The handicapper's guide to the FOSE conference
One person can't take in all of what the FOSE conference offers, so here's one suggested route to getting a good overview of what's happening in government information technology.
Former TSA employee charged with infecting databases
A former Transportation Security Administration data analyst has beenn charged with injecting malicious code into two TSA databases last year, about a week before his employment was about to end.
NIST sets clock to stay accurate for billions of years
NIST physicists have built a second version of the quantum logic clock, using a single aluminum ion, that would keep time within a second for roughly 3.7 billion years.
Many agencies are still anti-social media
A survey of federal employees last fall by Market Connections found that only 23 percent of respondents said their agencies use social media (25 percent didn’t know) and that 60 percent said their agencies banned social media sites.
With social media, should DOD go to the people, or should the people go to DOD?
Paul A. Strassman's recent column—arguing that DOD's social media policy doesn't do enough to address security—sparked a lively debate among readers, many of whom question whether DOD, or government in general, is suited to hosting social media sites.
E-books: It's not the medium, it's the message
In response to a recent column by GCN's Trudy Walsh, regarding the rapid spread of electronic books, many readers praised the convenience of books in electronic form, emphasizing that content is what counts, regardless of the format. But a few did tackle Walsh’s larger question about what might be lost in a world of constant electronic information.
DOD lifts ban on USB drives
The Defense Department has lifted its 15-month-old ban on USB drives and other portable media, a restriction that had proved to be unpopular as well as potentially unenforceable.
The Numerator: Facebook makes friends with DOD users
Facebook topped the list in a recent Defense Department Web poll asking users which social media sites they used often.
Will telework gain traction after record snowfalls?
The heavy snows of the past week should put a greater commitment to telework on the government’s front burner, to judge from the comments posted to our coverage. But many seem to fear that entrenched opposition will cause any push toward telework to fade as quickly as the snow.
Do friends let friends drive networks?
The most sophisticated mobile computing device these days might not be the iPhone, Droid or Curve in your hand but the machine under your foot. Cars are increasingly becoming computers — even networks — on wheels.
The hits keeps coming for agency Web sites
In the fourth quarter of 2009, people's satisfaction with e-government hit an all-time high, with a rating of 75.2 on ACSI’s 100-point scale, surpassing satisfaction with off-line government (68.7).
NASA's space tweets are part of a larger conversation
The first real-time tweet from space said very little, but the software upgrade that made it possible is pretty impressive.
New evidence in Google attack points East
A security researcher for SecureWorks says he has found evidence to support Google's claim that last month's attacks on the company’s systems originated in China, while another security expert called the attacks the largest and most sophisticated in years aimed at businesses.
The Numerator: Smart phones to the fore
Full-blown 3G smart phones are expected to overtake basic models with 3G features sometime in 2012 to become the most common mobile Internet device, according to a new report.
Google Earth enables an archaeological find, but what has it done lately?
A team of archaeologists found evidence of an old civilization in the Amazon by studying satellite images via Google Earth. But it seems they expected more.
Why follow CES? Because these days, gadgets have cachet
The growth of mobile technologies and handheld gadgets and a greater emphasis on the availability of data has shifted a lot of the IT focus from the network to the end points. Networks are still essential, of course, but gadgets are increasingly part of the job.
The ’00 7: The decade’s most important tech advances
We select seven technologies that changed the game during the unofficial decade of 2000-2009.
Last-minute gifts for the IT geek
Whether you are a geek bearing gifts or a FOG shopping for one, here are a few ideas on what might make an appropriate, memorable and possibly even valuable present.
Better power for mobile devices could exist on paper
As smart phones and e-book readers take even more functions away from the printed page, scientists might have found a diabolical way for paper to survive yet again – by making those devices depend on paper for power.
In wake of TSA breach, a refresher on redacting PDFs
The exposure of the Transportation Security Administration's operations manual will likely prompt agnecies to review the National Security Agency's guidance on how to safely redact information from documents posted to the Web.
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