Digital Government
Education taps IT partner
In a firstofitskind move, the Education Department last week chose Andersen Consulting to oversee a modernization project for the troubled computer systems the agency uses to manage billions of dollars in federal student aid programs. As the modernization partner for Education's Office of Studen
Digital Government
Visitors can be G-men at FBI's FOIA site
Elvis Presley wanted to help Nixon combat drug crime. John Wayne was eager to help J. Edgar Hoover duke it out with communists. Frank Sinatra blatantly offered his services to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, although bureau officials wanted 'nothing to do with him.' Those are not exactly shock
Digital Government
IT contract bundling pinches out small firms
Investment banking firm Boles Knop ?#038; Amp; Co. LLC this month released a report that confirms what many industry observers have suspected that federal spending on information technology is increasing slowly, but less of that money is going to small business. The bundling of previous IT contracts into n
Digital Government
Education chooses Andersen for modernization
Education Department officials plan to announce tomorrow that the department has chosen Andersen Consulting to oversee modernization of the troubled computer systems the agency uses to run billions of dollars in federal student aid programs.
Digital Government
IT may help unlock medical mysteries
The Defense Department, having spent years trying to trace the cause of Gulf War illnesses, this month released a report concluding that information technology could be a key ingredient in managing and studying the causes of future maladies. Study of Gulf War illnesses characterized by symptoms i
Digital Government
NASA seeks input on celestial net
NASA is asking industry for its help in developing an Internetlike network to support endtoend communications across the solar system. In a Commerce Business Daily notice published this month, NASA asked for input on how the private sector could help the government bring to fruition a network th
Digital Government
Group offers option to A-76 competition
An industry group last week unveiled a new model for public/private competitions that would replace unpopular outsourcing guidelines laid out by the Office of Management and Budget. Under the proposal, developed by the Professional Services Council, an independent manager would oversee agency contr
Digital Government
Senator insists on IT results
Sen. Fred Thompson (RTenn.), chairman of a committee that oversees government management, last week sent letters to 24 agencies encouraging them to correct longstanding management problems that include troubled information technology projects. The letters are meant to send a message to agencies,
Digital Government
NASA to launch electronic RFP system for major projects
Within the next two months NASA will embark on a pilot project that will enable vendors to submit bids and proposals for large projects electronically. NASA allows vendors to use email to submit proposals for small projects, those that typically are under $1 million. But for larger projects that r
Digital Government
NASA awards outstanding software
NASA officials earlier this month selected a project developed by a Long Beach, Calif., small business as one of the outstanding software programs of the year. Alpha Star Corp. worked with the space agency to develop Genoa, an application designed to predict the durability and life cycle of manmad
Digital Government
Lobbying for IT
Daniel Bennett has never been able to stray too far from Washington, D.C. Take, for example, the time he planned to bicycle across the country. He made it as far as Boston before he threw in the towel. An Alexandria, Va., native, Bennett is a principal at the eadvocates consulting firm that counse
Digital Government
Bill reopens encryption access debate
Renewing efforts to allow law enforcement agencies to access and read suspected criminals' encrypted electronic files, the Clinton administration has drafted a bill that would give those agencies access to the electronic 'keys' held by third parties. The Cyberspace Electronic Security Act, the draf
Digital Government
Education looks for private IT partner
As it tries to comply with a legal mandate to improve its performance, a key office within the Education Department is moving swiftly to hire a single vendor to oversee its technology modernization program. Education's Office of Student Financial Assistance Programs (OSFAP), which manages close to
Digital Government
Braille-ready laptop hits fed market
With the government renewing its efforts to accommodate employees with physical disabilities, Advanced Access Devices, maker of laptops for the visually impaired, is planning a push into the federal market. Its product, called SuperBraille, replaces the traditional laptop display with a Braille dis
Digital Government
The IT squeeze
The House and Senate worked last week to move along overdue fiscal year 2000 appropriations before taking a monthlong break, but tight budget caps could threaten civilian agencies' information technology projects. Trying to abide by a 1997 agreement with President Clinton to cap federal spending a
Digital Government
Software offers image enhancement for research tasks
As scientists conduct more of their research electronically, Media Cybernetics LP, which makes software used to analyze images, has begun carving out a niche among researchers at numerous federal agencies. The company's hallmark ImagePro Plus enables researchers to enhance images in much the same
Digital Government
NASA reels from budget request cuts
Appropriators in the House of Representatives have slashed deeply into the president's budget request for NASA, putting into question funding for agency information technology projects for the next year. Last week the House appropriations subcommittee overseeing NASA approved a bill that would give
Digital Government
FBI fingerprints go digital
The FBI last week began to operate a new system that thousands of law enforcement agents nationwide will use to run criminal background checks by using fingerprints. The new system, the Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System (IAFIS), goes online after years of cost overruns. Project
Digital Government
FBI fingerprint system ready
After years of design delays and cost overruns, the FBI on Wednesday will begin using a sophisticated new fingerprint identification system. The Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System (IAFIS) will allow the bureau to search electronically through millions of fingerprints that state,
Digital Government
Links in the crime-fighting chain (Part II)
State and local law enforcement officials soon will be able to transmit fingerprint data from squad cars and gain access to mug shots and other data as the FBI rolls out a computer system that will link 17 databases on criminals and their activities. National Crime Information Center 2000 (NCIC 200
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