Route Fifty

Microsoft's Ballmer says 1 percent of software bugs cause 50 percent of errors

Error reports sent back to Microsoft Corp. by Windows, Office and other products show that 20 percent of the software's bugs cause 80 percent of its errors. Just 1 percent of the bugs causes half of all errors, company president Steve Ballmer said in a security e-letter widely distributed yesterday.

By Susan M. Menke
October 3, 2002

E-mail and the PC top 20 years of breakneck technology growth

Since the first GCN was published in December 1982, the federal systems landscape has been a site of constant innovation. Here are 21 technologies that changed the way feds work.

By Susan M. Menke
October 1, 2002

Microsoft wants software to be 'public utility'

Acknowledging 'too many vulnerabilities in the product,' Microsoft Corp. vice president Mike Nash said software must achieve 'the same level of trust as a public utility' that supplies 120 volts reliably from every electrical outlet. Nash heads the security business unit that early this year enforced a 10-week stand-down of all development at Microsoft while 11,000 coders learned about threat modeling and peer-reviewed each other's work.

By Susan M. Menke
September 27, 2002

Five agencies soup up their Web sites to load fast

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' main page loaded in less than half a second. Sites run by the FBI, the Supreme Court, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Library of Congress were just slightly slower, all taking less than a second to pop up. The FBI site has been among the fastest on the Web for almost a year, according to Keynote Systems Inc. of San Mateo, Calif.

By Susan M. Menke
September 27, 2002

TSA vendor begins systems-building blitz

Over the next three and a half months, contractor teams 'will hit multiple airports at the same time' in a blitz to install servers, clients with a standard software image, notebook and handheld computers, IP telephones and other equipment for the new Transportation Security Administration.

By Susan M. Menke
September 13, 2002

Trade show badges track attendees

Using tracking technology developed for Defense Department materiel logistics, the National Center for Supercomputing Applications has designed optional radio frequency badges that will track the interests and movements of attendees at November's Supercomputing 2002 trade show in Baltimore.

By Susan M. Menke
September 5, 2002

Wall display is a giant monitor for collaborators

An $11,825, 60-inch electronic Wall Display from 3M Co. can plug into a notebook or desktop PC and act as a giant monitor on which users can create or edit documents, presentations and spreadsheets.

By Susan M. Menke
September 5, 2002

PCs offer consumer-market features

Agency IT buyers are willing to take a chance on consumer-market features that have stood the test of time, two vendors said last month in a rollout of new PCs and servers.

By Susan M. Menke
September 4, 2002

Supercomputing 2002 will test badges that can track attendees' activities

Using tracking technology developed for Defense Department materiel logistics, the National Center for Supercomputing Applications has designed optional radio frequency badges that will track the interests and movements of attendees at November's Supercomputing 2002 trade show in Baltimore.

By Susan M. Menke
September 3, 2002

LCD-like wall display accepts mouse clicks from markers

An $11,825, 60-inch electronic Wall Display from 3M Co. plugs into a notebook or desktop PC and acts as a giant monitor on which users can create or edit documents, presentations and spreadsheets. They write directly on the glass with colored dry-erase markers or tap the screen with a blank marker to pull down menus and select items.

By Susan M. Menke
August 23, 2002

DOD users can add S/MIME to BlackBerrys

BlackBerry handheld e-mail devices used in the military services can get a government-specific Secure Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions upgrade of their software under a National Security Agency contract with the device maker, Research In Motion Ltd.

By Susan M. Menke
August 23, 2002

Agencies award IBM a contract for safety net

Public-safety and transportation agencies in the nation's capital area last week chose IBM Corp. to build the Capital Wireless Integrated Network, spanning 40 federal, state and local agencies.

By Susan M. Menke
August 23, 2002

IBM to build wireless safety network for Washington area

Public-safety and transportation agencies in the nation's capital area yesterday chose IBM Corp. to build the Capital Wireless Integrated Network spanning 40 federal, state and local organizations.

By Susan M. Menke
August 22, 2002

BlackBerry to get S/MIME security

BlackBerry handheld devices used in the military services can get a government-specific Secure Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions protocol upgrade of their software under a National Security Agency contract with the devices' maker, Research In Motion Ltd.

By Susan M. Menke
August 19, 2002

Texas launches health alert network

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Texas Health Department earlier this month issued the first statewide alert over the Texas Health Alert Network, about the West Nile virus. The HAN so far has provided 64 health departments with Internet connectivity, some for the first time.

