Search

The abstract says about the power and potential of virtual reality. The filmmaker Chris Milk arrives at the conclusion that virtual reality removes borders with technology. He develops the idea of education, entertainment, and social interaction with this nascent technology.

The article looks at the challenges facing U.S. communities and what can be done to provide the needed remedies. According to a report by the National League of Cities (NLC), the unprecedented economic conditions facing the country are increasingly straining the ability of cities to meet their financial needs. A list of changes that U.S. cities and counties have been facing is presented such as climate change and the rise in extreme weather events.

An interview with District of Columbia chief technology officer Vivek Kundra is presented. When asked on some of the new approaches he introduced in Washington, D.C., he mentions lowering the cost of government operations by moving toward consumer technologies rather than technologies focused within the enterprise and information technology (IT) governance. He describes his approach to running IT projects. He also cites some examples of public data that he made available.

An interview with John Davies, vice president of Intel's World Ahead program, is presented. When asked about the aim of their program, he says that they want to connect and bring out the latest technology to the world. He explains that they focus on four areas which include the devices, particularly, computers. The second pillar is connection, while the third pillar is education and the fourth is content. He stresses that World Ahead intends to extend broadband and computer access worldwide.

Features several individuals included in the Top 25 for 2004 of the journal "Government Technology" in the U.S. Views of Eric Anderson, city manager, Des Moines, Iowa, on information technology (IT); Technology challenge facing Donetta Davidson, Colorado's secretary of state; IT projects of the Center for Technology in Government under the leadership of Sharon Dawes, its director.

Examines state strategies that develop an enterprise architecture in the U.S. Results of the establishment of information systems in South Dakota; Role of the South Dakota Bureau of Information and Telecommunications in the Virtual Enterprise U-Government initiative in South Dakota; Electronic government strategies that form the enterprise information technology management framework in Colorado.

Interviews Paul Kurtz, executive director of Cyber Security Industry Alliance. Assessment on the current state of cyber-security; Information on the Cyber Security Industry Alliance; Plan of the organization for local and state governments in the U.S.

Discusses the best practices recommendations for information system integration in the U.S. Department of Justice by SEARCH, the National Consortium for Justice Information and Statistics. Advantages of adopting the practice; Importance of standardization; Barriers to integration.

Interviews Public Technology Inc. (PTI) president Costis Toregas about orgware, which refers to the amount of taxpayer money and resources needed to support technology in the U.S. Interests of Toregas in technology and the public sector; History of PTI; Achievements in the company.

Profiles several executives and government officials who implemented innovative ideas in information technology that improved citizen services and public safety in the U.S. as of March 2004 according to "Government Technology." Michael Bloomberg, mayor of New York City; David Boyd, director of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security; William Bratton, chief of police in Los Angeles, California.

Interviews economist Joseph Stiglitz on politics, globalization and the U.S. economy. Management of globalization; Views on job losses in the U.S. due to outsourcing; Importance of increased transparency in the government; Comments on the relationship between markets and government.

Interviews Steve Heard, chief executive officer of The Futures Channel. Discussion on whether the primary focus on professions is being changed by technology; Importance of teacher retraining; Information on how educational systems could better incorporate new technology.

Interviews writer and director George Lucas. Ways education can be improved to better suit the emerging high technology culture; Goals of the George Lucas Educational Foundation; Insights on the actual collaboration for the Digital Age.

Interviews Richard Anthes, president of University Corporation for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado. Information on how science and technology are changing the demand for the work force; Impact of the retirement of baby boomers on the scientific community; Importance of leadership in terms of a scientific enterprise description.

Interviews professor Donna Shirley, who has taught a course on managing creativity at the University of Oklahoma College of Engineering. Career background; Awards received; Observations of Shirley on how science and technology are changing the demand for the work force; Discussion on whether engineers have to be complete businessmen capable of fitting into a global enterprise; Skills that will be needed for the 21st century.

Discusses the evolution of careers. Characteristics of the post-industrial work force; Description of post-industrialism; Different perspectives on work force challenges offered by the shift in thinking.

Explains that WLAN administrators must keep up with evolving standards of Wi-Fi security to deal with the increasing sophistication of malicious hackers. Highlights of the Wi-Fi Planet Expo, a trade show for WLAN vendors held in San Jose, California in December 2003; Details of vulnerabilities of wired equivalent privacy (WEP), an old Wi-Fi security standard; Wi-Fi security aspects that must be considered by WLAN administrators; Function of a new certification called WPA2 in Wi-Fi network security; Information on Wi-Fi hacking tools. INSET: Guide to Wi-Fi Hacking Tools.

