SBA proposes new minority preference rules for contractors -
The Small Business Administration's 8(a) program is changing again. No stranger to controversy, the 8(a) program has had a series of recent tremors. In 1995, the Supreme Court's decision in Adarand Constructors Inc. vs. Pena signaled a need to focus more narrowly on minority preferences in Government contracting. A 1995 General Accounting Office report concluded that most 8(a) companies derive little benefit from the program, but the top few dozen received 25 percent of the
Visioneer tunes up the software for its itty-bitty desktop scanner -
Visioneer Inc.'s keyboard-scanner combo has made an about-face. When the GCN Lab last reviewed the scanner [GCN, Aug. 12, 1996, Page 41], the PaperPort ix's hardware performed well, but the bundled software needed work. Now the reverse is true. The new Visioneer PaperPort Strobe scanner has several outstanding advantages over its predecessors. It can scan documents in 24-bit color at up to 300 dots per inch by 600 dpi, as well as black-and-white documents
DOD's bugs get stuck on Web -
A Defense Department group that tracks disease-bearing insects and other pests across the globe has put indexing software on its World Wide Web server so users can trap bug information more easily. The Defense Pest Management Information Analysis Center used ZyImage Web Server to trace more than 160,000 text files from 200 scientific journals going back to the early 1900s, said Lt. Cmdr. Jeffrey A. Corneil, the deputy chief.
GCCS flunks 2000 test -
During a recent test, the Defense Department's Global Command and Control System failed when the date was rolled over to the year 2000. The system failure occurred Aug. 1 during the closing hours of this year's Joint Warrior Interoperability Demonstration, an exercise conducted annually to demonstrate emerging technologies that are designed to improve command, control, communications, computers and intelligence operations. DOD held JWID '97 from July 7 to Aug. 1 at 45 sites worldwide.
Buyer, be aware -
On a recent television drama, there was a brief reference to one-time assistant attorney general Nicholas Katzenbach. Remember him? He's the guy who filed the IBM Corp. antitrust case on the last day of the Johnson administration. He later became a legal gun for Big Blue. How times change. As late as eight years ago, the pundits were wringing their hands over the unstoppability of IBM. Then came years of turmoil, shrinking market share and
NOAA system tries to outpace Mother Nature -
You can't fight Mother Nature, but officials at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration are using PCs to speed up their ability to keep ahead of her. NOAA is building a PC network to let forecasters send instant warnings to areas in danger of violent weather. The Radio Console Replacement System (RCS) will replace 1970s consoles that don't work with new NOAA systems.
Incomplete GPRA reports irk Congress -
In a House leadership review of Government Performance and Results Act reports, no agency received more than 62 of a possible 100 points. In a letter this month to Office of Management and Budget director Franklin Raines, House Majority leader Richard Armey (R-Texas) called it inexcusable that many agencies had failed to include all the elements required by the 1993 law.
RealVideo tries its hand at videoconferencing -
If you can't afford dedicated videoconferencing, the next best thing might be Progressive Networks' RealVideo 4.0. This client-server system streams audio and video over TCP/IP networks. With 28.8-kilobit/sec modems to do the transmitting, RealVideo can display a quality, 10-frame/sec, small-screen video. It really shines on 56-kilobit/sec and faster networks.
If you do decide to buy a new 56-kilobit/sec modem, shop carefully -
If your Internet provider doesn't support 56-kilobit/sec modem downloads, you probably wonder why I'm writing about this topic again. I believe new technology is always important for power users to know about, even when it doesn't work as advertised. In this case the fast new modems actually do work, they just don't squeeze data through the pipe as fast as they claim.
Unix-like Linux OS has garnered good reputation and fed fans
The Unix-like operating system Linux, developed by Finnish programmer Linus Torvalds, has found its way into many agencies, including four NASA centers. It will run on a PC with as little as 4M of RAM. Despite a lack of commercial applications, the freeware Linux has millions of users, according to its proponents. Users can download it for free or buy a CD-ROM version with maintenance, priced as low as $50.
Use the Web for inexpensive videoconferencing
I'm tempted to call it the poor man's videoconferencing system. You just build a presentation in ActivePresenter, publish it to your LAN or Web site and invite others to come browse it. Add a telephone conference call or a RealAudio broadcast, and you essentially have videoconferencing. It's not a bad way to build an impromptu Web page, either. As long as each member of the audience has a local Internet provider, the entire presentation can
Treasury's Flyzik gets down to business
The appointment capped a months-long process during which Treasury's top echelon sifted through dozens of applications for the vacancy created by the departure in January of the department's first CIO, Wushow "Bill" Chou. Flyzik said his promotion, which had been expected for months, does not add to his power but that it will have other advantages.
Coming soon: 233-MHz MMX notebook PCs
Leading vendors such as Compaq Computer Corp., Dell Computer Corp., Gateway 2000 Inc., IBM Corp. and Toshiba America Information Systems Inc. plan to upgrade their notebook computers for government buyers as early as October. Formerly code-named Tillamook, the chips had 20 percent to 30 percent faster performance on Intel benchmarks than the 166-MHz Pentium MMX did. The 166-MHz chip was until now the fastest processor for mobile computers.
