BRIEFING BOOK
Oceans apart. The U.S. Atlantic Command, one of nine unified Defense Department commands, needs a better inventory of its systems if it is going to have them 2000-ready, according to a DOD inspector general report released late last month. The report, U.S. Atlantic Command Year 2000 Issues , said USACOM uses 148 systems run by the services and DOD agencies. Of the 53 mission-critical systems, USACOM could not tell the IG the status of remediation work
USPS tests online service for stamp of approval
The Postal Service, as early as January, wants to accept documents online, print them, stuff them in envelopes and deliver them—all for the price of a stamp. USPS is running a small test of the service, called PostOffice Online, in Hartford, Conn., and Tampa, Fla. The test will be expanded to Boston, New York and Philadelphia next month, said Cathy Rogerson, USPS' group manager for new businesses. If all goes well, PostOffice Online will become available
Tool helps manage requirements when developing software
Anyone who knows how to use e-mail and Microsoft Word can define software requirements with a tool from Technology Builders Inc. of Atlanta, according to company president Nicholas Kavadellas. TBI's suite eventually will manage the entire development processes to ensure software quality, Kavadellas said. Caliber-Requirements Management is the first tool in the suite.
Demo marks maiden voyage of government into digital signatures
From the White House to the IRS, legally binding digital signatures are out of the experimental stage and into actual use. When President Clinton and Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern attached their digital signatures early this month to a joint communique about electronic commerce, it marked the first time two heads of state used encrypted signature technology. It also drove home the fact that the federal government is starting to accept such signatures as legally binding.
White House OKs export of some strong encryption
FBI's Carolyn Morris says center will help fulfill investigative duties. The Clinton administration will allow the export of strong encryption products for protecting certain types of data and supports creation of a federal encryption research center, White House officials said this month. The announcement was an attempt to resolve the long-standing dispute between companies that use encryption to protect proprietary information and law enforcement and national security agencies that need access to computer data
GSA smart card center opens for agency tryouts
When it opened its new Smart Card Technology Center this month, the General Services Administration opted to use the tools the center will promote. So the center has a smart card access system that makes it one of the most secure offices at GSA headquarters. To enter the facility, one must pass through the center's smart card electronic access control system, which officials call the gatekeeper. To gain access, users must insert smart cards into a
DOD's new paperless buying system gets first use in Army
The Army Space and Missile Defense Command contract office in Huntsville, Ala., is the first Defense Department organization to fully implement the department's paperless procurement system. The command, which spends almost $2 billion each year on R&D and services, declared the Standard Procurement System fully operational late last month after DOD's Office of Operational Test and Evaluation reviewed the installation.
Web-to-host application in Java saves steps for hosts
Reflection EnterView, a nearly 100 percent Java application, administers host-access applications centrally and avoids hands-on administration at each desktop system, said Scott Merrick, a market manager for WRQ Inc. of Seattle. "In supply-chain management, providing access to host applications for users both inside and outside [government] is becoming key," Merrick said. Administrators need no specialized knowledge of Java or the Hypertext Markup Language to use the Web-to-host application, he said.
HomeSite adds finishing touch to a page
Pros and cons: + Good tools that don't get in the way + Easy transition to XML tagging – Short on project-management features Real-life requirements: Win95 or Windows NT, 5M free storage, CD-ROM drive if purchased on CD Point-and-click Web editors such as Microsoft FrontPage or Adobe PageMill are great for making pages fast, but you rarely get exactly what you want.
IRS advisory group will promote electronic filing
The IRS has brought together tax preparers, software company executives and educators to help it sell electronic filing to the public. Congress required the IRS to set up the 17-member Electronic Tax Administration Advisory Committee under the IRS Restructuring and Reform Act it passed last year. The committee will meet quarterly. Two meetings will be open to the public; two will be closed for working sessions, IRS officials said.
SuperDisk drive can handle regular, 120M floppies
Pros and cons: + Backward compatibility with standard floppies – Slow startup, occasional lockup Real-life requirements: Win9x, 8M RAM, 5M free on hard drive, free parallel port Trying to get by with 1.44M floppy disks nowadays is like trying to pack a lunch in a coin purse. There's just not enough room.
