LanRover Access Switch DPS has dual power supplies, cooling feature
The LanRover Access Switch DPS, a remote-access concentrator from Shiva Corp., of Bedford, Mass., will sell for the same $8,000 price as previous models. The Access Switch DPS has dual power supplies for fault tolerance and builds in cooling to lengthen component lifetimes. A 10/100-Mbps Ethernet card comes as standard. To manage the LanRover, Shiva includes a Java-based tool called the Shiva Configurator.
SCSI, IDE or Extended IDE—it is your choice, so don't get mixed up
Choosing between SCSI and IDE or Extended IDE can sometimes be a tough task. If you run many low-end PCs for standard office tasks or networked operation and connect only hard drives and CD-ROM drives via IDE or EIDE, SCSI doesn't offer enough performance advantage to compensate for its higher costs or more complex installation problems.
Handkey fingerprint reader lets in authorized, keeps out riffraff
Federal Bureau of Prisons sites have used biometrics such as those in HandKey from Recognition Systems Inc. of Campbell, Calif., to control personnel movement. But biometrics is playing an increasing role in network security—either in lieu of or in addition to passwords to verify user identity as part of a logon; or in physical security of network facilities.
Power users, meet your systems matches
All systems passed for year 2000 readiness and leap year rollover. A mighty train without a track goes nowhere fast. Likewise, a mighty PC without manageability will go nowhere on an office network. When the GCN Lab asked computer makers to send us power clients to compare, a dozen PCs arrived. Their Pentium II processors screamed at up to 400 MHz. They had husky hard drives and breakneck video acceleration. A
State's systems are vulnerable
GAO: How State can improve security Provide a central management point and continuing processes to coordinate security measures. Write risk assessment procedures. Write comprehensive security policies. Increase user awareness about security. Monitor the effectiveness of security policies and controls.
COMMUNICATIONS
The switches each have dual 150-MHz processors. They support the ATM Forum's signaling and routing specifications, and they accommodate DS3, E3, OC-3 and OC-12 WAN modules. The SmartSwitch 2500 starts at $733 per port for OC-3 fiber connections. The 2500 Workgroup switch is $8,495 for a 12-port OC-3 configuration. The 2500 Backbone switch's base configuration starts at $11,995.
It's show time for GSA's Seat Management
The General Services Administration plans to be first in line to use its new Seat Management Program contracts. Early this month, GSA awarded contracts to eight vendors: Dyncorp of Reston, Va., EER Systems Inc. of Seabrook, Md., FDC Technologies Inc. of Bethesda, Md., IBM Corp., Multimax Inc. of Largo, Md., Litton PRC Inc., Science Applications International Corp. of San Diego and Wang Government Services Inc. of McLean, Va.
High-end notebooks BUYERS GUIDE
Armada 7800, Solo 5100XL serve well as weapons for road warriors. High-end notebooks offer a smorgasbord of features. These could be very happy days if you're in the market for a high-end notebook computer. Six or eight months ago, Intel Corp. released its zippiest and most powerful mobile CPU to date, the 266-MHz Pentium with MMX.
State, local IT moves quickly
That's advice from Paul Lombardi, president of DynCorp of Reston, Va. Lombardi, who became president in March 1997, said he is consolidating the company's drive into the government IT market at all levels, including federal. DynCorp, founded in 1949, has acquired 13 IT service companies since 1991. Lombardi calls computer services, as opposed to services such as aircraft maintenance that the company used to sell, "the fountainhead for the future."
Commerce innovates to recruit systems workers
If they can't use pay raises to retain information technology workers, federal information managers must find other ways to keep their IT staff members, said Alan Balutis, Commerce Department's deputy chief information officer. Balutis outlined his efforts for retaining IT workers during the Coalition for Government Procurement's spring conference last month.
