Tech

Earthquake shakes mobile service and the increased need for NG911

Deltek Senior Analyst Kyle Ridley reports. As we near the tenth anniversary of 9/11, it seems wireless communication during times of crisis is still an uphill battle. Tuesday’s 5.8-magnitude earthquake centered in Mineral, Va. left many East Coasters hanging on the line, waiting for a dial tone. Now, with Hurricane Irene fast approaching, will mobileRead… Read more »

Open Data and New Public Management

This morning I got an email thread pointing to an article by Justin Longo on #Opendata: Digital-Era Governance Thoroughbred or New Public Management Trojan Horse? I’m still digesting it all but wanted to share some initial thoughts. The article begins with talking about he benefit of open data but its real goal is to argueRead… Read more »

A Time for Change

These are unprecedented times of pressure for government agencies, forced to reduce spending and to cut budgets, while at the same time being asked to provide citizens with exceptional levels of customer service. The Executive Order on Streamlining Service Delivery and Improving Customer Service calls for executive departments and agencies to use technology to improveRead… Read more »

It’s All About Relationships – GovDelivery Network

Being able to build and maintain relationships is what the overall concept of networking is about—social or otherwise. As individuals, developing and maintaining a strong circle of contacts allows us greater career opportunities, a greater capacity to engage in social gatherings, furthering friendships, mentoring and volunteer experiences, and the potential for growing business opportunities. TheRead… Read more »

An interview with PowerAssure’s CTO, Clemens Pfeiffer

Last week I was fortunate enough to sit down with Power Assure’s CTO and co-founder, Clemens Pfeiffer. Power Assure provides data center data center infrastructure and energy management tools, but their expertise with data centers carries far beyond just power management. Clemens spoke to me about how Power Assure can help any data center identifyRead… Read more »

GovBytes: Lessons From The Quake – Do We Need An Emergency Broadband Network?

For many of us along the east coast, the jitters of experiencing an earthquake were followed by the inconvenience of being unable to use our cell phones. In the wake of the quake, cell providers were overwhelmed with people calling 911 and one another to see if loved ones were okay. Service was down forRead… Read more »

Ronaldo’s CfA Summer

As one of the first interns at CfA, I am pleased with my experience with both CFA and Google Summer of Code. This summer I was assigned to develop PHP libraries on existing government related projects. Much of my work has focused on v2 of the Open311 API spec, National Health Library API’s, creating aRead… Read more »

Mobile Resources & Prep for Hurricane Irene

Are you prepared for Hurricane Irene? Craig Fugate, Administrator at FEMA (on twitter @craigatfema), warns that Irene can have an impact well inland. He also advises people to use the mobile resources from FEMA and the National Hurricane Center. FEMA is working hard to get preparedness information out on all channels, including mobile. Tips toRead… Read more »

Common Operating Picture Technology and Operational Command and Control

Riot control is an odd mixture of high-tech tools (digitized command and control centers) and old-school tools. The basic tactical elements are ancient—shields to block thrown projectiles, bulky body armor, use of mounted officers on horses, and police tactical formations with Greek and Roman pedigrees. Yet as the London riots demonstrate, P2P information technology isRead… Read more »