Preparing for the Internet of Things: What Does it Mean?

On GovLoop Insights’ DorobekINSIDER:

• Imagine a manufacturing revolution where the average person can make anything they want from digital designs. In this revolution those with the most to gain aren’t major companies but the consumers. You don’t have to imagine it. At the Smithsonian they are building 3D replicas of artifacts. Meet the team making it happen.

You can find all of our programs online: DorobekINSIDER.com and GovLoop Insights at http://insights.govloop.com.

But up front: Preparing for the Internet of Things: what does it mean?… what what does it mean for government?

On Wednesday, GovLoop and ConnellyWorks will host a half-day session on the Internet of Things.

First off, if you have only heard about the Internet of Things — and, in fact, you aren’t really sure what it is… join us. But even more importantly, if you have been following it but you’re not sure what it will mean for government and how you should be preparing for the hyper-connected world, join us.

The details:

When: Wednesday, Aug. 6 from 7:30-11:30a

Where: The Mayflower Renaissance Washington DC Hotel, 1127 Connecticut Ave, NW, Washington, DC 20036

More information and registration here.

We have a pretty awesome line-up of speakers from both the public and private sectors:

• Randy Garrett, the Program Manager of the Information Innovation Office at Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency

• Dr. Michael Chui a Partner and Senior Fellow at McKinsey Global Institute (MGI)

We will also have a ‘town hall’ with a host of experts:

• Steve Fritzinger, Virtualization Alliance Manager, U.S. Public Sector, NetApp

• Rodney Hite, Product Manager, Big Data Solutions, ViON

• Dan Kent, Director, US Public Sector Engineering and Chief Technology Officer, Cisco Systems

• Richard McKinney, Chief Information Officer, Department of Transportation

• Dr. Joseph Ronzio, Special Advisor to Secretary of Health Information Technology, Veterans Health Affairs, Department of Veterans Affairs

• Tiffany Sargent, IoT Senior Solutions Architect, Intel Federal

Some background on the Internet of Things:

• GovLoop’s DorobekINSIDER LIVE from earlier this year discussion IoT — what it is and what it could mean

• More from GovLoop’s DorobekINSIDER LIVE: Preparing Government for the Internet of Things

• The GovLoop Guide: The Internet of Things: Preparing Yourself for a Connected Government

And many are thinking about this topic. From today’s Wall Street Journal:

Stanley Black & Decker retools for Internet of Things [The Wall Street Journal] Stanley Black & Decker has outfitted its manufacturing center in Reynosa, Mexico with sensors that spot problems and delays in the production line. While it has encountered a few challenges — more a matter of culture than technology — the company says the effort has led to a significant improvement in production.

I am fascinated by the opportunities — and challenges — that lie ahead. I hope you can join us for the discussion.

The SEVEN stories that impact your life

1. Military Times: DoD may send personnel to Africa to help fight Ebola epidemic- “Defense Department officials are discussing the possibility of sending more personnel to western Africa to assist with the Ebola epidemic there. A source familiar with the discussions said Pentagon officials held meetings Friday to decide how DoD personnel could help with outbreak response.”

2. USA Today: Africa summit: Economic hopes high; Ebola casts shadow- “President Obama this week convenes the largest gathering ever of African government officials in Washington in an effort to bolster the U.S. relationship with one of the world’s fastest-growing economies. But preparations for the historic summit have been overshadowed by the march of the Ebola virus through West Africa, a health crisis that has claimed more than 700 lives and has international health officials scrambling for solutions.”

3. Government Executive: Divided House Approves $694M Border Bill, Deportation Measure- “House GOP leaders Friday night finally pushed through passage of border funding legislation and a bill changing deportation policies, a one-chamber messaging approach that in the end may speak louder about lawmakers’ inability to ever write a workable bill that Congress as a whole can pass. The 223-189 adoption of a $694 million supplemental spending measure came mostly along party lines, and only after both it and the second measure demanded by some harder-line members took significant rewriting. Planned votes on earlier versions Thursday had been abruptly scrapped because neither had enough support.”

4. Nextgov: Senate Approves $225 Million Cash Infusion for Israel’s Iron Dome- “The Senate on Friday signed off on $225 million to send to Israel for its Iron Dome missile defense system, and the House could give its approval later in the day. The funding was held up on Thursday night in a dispute over how to pay for it, and it looked as if Congress would punt the issue until September after its five-week recess.”

5. Washington Post: Embattled National Archives IG to retire after probe finds misconduct- “The top watchdog for the National Archives is retiring after a costly two-year investigation of allegations of misconduct found that he made insensitive comments about women and racial minorities.Paul Brachfeld said he will retire Aug. 9 after a 35-year federal career. Until recently, he had fought a series of allegations made by an agent on his staff while several inquiries into his conduct were underway. But in June, a report by an independent panel that investigates complaints against inspectors general found that Brachfeld had created a locker-room environment in his office, with sexually suggestive and racially offensive comments.”

6. Federal News Radio: Agencies end 9-year small business contracting drought- “Small business contractors had a banner year in 2013. For the first time in almost a decade, agencies awarded 23 percent of all available contracts to small firms. The Small Business Administration reported Friday that agencies spent more than $83 billion with small firms out of a possible $355 billion last year. That equaled 23.4 percent of all prime contracts went to small firms. The government hasn’t met its 23 percent goal since 2005, which is why officials from SBA and NASA, and members of Congress celebrated this achievement at the NASA Goddard visitors center in Greenbelt. Maryland.”

7. Government Executive: This May Be The Worst Abuse of Federal Telework Ever- “A unit within the Patent and Trademark Office is on the hot seat after an inspector general reported that 19 paralegals over a four-year period were given so little work that they passed the time catching up on personal chores. Supervisors at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board looked the other way as the workers booked their hours under a special billing code labeled “other time,” according to a report released Tuesday by the Commerce Department inspector general.”

DorobekINSIDER water-cooler fodder… yes, we’re trying to help you make your water-cooler time better too…

• Big Data linked to biases in criminal justice [The Wall Street Journal] Criminal justice programs that heavily rely on statistical analysis could include biases against the poor and minority groups, said Attorney General Eric Holder, in a speech in Philadelphia before a gathering of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. The Wall Street Journal reports that some states, including Pennsylvania and Tennessee, have begun using risk assessment calculations to decide which suspects should be released on bail while awaiting trial, and which ones should be sent to jail to await trial. They’re also using the analytics technology to help determine prison sentences. Mr. Holder said that the industry must study such software more before it is used in sentencing.

• Al Qaeda Groups Develop on Android [The Wall Street Journal] Al Qaeda and its offshoots are developing encryption software for the Android platform, according to a report, Friday, from Big Data intelligence firm Recorded Future. The group appears to be betting on Android as its development platform.

• Neat-O Google Doodle Venn Diagram Generator Celebrates John Venn’s Birthday [Slate]