@videos

Smokey Bear Is Back

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The Forest Service is among several federal agencies making the most of mobile technology. As part of its “Only You Can Prevent Wildfires” campaign, the agency has integrated PSA videos, social media and a Smokey Bear app to teach youngsters (and their older counterparts) to pay attention when burning outdoors, whether that involves campfires or the errant cigarette. Among the features of the app are a step-by-step guide to building and extinguishing campfires as well as an interactive map of current wildfires across the country.

A related application is fire prediction software for mobile devices. This software, according to the Forest Service, can help manage forest fires and wild fires by putting data into a device that can help show where the fire may go next. While cautioning that firefighters shouldn’t rely solely on the devices, the Forest Service says the software can be a useful tool in the field. Keep reading →

 /  Published May 14, 2012 at 1:29 PM

DARPA To Offer $2 Million Prize For Next Generation Robot

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Robots are coming closer and closer to performing life saving duties. But the Defense Department’s Advance Research Project Agency is now putting up a $2 million prize to whomever can help push the state-of-the-art in robotics.

As part of DARPA‘s upcoming Robotics Challenge, which will launch in October 2012, DARPA is seeking teams that will be able to compete with robots that will have to successfully navigate a series of physical tasks that replicate real-world disaster-response requirements. Keep reading →

 /  Published April 24, 2012 at 1:06 PM

‘Top-To-Bottom’ Restructuring Could Be Part Of GSA’s Redemption Effort

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Acting GSA Administrator Dan Tangherlini said he’s now considering a “top-to-bottom” restructuring of the agency in an effort to regain accountability and integrity after a rogue band of employees went on the now infamous spending spree on lavish and, in some cases odd, entertainment.

“There has to be more checks and balances,” Tangherlini testified at a hearing on the matter Wednesday. “There’s lots of work we have to do to have visibility. We need to consolidate procurement and oversight as well. We need to have clear accountability. We’re going to look at the entire structure top to bottom. How should it be structured?” Keep reading →

 /  Published April 19, 2012 at 4:49 PM

NARA’s 1940 Census Launch Delivers Lessons In Big Data, Cloud Computing

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When it comes to big data and high public demand, the cloud can be a federal agency’s salvation.

That’s what the National Archives and Records Administration learned during the recent and long-anticipated 1940 census launch — the largest-ever release of publicly available data in the federal government. Keep reading →

 /  Published April 16, 2012 at 8:00 AM

Innovation At IRS: Former Visa Executive Spearhead’s Technology Efforts

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If the goal is to make the IRS’s interaction with its customers more like the interaction between customers and a credit card company, Terry Milholland seems like the guy to do it. He used to be executive vice president and chief technology officer for Visa International.

IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman recruited Milholland from Visa in 2088 and installed him as IRS’s Chief Technology Officer. Prior to his service at Visa, Milholland was CIO and CTO for Electronic Data Systems Corp., and before that CIO for The Boeing Company. He brought more than 30 years experience to the IRS. Keep reading →

 /  Published April 13, 2012 at 10:06 AM

Innovation At IRS: Technology Boosts Efficiency, Customer Service

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When unusual activity shows up on a credit card, the company calls the holder – generally the same day. That kind of time frame will soon apply to routine Internal Revenue Service audits – which now happen years after you file your taxes.

IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman imagines a day in the not-too-distant future when, on the same day a tax return is filed electronically, IRS software can detect missing income or stock dividends. Keep reading →

 /  Published April 13, 2012 at 10:05 AM

FOSE: Big Data, Social Media Pose New Hurdles For Records Managers

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The explosion of records across the government, including those generated by emerging technologies and social media, is putting new pressures on federal information managers.

The primary challenge is managing the onslaught of records in a new environment, Alan Linden, a senior technology consultant at Electronic Image Designers, said Thursday at the annual FOSE convention in Washington, D.C. Keep reading →

 /  Published April 6, 2012 at 11:44 AM

Video Boasting Lavish Las Vegas Outing Released

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GSA staffers who went on a posh Las Vegas retreat paid for by the federal government produced a video about their exploits that has made its way onto YouTube.

The video showed a staffer in a parody about their four-day extravaganza that cost $823,000 and is now the subject of a congressional probe. Among the lyrics: Keep reading →

 /  Published April 6, 2012 at 10:30 AM

Cloud Tools Could Level Campaign Playing Field

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Officials at ElectionMall Technologies Inc. are counting on cloud computing to help achieve company’s the goal of giving candidates-from those running for national positions to candidates in school board elections-the tools they need to manage efficient and effective political campaigns.

The company, founded in 1999, has migrated its suite of Web-based campaign and election applications to Microsoft’s Azure cloud computing platform and formally released Version 2 of the suite, called Campaign Cloud, this week. Keep reading →

 /  Published April 6, 2012 at 10:00 AM

Women At FOSE: Workplace Diversity Drives Innovation

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Women in government technology provide much more than a shift in statistics. The diversity provides a hotbed for innovative ideas, top female executives said during a keynote session at the annual FOSE convention in Washington, D.C., on Thursday.

“There’s a real business reason to think about how we bring more women into the workforce,” said Lisa Schlosser, deputy associate administrator in the Office of Management and Budget’s Office of E-Government and Technology. “The fact of the matter is that bringing diversity into the workplace inspires more ideas and innovation.” Keep reading →

 /  Published April 5, 2012 at 4:30 PM
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