Washington lobbying firm Cassidy and Associates has established a federal practice focused on the executive branch. To help companies win contracts in new markets, the company offers strategic analysis of budgets, competitors, the type of work available and the personalities driving the programs. Clients have included Eastman Kodak Co. and Veridian Corp.
With its pending $200 million universal computing connectivity solicitation, the U.S. Postal Service wants an integrator to combine telephone calls and data traffic on the same networks.Like many government telephony contracts, the message from USPS is clear: Agencies want both telephone services and data networking services from the same provider. And according to industry insiders such as <b>John O'Sullivan</b>, vice president of programs for Harris Corp., a few integrators are winning the confidence of agencies for their ability to pull together mission-critical skills and knowledge to combine service offerings.
The National Security Agency and Nokia Corp.'s incubator have formed the Chesapeake Innovation Center, a homeland security business incubator in Annapolis, Md.
The explosion in government data has created a boom for software that can analyze information and present it in charts, graphs and other images that people can quickly grasp.
Electronic Data Systems Corp., Plano, Texas, has developed a system that underwater explorers from the University of Rhode Island use to send and receive real-time video and audio to and from the Black Sea, where they are researching ancient shipwrecks.
Viisage Technology Inc., Littleton, Mass., is seeing increased use of its facial recognition products by state motor vehicle administrations, according to Bernard Bailey, CEO of Viisage.
When your computer resides on another planet, service calls aren't an option. So when BAE Systems North America Inc. needed an extremely reliable operating system for the computational subsystem it was supplying for NASA's Mars rovers, it chose an industrial-strength, real-time operating system from Wind River Systems Inc., Alameda, Calif.
Verizon Wireless and Qualcomm today demonstrated a new high-speed wireless Internet service set to be rolled out in Washington and San Diego this fall.
A few years ago, the focus of network security and firewall technology was on the perimeter ? keeping bad guys on the outside from getting to systems on the inside.
Often, Justice Department analysts and law enforcement officials share what they know about narcotics dealers and terrorists by trading e-mails. But this informal information exchange can be messy: E-mail servers quickly fill up with duplicate copies sent to multiple recipients. No one is usually tasked with keeping a central repository of all the documents and the comments they generate.
	Rotomotion LLC, Mount Pleasant, S.C., has introduced a series of basic autonomous helicopters that can be controlled with a laptop computer. The price for an unmanned helicopter with a flight control system runs about $15,000. The flight system alone, which can be fitted onto an existing helicopter platform, costs $5,500, and includes operator training. For more information, see http://www.rotomotion.com.
	The police department of Mesquite, Texas, is testing a new wireless application from Sierra Wireless Inc., Richmond, British Columbia, that tracks and assists police officers in the field. The Mesquite police force covers 397 miles of streets and highways. Using this solution, officers can review mug shots and file reports from the field. The solution combines global positioning system-based location reporting with dispatch and mapping software and a global system for mobile communications-based modem. The system operates on a nationwide GSM cellular network from AT&T Corp., Bedminster, N.J.
	The secure instant messaging technology offered by Bantu Inc., Washington, is being used in the Federal Emergency Management Agency's portal for first responders, DisasterHelp (https://disasterhelp. gov). More than 4 million users can log in to the portal's instant messaging box and search for experts in areas such as chemical toxicity, biological threats or hazardous materials. Also, the instant messaging system can alert users when emergencies take place.
The Air Force 45th Space Communications Squadron cut the time it spends backing up data from 12 hours to just two and one-half hours by installing a storage area network.
Few government employees spend more time away from their desks than members of Congress. They're always on the move, often racing between meetings with committees, constituents and colleagues. Keeping them abreast of the latest schedule changes, memos, press meetings and volumes upon volumes of policy updates is a challenge for their staffs.
In June, the Defense Department awarded TranTech Inc., Alexandra, Va., a $9 million contract to build an asset management system to hold digital images, audio, video and other documents.
