Agencies say security is a bigger task than Y2K
The extent of network security vulnerabilities will dwarf the year 2000 problem, predicted industry and agency officials late last month at a General Services Administration seminar in Washington. Readying systems for 2000 has monopolized agency resources. Now the crisis in Kosovo, computer virus attacks and insider leaks of U.S. nuclear secrets are spotlighting security instead.
Energy labs hook into video
For 10 years, managers and researchers at the Energy Department's Sandia National Laboratories have held regular videoconferences with peers at distant Energy labs and universities. Sandia has more than 70 videoconferencing systems in use, from auditorium facilities with dedicated links between the labs' Albuquerque, N.M., and Livermore, Calif., sites down to LAN systems built from inexpensive PC-mounted cameras and free software.
Cabletron's stackable token-ring switches let users pick up speed on slownetworks
The stackable SmartStack switches come in four models. The Rochester, N.H., company also makes a higher-end SmartSwitch 9000 token-ring chassis switch. "We are targeting the wiring closet," said Tedd Frechette, Cabletron's token-ring product manager. The 20-port SmartStack units combine to provide as many as 224 ports. They will be useful on small network segments of 20 to 30 nodes, he said.
Reform hones business, federal alliances, Lee says
Government agencies' increased focus on core missions has propelled information technology procurement reform, said Deidre Lee, Office of Federal Procurement Policy administrator. Government must remember that it is ultimately responsible for making the lives of citizens easier, she said. "It's all about matching the systems with the core missions of the agencies and then with the average citizen," Lee said, speaking at a recent luncheon sponsored by the Association for
Make the workgroup switch connection
On a shared 10-Mbps hub, each client computer gets only about 3 Mbps of bandwidth on average. If all ports are busy, the number drops because each client's network interface card is trying to get a free line through the hub. Contrast that congestion with that of a switched network. Each switch port receives dedicated bandwidth, similar to a dedicated phone line. A server that needs more bandwidth and handles high-priority traffic can connect directly to the
Lab Notes
Webster as slave. When Microsoft Corp. representatives recently delivered the final code of Microsoft Office 2000 to the GCN Lab they also brought unwelcome news. Office 2000 embraces the Web's Hypertext Markup Language as the ultimate native file format. But when you save a Microsoft Word file in HTML, you cannot edit the file in Microsoft's FrontPage 2000 Web editor.
One man's legacy lives on in copyright laws
Lobbyists, opinion polls, the press, campaign contributions and other political, social and economic forces all bear influence on legislative decisions. Yet sometimes a single, passionate individual can make a difference. Morris Schnapper was such an individual. I first met Morris in 1978 when I worked on the staff of the then House Government Operations Subcommittee on Management, Information and Technology. Nearly 70, he ran Public Affairs Press, a small but influential book publisher. His office was in
Navy finds that commercial games have potential for other military training uses
Although the Navy is focusing on the use of desktop PC simulation for pilot training, such applications also could benefit other military uses. There are simulation games in production for training in surface and submarine warfare, Navy officials said. The Navy's submarine organizations, for example, use 688I Hunter/Killer, a game from Sonalysts Inc. of Waterford, Conn. The game, which replicates the Los Angeles-class Attack submarine, gives sailors a tool to help develop tactical skills and knowledge. Junior
Energy inks five-year contract for IBM RS/6000 SP supercomputer
The Energy Department's National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center last month awarded a five-year, $33 million contract to IBM Corp. for an RS/6000 SP supercomputer. The RS/6000 SP will have a peak performance of more than 3 trillion floating-point operations per second. The center will use the supercomputer to study combustion, materials science, fusion energy, biology, high-energy and nuclear physics, and global climates, said Bill Kramer, director of the center's High Performance Computing Department.