Make sure FTS 2001 is continuously competitive
The General Services Administration currently has the solicitation for the successor to the FTS 2000 telecommunications program on the street. FTS 2000, conceived in the mid-1980s, was a great success. It saved the taxpayer lots of money, provided good service and demonstrated a model of continuing competition between two winning vendors.
Tender care will bring valuable data resource to life
Begun in December 1994 with the issuance of Office of Management and Budget Bulletin 95-01, this well-intended but unfunded requirement depended on commercial investment in unproven technologies. During the past two years, federal agencies have struggled to understand and implement this networked information service for "structured metadata for agency information sources," as the bulletin describes it. With such a complex requirement and no money, it is little surprise that GILS has had trouble getting off
Los Alamos buys Web-style with AMS app
Lab users with Java browsers running under Microsoft Windows, Macintosh and Unix can send requisitions, receive approvals, obtain status reports and route requests using American Management Systems Inc.'s PDWeb. AMS of Fairfax, Va., built the PDWeb requisition and workflow module into its commercial Procurement Desktop application at Los Alamos' request.
System keeps tabs on trainees
The Corps manages the training for these weekend warriors, who train one weekend per month and up to 20 days per year, on a budget of $20 million. Last year, reserve units deployed to Haiti, Bosnia, Okinawa and Australia for joint training with the Army, Air Force, Navy, active-duty Marines and NATO forces.
VA office takes surveys online
A Veterans Affairs Department office has responded to the National Performance Review's call for performance measurement systems by adopting electronic surveys to measure customer satisfaction. Charles "Dick" Potter, a management analyst in the Performance Analysis Service at VA's Budget Office, said he likes Raosoft 3.2 from Raosoft Inc. of Seattle because it can do things that would usually be done by hand, such as tabulating results of open-ended or narrative questions.
Let's all open the book again and mark off our favorite Web addresses
Earlier this summer, I told you about my favorite bookmarks for finding government information and conducting government business on the World Wide Web [GCN, June 16, Page 55]. I asked you to share your favorite bookmarks--not necessarily the flashiest sites but ones that draw you back to relevant information presented in an understandable way.
CRI-X reads disks in real time
Two large Defense Department projects managed by Lockheed Martin Corp. and McDonnell-Douglas Corp. are beta testing the CRI-X software, CD ROM-USA Inc. president Roger Hutchison said. One by-product of the Golden, Colo., company's compression process is an extremely high level of data encryption. Another by-product is "a proportional benefit, so that the more compression you get, the faster the retrieval is," Hutchison said.
Do Not Sell My Personal Information
When you visit our website, we store cookies on your browser to collect information. The information collected might relate to you, your preferences or your device, and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to and to provide a more personalized web experience. However, you can choose not to allow certain types of cookies, which may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings according to your preference. You cannot opt-out of our First Party Strictly Necessary Cookies as they are deployed in order to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting the cookie banner and remembering your settings, to log into your account, to redirect you when you log out, etc.). For more information about the First and Third Party Cookies used please follow this link.
Manage Consent Preferences
Strictly Necessary Cookies - Always Active
We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.
Sale of Personal Data, Targeting & Social Media Cookies
Under the California Consumer Privacy Act, you have the right to opt-out of the sale of your personal information to third parties. These cookies collect information for analytics and to personalize your experience with targeted ads. You may exercise your right to opt out of the sale of personal information by using this toggle switch. If you opt out we will not be able to offer you personalised ads and will not hand over your personal information to any third parties. Additionally, you may contact our legal department for further clarification about your rights as a California consumer by using this Exercise My Rights link
If you have enabled privacy controls on your browser (such as a plugin), we have to take that as a valid request to opt-out. Therefore we would not be able to track your activity through the web. This may affect our ability to personalize ads according to your preferences.
Targeting cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
Social media cookies are set by a range of social media services that we have added to the site to enable you to share our content with your friends and networks. They are capable of tracking your browser across other sites and building up a profile of your interests. This may impact the content and messages you see on other websites you visit. If you do not allow these cookies you may not be able to use or see these sharing tools.
If you want to opt out of all of our lead reports and lists, please submit a privacy request at our Do Not Sell page.
Cookie List
A cookie is a small piece of data (text file) that a website – when visited by a user – asks your browser to store on your device in order to remember information about you, such as your language preference or login information. Those cookies are set by us and called first-party cookies. We also use third-party cookies – which are cookies from a domain different than the domain of the website you are visiting – for our advertising and marketing efforts. More specifically, we use cookies and other tracking technologies for the following purposes:
Strictly Necessary Cookies
We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.
Functional Cookies
We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.
Performance Cookies
We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.
Sale of Personal Data
We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.
Social Media Cookies
We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.
Targeting Cookies
We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.