High-end notebooks offer a smorgasbord of features
Here's a checklist of the features you should look for in a high-end notebook. CPU. For true power notebook computing, the 266-MHz Mobile Pentium II is the way to go. But the Pentium II's full punch isn't needed for typical word processing, spreadsheet, database and multimedia applications. Chip sets. For a notebook with a 266-MHz Pentium MMX CPU, the Intel 430TX (or a similar design from another manufacturer) is fine. If you move up to a 266-MHz
Potential WITS bidders get extra comment time
The General Services Administration has extended the comment period on the draft request for proposals for the Washington Interagency Telecommunications Systems 2001 contract. GSA officials said they plan to issue the final RFP late this month. Wayne Brady, planning director for GSA's National Capital Region, said the agency still plans to award the contract in December. The current WITS contract, awarded in 1989 to C&P Telephone Co., now Bell Atlantic Corp., expires in January.
INS moves into Phase 2 of its modernization effort
To help it meet the requirements of new crime and immigration legislation, the Immigration and Naturalization Service will integrate some of its existing systems and add new modules. To do this work for the second phase of the Service Technology Alliance Resource (STAR) program, INS late last month awarded contracts jointly worth $750 million to Computer Sciences Corp., Electronic Data Systems Corp. and Lockheed Martin Corp.
DOD COMPUTING
Mission gone awry. The B-2 bomber's mission planning system is so slow, it is hurting the Air Force's ability to strike targets quickly, the General Accounting Office said last month. The GAO report, B-2 Bomber: Additional Costs to Correct Deficiencies and Make Improvements, said the Air Force Mission Support System malfunctioned frequently, was inflexible, too complex and time-consuming for quick targeting. Lockheed Martin Corp. is developing AFMSS to support all Air Force combat aircraft.
Graphics monitors put on masks for crisper color
Setting their sights on producing brighter and clearer images, a few manufacturers have introduced unique mask technologies that combine characteristics of conventional CRT technologies, such as Invar shadow mask and flat square, with aperture grille technologies. To get the richest, most saturated color for use in high-end computer-aided design, manufacturing and engineering, graphics and desktop publishing applications, monitor makers recommend aperture grille technologies such as Sony's Trinitron and Mitsubishi's DiamondTron tubes.
Army makes new BPAs for leasing PCs open to all government buyers
A Pentium II system will lease for $104 per month under a one-year lease agreement. Late last month, the Army negotiated three blanket purchasing agreements for leasing computers. All federal agencies can use Army Leasing 1. Government Technology Services Inc. of Chantilly, Va., Telos Corp. of Ashburn, Va., and Vanstar Government Services Inc. of Fairfax, Va., will lease agencies products from General Services Administration Information Technology Schedule contracts.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Few columns have generated as much mail as John McCormick's Power User on Page 43 of the June 15 issue. McCormick lamented the new release of an old favorite, WordPerfect from Corel Corp. Here is a sampling of the responses: I, too, prefer an earlier version of WordPerfect. I like 6.0a, a Windows version that still does all the things I need. I'm put out because I cannot buy just an upgrade to WordPerfect without having
Education replaces 386 and 486 PCs as part of year 2000 effort
Education Department officials plan to have their PC LANs ready for 2000 more than a year ahead of time. The department is joining the Air Force and Navy in standardizing on Microsoft Exchange Server. The Microsoft Outlook 97 mail client will take the place of Lotus cc:Mail as the department replaces nearly a third of its 6,000 networked PCs.
Compaq and Digital will launch a federal subsidiary
Compaq Computer Corp. and its new acquisition, Digital Equipment Corp., will unveil a federal subsidiary by Oct. 1, company officials said. During the next six months, Digital will begin replacing its PCs and servers on federal contracts with Compaq products, following the normal product modification process, said Jim White, vice president and general manager of Digital's federal operations.
Defense and Treasury run e-check pilot
The Treasury and Defense departments have launched a one-year, $1 million-a-day pilot to test a new medium of financial exchange: the electronic check. On June 30, Treasury's Financial Management Service cut its first electronic check, for $32,153, to GTE Internetworking of Cambridge, Mass. The check was electronically delivered, endorsed and deposited within minutes in the company's BankBoston and NationsBank accounts.
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