InformationWeek Government IT Weblog

The Million-Dollar Google Maps API

John Foley — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 13:48:49 -0500

The U.S. government's Apps.gov Web site provides new visibility into what federal agencies pay for cloud-based applications and commercial software, with offerings from vendors such as Hewlett-Packard, Jive, Microsoft, and Salesforce.com. One of the priciest products on the site: Google's Maps API, which lists for nearly a million dollars.

Interop: Cloud Computing's Portability Gotcha

John Foley — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 15:16:04 -0500

There were a couple "aha" moments for me at Interop's Enterprise Cloud Summit. The first was that some companies are already storing hundreds of terabytes of data in the cloud. The second was that it can be a slow and expensive process to move that data from one service provider to another.

Blumenthal: Patient Care, Not Tech, Will Drive Meaningful Use

Mitch Wagner — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 11:57:30 -0500

National health IT coordinator Dr. David Blumenthal dropped a big hint about upcoming criteria for giving out e-health records grants. He advised healthcare IT managers to focus on "goals of care" rather than technology.

Open Government: A San Francisco Treat

Fritz Nelson — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 10:14:07 -0500

DataSF.org is San Francisco's major foray into open and transparent government; it is the city giving its vital data back to its citizens. We talked with the city's mayor, Gavin Newsom, several members of his technology team, led by CTO Blair Adams, and some of the early developers who have already built applications around the data. We've captured all of this in a new video documentary.

Uncle Sam's $24 Million Cloud App

John Foley — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 09:11:21 -0500

The U.S. government's cloud computing portal, Apps.gov, may be a breakthrough in fast, efficient, and transparent IT acquisition, but that doesn't mean it's cheap. Witness the multimillion-dollar software modules available to government agencies on the site.

Reporting Health IT Security Compliance Gets Easier

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 15:15:06 -0500

The Health Information Trust Alliance (HITRUST) has unveiled a new program that helps streamline how healthcare organizations report to their business associates their status of compliance to security regulations such as HIPAA and others.

Garbage In, Garbage Out In Washington

J. Nicholas Hoover — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 15:00:51 -0500

Problems abound with data about stimulus spending being reported on the federal government's stimulus-tracking Website, recovery.gov, as a cursory search for "stimulus" and "errors" on your favorite news search engine should tell you. While many of the numbers have been, quite simply, incorrectly reported by recipients, others are a symptom of greater problems in government IT.

Veterans Day And Our Military

Bob Evans — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 13:30:00 -0500

Today on Veterans Day, we would all do well to remember, thank, and pray for the courageous and selfless men and women of the United States military who put themselves in harm's way so the rest of us don't have to.

Admiral Warns Cybersecurity Threat Looms For U.S.

Alexander Wolfe — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 15:33:34 -0500

This week's 60 Minutes broadcast should make everyone afraid, very afraid, of the real, looming specter of cyberwarfare attacks. As I recently blogged, government agencies are already going full-bore to come up with guidelines to protect federal networks. So when an Admiral goes on national television to say hackers have the ability to take down our power grid, he's doing it to deliver a warning.

Supreme Court Awaits Funding For Website Facelift

J. Nicholas Hoover — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 14:46:31 -0500

As the Obama administration readies its open government directive for the executive branch of the U.S. government, the judicial branch of the government awaits word of funding for much-needed updates to the Supreme Court's Website.

Windows 7, U.S.A.

John Foley — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 15:45:11 -0500

Having made its case for Windows 7 in the business and consumer markets, Microsoft is taking its pitch to the nation's capital. Which raises a question: Would the U.S. government do a better job of running the country using Microsoft's new operating system?

WhiteHouse.gov Drupal Detractors Get Buggy

Michael Hickins — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 15:27:13 -0500

The news that WhiteHouse.gov relaunched this week running open source Drupal software raised eyebrows and hackles among knee-jerk anti-Obama types and a small cadre of ignorant bloggers.