By Susan M. Menke
August 16, 2002

USB 2.0 Zip drive is zipped up to 750M

The Iomega Zip drive, which got its start in 1995 for portable storage of up to 100M, now can handle 750M in a $180 version for the Universal Serial Bus 2.0 port.

By Susan M. Menke
August 16, 2002

DOD computer security breached with ease

While working for a client, ForensicTec Solutions Inc. of San Diego this summer broke into dozens of military computer systems and found sensitive data, company president Brett O'Keeffe said today. He said he has alerted military officials and that 'they need resources and funds. This needs to be a top priority.'

By Susan M. Menke and Dawn S. Onley
August 16, 2002

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Net guru: Encrypt everything

Ray Ozzie believes in shared workspaces. The inventor of Lotus Notes collaboration software founded Groove Networks Inc. in 1997 because server-based architectures 'fundamentally could not address the dynamic collaboration requirements of a decentralized business environment.'

Microsoft's Ballmer says 1 percent of software bugs cause 50 percent of errors

Error reports sent back to Microsoft Corp. by Windows, Office and other products show that 20 percent of the software's bugs cause 80 percent of its errors. Just 1 percent of the bugs causes half of all errors, company president Steve Ballmer said in a security e-letter widely distributed yesterday.

E-mail and the PC top 20 years of breakneck technology growth

Since the first GCN was published in December 1982, the federal systems landscape has been a site of constant innovation. Here are 21 technologies that changed the way feds work.

Microsoft wants software to be 'public utility'

Five agencies soup up their Web sites to load fast

TSA vendor begins systems-building blitz

Over the next three and a half months, contractor teams 'will hit multiple airports at the same time' in a blitz to install servers, clients with a standard software image, notebook and handheld computers, IP telephones and other equipment for the new Transportation Security Administration.

Trade show badges track attendees

Using tracking technology developed for Defense Department materiel logistics, the National Center for Supercomputing Applications has designed optional radio frequency badges that will track the interests and movements of attendees at November's Supercomputing 2002 trade show in Baltimore.

Wall display is a giant monitor for collaborators

An $11,825, 60-inch electronic Wall Display from 3M Co. can plug into a notebook or desktop PC and act as a giant monitor on which users can create or edit documents, presentations and spreadsheets.

IRS: Tax forms will talk

PCs offer consumer-market features

Agency IT buyers are willing to take a chance on consumer-market features that have stood the test of time, two vendors said last month in a rollout of new PCs and servers.

Supercomputing 2002 will test badges that can track attendees' activities

Using tracking technology developed for Defense Department materiel logistics, the National Center for Supercomputing Applications has designed optional radio frequency badges that will track the interests and movements of attendees at November's Supercomputing 2002 trade show in Baltimore.

LCD-like wall display accepts mouse clicks from markers

DOD users can add S/MIME to BlackBerrys

BlackBerry handheld e-mail devices used in the military services can get a government-specific Secure Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions upgrade of their software under a National Security Agency contract with the device maker, Research In Motion Ltd.

Agencies award IBM a contract for safety net

Public-safety and transportation agencies in the nation's capital area last week chose IBM Corp. to build the Capital Wireless Integrated Network, spanning 40 federal, state and local agencies.

IBM to build wireless safety network for Washington area

Public-safety and transportation agencies in the nation's capital area yesterday chose IBM Corp. to build the Capital Wireless Integrated Network spanning 40 federal, state and local organizations.

BlackBerry to get S/MIME security

BlackBerry handheld devices used in the military services can get a government-specific Secure Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions protocol upgrade of their software under a National Security Agency contract with the devices' maker, Research In Motion Ltd.

Texas launches health alert network

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Texas Health Department earlier this month issued the first statewide alert over the Texas Health Alert Network, about the West Nile virus. The HAN so far has provided 64 health departments with Internet connectivity, some for the first time.

USB 2.0 Zip drive is zipped up to 750M

The Iomega Zip drive, which got its start in 1995 for portable storage of up to 100M, now can handle 750M in a $180 version for the Universal Serial Bus 2.0 port.

DOD computer security breached with ease

FAA develops its own model

The Federal Aviation Administration, whose air traffic systems development history is among the most troubled in government, has customized its own Capability Maturity Model - the first agency to do so.