U-Z

U.S. Conference of Mayors Applaud Internet Access Program

The U.S. Conference of Mayors recognized Verizon today for creating an Internet access program that enables more than 13,000 Elizabeth, N.J., residents to access the Web.

At a Conference of Mayors meeting in Washington, Verizon was praised for its partnership with the city of Elizabeth. Under a program called Innovative Access -- Expanding Opportunities and Creating Effective Services, Verizon provided more than $200,000 in computer equipment and deeply discounted Internet access rates for the city's libraries. The city, in turn, is making Internet access available to tens of thousands of residents, including more than 13,000 who are participating in the Innovative Access program at the libraries.

The Elizabeth Main Public Library installed 200 computer stations throughout the building. All are networked through the Innovative Access program.

Details Here: www.govtech.com/gt/articles/255592?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=link

first published week of:   01/21/2008

UC Berkeley Project Captures Real-Time Traffic Information Using GPS Enabled Mobile Device

Nokia and UC Berkeley researchers last week tested technology that could soon transform the way drivers navigate through congested highways and obtain information about road conditions. One hundred cars equipped with the GPS-enabled Nokia N95, and driven by students from the University of California, traveled a 10-mile stretch of highway near San Francisco to show how real-time traffic information can be collected from the GPS feed, while preserving the privacy of the devices' owners.

The experiment was carried out to test the traffic data collection and aggregation system, while studying the trade-offs between data accuracy, personal privacy and data collection costs. The software aggregating the GPS feeds immediately disassociates that data from an individual device and combines it with the general stream of traffic data. To protect privacy, all data is anonymous and aggregated, and protected by banking-grade encryption

During the experiment, special software on the mobile devices periodically sent anonymous speed and location readings from the integrated GPS to servers. The feeds were then combined to create a real-time picture of traffic speeds and projected travel times.

Details Here: www.govtech.com/gt/articles/264236?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=link

first published week of:   02/11/2008

URISA's GISCorps Working on Myanmar (Burma) Cyclone Recovery Efforts

On May 9, 2008, URISA's GISCorps began the process of recruiting and identifying volunteers to assist with the compilation of infrastructure damage data in the Cyclone Nargis affected areas in Myanmar (Burma).

By May 12, 20 volunteers were recruited and began working remotely, under the direction of Tom Ponte, a GISCorps volunteer. They are tasked with performing change detection analysis for various features such as roads, buildings, bridges, monasteries, etc. from the Google Earth environment.

Details Here: www.govtech.com/gt/articles/323386?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=link

first published week of:   05/12/2008

US Air Force to China: Our geeks can beat up your geeks

In a recent interview in Foreign Policy, former US cybersecurity czar Richard Clark discussed the US military’s forthcoming Air Force Cyber Command (more below) and the nation's overall security picture in the global, networked knowledge economy. Clark’s concern is not that we'll have an earth-shaking, stupor-dispelling Internet version of 9/11 or Pearl Harbor, but that we won’t. Instead, Clark fears that a steady, silent bleed of public- and private-sector secrets will weaken the US military and economy.

“What is happening every day is quite devastating, even though it doesn’t have a kinetic impact and there are no body bags,” Clark told Foreign Policy. “What’s happening every day is that all of our information is being stolen. So, we pay billions of dollars for research and development, both in the government and the private sector, for engineering, for pharmaceuticals, for bioengineering, genetic stuff--all sorts of proprietary, valuable information that is the result of spending a lot of money on R&D--and all that information gets stolen for one one-thousandth of the cost that it took to develop it.“

Details Here: arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080405-us-air-force-cybering-with-china.html

first published week of:   04/07/2008

USFA and DOT Complete Study of Traffic Incident Management Systems

The U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) and the U.S. Department of Transportation's (DOT) Federal Highway Administration, working in partnership with the International Fire Service Training Association (IFSTA), have developed a report that provides technical guidance and training programs in traffic incident management for fire and emergency service providers. The report, Traffic Incident Management Systems (TIMS), contains guidance for local-level fire departments on compliance with the DOT's Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices and the National Fire Service Incident Management System (IMS) Consortium's Model Procedures Guide for Highway Incidents.

Details Here: www.govtech.com/gt/articles/325013?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=link

first published week of:   05/26/2008

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