ANOTHER VIEW
While working at the IRS, I learned a few things about electronic government that I will share with you in this and subsequent columns. Here are my first four lessons learned:
EDITORIAL
The great Transition Web Site Caper makes little sense.
Web100 on Track
The National Science Foundation has awarded a $2.9 million, three-year grant to the Web100 Project, which will attempt to fine-tune software to exploit 100 percent of available network bandwidth.
INTERVIEW: Lee Holcomb, techie-turned-manager
Before becoming NASA's chief information officer, Lee Holcomb was a self-described techie for the space agency, serving as its director for information technology strategy.
Name change doesn't impress Carnivore's critics
FEB. 13—The FBI's name change for its Internet wiretapping program, from Carnivore to DCS1000, wasn't the alteration one of the application's most vocal critics wanted to see.
Federal agencies return serve on Kournikova virus
FEB. 13—Most federal agencies hit a blazing return serve Monday when a virus masquerading as a photo of tennis star Anna Kournikova came bouncing into government systems.
FEMA puts flood insurance maps online
FEB. 13—The Federal Emergency Management Agency today unveiled a Map Service Center that will let users of Flood Insurance Rate Maps order them online.
IRS upgrades to smaller, faster mainframes
FEB. 9—The IRS has consolidated 67 legacy mainframe computers into 20 smaller, faster mainframes to speed response to taxpayer inquiries.
Army contracts with Anteon to support simulation centers
FEB. 8—The Army has awarded a nine-year contract with a potential value of $47 million to Anteon Corp. to provide operational and administrative support for battle simulation centers.
FAA's IT workers file grievance over special pay
FEB. 7—The union representing some Federal Aviation Administration information technology workers has filed a national grievance with FAA administrator Jane F. Garvey for not granting special IT pay adjustments approved last year by the Office of Personnel Management.
Missouri official calls on state to fund new voting gear
FEB. 6—Missouri should provide $5 million in matching grants annually to local jurisdictions to help pay for new voting equipment, according to a report by Secretary of State Matt Blunt.
XML.gov goes live
FEB. 5—The Chief Information Officers Council last month brought its prototype site for Extensible Markup Language users online at <a href="http://xml.gov"> xml.gov</a>. The site will serve as a clearinghouse for federal XML activities as well as a collaborative workspace.
FTC's Consumer Sentinel will teach public about fraud
FEB. 5—Federal Trade Commission officials hope a new Web site focusing on consumer fraud and identity theft will increase public awareness of common swindles.
IRS puts a military tax guide on the Web
FEB. 5—Filing income tax returns can be confusing enough, but how do military personnel determine what part of their yearly income is taxable if they were stationed in Bosnia or aboard a ship in the Mediterranean?
Just a trace is all FBI needs
The FBI's X-ray spectral database is still in its infancy, but two recent cases hint at its crime-solving potential.
NARA's Web archive plan irks agencies
Agencies are learning that taking a snapshot of a Web site isn't as simple as clicking a camera shutter.
Database sheds light on crime
Imagine a murder victim bound and gagged with duct tape and smeared with lipstick. Now imagine the prosecutor convicting the murderer with spectral proof of the brands of duct tape and lipstick.
New NOAA technology to study air-sea interactions sets sail
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Environmental Technology Laboratory in Boulder, Colo., has developed the first wind profiler permanently installed aboard a research ship.
Web speeds safety data to Coast Guard
The Coast Guard's Marine Safety Systems Development Branch has developed a Web decision support system to analyze maritime information and assist management in formulating effective safety programs.
Rumsfeld in step with Bush's security goals
Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld last month vowed he would work toward developing the National Missile Defense System'one of President Bush's top systems projects.
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