DARPA starts work on new comm network
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is developing a prototype system that integrates free-space optical and radio frequency communications in a single network.
USDA, HUD race to document IT security
In a recent report card on agencies' compliance with federal IT security requirements, the scores of the Agriculture and Housing and Urban Development departments stuck out like sore thumbs.
IT and Architecture
Bayard Whitmore knows that the jumble of wires and cables where the wall meets the ceiling might be unsightly, but it serves its purpose. Whitmore, an architect in the GSA Public Buildings Service's Center for Historical Buildings, wants the best of both worlds: IT functionality that doesn't interfere with the aesthetic appeal of the architecture.
Tablet PCs come of age
The Tablet PC, launched with a lot of promise in 2003, was supposed to be a panacea for mobile workers, note-takers and business travelers.
The lowdown on laser printers
<b>Why a laser?</b> Laser printers generally are faster and can handle higher volume than ink-jets, and have lower per-page costs.
Laser printers on the spot
With prices dropping and image quality rising, the low-end color laser printer is coming into its own, competing with the ubiquitous ink-jet printer that has long been the mainstay of the spot-color market.
New benchmark tool available for testing performance of J2EE apps
The Standard Performance Evaluation Corp. has released Version 1.3 of a benchmark suite to measure the performance of Java2 Enterprise Edition application server-driven programs.
Coast Guard innovates with rugged TDS Recon handhelds
Station Oregon Inlet Unit near Cape Hatteras, N.C., has won the Coast Guard's innovation award for pioneering a search-and-rescue application on rugged handheld computers.
Patent Office's CIO moves to Interior
Doug Bourgeois, CIO at the Patent and Trademark Office, is leaving to become the director of the National Business Center.
IRS pressed for testing improvements to new financial system
The IRS' Integrated Financial System project team should improve transition planning and testing, a report said.
Forest Service IT workers win outsourcing competition
Technology employees at the Agriculture Department's Forest Service this week won an OMB Circular A-76 competition.
DARPA awards billion-dollar contract for combat UAV
DARPA has awarded a $1 billion contract to Northrop Grumman Corp. to build an unmanned aerial vehicle that will be used in combat.
Editoral Cartoon
None
Significa
The Assyrian emperor Sennacherib was the subject of his own writings. But to read his script from the 7th century B.C.E., you'll need to brush up on your cuneiform. Federal IT can help. The National Endowment for the Humanities has issued two grants to the Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative, which will catalog more than 500,000 examples of cuneiform, Sumerian and other, still undeciphered, languages. Check it out at cdli.ucla.edu/about.html. The IT project forms part of $559,000 in NEH grants for 'Recovering Iraq's Past.' By the way, the Assyrian emperor never succeeded in achieving his goal of conquering Jerusalem. An epidemic broke out among his troops.
Another View: Using synthesis theory to drive IT policy
Establishing IT policy for a government organization is a more complex process than people sometimes acknowledge.A bureaucratic infrastructure hampers the organization's ability to evaluate and select emerging technologies quickly. By the time committees are formed, leave schedules are coordinated, planning sessions are held, testing is performed, documentation is completed and approval is granted, leading-edge technologies have matured into legacy systems.
False alarm
I'm still trying to figure out why the Homeland Security Department walked away from the Computer Aided Passenger Prescreening System II. My best guess is the Bush administration didn't want to risk a political fire at this particular time.
Major programs within CBP
<b>Integrated Surveillance Intelligence System:</b>> formerly known as the Surveillance and Sensor Technology program, this Border Patrol project is intended to increase the effectiveness of the 12,000 Border Patrol agents deployed along the northern and southern U.S. borders.
Web services extend system functions
Raymond B. Wells had plenty of experience implementing large-scale government systems before he became chief technology officer for the federal unit of IBM Corp.
Lockheed Martin again protests HUD IT award to EDS
Lockheed Martin Corp. has filed a protest of the latest award of the $750 million HUD HITS contract to EDS Corp.
Incoming
<b>Support deal</b>. The Air Force has hired Computer Sciences Corp. under a $58.6 million procurement contract to provide IT infrastructure to support the mission of the Strategic Command at Offutt Air Force Base, Neb.
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