New iPhone App Gives 24x7 Swine Flu Coverage

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 12:45:34 -0500

Swine flu is permeating everywhere these days--not just the virus, but news about it. But if you're still not getting your fill of H1N1, Harvard Medical School has released a new iPhone app that provides real-time updates while you're on the move.

DOD Says Yes To More Open Source

Serdar Yegulalp — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 11:29:23 -0500

Open source in the government and military isn't a new thing; governance is one of open source's biggest target markets, so to speak. It's still all the more heartening to hear the Department of Defense come out strongly in favor of open source, and to recommend using more of it whenever possible.

Can Open Source Software Save Democracy?

Michael Hickins — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 15:19:18 -0500

Voting machines and their foibles were catapulted to the top of public consciousness during the 2000 Presidential election, but have gone largely unnoticed in subsequent elections, which is a good thing. The possibility that a widespread glitch could affect a close national election, and the potential for this to undermine democracy, cannot be overstated.

H1N1 A National Emergency: Bring On The E-Records!

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 14:57:20 -0500

President Obama has declared a national emergency in respect to H1N1. This gives hospitals more leeway in setting up emergency operations to respond to the rising swine flu pandemic. Wouldn't e-medical records systems come in handy now?

Hospitals Serving Poor Lag In Healthcare IT

Mitch Wagner — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 13:03:58 -0500

It's no surprise that hospitals which serve predominantly poor patients are lagging in implementing healthcare IT. However, it's a cause for concern that the federal stimulus program might not be up to the task of closing that gap, according to federally supported researchers.

FCC Gets Net Neutrality Boost

Michael Hickins — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 12:57:48 -0500

Prominent tech companies and individuals associated with the creation of the Internet (although not Al Gore) are filling new Federal Communications Commission chairman Julius Genachowski's inbox with letters in support of his proposed network neutrality rules.

The Custom URL Shortener

J. Nicholas Hoover — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 16:44:08 -0500

My first thought when I saw that the federal government had created its own URL shortener was: what a waste of time and effort. The more I think about it, the more I wonder why other large organizations with popular Websites haven't done this for their links.

San Francisco Opens Government Data

Mitch Wagner — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 12:10:37 -0500

San Francisco is opening up government data to third-party application developers, who are jumping in with applications that track information on public transportation, recycling centers, and local crime.

Healthcare Reform Bill Means HIPAA Changes, Too

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 16:59:25 -0500

The healthcare reform bill that passed a key Senate committee today contains several health IT related provisions. Among them are new rules regarding HIPAA, including a proposals allowing the periodic update of HIPAA standards, and fines to health plans that don't comply to HIPAA "operating rules" by April 2014.

State Department Awards Social Networking Grants

Mitch Wagner — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 12:36:00 -0500

The State Department plans to award up to $5 million in grants to expand the use of social networking in the Middle East and North Africa to drive citizen engagement and civic participation. The pilot program is part of a long-term effort to help bring democracy to the region, with a preference toward using existing technologies and social media platforms.

Old Media, Not Internet, Driving Healthcare Debate: White House Advisor

Mitch Wagner — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 12:20:59 -0500

The healthcare debate in the America has been driven by cable news and other old media, rather than new technologies, according to White House Senior Advisor David Axelrod, adding that cable news networks focused on a small number of angry people at town hall meetings in August, and ignored the larger debate.

Think You Have Swine Flu? Take A New Online Test

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 15:58:43 -0500

You've got a cough and a fever--and haven't had your flu shot yet. Could you possibly have H1N1? Microsoft has launched a new website to help you assess whether you've got swine flu.

Astronaut Tops 1 Million Twitter Followers

Mitch Wagner — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 12:43:52 -0500

The group of people who've left the Earth is a small, select club. Now, one of those people has joined a club that's a lot less important but still interesting. Astronaut Mike Massimino joined the group of people with more than 1 million followers on Twitter.