Control-system designers say newer version could have prevented LAN crash
If the USS Yorktown had been running the most recent version of an engineering control system, the Smart Ship probably would not have suffered a LAN failure that left it dead in the water for three hours last year, according to the system's designer. An early version of the Standard Monitoring and Control System (SMCS), developed by Canadian Aviation Electronics (CAE) Inc. of Toronto, is running aboard the Yorktown Smart Ship and the Navy's MHC-51 Osprey
Old lion has advice for new cats at FTS
As FTS commissioner, Woods negotiated multibillion-dollar contracts for federal long-distance and local telephone services from 1994 to 1997. Under his leadership, FTS offered global voice, data and video communications for both local and long-distance government telecom users, and such advanced telecom products and services as federal calling cards, wireless equipment and services, network applications, acquisitions services for IT and telecom systems, risk analysis and security support.
CSC wins IRS' Prime contract
Following more than a decade of frustrated modernization efforts, the IRS last week recommitted itself to upgrading its antiquated tax systems by awarding the 15-year Prime contract—potentially worth $5 billion—to Computer Sciences Corp. The award kicks off the latest chapter of what has been one of the federal government's most expensive and drawn-out information technology efforts. It is an early victory for IRS commissioner Charles Rossotti and his new chief information officer, Paul J. Cosgrave.
'Tis the season when hyped product claims get wrap they deserve
Don't get me wrong, I'm all in favor of holidays that give you a day off and gifts, too. But I seem to remember that our jolly, white-bearded Santa in the Coca-Cola-red suit was originally an advertising gimmick for the soft drink giant. The same sort of pesky memory kicked into gear when I read about the new wonder products announced at the Comdex show last month in Las Vegas. Whenever a vendor promotes a product
Lancast's Redundant Twister can keep LAN traffic flowing
A new addition to Lancast Inc.'s Twister family of media translators is capable of making redundant links to switches on Fast Ethernet LANs. The Redundant Twister has nearly instantaneous failover from primary to secondary links for mission-critical networks. John Temple, director of government sales for Lancast of Nashua, N.H., said the Defense Department, Federal Aviation Administration and intelligence agencies would be the primary markets.
Conference hashes out supercomputers, Next Generation Net
ORLANDO, Fla.—The Next Generation Internet will connect at least 100 federal and university research facilities at rates 100 times faster than are now possible, according to the National Science and Technology Council. NGI will bring benefits in supercomputing collaboration, digital libraries, remote access and simulation, NSTC members said last month at the Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers Computer Society's High-Performance Networking and Computing conference. The price, officials said, could run as high as $2 billion
GCN Lab revisits 1998's hits and misses
1998 has been a good year for computer hardware. Processor speed jumped impressively from 333 MHz to 450 MHz. But software suffered from the upgrade syndrome. Most upgrades fell a little flat or required a host of patches and fixes. Lotus Development Corp. released the year's only software suite, SmartSuite Millennium Edition [GCN, Sept. 28, Page 37], and Microsoft Corp. sent Microsoft Windows 98 on its way [GCN, June 29, Page 31]. But neither one made
OMB exec: Feds need to finalize year 2000 contingency plans now
The Office of Management and Budget will increasingly focus on year 2000 contingency plans as agencies enter the final stretch for making their date codes ready, a senior administration official said. "Contingency plans are extremely important," said G. Edward DeSeve, OMB's deputy director of management and chairman of the Chief Information Officers Council.
Advanced tool package administers complete physical to PC
Pros and cons: + Nice collection of PC diagnostic tools + Comprehensive testing for most components – Needs better documentation Master the esoteric art of PC troubleshooting, and awe the users who benefit from your skill. The secret is perseverance and patience. When PC technicians stand beside a dead or frozen machine, they run through a checklist that differs slightly from machine to machine. But it always involves painstaking checks of cables, settings
Norton Utilities 4.0 brings PC safeguards to Macs
Norton Utilities 4.0 for the Apple Macintosh is the latest incarnation of a disk utility set that has been around almost as long as personal computers. I suspect Symantec Corp. is airbrushing Peter Norton's face a bit on the box, though his on-screen icon looks as good as ever.
