GSA gives technology service a face-lift
FTS' Charles Self says sellers have a personal interest in a contract instead of in customer needs. GSA will change that. Just eight months after a major reorganization, the General Services Administration is again tinkering with its Federal Technology Service. This time the effort focuses on streamlining FTS operations.
FEMA opts to make Windows 98 standard
The Federal Emergency Management Agency has become one of the first agencies to standardize on Microsoft Windows 98 as the operating system for any new PCs it buys. Concern about year 2000 readiness prompted FEMA's Information Technology Policy Branch to approve a plan to buy new PCs with Win98, said Paul L. Alberti, a computer specialist in FEMA's IT Services Unit. The agency's installed PC base, however, will "bite the bullet" and stay with Windows 95,
ENTERPRISE COMPUTING | New Products
| New Products IdealScanOS software, which indexes images as it scans them, now works on all Ideal/Context scanners from Ideal Scanners and Systems Inc. of Rockville, Md. The IdealScanOS provides index fields—File Name, Scan ID, Operator Names and Scan Time—and lets users print scanned images directly to a large-image plotter.
Sen. Bennett lauds Clinton's 'call to arms' for 2000
Sen. Robert Bennett praised President Clinton's speech, but warns that agencies must hunker down for the next 17 months. The chairman of the Senate's year 2000 committee praised President Clinton for speaking out on the date code issue but warned that the next coming months are critical.
Who will grab a seat?
The contracts for the General Services Administration's Seat Management Program are going to be the most heavily touted buying vehicles in a long time. Charles Self, assistant commissioner of GSA's Information Technology Service, said GSA would put its own dollars behind selling the program and encourage the eight contractors to do the same. I just hope I get a Seat Management mug.
To find time to fix date code, HHS delays other work
The Health Care Financing Administration is 70 percent through rewriting 49 million lines of code, an agency spokeswoman said. HCFA hired retired federal employees to work on the code under a $128 million budget that runs through September, HCFA administrator Nancy-Ann DeParle told the Senate Special Committee on the Year 2000 Technology Problem last month.
Dolch Computer sells a 400-MHz rugged notebook
Dolch Computer Systems Inc. has released one of the first ruggedized 400-MHz Pentium II notebook PCs. The MegaPAC-P2 has Intel Corp.'s new 440BX chip set and 100-MHz motherboard bus. It can hold as many as nine full-size ISA/PCI expansion boards. The notebook runs on 120- or 220-volt alternating current or on 160-watt Power Anywhere power supplies or uninterruptible power systems. The 25-pound, shock-mounted unit has an alloy chassis and composite case.
Tripp Lite helps unravel knotty UPS management
Pros and cons: + Can monitor any UPS remotely – Software not available separately – Only one UPS monitored at a time Real-life requirements: A Tripp Lite UPS; Windows 95, Windows NT, IBM OS/2, Unix or Novell NetWare Strength without direction is weakness. Having enough uninterruptible power systems for all the computers on your LAN isn't necessarily to protect your data from power failures and fluctuations. You've got to have a way
Breaking news
The IRS has selected Lucent Technologies Inc. of Murray Hill, N.J., to network 25 geographically dispersed customer service call centers into a virtual call center. The IRS receives about 60 million taxpayer calls a year, 25 million of them between Jan. 1 and April 15. Marilyn Soulsburg, the acting assistant commissioner for customer service, said the IRS needs to improve the efficiency of service to callers.
LAB NOTES
You make the call. Microsoft Corp. has argued that the Justice Department's antitrust actions are stifling innovation. After working with the new Windows 98, the GCN Lab wonders whether it means innovation or renovation. Some Win98 users that the lab has talked with describe it as the biggest bug fix of all time and express surprise that Microsoft can charge $89 for it.
Illustration app duel ends in near draw
Version 5.5: rix and Solaris Current version: NT or Alpha (Mac coming soon) Version 3.5: Irix, HP-UX, Solaris and AIX Overall grade B+ B- Price $325 GSA $82 upgrade GSA $448 NIH ECS2 $225 upgrade GSA Microsoft Windows' Paint function can't always do the job when you need an illustration program. But Adobe Illustrator 7.0 and CorelDraw 8 can daunt even the techno-savvy.
Webworks - Traffic statistics for May 1998
Hits: 4.5 million Sessions: 944,000 Site size: About 11,000 pages Unique effort: Home page updated 135 times in June High traffic areas: Main page, tropical storm information section, details on current disasters, picture pages taken with Sony Corp. digital cameras at disaster sites
COLOR laser printers
Laser printers make the grade Most color laser printers are optimized for workgroup service. Within two years, they'll replace high-end color ink-jets in many organizations. Color laser reproduction is adequate for most print jobs. Good printer management software is as important as hardware. Web remote printer management is a good option for large organizations.
TECH REFRESH
Defense Department and intelligence agencies are the target market for two products Pulsar Data Systems Inc. recently added to its General Services Administration Information Technology Schedule and National Institutes of Health Electronic Computer Store II contracts. The 2in1 TSDNet secure communications switch from Voltaire Advanced Data Security Ltd., an Israeli company, can connect a desktop PC to two Ethernets over a single cable.
USDA research group uses TeleMagic to tap multiple databases
The USDA agency needed a way to define its customers and their needs, and how to match the two. The Economic Research Service, the 550-employee research and information arm of the Agriculture Department, has found an application to help it serve citizens. Each day, up to 50 ERS employees man the agency's phones, Web site and mail room to answer requests from a large customer base. ERS workers answer a daily
GSA to decide soon on PC outsourcing protest
The General Services Administration plans to make a decision tomorrow on an agency-level protest of its Seat Management Program awards. Boeing Information Service Inc. filed the protest July 15. In its protest, the Vienna, Va., company claimed that GSA misled vendors about the criteria it would use in evaluating the Seat Management bids.
GCN SNAPSHOT | Education - Who's In Charge
| Education Donald Rappaport Chief Information Officer Hazel Fiers Acting Deputy Chief Information Officer Joseph Tozzi Group Leader, Assistive Technology Debra Schweikert Group Leader, Customer Support and Acquisition Assistance Kent Hannaman Group Leader, Information Management Steven Corey-Bey Group Leader, Special Projects Renaldo Harper Group Leader, Technology Services Sally Budd Director, Communications and Quality Assurance
Major programs | GCN SNAPSHOT
Information Technology Investment Management—Education's chief information officer works with principal offices, budget planners and other federal agencies to see that the department gets the most for its technology dollars. Staff members manage and evaluate investments in information systems. The IT Investment and Capital Planning Group evaluates and proposes systems and recommends improvements. The group works closely with the IT Investment Review Board, which advises the Office of the Secretary on major investments.
FAA will do away with paper in its airline safety inspections
The Federal Aviation Administration is upgrading a system that tracks safety violations among the nation's commercial carriers. The new system, which FAA is testing in Honolulu, will let agency inspectors and officials share aircraft inspection and certification documents over an intranet. FAA's Flight Standards Service has 3,500 inspectors working at 110 field offices. The Operations Specifications Subsystem (OPSS) will let inspectors more easily monitor aircraft safety and certify the skills of flight crews and mechanics, said Dick
Correction
The speed of the chip is 166 MHz, not 200 MHz.
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