98 tips for using Windows 98
Windows 98, the Microsoft Corp. update to its popular Windows 95 operating system, may be an unavoidable upgrade for government users, especially for portable PC buyers. Why? Most computer makers began installing Win98 earlier this month, although Microsoft officially released the OS only last week. Some makers have said they will continue to offer Win95 for a time. But like OSes before it, it will likely slip into oblivion.
SiteSweeper can do the chores that keep your site tidy
The special problems inherent in maintaining a smoothly functioning Web site demand special tools. SiteSweeper 2.0 from Site Technologies Inc. is a valuable arrow in any Web site manager's quiver. SiteSweeper provides a quick and, after configuration, virtually automatic means of testing a Web site for technical problems. It checks and reports on seven quality areas:
It's curtains for the Ada Joint Program Office
The Defense Information Systems Agency is closing its Ada Joint Program Office, leaving the future of the Defense Department software language in doubt. The office, which employs about 10 vendors and has an annual operating budget of approximately $4 million, will close in late September. The decision comes a little more than a year after Emmett Paige Jr., then-assistant secretary of Defense for command, control, communications and intelligence, killed a long-standing mandate that DOD programmers use Ada
HP's Network ScanJet5 aspires for midrange
Hewlett-Packard Co. is touting its charge-coupled device Network ScanJet 5 as the first of a new class of scanner. In function, the scanner falls somewhere between conventional photo-grabbing personal image capture scanners and imaging systems that use workgroup scanners for archiving large volumes of paper-based information, said Nolan Sundrud, workgroup scanner product manager for Hewlett-Packard's scanner division in Boise, Idaho.
GAO: Army needs to improve its 2000 program
Inaccurate data, incomplete interface agreements and poorly defined testing requirements are hampering the Army's year 2000 date code repair program, a General Accounting Office report said. Last month's GAO report, Defense Computers: Army Needs to Greatly Strengthen Its Year 2000 Program, warns that the service's mission-critical systems could become disabled if the Army doesn't better manage its year 2000 efforts.
David L. Black, Web scientist
As chief scientist for Internet strategies at the Open Group Research Institute, Black leads the IT DialTone program. In his job, he sets standards to unlock the Internet's potential. Working with hot technology and having a view of the big picture is fun, he said. Black's articles on computer and communications architectures and distributed computing have appeared in academic publications such as IEEE Concurrency, the Journal of Information Processing, IEEE Computer and Distributed Computing.
Govt. IT managers call for united systems front
IRVINE, Calif.—Cooperation among government organizations is essential because technology is leading citizens to demand a single government face, information technology managers said. IT managers at the Federation of Government Information Processing Councils' annual Management of Change conference this month pushed for more intergovernmental cooperation. But federal chief information officers ranked intergovernmental relations low on the list of concerns in a recent survey.
Ugh, word processors make most common jobs the hardest to do
My wife once said complaining is my hobby, but I straightened her out. A columnist complains for a living. Arguing with her is my hobby. In this column, I plan to complain about modern word processors—Corel WordPerfect specifically, because I don't have the latest version of Microsoft Word. When it arrives, it's sure to get a fair share of complaints.
SSA's Ne result provides good lesson for us all
@INFO.POLICY Robert Gellman What has happened to the Social Security Administration's Web service? Last year, SSA tried to give people access to their personal account information through the Internet. SSA's Web site let individuals order an earnings and benefits statement. The service attracted a high level of publicity following a USA Today story suggested that personal records could be obtained improperly by someone who knew a few of your personal pieces of information.
Leong-Hong is chief information officer for Defense Security Service
Belkis Leong-Hong has left the Pentagon. Today, she begins her new job as chief information officer for the Defense Security Service. For the past three years, Leong-Hong has been deputy assistant secretary of Defense for command, control, communications and intelligence plans and re sources. At DSS, she will also be deputy director and oversee 3,000 em ployees, many of them investigators.
RB-1 hardware token card creates one-time network entry password
RB-1 hardware token card creates one-time network entry password The RB-1 hardware token card from Cryptocard of Toronto is a credit-card size password generator featuring dual replaceable batteries, user-managed initialization, multiple keys and multilingual capability. The token generates a one-time password for each network entry attempt. The company also offers its ST-1 token, a software authentication token written in Java. ST-1 is an on-screen reproduction of the RB-1 hardware token. Cryptocard last month announced that it is
Photo-quality printers make the grade
The GCN Lab asked printer manufacturers to send units that produced photographic-quality output. Six companies responded. They also sent special paper, other media, ink cartridges, toner, ribbon and other supplies. We set up all the printers according to the manufacturers' directions and adjusted software drivers to produce the highest-quality images possible on the manufacturers' glossy stock.
Single- and dual-processor servers - GLOSSARY
Client: Effectively the same as client process. Because powerful PCs are so cheap, the trend is to increase the size and power of clients, moving more processing tasks to the desktop. Client process: A program that communicates with a server and instructs it to perform an operation such as search a database or print a document.
Who needs an auditorium
The Defense Department streamed video broadcasts to Pentagon and DOD PCs around the world this month for the third annual Acquisition Reform Week. Top officials held interactive conferences—viewable through Web browsers over the Internet or on a Pentagon intranet—using software from Starlight Networks Inc. of Mountain View, Calif. The audience was able to take part in the webcast discussions or play back the videos on demand.
SSA: Go ahead, borrow from our 2000 contingency plans
WILLIAMSBURG, Va.—When the General Accounting Office in February 1997 advised the Social Security Administration to establish year 2000 contingency plans, agency executives were skeptical. But not any more. SSA, widely viewed as one of the agencies best prepared for the millennium date change, is the first to have a plan for systems failure.
GAO: 2000 czar must be stricter with agencies
The Clinton administration's year 2000 czar must rein in agencies' year 2000 work if critical systems are to be ready in time, a report from the General Accounting Office said. GAO praised the administration for creating the President's Council on Year 2000 Conversion and appointing a 2000 chief. But if the council is to be effective, the report said, it must use its influence to make sure agencies prevent disruptions to critical services.
Windows has date flaws
Microsoft Windows 98, now under Justice Department scrutiny, is the only fully year 2000-ready operating system from Microsoft Corp. Other Microsoft OSes aren't quite there yet, even though company officials describe the current Windows 95, Windows for Workgroups 3.11 and Windows NT 4.0 releases as "compliant, with minor issues." The company earlier had said its 32-bit operating systems were ready for 2000.
Davis suggests spinning off FSS as private office
Rep. Tom Davis wants to privatize the General Services Administration's Federal Supply Service to make it more flexible and competitive. The change would likely free FSS from the constraint of federal rules, including Civil Service regulations that restrict pay and compensation, the Virginia Republican said. A privatized FSS would have its own board of directors and would set its own rules and regulations, Davis said.
SSA's Vince Pianalto lassos trail boss of the year award
WILLIAMSBURG, Va.--The Social Security Administration's Vincent Pianalto last week received honors as trail boss of the year at the annual Trail Boss Roundup. But Pianalto, director of the Resource Management and Acquisition Division in SSA's Office of Telecommunications and Systems Operations, refused to take all the credit for improving systems buying at SSA.
Transportation sets high-tech road map
More public-works funding is on the way for the Transportation Department's federal and state projects, and that means more money for information technology, according to the acting director of the statistical bureau that analyzes U.S. transportation systems. There will be a lot of incentive to spend more on systems as state transportation departments lose staff and as highway building and repair costs remain stable, said Robert A. Knisely, acting director of the department's Bureau of
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