Targeting agency branch offices, Boise, Idaho-based EmergeCore Networks LLC has released a network appliance that serves as a combination application server, switch, firewall, router and wireless access point.
	Through Defense Department funding, ASI Technology Corp. of Henderson, Nev., has developed a prototype of an ionized, gas-based antenna that produces less electromagnetic interference than metal antennas, opening a potential market for stealthy and point-to-point radio applications.
Managing the development of a large, complex system can itself be a complex task. Chains of responsibility need to be charted and followed. Every time a change is made, appropriate personnel, in a specific order, need to approve it -- some of who may be located thousands of miles apart. Program managers need to know the status of all the tasks under way to understand how the project, as a whole, is progressing.
Last year was yet another "best of times, worst of times" for handheld computing. Better times may or may not be in store this year, but better products almost certainly are.
The release of Microsoft Corp's new server operating system is being pitched to integrators as a way to save money on fixed-price contracts, the company claims.
As the price of videoconferencing technologies has dropped, Craig Reichenbach has seen their use rise in the federal government. The technology has improved so much that now the U.S. military is using secure videoconferencing units in the field.
Grid networking solution provider United Devices Inc., Austin, Texas, has released three new services to help organizations adapt grid networks. Grid Discovery is an assessment tool that can determine how a group can best harness its existing IT resources to a grid framework. The Grid Explorer partner program will help a vendor grid-enable an application. Grid Navigator is a training and referral partnership program for small to mid-sized consultants and systems integrators. For more information see http://www.ud.com/<BR>
	Three employees of IT services company McDonald Bradley Inc., Herndon, Va., have published a book about the Java programming language. Recently released by Hoboken, N.J.-based publisher John Wiley and Sons Inc., "More Java Pitfalls: 50 New Time-Saving Solutions and Workarounds" was written by Michael Daconta, chief scientist of McDonald Bradley's advanced programs group; Donald Avondolio, senior architect developer; and Kevin Smith, principal software architect. W. Clay Richardson is also a co-author. "More Java Pitfalls" is the ninth book Daconta has published, including "Java Pitfalls," published in 2000. This book, like its predecessor, identifies the weakness and quirks in Java.
	The National Institute of Standards and Technology has started a program for certifying new agency systems as secure. The Certification and Accreditation Program will develop the standards and establish a network of accredited organizations to provide security certification services. Ron Ross, who leads the new program, said these standards could be used to evaluate systems from as small as an office network to as large and complex as an agencywide financial system. The Office of Management and Budget Circular A-130 requires agencies to use an accreditation officer to certify that a new system is secure and that any misuse would not compromise the agency's mission.
Two new efforts to certify the security capabilities of open-source products show an increasing interest among federal agencies to use the software for mission-critical work.
Not long ago, tape storage technology seemed to be on its way out. The growing demands of electronic storage ? for imaging, multimedia, streaming video and other data-intensive applications ? led people to question whether older generations of tape drives and libraries could compete with fast-growing optical technologies. But recent technological developments have helped tape libraries regain their status in large enterprises.
A massive surveillance system designed by Raytheon Co. to protect Brazil's Amazon Jungle against illegal mining and other ecological threats could play a similar role in protecting U.S. borders and ports of entry. It's a "truly unique" program that is the first of its kind to be national in scope, according to Raytheon business development manager Philip Marshall.
Mark Seager, a contracting officer at the Energy Department's Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, will change the wording in the next solicitation he issues for servers. In previous purchases, Seager specified the particular make of processors to be used in the servers, often naming market leader Intel Corp., Santa Clara, Calif. But an eager challenger, Advanced Micro Devices Inc., has produced a microprocessor that could serve just as well, if not better, for the needed servers.
The House Science Committee has approved a bill establishing a National Nanotechnology Research and Development Program, authorizing $2.4 billion over the next three years.
As the use of open-source software, such as Linux, increases in the public sector, commercial and government agencies are taking steps to obtain credentials necessary for open source use in high-security environments.<br>
Advanced Micro Devices Inc. says its Opteron 64-bit processor can open new markets for systems integrators in high-performance computing, migration services and server consolidation.
Video. It's not just for television anymore.And the National Association of Broadcasters' annual convention isn't just about TV and radio. Video is increasingly being integrated into enterprise applications: for training, security, videoconferencing, distance learning and staff communications. Thanks to streaming media and desktop video ? along with the handheld videophone coverage seen during recent war coverage ? video is joining data and voice services as essential components of the total digital environment.
