GCN Insider | Handwriting before fingerprints
At the FOSE trade show in March, a GCN editor asked a Gateway Inc. product manager why the company had not yet introduced integrated fingerprint biometrics into its notebook PC line, as seemingly everyone else had.
Victor Powers | In RFQs, keep all vendors in play
In a GCN interview, program manager Victor Powers explains the advantages of buying from ECS III and what is being done to streamline ordering while meeting increasingly stringent strict performance requirements of OMB.
Cart blanche
The National Institute of Health's Electronic Commodities Store, run by the agency's IT Acquisition and Assessment Center, backs its hardware products with customer service that has gained a reputation for quality.
Final rule mandates use of FedTeds
Agencies posting sensitive but unclassified information on the Internet relating to procurements now must use the Federal Technical Data Solution system, an online temporary repository of technical procurement data that is linked to the FedBizOpps.gov Web site.
Info. assurance a matter of survival
According to the NSA's chief systems engineer, only those with the most assured information will survive in the Information Age.
Acquisition training could go commercial
House Government Reform Committee Chairman Rep. Tom Davis (R-Va.) wants the federal government to spend more money on training procurement officials, and suggests the creation of an exchange program in which industry officials help train government employees.
Emergency systems need a common language
Police and other emergency response departments in the national capital region of Virginia, Maryland and Washington have standardized on common 800-MHz communications systems. What remains to be done in establishing interoperable systems is the unglamorous job of getting everyone on the same page.
Congress plans to boost port security
Port security legislation approved by the House Homeland Security Committee last month authorizes the award of $2.4 billion in grants to high-risk ports over six years. The grant money can pay for purchasing and upgrading security equipment, including IT products, to enhance terrorism preparedness.
Budget cuts could slow IRS modernization
The IRS may take longer and have to pay more over the long term to modernize its business systems because the administration dramatically reduced funding for the program in its proposed fiscal 2007 budget. The Government Accountability Office and the IRS Oversight Board told lawmakers that IRS Business Systems Modernization should receive more funding to accelerate its progress.
Rule banning brand-name specs gets teeth
A year ago, the administration warned agencies against using brand names in contract solicitations. The Office of Management and Budget recently released a memorandum that adds some muscle to the regulation. While the existing guidance has the force of law, OMB also has started a rule-making process for the Federal Acquisition Regulation.
IRS struggles to take next step in E-filing
The height of tax season may be past, but the IRS is still feeling the pinch, as the agency tries to expand its electronic filing and free tax services. With Congress hot on the case, IRS officials are acutely aware that the pressure is on to make tax services more accessible.
Brad Grimes | Logging On: At issue: Information on what, where and how to buy
Welcome to the GCN Technology Acquisition Guide. This is the latest step in the evolution of GCN's efforts to focus on products and acquisition, in four special issues that coincide with the time of year when readers tell us they make most of their IT buying decisions. The Tech Acquisition Guide appears monthly from May through August.
In the know'knowledge management software
After years of indifference, the post-9/11 federal government is embracing knowledge management. It might be hard to categorize, but you'll know the benefits of KM when you see them'including the ability to help work across agency lines, measure performance and meet regulatory requirements.
CIS must improve e-records management: GAO
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is not doing an effective job in managing the initial phase of its move from a paper-based filing system to paperless electronic records, according to the Government Accountability Office.
Net-enabled command program moving ahead
The objective of the program is to provide a comprehensive suite of information services that will enable warfighters to make better, faster and more coordinated decisions on the battlefield.
DHS defends small-business program
The Homeland Security Department is defending its small-business subcontracting practices against fears that its mentor-prot'g' program actually may penalize some small businesses.
Government cool
None
Mississippi re-ups ACS for Medicaid support
Mississippi's Division of Medicaid has signed a four-year, $100 million contract renewal with Affiliated Computer Services Inc. to support the program in several ways, including administering Web-based eligibility and drug rebate systems.
DOD awards health management deal
The Defense Department has awarded an $11.5 million contract to System Planning Corp. of Arlington, Va., for force health protection and readiness.
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