East London Embraces Tech

When Eventbrite, a start–up based in San Francisco that sells tickets online, decided to open its first international office, the founders turned to the East End of London.

The British capital offered a thriving music and theater scene, a large work force of young, multilingual college graduates and easy access to both the Asian and North American markets. In October, the technology company moved into a converted jewelry workshop in Saffron Hill, a district that was notorious for crime in the 19th century and inspired Fagin’s Den in “Oliver Twist.”

“London will be our hub for the rest of Europe,” said Renaud Visage, a co–founder of Eventbrite who splits his time among the Bay Area, London and Paris. “It’s a natural progression for U.S. start–ups to move to the U.K., then expand further afield.”

Once a rundown area dominated by derelict warehouses and manufacturing sites, East London has emerged as a mini version of Silicon Valley, attracting hundreds of technology and new media start–ups.

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first published week of:   12/05/2011

Economics of E-Government Services Are Far From Simple

When constituents serve themselves online, government agencies can offer more services at less expense  — at least that’s the theory. And it’s an appealing one in this budget-slashing era as governments impose furloughs, cut staff and reduce office hours.

The next logical step, it would seem, is to give citizens incentives to skip the service counters and use e-government portals instead. Some governments do. In Virginia, for example, renewing a one-year vehicle registration online costs $1 less than renewing in person or by mail.

In truth, however, the financial implications of e-government are far more complex than they appear. Online services may save a government money and can even create new revenue streams — but they also may generate new costs. And while some governments reward citizens for choosing the self-service option, others charge more for online payments.

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first published week of:   01/24/2011

EFF Urges California Court to Grant Public Access to Electronic Mapping Data

Last week, EFF joined a coalition of public interest and media groups in filing an amicus brief (pdf) urging a California Court of Appeal to uphold the public’s right to access electronic files created and stored by local governments. The case, Sierra Club v. Superior Court, focuses on the public’s right to access geographic information system (GIS) basemaps created by local governments in California.

GIS basemaps integrate basic property information such as parcel boundaries, addresses, and other property data. Additional information can then be “layered” on top of the basemaps, enabling users to understand, interpret, and visualize data in ways that simply aren't possible through the rows and columns of a spreadsheet. Individuals and organizations then use these maps for a variety of innovative purposes — for example, scientists use them, journalists and the media use them, and public interest organizations use them.

The Sierra Club filed a request under the California Public Records Act (CPRA) for Orange County’s property information — information the County used and maintained in a GIS format. The Sierra Club requested the GIS basemap as part of its mission to protect open spaces in California: using the basemaps, the Sierra Club makes detailed maps of proposed real estate developments and suggests possible alternatives to those developments. The County, however, refused to turn over the information in the requested GIS format, despite its obligation under California law to provide public records in “any electronic format in which it holds the information.” Instead, the County offered to provide the property information in a pdf, even though the County already had the information available in GIS format.

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first published week of:   01/24/2011

EPA Moving to Virtual Desktop Technology

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is taking federal IT standardization efforts to heart, with a plan to deploy virtual desktops for up to 12,000 concurrent users in the next three years.

Last month the agency awarded a five-year, $25 million contract to Accelera Solutions, a virtualization solutions provider, to help standardize its IT architecture and provide the virtual technology. At the end of the contract, potentially more than 19,000 EPA employees will be able to work in a virtual desktop environment.

Joe Brown, president of Accelera Solutions, said that a couple of small pilot programs that involved about 50 people at the EPA were done over the last year, calling the pilots “proof of concept” and a way to show how a virtualized desktop environment would work. The pilots were well received, which ultimately led to EPA’s decision to move forward.

“They had people going off in a bunch of different directions with technology and viewpoints on how things should be rolled out,target="_blank" Brown recalled. “So we got together with the EPA headquarters to develop a standard blueprint through some pilots … and had [EPA officials] decide on a standard architecture that we could develop a contract around.”

With the contract in place, Accelera is planning to launch a larger pilot plan focused on customizing the virtual desktops to meet some business requirements during the next two months. According to Brown, the total number of users will be around 300-400 for the new pilot. He anticipates approximately 1,000 people will be using the virtualized technology by the end of the 2012 fiscal year.

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first published week of:   08/15/2011

FAA puts IT projects on fast track
CIO says IT projects in fiscal 2011 and 2012 will have six-month deadlines

The Federal Aviation Administration is slowly saying good-bye to IT projects that take several years to deliver results, and is instead assigning select projects a six-month deadline, according to a senior official.  Steven Cooper, CIO of FAA’s Air Traffic Organization, said any project his agency starts in fiscal 2011 or fiscal 2012 will take less than six months to deliver “tangible business value, as defined by a designated business value owner.”

Cooper, speaking at an event today hosted by the Association of Management Consulting Firms, said the six-month deadline is absolute. As a result, he has told his team they may “de-scope” requirements if necessary to meet the deadline.

“We’re going at that directly…keep requirements at a minimum,” Cooper said. “We’re not trying to cram three-year or five-year programs into six months.”

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first published week of:   03/07/2011

Facial Recognition Technology Spurs Privacy Concerns for Feds

Facial recognition software is increasingly being used by both the public and law enforcement. But while the benefits, such as assisting police and federal agencies to keep criminals off the streets, are obvious, at least one member of Congress is concerned about privacy ramifications from the rapidly advancing technology.

According to various news reports, Sen. John D. Rockefeller IV, D–W.Va., asked the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) on Wednesday, Oct. 19, for a report on the security impacts of facial recognition technology. Rockefeller, who is the chairman of the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, asked for the FTC’s recommendations by Feb. 9, 2012.

“As in many fast growing and changing sectors, public policy has not kept pace with the development of this sort of technology,” Rockefeller wrote in a letter to FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz. “The privacy concerns are evident. As the Commerce Committee considers privacy legislation in the future, we will need to understand the capabilities of this technology as well as the privacy and security concerns raised by their development.”

Rockefeller’s request is timely, as the FTC is holding a free workshop on Dec. 8 to address facial recognition technology concerns and privacy implications. The workshop will feature guests from consumer protection organizations, academics and business as well as industry representatives and privacy professionals.

Details Here

first published week of:   10/24/2011

Volume 31

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