Most RTC date problems are limited to older PCs
Practically every real-time clock in-side a PC or server today is ticking away the years in two digits. But LAN administrators and users running Microsoft Windows NT need not worry about RTC misbehavior as they make their year 2000 checks and upgrades. Users running Windows 95 and Windows 98 will enjoy a reprieve until 2001 rolls around.
Test of year 2000 puts administrators on the line
At the Social Security Administration, they call it Day 1. It won't be an ordinary work day at SSA's offices, that's for sure. For one thing, Day 1 will be a Saturday. It also will be New Year's Day, Jan. 1, 2000. Kathleen Adams, SSA assistant deputy commissioner for systems, will be there through the holiday weekend, verifying that the agency's systems are running smoothly—that, when the clock struck midnight, no computers mistook '00
Network managers stick to the basics on security
You can protect your network; the technology exists. Sophisticated tools will let you set up firewalls to screen every e-mail message for potentially dangerous protocols, encrypt application files and run checksums to ensure no files have been changed. Tools can install antivirus software on networks and desktop PCs and keep users off suspect Web sites. Others can scan a user's retina, iris, fingerprint or face before granting access, closely circumscribe user privileges, track use and review audit
Military command purges sensitive data from Web sites after security evaluation
HONOLULU—U.S. Forces in Korea as well as the United Nations and Combined Forces commands are scrubbing their Web sites of any sensitive information that might prove useful to an enemy. "Our home page apparently was a wonderful source of intelligence for anybody that wanted to surf the Internet," said Air Force Maj. Gen. Michael Hayden, deputy chief of staff for the United Nations Command, Combined Forces Command and U.S. Forces Korea.
Agencies suffer an IT worker drought, GAO says
Already strapped for high-tech workers, agencies cannot find people to do year 2000 work, and managers expect the staffing problem to get worse, the General Accounting Office concluded in a new report. The work force deficiency could become complicated as industry and government vie for personnel from a limited pool of applicants, GAO said.
SBA hires Unisys for variety of loan systems support services
The Small Business Administration recently awarded a contract worth $51.9 million to Unisys Corp. to consolidate and operate systems that support the agency's loan programs. SBA awarded the seven-year contract under the General Service Administration Virtual Data Center contracts. The agency estimates the contract at $44 million, but if the agency exercises all its options over the life of the contract, it will edge toward $52 million, said Dan Vellucci, SBA's director of planning
FAA document management system helps users stay on track
Federal Aviation Administration users turn to their Web browsers and an intranet to file and index regulatory documents and track their revision status. FAA's Integrated Rulemaking Management System, based on the Docs Open document management system from PC Docs Inc. of Burlington, Mass., has 700 users. They can track items by docket number, federal regulation section number or other parameters, said Joseph Hawkins, director of FAA's Office of Rulemaking.
Federal agency leaders fall behind hackers in security expertise
Federal systems and network security managers who often lack adequate training for their jobs are finding it nearly impossible to fight numerous and increasingly sophisticated cyberattacks. The Defense Department sounded a wake-up call last year during its Eligible Receiver 97 exercise. Before DOD network managers were out of their beds one Monday morning, they were hit with the news that several DOD systems had been maliciously hacked into the night before, and the security of data
New information system promises lots of change for the Mint
The Mint brought employees from all its offices to Washington to participate on the COINS team. The Mint this fall fulfilled a promise to its employees when it went live with an enterprise resource planning system. The Mint unveiled its new Consolidated Information System, or COINS, at a ribbon-cutting ceremony in Washington. Mint officials tout COINS as the first enterprisewide system in the federal government that integrates financial, manufacturing and marketing management [GCN, June
GSA's technology unit unveils '98 revenues
After a year at the helm of the General Services Administration's Federal Technology Service, Dennis J. Fischer still calls himself a recovering bean counter. He fell off the wagon during a year-end briefing last week, producing preliminary figures for the agency's fiscal 1998 performance. FTS revenues increased 37.5 percent, from $2.5 billion to $3.4 billion—good numbers for an agency that supports itself through sales to government customers.
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