More IT in Government In Depth

Out with SOPA, in with cloud

Count us among the critics of SOPA and PIPA, the two ill-conceived bills that were intended to protect American firms against copyright infringement by foreign websites.

10 IT news stories to expect in 2012

Well, we erred in our 2011 predictions in not repeating a 2010 forecast that Carol Bartz would be ousted as Yahoo CEO -- it was bound to happen, we just called that one too early. Then again, we also predicted last year that Oracle would buy Salesforce.com and have decided not to repeat ourselves this year, so we'll see if we were just ahead on that one, too. Meanwhile, these are our predictions for the next 12 months:

15 top quotes of 2011

As another year draws to a close, we look back on the IT-related comments that stuck with us.

NASA prepares for Mars Rover launch: Here's how you can watch

On Friday, at 10:25 am Eastern, the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) mission will rocket into the sky on a 191-foot-tall Atlas V rocket and begin its mission to Mars. NASA is making its final preparations for the first launch opportunity, and tweeters are preparing for a two-day launch tweetup.

On the front line against the next Stuxnet

Last year's Stuxnet worm showed that the machines that run our industrial systems can be brought down with a cyberattack. Meet the people who will get the call when the next big worm strikes.

Are certifications less crucial for healthcare IT jobs?

As regulatory requirements push healthcare organizations to roll out new technology, CIOs, CTOs and other managers see more value in some certifications than others. But they're also looking for 'hybrid IT employees' who can translate technology into business value.

Feds Begin Race to the Cloud

Tasked with adopting cloud computing as a first option in all IT projects, federal agencies are grappling with the hard realities of making that policy work.

Linux at 20: New challenges, new opportunities

The rise of cloud computing and mobility could elevate the open source OS to a level of unprecedented dominance

Monkey business with a camera

Never mind the infinite monkey theorem reproducing Shakespeare, what we were asked to ponder last week is a lone black macaque commandeering a photographer's unattended camera to shoot a few amusing pictures ... and touch off a copyright debate in the process.

Feds begin race to the cloud

Tasked with adopting cloud computing as a first option in all IT projects, federal agencies are grappling with the hard realities of making that policy work.

Cyberwar and cyber-isolationism

There has been a bit of a splash in the press the last few days about a mention by former CIA Director Michael Hayden of the idea of creating new, extra secure internets for government or commerce.

Big Media: Peeing in the lake and pleasing no one

Gibbs discusses how Big Media's agenda is, once again, framing laws that are bad in every way.

Share Netflix? Share a jail cell

Tennessee is apparently in the pocket of the RIAA.

Big questions about cyberwar

The Pentagon is expected to announce a cyberstrategy this month that concludes a cyberattack on the U.S. can be an act of war, and while the damage from such an assault may warrant that position, hopefully this just amounts to loud barking given the perils involved.

Redistricting for the Masses

Redrawing the boundaries of legislative districts used to done by politicians behind closed doors. But this time around, everyday citizens in LA County can use Web-based software to participate.

New bill resurrects website eviction powers

A proposed bill, PROTECT IP, is just the old COICA in disguise. It must not pass!

Can Gov't Go from Open to Smart in Today's Economy

For the last year or so governments have increased efforts to become more transparent by making information available about their agency decisions and operations, have increased public participation in government, and initiated plans and deployed nascent endeavors to collaborate and cooperate across all levels of government to better serve their constituents. Yes, these three are the Open Government mandates for federal agencies, but also, state and local governments have voluntarily embraced these tenets as well. Surprising in this economy of shrinking budgets, furloughed employees, and citizen demand for increasing information and services?

Government agencies make move to desktop virtualization

Interest is growing in desktop virtualization, especially for government agencies, where the main drivers are better manageability and lower costs. Here's a look at three local and federal agencies that are making the first moves into desktop virtualization.

Lots of "people" you interact with online are sockpuppets

Lots of the people and organizations you interact with online are fake ... they're sockpuppets

The Grill: W. Craig Fugate

FEMA chief W. Craig Fugate wants to use mobile technology to customize alerts in an emergency.