TSM shapes up as bidders' duel
Teams led by Lockheed Martin Corp. and Computer Sciences Corp. have emerged as the "prime" contenders for the multibillion-dollar TSM contract, IRS chief information officer Arthur Gross said. In working with industry over the past few months, IRS has held many meetings with members of the Lockheed and CSC teams, he said.
DOD policy pushes buying power down into trenches
The IT acquisition policy replaces the interim plan, the Information Technology and National Security System IT Acquisition Oversight Policy, that the department issued in August 1996 just as ITMRA took effect. Although Defense has made progress implementing ITMRA, much work remains, according to Defense Secretary William Cohen, who helped author the law when he was still a member of the Senate.
HHS tries buying on the Web
Ecweb.net, developed by EC Web Technologies of McLean, Va., does all the electronic data interchange translation, so agencies can use their EDI infrastructures. At the other end, vendors need not invest in EDI software or work through a FACNET value-added network. "The acquisition people like it a lot better because of the wide range of vendors" they can reach, said Amen Hillow, head of HHS Information Technology Services' Systems and Network Management Group. "You don't
If Java just doesn't jibe, maybe you're missing the applets' real appeal
"So, in the words of the Human Torch, 'Flame on!' " the Rat quoth. The caffeinated one likes Java; there's no secret about that. And it has nothing to do with his fondness for a good, cup of black coffee. Considering the many systems he supports, the write-once, run-anywhere idea has a certain appeal.
IRS enrolls in contract school
When IRS unveiled its long-awaited Tax Systems Modernization blueprint this spring, one of the first questions was: What's the cost? To help keep the TSM price tag low, Treasury Department officials said they turned to an office that has proven its usefulness. Treasury and IRS will rely on the Treasury Acquisition Institute for training TSM staff.
If it looks and smells like a contract, is it a contract? Ask GAO
The suspicion that the Federal Supply Service's nonmandatory, multiple-award, indefinite-quantity, indefinite-delivery information technology contracts really are contracts seems to be playing out in the protest decisions of the comptroller general. In recent GAO decisions of protests from Severn Companies Inc. and LA Systems Corp., the comptroller general wasn't even subtle.
HHS unit distills its IT wisdom into free booklet
The agency, part of the Health and Human Services Department, last month began distributing a self-assessment tool for high-tech upgrades and IT needs, to 2,900 community health care providers. It also will give the workbook to any government agency. Claude Earl Fox, HRSA administrator, said the 172-page booklet lets organizations that don't want to hire consultants examine IT needs on their own.
IBM voice input package is OK for nontypists
Nontypists will prefer Simply Speaking to one-finger keyboard entry. Decent typists probably will find this Microsoft Windows 95 program more trouble than it's worth. To translate what you say into text, Simply Speaking comes with a microphone headset and VoicePad, a re-engineered version of Microsoft Windows' WordPad. Simply Speaking does not let you launch applications verbally or dictate directly into a word processor like its big brother, VoiceType Dictation. Instead, you must use VoicePad to
Lava's serial port may bring 56-kilobit/sec modems closer to speed
The summer doldrums are over, so you won't be reduced to reading my long-threatened column about cute things my dogs have done. An interesting new product that might boost the disappointing performance of the new 56-kilobit/sec modems and other serial port devices is the LavaPort 16650 UART, a chip-based serial port from Lava Computer Manufacturing Inc. of Rexdale, Ontario, Canada.
Don't sacrifice performance on the road
Just substitute one system for two. You can pack all your files when you travel and save $1,000 to $2,000 overall, depending on the notebook docking combo you choose. While your notebook is docked at the office, you'll have all the trimmings, including 166-MHz Pentium MMX performance that rivals full desktop systems.
FAA will replace system for small-plane tracking
FAA plans to use the Operational and Supportability Implementation System (OASIS) to store weather information and track warning messages for private aircraft. Under the 10-year OASIS contract, Harris of Melbourne, Fla., will replace the Model 1 Full Capacity (M1FC) mainframe computers at 61 large FAA sites and several small facilities.
$8,000 Dell WorkStation can take on $20,000 Unix rivals
Achieving the fastest rating is relative when chip makers can always crank up clock speed a notch. The 300-MHz Pentium II may be just another step up the clock speed ladder for Intel Corp. But the dual-processor WorkStation 400 from Dell Computer Corp. cranks up speed in less obvious ways.
Don't hector vendors
Finalizing the rules has dragged on for years, as GSA officials, certain inspectors general and vendor groups fought behind the scenes. In that sense, it's a relief for OMB to have finally blessed the rules. As reported by senior staff writer Kevin Power [GCN, Aug. 25, Page 3], GSA will keep the right to demand best-customer pricing from MAS vendors. But by retaining the right to audit vendors' pricing practices, GSA must stress pre-award audits,
Agencies increase pace of year 2000 contract awards; six go to Viasoft
After months of preparation, agencies are stepping up the pace of contract awards for tools and services to fix their year 2000 date code problems. Viasoft Inc. of Phoenix will license its MVS and VM Cobol tools to six Cabinet-level agencies at discounted prices through the company's US2000 program for the federal government. Each site license runs close to $100,000.
DOD blueprint details paperless contracting
The Defense Department has drafted a blueprint for achieving a paper-free contracting process by 2000. DOD has relied on labor-intensive paper methods to handle the writing, administration and finances for contracts. The department's buying process often involves the manual and repetitive input of data from multiple sources across DOD.
Roll out the big guns and pull more users to your agency's Web site
Government offices face a dilemma when it comes to Web presence. They post all kinds of information they want to share with the public, yet the public often doesn't use it or even know about it. As the fiscal year winds down, many sites are under pressure to prove they're viable public resources. With funding at stake, getting noticed becomes doubly important.
I Corps likes its laptops tough
It still works. Turner, an information systems procurement and standards officer with the Army's I Corps at Fort Lewis, Wash., paid $4,600 each for four of the portables from Panasonic Personal Computer Co. of Secaucus, N.J. He bought the notebooks through a Navy blanket purchasing agreement with General Services Administration schedule contractor Government Technology Services Inc. of Chantilly, Va.
When it comes to buying, EC and U.S. are not so different
One way is to compare the government's procurement process with that of other countries. A case in point is the European Community, which strives to expand access to the government markets of its member countries. The book EC Public Procurement Law by Christopher Bovis presents a good outline of the EC's efforts. The author, director of a British institute on European law, traces the EC's attempts to create a truly common market for government procurements.
Plug-in for graphics apps adds power to special effects
Kai's Power Tools 3.0 from MetaTools tops the list of these plug-in filter collections, both in ease of use and in number of filters. But its installation is difficult. Instead of accepting the setup defaults and clicking OK, you first must decide which image-editing application you want the filters to work with, then switch to its plug-in directory to install.
Hone puzzle-piecing skills for Web work
In the tradition of the Web's ubiquitous Frequently Asked Questions from users in search of answers, here are some hands-on FAQs that agency webmasters and site designers may ask. Q:When I try to preview Hypertext Markup Language pages on my development server with Microsoft Internet Explorer, the browser attempts a dial-up connection and displays the message, "Cannot findhttp://localhost/webcontent/page.HTML." What's going on?
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.