Bargain-basement PCs make the perfect tools for training employees
Do you have an office or training room in need of year 2000-ready computers that run Microsoft Windows 98 but lack the money to buy office-grade PCs? Take a look at a $499 computer complete with monitor: a 266-MHz Cyrix-powered PC with 32M of RAM, a 2.1G hard drive, 56-Kbps V.90 modem, sound, 24X CD-ROM drive and Win98. It can connect to the Internet, run training software, do word
Briefing Book
New day Dawns. Lt. Gen. David J. Kelley, director of the Defense Information Systems Agen-cy, has named Dawn Hartley as DISA's new chief technology officer. "No one is better suited to be the chief technology officer for the agency," Kelley said in announcing the appointment last month. "She has been a driving force behind the Defense Information Infrastructure's Common Operating Environment and the fielding of state-of-the-art software, computer hardware and data management technology that provide efficient, flexible,
Navy pushes back arrival time for personnel system
The Navy missed the boat trying to complete the Navy Standard Integrated Personnel System in 18 months, according to NSIPS deputy program manager Dennis Pigg. "Eighteen months was not a realistic date," Pigg said. Navy program managers now expect to have the $470 million personnel information system ready by next April.
Candle introduces a platform for integrating apps
Extending its middleware expertise, Candle Corp. has developed a set of products to integrate applications. The Santa Monica, Calif., company claims to have one of the first integrated platforms for business component computing, or what GartnerGroup Inc. calls service-oriented architectures. Candle's Roma integration platform does for applications what relational technology did for databases, said Steve Craggs, the company's vice president of application solutions. "It works like relational joins, except it's for applications," he said.
Stillman retires as GAO chief scientist
The Dragon Lady who wielded her Mont Blanc black fountain pen over reports for 15 years at the General Accounting Office will breathe fire no more—at least, not on the job. Rona Stillman, chief scientist for computers and telecommunications in GAO's Accounting and Information Management Division, retired last month after 33 years of federal service.
FAA equips maintenance specialists with notebook PCs to replace outdated units
Through two contracts totaling $17.5 million, the Federal Aviation Administration has in the past year purchased about 5,100 notebook PCs from Gateway Inc. and Micron Electronics Inc. The notebooks replace 486 and older PCs, used by maintenance specialists, that were not year 2000-ready. FAA's Airway Facilities program office in October issued an $8.1 million purchase order for 3,744 notebooks from Micron of Nampa, Idaho, FAA spokeswoman Tammy L. Jones said. The 266-MHz Pentium II units run
Trailblazing feds lead the move to distance learning
Videoconferencing is moving to the LAN, distance learning is driving that move, and the government is in the forefront of both trends. "The feds seem to be leading the commercial world by about 18 months," said Craig Reichenbach, vice president of federal sales for PictureTel Corp. of Andover, Mass. The reason, he said, is that government LANs have more bandwidth and more use of asynchronous transfer mode, which provides the necessary quality of service for video.
Web delivers inexpensive transaction tracks
The Web doesn't have electronic data interchange's track record of years of practical experience and tested, trusted standards, but it is fast, interactive and nearly free—and those are qualities EDI lacks. The monocular EDI conducts transactions, period. The Web offers a kaleidoscope of opportunities for browsing, finding information and other business processes in addition to conducting transactions.
Turnaround skill gains AF officer Trail Boss honor
WILLIAMSBURG, Va.—Lt. Col. William V. Cox, who spearheaded the turnaround of three Air Force systems, took trail boss of the year honors in a ceremony last week at the General Services Administration's annual Trail Boss Roundup. Cox is deputy director of the Functional Information Special Project Office for the Standard Systems Group at Maxwell Air Force Base's Gunter Annex, Ala.
BREAKING NEWS
Federal records officers from 45 agencies have formed an interagency group to try to influence government information management practices, including electronic records management. The Federal Information and Records Managers Council plans to make its suggestions on information management to Congress, the National Archives and Records Administration, and the Office of Management and Budget.
Y2K progress continues; Hill seeks new tests
Each day the government finishes date code fixes on a few more mission critical systems. Ninety-three percent of essential systems are now year 2000-ready, John A. Koskinen, chairman of the President's Council on the Year 2000 Conversion, said last month. The administration said in March that 92 percent of the government's 6,123 mission-critical systems met the Office of Management and Budget's March 31 readiness deadline [GCN, April 12, Page 1].
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