic research in computer technology, a program that faces an uncertain future in Congress.
Digital Government
U.S., map company to develop first digital National Atlas
The U.S. Geological Survey announced last week that it will team with private industry to develop an electronic National Atlas of the United States, an exhaustive and detailed catalog of maps of the country.
Digital Government
USGS seeks seismic network bid
The U.S. Geological Survey is sending out for bid again a contract to run and maintain a network of computers that collects seismological data from around the world. The network, called the Global Seismographic Network, gives scientists and governments quick information about the size and locations
Digital Government
Project management?portal-style
Agencies that want outside help for project management, but don't want to pay high consultants fees, have a new alternative: an Internetbased project management portal. RobbinsGioia Inc., a management firm in Alexandria, Va., has launched PM Boulevard, an online project management tool that combi
Digital Government
DOJ forced to open electronic case files
A judge has ordered the Justice Department to release a database of information on federal prosecutions never before made public. In a recent decision, a federal court directed the department to share information from its case management system, including records on what types of prosecutions feder
Digital Government
USGS keeps tabs on possible floods from Bret
A pair of new stations used to track the volume of water in streams and rivers are helping the U.S. Geological Survey to understand and respond to flooding in Texas in the wake of Hurricane Bre
Digital Government