Digital Government
GILS breathes new life into Web
The Defense Technical Information Center (DTIC) has put a real live, breathing Government Information Locator Service on the Internet, and the center's GILS server is apparently being considered as a de facto standard for other agencies who want to bring their own GILS online. Point your browser t
Digital Government
New macro viruses infect agencies
Federal computer users are being threatened by malicious new "macro" viruses involving Microsoft Corp.'s Word and Excel programs, prompting agency warnings about potential widespread damage. First discovered last summer, these viruses have already hit Energy Department and other government facili
Digital Government
SGI to acquire Cray in $740M buyout
Silicon Graphics Inc.'s purchase of Cray Research Inc. is bringing sighs of relief among federal supercomputer users who were concerned about Cray's longterm technology leadership. SGI announced last week that it will purchase Cray for about $740 million in a deal expected to close in April. The m
Digital Government
NASA launches SEWP II buy worth $1 billion
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center last week launched a fouryear, $1 billion procurement for Unix workstations, peripherals and networking gear that will be open to the entire government on an unprecedented scale. Due for award this year, the Scientific and Engineering Workstation Procurement (SEW
Digital Government
Taxes, time and a telescope: try the latest in Web wonders
Once in a blue moon, the Internal Revenue Service serves up a pleasant surprise. You can find one at http://www.irs.ustreas.gov. True, reading about changes in the tax code, perusing plainlanguage tax regulations and downloading tax forms won't ever qualify as pastimes of choice, but somehow the I
Digital Government
FedCenter Web site delivers vendor info
A commercial World Wide Web site is positioning itself as a onestop resource for federal users seeking information on computer and network products and services. FedCenter, which is located on the Internet at http://www.fedcenter.com, culls information from vendors and presents that information to
Digital Government
Candidates practice pitches on-line
In addition to kissing babies and attending barbecues, this year's presidential hopefuls are trying to reach out and connect to voters online. To access what has to be the best site for presidential campaign information, go to the Vote Smart Web, sponsored by Project Vote Smart, a nonpartisan grou
Digital Government
SCO unveils Internet products
The Santa Cruz Operation Inc., the leading provider of Unix operating systems in the federal government, today unveiled a new strategy to deliver a family of Unixbased Internet products. "We're bringing out a family of Internet products that will provide government users [with] a solution that is
Digital Government
Budget cuts, culture hurt NASA systems
Despite an increasing number of hacker attacks, NASA's computer and communications systems remain critically vulnerable to outside manipulation because of budget pressures and cultural bias, agency officials concede. Hackers have already attached password sniffers to NASA systems and used the space
Digital Government
Armchair quarterbacks: How would you spend the budget?
How hard could it be to balance the budget? Judge for yourself by connecting to "How Would You Spend the National Budget" at "http://ux1.cso.uiuc.edu/ kundert/taxes/taxdollar.html" and "Federal Budget Simulator" at "http://garnet.berkeley.edu:3333/budget/budget.html." Neither of these budge
Digital Government
Auditing system guards DMS
As part of a groundbreaking computer security plan, the Defense Information Systems Agency plans to build a $200 million global auditing system to protect the Defense Message System from skyrocketing numbers of network attacks. DISA now depends on network and security administrators in the field t
Digital Government
Raptor announces firewall for Windows NT
Raptor Systems Inc. recently announced what the firm described as the first enterprise network firewall designed for Microsoft Corp.'s Windows NT. Raptor is betting its new firewall, called Eagle NT, will appeal to network administrators who want to install system firewalls but who do not want to m
Digital Government
Following break-in, security of exportable Navigator questioned
The security of the exportable Netscape Navigator has drawn new scrutiny with the announcement that an MIT undergraduate used a single graphics computer to crack the Navigator's 40bit encryption code. Student Andrew Twyman used a $83,000 graphics computer for fewer than eight days to break the enc
Digital Government
Budget battles may fuel ongoing government IRM brain drain
Agencies yet to receive fiscal 1996 funding were left with skeletal staffs to keep systems up and running last week. But the more damaging longterm impact of the threeweek shutdown may be the departure of disgruntled federal information technology personnel. Information resources management offic
Digital Government
Get the time and expand your mind with Web pages
Set your clocks and synchronize your watches for the New Year with a little help from one of those jumbo clocks an atomic clock that is operated by the National Institute of Standards and Technology. You can get NIST's correct time maintained at the institute's Boulder Colo. site by pointing you
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