Tillamook chip adds punch to Dell, Compaq notebooks
But two out of three ain't bad, as Dell Computer Corp.'s re-engineered Latitude CP and Compaq Computer Corp.'s updated Armada 7700 each illustrate. Both production units came with Intel Corp.'s newest 233-MHz Pentium MMX processor, known as Tillamook. That's the fast portion of the equation, and boy, are they speedy.
Ruling means agencies need plan for wiping electronic documents
In a decision late last month, U.S. District Judge Paul L. Friedman threw out a two-year-old National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) regulation that let agencies wipe out electronic documents regardless of content. The sharply worded ruling criticized archivist John W. Carlin, who proposed the rule, General Records Schedule 20.
Code goof mars FedWeb '97 site
Federal Web Consortium program manager Valerie Gregg, a National Science Foundation employee, told the workshop attendees that a GCN reporter had notified FedWeb '97 organizers late last month that he had seen credit card numbers on the registration site. Gregg said the organizers then investigated and found that sensitive information had been posted on the site for about four hours.
System runs crashes for safety's sake
The National Crash Analysis Center is giving the crash test dummies some time off. The center, which is funded by the Federal Highway Administration and the National Highway Traffic Administration, is using supercomputers to wreck virtual vehicles and improve the safety of real ones. The wrecks are brutal and very detailed. Each day virtual cars and trucks slam into walls, guard rails, road signs and each other.
Sun and Microsoft must cooperate, or java will become a foul language
Whenever I write about Java, I get e-mail from true believers who take me to task for not coming down harder on Microsoft Corp. for failing to implement all parts of Java and for creating proprietary Java extensions. I also get notes from Microsoft Windows fans who insist the only way to make Java powerful is to let it interact with most Windows features.
Who owns what when support contracts end?
Eventually, Japanese companies succeeded in producing so-called plug-compatible mainframes--clones--to compete with IBM machines. In the federal market, the Competition In Contracting Act required federal agencies to buy such computers competitively, and the clone makers won lots of these procurements. Over time, third party companies sprang up to provide maintenance and support for IBM and clone systems.
From rear projection to a Cobra cockpit, battle simulation has changed
I have wanted to be a pilot for as long as I can remember. As a teenager, I read practically every book written about fighter pilots. I realized part of my dream when I became a helicopter gunship pilot in Vietnam. I experienced another part in something called a differential maneuvering simulator.
Which PIM is the best one? It's a toss-up
When the GCN Lab last reviewed office suites from Corel Corp., Lotus Development Corp. and Microsoft Corp. [GCN, Aug. 25, Page 39], the Lab held off discussing the suites' personal information managers for the sake of a fair comparison. Microsoft had already released Outlook 97, but Lotus' and Corel's new PIMs weren't ready in time to be covered. Now they are, and they promise to bring lots of new features--and failures--to your desktop PC.
Congress digs in with GPRA
With the first reports required under the Government Performance and Results Act in hand, lawmakers are working to take GPRA to the next step. Their aim: Make sure agencies create clear business strategies, measurable goals and annual performance reports. "The leadership in Congress has made an extraordinary commitment to this effort. All of us are serious about changing the quality of management in the federal government," Rep. Steve Horn (R-Calif.) said. "Management needs to be
Don't shortchange NGI
That's a subject of debate between the administration and Congress. It appears--as it often has lately--that the Clinton administration is less in favor of something than Congress is agin' it. Just as Clinton caved in on management of IRS, so he is letting Congress set the agenda for NGI by not strongly defending the administration's $105 million budget request for NGI research.
Copper in chips and diamonds in drives lead to a shiny future
Fundamental technology rarely jumps so far and fast that it affects the computers you will buy in the next few months. But several such advances have occurred recently and, together, they could drive radical performance gains. No. 1: IBM Corp. plans to make silicon chips with copper microcircuits. Chip advances generally require either making components smaller so signals travel shorter distances or timing multiple operations within a single clock tick. The IBM plan is more
SSA balances service, citizen privacy at PEBES site
Any citizen with World Wide Web access could request and receive from http://www.ssa.gov a Personal Earnings and Benefit Estimate Statement. Until then, PEBES could be requested online, but the results were sent via regular mail. A PEBES is a year-by-year listing of a worker's earnings history and future Social Security benefits. It is a valuable financial planning tool and essential for anyone who is counting on Social Security benefits after they retire. During fiscal 1996,
PTO net suffers growing pains
If completed as planned in November, the PTO Integrated Network will have more than 20 ASX 1000 10-gigabit/sec backbone switches from the Pittsburgh company, plus 150 PowerHub 7000 closet switches. "This will be one of the biggest PowerHub installations in the country," said PTO computer engineer Wes Clark, who oversees the network.
Standard unifies facilities data
A free CD-ROM with a Tri-Service Spatial Data Standard is bringing a semblance of order out of confusion for military facilities managers. The Tri-Service CAD/GIS Technology Center in Vicksburg, Miss., developed the spatial data standard to stop the practice of military bases spending up to $250,000 apiece to develop their own data models and schema for displaying computer-aided design and geographic information system data.
System helps keep bases safe
At the center of this heightened state of security is the Tactical Automated Security System, an intrusion-detection system designed to monitor the perimeter of a military base. TASS, a high-tech approach to handling force protection, lets Defense installations leverage limited base security personnel, said Capt. Nate White, TASS program manager.
Remedy your ticket troubles
The Mountain View, Calif., company's flagship product, Action Request System, extends online help throughout an enterprise via unlimited read licenses. Users can submit requests and query the system for answers or status updates. One feature in the Action Request System is Remedy Help Desk. It automates problem management, resolution, reporting and measurement. The ARWeb component helps users help themselves by submitting requests and updating database information through their World Wide Web browsers. It dynamically translates
You must have statistical smarts to get the most from Analytica
Given a good palette and brush, a skilled artist paints a masterpiece. The same tools can produce a mess in the hands of an amateur. That pretty much sums up Analytica, a visual modeling tool whose mathematical gloss can be dimmed by the user's ignorance of statistical theory. The program relies on flowcharts to map every factor that goes into making a decision. For example, an analysis on the value of enforcing a seat belt
Software glitches mar performance of Omniwriter - Loading the CD-RW recorder'ssoftware is a laborious task, complete with mystifying error messages
CD-recordable drives can make CD-ROMs but can't erase or reuse them. CD-rewritable drives make disks that are reusable for nonarchival storage or backup. The Omniwriter reads and writes both these types of disks as well as reads ordinary CD-ROMs. But it's not yet an all-purpose CD resource. Because recent GCN surveys have shown that almost half of federal desktop PC users still use Microsoft Windows 3.x, I decided to test the Omniwriter CD-RW kit's Windows
Senate likely to keep notebooks off its floor
During a terse committee discussion last month, the committee's chairman, Sen. John Warner (R-Va.), and its ranking minority member, Sen. Wendell Ford (D-Ky.), told Sen. Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.) that they both would vote against his request. Enzi said he wants to use his notebook on the floor to take notes and prepare for speeches.
Cyberattacks on DOD networks are rising fast
"We have evidence that our known network and computer-communications vulnerabilities are being exploited by real-world attackers," Lt. Gen. Kenneth Minihan, NSA's director, said at the Association of Former Intelligence Officers' annual conference last month. NSA is responsible for foreign signals collection and U.S. information systems security. NSA's Information Systems Security Organization helps to assess the vulnerabilities of communications and information systems and to design products and processes for protection.
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