Tech

Interesting elsewhere – 17 February 2012

Things which caught my eye elsewhere on the web Smart answers are smart | Government Digital Service The partnership of content designer and developer on smart answers demonstrates the oft-fabled multidisciplinary agile approach we employ at GDS, where we work in pairs wherever possible. Researching the subject, working out the logic and moulding this withRead… Read more »

Transitioning our Disruptive IT List to a CTOlabs.com Directory

Since the beginning of our publishing at CTOVision.com we have sought to highlight the technologies and companies that hold the greatest potential of positive disruptions in enterprise IT. One of the reference lists we developed is our online “Disruptive IT List“. Thanks to feedback from readers, including CTOs from enterprises and from IT companies, weRead… Read more »

Living Science: Why Social Networks For Scientists Don’t Work (Yet)

Mark Drapeau (Washington, DC) — A “Facebook for Scientists”? It may sound silly, or redundant, but it’s becoming more of a reality. Maybe. A new startup based in Germany named ResearchGate has already convinced roughly 1.4 million researchers to become members and begin sharing. On it, you can search your email accounts to find peopleRead… Read more »

LightSquared vs FCC: What is the right position?

An issue I’d recommend all free thinking technologists dive into is the current technological trades facing the nation over LightSquared. They are a company building a wireless network based on Long Term Evolution (LTE) technologies combined with commercial satellite coverage in a way that will cover the entire united states in broadband. The goal: unleashRead… Read more »

Finding a path to sustainability

Cutting public sector jobs may decrease overall expenditures, but it doesn’t amount to the fundamental change we’ve been talking about, nor does it put us on a path to sustainability. At least that is what the recently released Drummond Report argues: If civil servants and public sector workers want pay raises, they should find theRead… Read more »

Words of power

‘When I use a word,’ Humpty Dumpty said, in rather a scornful tone, ‘it means just what I choose it to mean — neither more nor less.’ Most of us don’t have the power which Humpty Dumpty claimed for himself to make words mean what we want them to mean. We may be able toRead… Read more »

Stop sending me email attachments

Dear Federal colleagues and partners, Please stop sending me 8 mb email attachments. Use other options like cloud computing or Google docs. That is all. Love, A guy who hates to see “Mailbox Size Limit exceeded: This notification is to inform you that your mailbox size has reached the defined limit for Prohibiting Send. WhatRead… Read more »

Victorian government launches inquiry into the use of social media in the house to reflect on the office of Speaker, by parliamentarians and public

Reading the eGovernment Resource Centre’s newsletter this morning, the Victorian government has launched an inquiry into the use of social media to reflect on the office of the Speaker, looking at use while parliament is sitting by both parliamentarians and the public galleries. The Legislative Assembly Standing Orders Committee is considering: (1) Should any restrictions,Read… Read more »

GovBytes: Millions of tax-payer dollars saved by Oregon’s use of video-conferencing

As the number of agencies and businesses choosing to host video-conferences rather than in-person meetings grows, so do the savings, as well as the environmental benefits. Oregon has been boosting its video-conference efforts, and has a lot to boast about regarding the benefits of the conferences. In total, it’s estimated that Oregon has saved $2Read… Read more »

Social Media in Government Reading Discussion: Nicholas Christakis’ Connected

This week, we read selections from Connected, by Nicholas Christakis. Why I Assigned This Text This is the second of two texts that focus exclusively on how social media/social networks function and the relationship between people’s online social behavior and their offline activities. There are a few key concepts that this text brings into sharpRead… Read more »