Versatile video camera is smooth to use for MPEG video, JPEG images and audio
The GCN Lab got a chance to find out. Hitachi Home Electronics' MP-EG1A, the first MPEG camera on the market, can do compression and full-motion video capture in real time. Nicknamed the MPEGcam, it takes up to 20 minutes of MPEG video, 3,000 high-resolution Joint Photographic Experts Group images, or 1,000 images plus 10 seconds of MPEG audio.
PIM shares project info and databases
There are two broad PIM categories: those focused on contact management and those that help people organize their work. The first group structures data rather rigidly. The other, including Info Select, is more flexible about storing and retrieving information. So-called executive PIMs aren't just for the suits; they're for everyone who deals with a range of information on a nonrepetitive basis--anyone from engineers to technical sergeants to executive assistants.
New IRS chief suggests changes to systems plan
But the monikers--given to IRS commissioner Charles Rossotti, chief information officer Arthur Gross and Bob Barr, assistant commissioner for electronic tax administration--may not entirely reflect reality. A few short months after a speaker praised the three during a meeting on electronic filing, there are signs that philosophical and strategic differences may be arising, especially between Rossotti and Gross, over the multibillion dollar modernization project.
Intel's brand new 333-MHz Pentium II gives PCs a boost
Desktop computers benefit from the clock-speed boost more than notebooks do, according to benchmark scores of two Compaq Computer Corp. PCs powered by the new chips. The 333-MHz Pentium II scored 11.1 percent higher than its predecessor on the GCN Lab's GCNdex32TM integer and floating-point math tests. Its extra oomph comes from the 0.25-micron fabrication process that Intel also uses for its Tillamook portable processors.
Send Sen. Glenn? Why not send all politicians? No sour grapes here
After all, the cyberrodent is a much more interesting biological specimen than Sen. John Glenn. Sure, the Ohio Democrat might have been the first American to orbit the earth. Sure, NASA has a complete physical workup on the ex-astronaut. But when it comes to being a guinea pig, there's no one with more experience than the Rat, except possibly for guinea pigs themselves.
Federal group asks industry for help on EC
CommerceNet, a consortium of systems companies and Internet service providers, got the go-ahead from the Federal Electronic Commerce Program to study making online catalogs interoperable. If the results are promising, a four-month test by vendors and federal agencies will follow. The group will explore the use of registries and examine metadata tagging as a way to make catalogs accessible across platforms.
Digital cameras develop instant results
Well, "instant" might be pushing it for a few of the dozen digital cameras the GCN Lab examined over a two-month period. Most of the seven point-and-shoot, three semiprofessional and two professional cameras had a wide range of features, good image quality and quick image access. But the snail-paced downloads of a few made us think fondly of a one-hour photo shop.
This help desk rescues FEMA
"Information systems are expected to work all the time," said Clay Hollister, FEMA's chief information officer. "When they fail, because we all depend on them, we have a crisis. Some crises are bigger than others, but for the customer, the fix can never be too fast." Trouble calls come from users who installed unauthorized software but want immediate support, officials under congressional pressure to produce last-minute reports, and travelers who need to download e-mail remotely
No shock; sysadmins do better in industry
As an information systems professional working for the government, you're making, on average, about $7,000 more than your systems colleagues in education. On the other hand, your counterparts at a systems integrator are making an extra $10,000 each year. These are some of the findings from last month's Sans Institute annual survey of system administrators and security professionals. The Bethesda, Md., research and educational organization based its figures on 1,600 survey responses, 153 of which
Team leaders do all the work but get no authority
Many now designated as team leaders were front-line supervisors, so we know what supervision is all about. As supervisors, we at least had a bit of authority. Typically, the team leader has the responsibilities of a supervisor without the attendant authority. We are privileged to plan, direct, manage and guide projects, but we can't rate or reward employee behavior. We can recommend ratings and awards, but a real supervisor still calls those shots.
GSA: Buying woes will not delay FTS 2001
An Oct. 31 amendment to the FTS 2001 request for proposals for long-distance services drew more than 400 clarification requests. The service drafted another amendment for release this month, incorporating minor changes. "We don't anticipate any major revisions," FTS deputy commissioner Sandra Bates said. "We need to get on with it. The industry has their top teams working on responses."
Navy decimates data overload
Under contract with the Navy, Muse Technologies Inc. of Albuquerque, N.M., will adapt its Multidimensional User-oriented Synthetic Environment (Muse) to cut training time at the Naval Undersea Warfare Center and improve sonar interpretation and decision making. The Navy requested a version of the multisensory Muse environment to run under Microsoft Windows NT on the desktop PC. The Unix-based shell software, which includes user interface tools and controls for interactive devices, currently runs only on high-end
Out hunting, Power User nabs big game at bargain-lover's price
I recently got my hands on a 233-MHz MicroFlex Pentium II with 64M of memory, 56-kilobit/sec modem, large hard drive, large low-radiation monitor, nice keyboard and other goodies priced to make a miser smile. You may not know the maker, Micro Express of Irvine, Calif., because it isn't a leading government vendor. But it also isn't one of those instant PC companies that appear and then disappear next month. It's been around for years selling
Smaller, stronger--Internet devices edge closer to Star Trek
The most exciting gadgets are handheld devices that support TCP/IP, the Net's underlying communications glue. Getting the most attention these days is 3Com Corp.'s $350 PalmPilot Professional. Read about it at the World Wide Web site http://palmpilot.3com.com/. The Professional lets you dial up your network with an optional modem and check mail and schedules from anywhere on the Internet. Developers are working on Internet news readers and intranet search tools for the device.
Put 'C' in CIO
Consider the progress on four seemingly unrelated initiatives: Viewed as a group, these items create an unflattering picture of a bureaucracy that's strangely out of sync with the mandates and policies under which it should be operating. A closer look shows a bureaucracy operating under competing forces it can't control.
Transport becomes an IT lab
The Coronado has a unique shipboard environment for testing computers, communications and other information technologies, Navy officers said. As the test bed for the Joint Maritime Command Information System '98 program, the Coronado pioneered the Navy's use of Pentium PCs running Microsoft Windows NT for the service's Information Technology for the 21st Century initiative.
Reservists lead ATM charge
"We are in the process of switching over from [the Reserve Component Automation System] and moving everything to the ATM backbone," said Lt. Col. Philip E. Vermeer, the Guard's Technical Division chief. Plans call for wiring 112 classrooms by March and 600 more by 2000, putting all reservists within a 60-minute drive of an interactive distance-learning center.
Will Katzen retain year 2000 oversight?
But some lawmakers and industry officials said last week that the White House is considering keeping Katzen in charge of year 2000 oversight. The White House announced this month that Katzen, administrator of the Office of Management and Budget's Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, will become the deputy director of the White House's National Economic Council.
Consolidation drives evolution of dispute boards
Risk, of course, raises the issue of potential costs. To cover them, companies have to charge higher prices for their goods and services. To limit the risk, we have to make sure that the dispute resolution system is sound. Although the contracting community has been swept by a tempest of procurement reform in recent years, the dispute resolution structure--not associated with bid protests--has remained intact.
Defense adds IP to the DMS mix
Defense previously based compliance on the X.400 and X.500 international standards. The goal was to ensure all products would meet DOD's messaging and directory service requirements. Besides X.400 and X.500 high-assurance products, the Defense Information Systems Agency will add medium assurance messaging products based on secure, interoperable commercial standards for Internet and World Wide Web services.
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