Route Fifty

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.

By Dan Pacheco, GCN
September 28, 1998

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

By William Jackson, GCN
September 28, 1998

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.

By Bill Murray, GCN
September 28, 1998

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

By GCN
September 28, 1998

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.

By William Jackson, GCN
September 28, 1998

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.

By Frank Tiboni, GCN
September 28, 1998

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.

By Bill Murray, GCN
September 28, 1998

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

By William Jackson, GCN
September 28, 1998

Navy sets course to manage its human resource data

The Navy is developing an integrated system based on human resources software from PeopleSoft Inc. of Pleasanton, Calif., that will serve as the single point of data entry for all the service's pay and personnel records. Using PCs, clerks will access personnel and disbursing functions now performed by separate systems and offices. The Navy Standard Integrated Personnel System is designed to collect, collate and analyze data on the service's active, Reserve and retired

By Gregory Slabodkin, GCN
September 28, 1998

Systems track federal credits and debits

FMS is the government's check writer. It issues Social Security checks, disburses pay to federal employees and remits payments to contractors. FMS also disburses tax refunds and collects taxes, customs duties and tolls that are due the government. Craig began her federal career in 1970 as an intern with the Customs Service. She left government service from 1978 to 1980 for a job as a technical support analyst with Dillingham Corp. in Honolulu. She returned to

By GCN
September 28, 1998

The Rat wrestles with security advice to slam down computer hackers

The Rat has been watching with interest as the rest of the world learns a painful lesson in network security. The New York Times Web site hack got everyone's attention a few weeks ago, but that was just one instance in a recent rash of site takeovers, including one of a Web server in Japan that hosts 24,000 domains.

By GCN
September 28, 1998

Marines march in via phone

When the Marines stormed ashore in Newfoundland this summer, they carried cellular telephones for secure communications and global links over a tactical cellular network. NATO's Maritime Combined Operational Training (MARCOT) exercises, hosted by Canada in June, marked the first deployment of tactical encrypted cellular communications by U.S. forces. The 2nd Marine Division used the TacCell system from Wheat International Communications Corp. of Reston, Va.

By William Jackson, GCN
September 28, 1998

There's no quick fix for archiving electronic records, archivist says

Implementing a new policy for archiving electronic records will take time, the national archivist said last week. Because of the complexities associated with electronic documents, it could take more than two years for some agencies to come up with ways to destroy or store those documents, John W. Carlin said. "There are no easy answers, and much work remains to be done," he said. "Clearly federal agencies want to manage their electronic recordsindeed, all their recordsmore effectively,

By Christopher J. Dorobek, GCN
September 28, 1998

GAO criticizes DISA's fee-for-service operations

The Defense Information Systems Agency is not adequately managing mainframe systems at Defense Department megacenters and other systems services it provides on a fee-for-service basis, according to a new General Accounting Office report. DISA provides a wide range of information technology products and services to Defense agencies and the services. But GAO auditors found that DISA sets improper prices for IT services.

By Gregory Slabodkin, GCN
September 28, 1998

Agencies are on the brink of IP telephony

When reading about product literature nowadays, you would think that voice over Internet service is just as close as the telephone itself. If you thought per-call prices over FTS 2000 circuits were at rock bottom, consider a new technology that could reduce the cost of calls even more and, more importantly, provide integrated services over IP.

By GCN
September 28, 1998

DOD directive pushes single radio system with programmable software technology

The Defense Department has put the brakes on the military services' multiple radio programs in favor of a single family of radio communications systems that will incorporate programmable software technology. Arthur Money, the senior civilian official in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Command, Control, Communications and Intelligence, late last month issued a directive to service acquisition executives banning the services from developing or buying tactical radio systems. Money said DOD wants to

By Gregory Slabodkin, GCN
September 28, 1998

NARA likely to seek agency records archival plans

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va.The coming directive for archiving electronic records will likely require agencies to develop plans for storing and destroying electronic records, according to a legal adviser at the National Archives and Records Administration. Agencies should expect that they will have to establish new records management schedules within two years, said Miriam Nisbet, special counsel for information policy in NARA's Office of the General Counsel. She spoke this month at the Interagency Resources Management and Chief

By Frank Tiboni, GCN
September 28, 1998

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