INS will roll out inspection kiosks at airports in fall
After four years of prototypes, the Immigration and Naturalization Service will roll out the INS Passenger Accelerated Service System at selected airports by the end of the year. INS officials expect INSPASS to decrease immigration inspectors' workloads because low-risk passengers, such as frequent business travelers, will process their own immigration clearances at system kiosks.
NetScout tracks speed blocks
Like many network experts, Ken Wong often hears users complain that the network is slow. "It becomes a black hole," said Wong, an electrical engineer at the National Institutes of Health. "Where is the network slow?" NIH runs a WAN backbone of four Fiber Distributed Data Interface rings with about 100 routers from Cisco Systems Inc. of San Jose, Calif.
Expect renewed fight over MAS co-op plan
A cooperative purchasing plan to let state and local governments buy through Multiple-Award Schedule contracts may not be dead--yet. Although the Senate and the House Appropriations committees this summer voted in favor of banning cooperative purchasing, which Congress proposed three years ago, the issue may end up at the budget conference table.
Are federal workers playing games just for fun?
Sens. Ben Nighthorse Campbell (D-Colo.) and Lauch Faircloth (R-N.C.) have decided to rid the federal government of the pestilence of computer games. Section 639 of S 1023, the fiscal 1998 Treasury, Postal Service and General Government appropriations bill, directs heads of federal agencies to remove computer games not required for official business from agency computers and prohibit their installation on such computers.
Kodak digital camera raises the industry standard
Digital cameras in this so-called megapixel range have been around for a while now, but the DC120 is the first at this price. It gets its maximum 1,280-by-960 resolution with 24-bit color through some of the same legerdemain that scanners use to reach higher-than-actual optical resolutions. The DC120's actual optical resolution is 836,400 pixels. The interpolation process that increases the apparent number of pixels by almost 50 percent causes a slight degradation in picture quality.
Is this efficiency?
We don't endorse products in GCN, but I'd like to repeat a particularly cogent piece of copywriting from an ad that appeared in a recent issue. "To improve efficiency, it's not your people who have to work harder. It's your software." I wish I'd thought of that one. It summarizes the dilemma that every agency faces as it tries to do better work with fewer people and less money than a year ago, or five
Software development suite is less than sum of its parts
The Microsoft Corp. suite would be a loser if judged solely on its current integrated development environment. But developers are likely to value its standalone tools more than its nascent integration features--as well they should. Priced at $1,500, Visual Studio would be a steal even without integrated functions or shared interfaces.
Applixware gives agency a Unix-to-Windows bridge
To ease cross-platform communications, the Forest Service is installing a Unix-compatible desktop automation package on 5,000 new PCs running Microsoft Windows 95. For two years, the Agriculture Department agency has been using Applixware from Applix Inc. of Westborough, Mass., on its Unix systems to handle word processing, edit pictures, create charts and design graphs for presentations.
AF coders earn 3rd star
The Air Force's Standard Systems Group has earned a Level 3 Capability Maturity Model rating, joining the elite ranks of government software development shops. Carnegie-Mellon University's Software Engineering Institute (SEI) in Pittsburgh designed the CMM to help organizations improve software development procedures. Level 3 is midway on the CMM scale for software development.
SEC looks to Webware to serve more information agencywide
The Securities and Exchange Commission is looking at new ways to use World Wide Web technology to streamline agency operations as it prepares to upgrade its Internet server. Fran Rowell, a computer specialist and webmaster for SEC's intranet, said the commission has realized the importance of Web technology and plans to increase its use.
DMS demo marks beginning of end for AUTODIN system
For four days last month, the Army's project manager for the Defense Message System demonstrated to dozens of visitors the future of military messaging once the Defense Department phases out the antiquated AUTODIN system. Col. Robert C. Raiford's audience included not only agency DMS managers but also network and systems administrators. The Pentagon's telecommunications center sent 10 representatives.
Access to CRS materials is and is not a Net gain
The Congressional Research Service is a small part of the Library of Congress that provides direct support to members of Congress. Members and their staffs rely on CRS for every kind of assistance that you can imagine--and for some that you would never guess. CRS specialists have expertise in a wide range of public policy issues. Of all the congressional agencies, CRS has always been the best and most responsive.
From a single workstation, keep tabs on nets anywhere
Federal agencies faced with managing global computer networks are turning to a new monitoring application that proves it's a small world after all. An agency's support staff could, say, use the app to monitor and sometimes fix malfunctioning routers in Guam, a burned-out terminal in San Francisco or a broken cable in Panama from one location using the Integrated Network Management System (INMS).
DFAS improves disaster plan
Come hell or high water, the Defense Finance and Accounting Service has a disaster recovery plan to restore its mission-critical information systems to operational status. As the Defense Department's accounting agency, DFAS is responsible for ensuring that DOD's vital financial transactions are safeguarded against potential disasters--natural or man-made. At stake is nothing less than DFAS' ability to obtain and process data, without which the department would come to a standstill, DFAS officials said.
Labor Day vacation is filled with unsuccessful attempts to avoid labor
The Rat's Labor Day vacation rules were simple: no pager, no cell phone, no notebook, no Internet access. He wanted his offspring to experience nature in the wild, just as the Unabomber intended. When the Rat family was all set to head for the mountains of Vermont, information technology wasn't going along.
Trail Boss prepares to visit new territory
"Trail Boss has had a tremendous impact on where we are and where we're headed as we implement the IT Management Reform Act," said Emory Miller, director of IT professional development for the General Services Administration's Office of Governmentwide Policy. GSA established the Trail Boss program in 1988 to provide senior IRM officials with graduate-level training in all aspects of IT acquisition and management. The initial strategy was to develop a cadre of experienced IT
NIST and NSA create partnership to revamp security product testing
The government's top computer security experts have established a new teaming agreement for streamlining commercial security product evaluations. Under the National Information Assurance Partnership (NIAP), officials from the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the National Security Agency will work together to devise evaluation tests and metrics to rate security products. NIST and NSA will be responsible for developing test methods. Certified commercial laboratories will conduct the evaluations for vendors.
Microsoft: Explorer's no monopolizer
It counters claims that Windows 98 will discourage the use of other browsers Microsoft Corp. has charged that Netscape Communications Corp. and other companies are conducting a misinformation campaign against Microsoft's Internet Explorer 4.0 browser. In June, Netscape and Gateway 2000 Inc. officials complained to several senators that Microsoft's tight integration of Explorer 4.0 with the forthcoming Microsoft Windows 98 will discourage use of any other browser.
Questions persist about the user value of universal databases
Several have forged so-called universal database managers by blending the object and relational models. As with any big change, agencies should approach this Swiss army knife-like tool with caution. Everyone remembers that databases didn't just snap into client-server or intranet environments without a lot of planning, testing and late nights. Although the advantages of universal databases sound compelling, questions persist as to their value for most information users.
Packet Engines readies a Gigabit Ethernet starter
Want to be the first on your block with Gigabit Ethernet bandwidth? A kit will be on the market soon Packet Engines Inc., which released its full-duplex Gigabit Ethernet repeater in June, is looking for early federal users in power workgroups that want gigabit-to-the-desktop performance. "There are always those who buy early," said Bernard Daines, president of the Spokane, Wash., company. "The early ones who want power will pay the price to take it to
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