Discusses how Cerritos, California came to be the first municipality in the U.S. to be completely covered by Wi-Fi wireless technology. Reasons for providing broadband technology to Cerritos; Actions taken by the city council in pursuing a wireless solution; Difficulties met by the project; Actions taken by Aiirmesh Wireless in installing the Wi-Fi.

The article focuses on the emergency operations center (EOC) in the U.S. The EOC is a government sector that responds to terrorist attacks, natural disasters, and man-made threats. Because of interoperability issues, the concept of a fusion center arise, which is to get the agencies to coordinate with one another for a more effective approach to hazards. Chicago's Crime Prevention Information Center (CPIC) provides police the exact location of possible crimes and video monitoring by installing cameras across the state.

An introduction to a report on the work of the Digital Communities Law Enforcement Information Technology Task Force is presented.

The article presents answers to a question on the most influential historical feud and discusses topics such as Christianity and Islam, the rivalry between King Henry VIII of England and King Francis I of France, and the schism between Founding Fathers Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson.

The article discusses the concept of communities. According to the author, social networking, which is considered as the new Internet phenomena at present, portrays the idea of community. Melissa Leong explained that a group of people with same interests is now considered as community. On the other hand, before, a community is incorporated with a place or religous groups. He claims that local governments should interfere in the deterioration of community.

Reports on the development of the chicagocrime.org Web site by Adrian Holovaty to improve access to Chicago Police Department's crime information in Illinois. Features of the Web site; Source of crime reports in the site; Technicalities of the Web site development.

Provides information on the implication of the enactment of the Uniform Real Property Recording Act (URPERA) in August 2004 for state governments and real-estate transactions in the U.S. Factors that prompted the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws to release the URPERA; States that have enacted legislation based on the act; Adjustment of fraud provisions under the 1999 Uniform Electronic Transactions Act.

Focuses on the efforts of the Texas Department of Information Resources to investigate the approach of the Western States Contracting Alliance to secure discounts on information technology products. Overview of the approach; Strategy of the agency for defining standard configurations to avail discounts; Benefits offered by the Buyer Alerts program established by the agency.

Focuses on the use of satellite imagery and geographic information system in controlling the spread of tamarisks in Kearny County, Kansas as of May 2005. Characteristics and functions of tamarisks; Problems associated with the spread of tamarisks; Components in managing tamarisks.

Features CityGIS, a geographic information system (GIS) platform developed by Digital Map Products that is accessible through the Internet with a simple browser interface. Number of local governments and agencies in the U.S. that use CityGIS applications; Benefit of CityGIS to smaller entities; Comments from Irene Marcote, the engineering technician of San Juan Capistrano, California; Functionality features.

Reports on the controversy over Virginia's proposal to use radio frequency identification tags for drivers' licenses. Issues raised regarding the proposal; Suggestion from the Programming Policy Institute regarding the introduction of chips to drivers' licenses; Possibilities for the proposal to be superseded by the anti-terrorism bill passed and signed by U.S. President George W. Bush in December 2004.

Explores the geographic information systems-based TaxMatch automated system used in South Dakota. Challenges in computing sales tax faced by the state; Benefits of the system for businesses; Factors which led to the development of the TaxMatch system.

Reports on the use of online services by the public to avoid or contest parking tickets in different states in the U.S. Complaints of the public against parking tickets; Features of the Alarm System software program launched in 1993; Introduction of a Web site for contesting and appealing parking tickets.

Provides information on the use of geographic information systems (GIS) by the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) transit operation in California. Details of the BART system; Views of Carissa Goldner, a computer-aided design administrator, on the reaction of BART police to the use of GIS; Functions of the track safety information added to GIS.

Focuses on the efforts of the California Geographic Information System (GIS) Council to develop an integrated statewide GIS. Results of a survey of states on effective GIS management conducted by the National States Geographic Information Council; Challenges faced by government officials in developing GIS policies; Priorities of the GIS council.

Focuses on Cybersettle, an online claims settlement system being used in New York City. Information on the average number of annual legal claims being filed against the city; Importance of the system to the city's Comptroller's Office; Information on how the idea for the system was conceptualized in 1995.