Headlines from around the Web
Compiled by Melanie Bender
Washington Technology
In a new request for information, GSA said it wants information on IPv6 training from companies that already have GSA contracts suitable for providing training. GSA is also asking companies about their current IPv6 training courses.
Computer Servers in U.S., Japan and Europe are Power Hogs
InformationWeek
The worldwide consumption of energy to power computer servers, cooling equipment, and related infrastructure gear doubled from 2000 to 2005, and the U.S. devoured about 40 percent of that. However, research indicates the developing Asia-Pacific region will eclipse the U.S. by 2010.
Holiday Season Fertile Ground for IM, Web-Based Threats
NetworkWorld
E-mail and instant messaging programs can be compromised such that threats will most often materialize in a way that they appear to have come from known contacts. Attackers are also compromising the home pages of popular Web sites, allowing them to inject malicious code onto any system that visits a Web site that isn't adequately protected.
Survey: IT Managers Expect Problems with Projects
InformationWeek
According to a survey of 800 middle and senior IT managers in eight countries, 43 percent expect problems with their IT projects and have learned to live with IT project challenges.
GAO to USPS: Address Database Errors
Federal Computer Week
USPS developed the Facilities Database in 2003 to capture and maintain data on the agency’s 34,000 facilities nationwide, but five years later, the database is still not the central source for facility data as planned and its information is inaccurate, according to a Government Accountability Office report released Dec. 10.
States Must Designate Fusion Centers to Work with Feds
Federal Computer Week
The Homeland Security and Justice departments want state governors and other officials to name a single fusion center from every state to work directly with the federal government.
Open Source and the Corporate Elephant
InfoWorld
A number of corporations are moving into the free software arena, resulting in legions of programmers, paid by companies, moving into free software communities.
Georgia Outsourcing Tech Jobs, Cutting Positions
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Gov. Sonny Perdue announced he plans to consolidate the 11 agencies that account for most of the state's information technology spending. Those agencies spend about $617 million on computers and other technology a year. A restructured Georgia Technology Authority will then bid out technology services to private companies. The contracts will be awarded late next year.
First Responder Budget Cuts Draw Congressional Ire
eWeek
Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle are blasting a Bush administration proposal to cut 2009 funding by as much as half for local emergency management operations, including interoperability grants. A lack of funding could jeopardize state and local emergency management agencies' plans to utilize spectrum that will be auctioned by the government in January.
Data Breach Prompts Ohio Pact with McAfee for SafeBoot
ComputerWorld
State officials announced late last week that they have agreed to purchase about 60,000 licenses of McAfee Inc.'s SafeBoot encryption software. The state will begin rolling out SafeBoot's policy-based encryption technology to government offices beginning early next year, according to the Ohio Department of Administrative Services. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
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