Company revamps wireless LAN line for notebook users
Expecting more demand for wireless computing, Bay Networks Inc. has rebranded the AirSurfer wireless LAN products it acquired in a $10 million purchase of NetWave Technologies Inc. of Pleasanton, Calif., earlier this year as the BayStack 600 series. The deal gave the Santa Clara, Calif., company a line of standards-based wireless LAN products that connect notebook users at up to 2-Mbps throughout an office or campus, said Doug Makishima, Bay Networks' product line manager for wireless
PROFESSIONAL CALENDAR
11-15 Year 2000 Strategies Conference. Orlando, Fla. Contact DCI, 204 Andover St., Andover, Mass. 01810; tel. 800-324-3976. 18-21 AFCOM 1998 Conference. Dallas. Contact the Association for Data Center Network and Enterprise Systems Management, 742 E. Chapman Ave., Orange, Calif. 92866; tel. 714-997-7966. 20-22 Info Tech 98 Conference. Dayton, Ohio. Contact the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association, 4225 Logistics Ave., Suite 1, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio 45433; tel. 800-564-4220.
MapInfo Pro 5.0 adds CAD translator and report-writing tools
MapInfo Professional 5.0 does thematic shading to show the relationships between data and geography without regard to boundaries such as state lines. Thematic shading gives users a better understanding of map data, said Jules Moyaert, desktop product marketing manager for MapInfo Corp. of Troy, N.Y. In multiple legend windows, the new version also shows cartographic legends for elements such as cemeteries, churches, railroad stations and schools.
Don't just build Web sites, analyze how they're used
One of my favorite unanswered questions is: What is the ratio of federal information technology funds spent on the Internet to what is spent on agency intranets? Or in military terms: Is the government's tooth-to-tail expenditure of resources in line with its mission? My guess is that there are 10 times more dollars spent on moving packets inside federal firewalls than on sending data to the outside world. The actual figure may be far higher. Either
Survey: Virus siege increases on feds' servers, PCs
Computer viruses are spreading despite the presence of prophylactic programs, according to a study by the International Computer Security Association. The incidents reported for January and February this year jumped 48 percent from the same period last year, even though 91 percent of respondents' servers and 98 percent of their PCs reportedly had antivirus software.
Condon: Agencies lack understanding of security directive
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va.—Presidential Decision Directive 63 is playing up the importance of computer security, systems officials said this month at the Interagency Resources Management and Chief Information Officers Council Conference. But systems managers must do more to increase awareness and offer training in computer security, said Mary Ellen Condon, the Justice Department's director of information management and security staff, and a member of the CIO Council's Security Committee.
GSA taps De Vera for new contracts job
Manny De Vera will coordinate the FAST and FISSP programs for the General Services Administration's 11 regions. Manny De Vera takes over today as the General Services Administration's information technology solutions regional services director. His appointment comes nearly two years after Leamon Lee, the associate director of administration at the National Institutes of Health, took away De Vera's responsibilities as program director of the groundbreaking NIH Information Technology Acquisition and Assessment Center contracts.
DOD auditor says feds must focus on both network security and year 2000 problem
Lame federal network security is unlikely to improve until the year 2000 crisis has passed, a Defense Department auditor has predicted. "There is no doubt they are competing head to head for money and resources," said Robert Lieberman, DOD assistant inspector general for auditing. The department's priorities became clear in a memorandum last month from Defense Secretary William Cohen. He threatened to suspend other information technology initiatives if the services do not repair date code quickly enough
Document management software
Manage your purchase Web technology, low-cost scanners and cheap storage have combined to make document management affordable. No single document management system will meet all your requirements. Highly integrated systems aren't necessary for all users. You must determine your needs before you buy. ODMA 2.0 compliance is no guarantee of product interoperability. Low-end document imaging software can be a boon for individuals and small workgroups. You should seek a scalable system only
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