guardiantech + government   15

BYOD won't save you money, says Blackpool ICT chief >> Guardian Government Computing
On the one hand, costs up because there are more calls to the support desk; on the other, fewer desks and more flexible working.
"Local authorities hoping to introduce similar [Bring Your Own Device] schemes should view it as a way of supporting employees and helping to bring about job satisfaction, according to [Blackpool head of ICT services Tony] Doyle.


Thanks @jforbes for the link; note this is where the article originally appeared - on the Guardian's <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/government-computing-network/">Government Computing Network</a>.
byod  government  computing  guardian 
28 days ago by guardiantech
Government launches Digital Advisory Board >> Computer Weekly
The government has created a Digital Advisory Board (DAB) of industry IT heads and academics to support its digital by default agenda.</p><p>

The board will be chaired by UK digital champion Martha Lane Fox and will meet twice a year to advise the Cabinet Office’s Government Digital Service (GDS) on the accessibility of online services, as they are rolled out across Whitehall departments.
government  data 
4 weeks ago by guardiantech
Putting APIs first: legislation.gov.uk >> Government Digital Service
We are inviting people from outside The National Archives to work with us, to apply changes to the legislation in the database. Quality is maintained through our editorial practice and a stringent process of review. It is an exciting time as private sector companies are now investing, employing people to work with us to bring the database up to date and to maintain it.


Really interesting. Build the API first, make the API available, get people involved. And you think government is behind the times?
charlesarthur  government  internet  opendata 
8 weeks ago by guardiantech
40% of US government Web sites fail security test >> Network World
Approximately 40% of federal government agencies are out of compliance with a regulation that requires them to deploy an extra layer of authentication on their Web sites to prevent hackers from hijacking Web traffic and redirecting it to bogus sites.

It's been more than two years since federal agencies were required to support DNS Security Extensions (DNSSEC) on their Web sites. However, two recent studies indicate that around 40% of federal Web sites have not yet deployed this Internet security standard.


Faintly depressing.
security  government  hacking 
10 weeks ago by guardiantech
The Department of Homeland Security is searching your Facebook and Twitter for these words >> Animal New York
Safety theatre, of sorts:
The Department of Homeland Security monitors your updates on social networks, including Facebook and Twitter, to uncover “Items Of Interest” (IOI), according to an internal DHS document released by the EPIC. That document happens to include a list of the baseline terms for which the DHS–or more specifically, a DHS subcontractor hired to monitor social networks–use to generate real-time IOI reports.
facebook  government  privacy  twitter 
february 2012 by guardiantech
U.S. government, military to get secure Android phones - CNN.com
Bad news for RIM?
Some US officials this year are expected to get smartphones capable of handling classified government documents over cellular networks, according to people involved in the project.

The phones will run a modified version of Google's Android software, which is being developed as part of an initiative that spans multiple federal agencies and government contractors, these people said.


So, another Android fork. It's not quite a win for Google - more a win for the US government. But for RIM, which has for ages had so much of the US government business, it's not good news.
android  government 
february 2012 by guardiantech
MPs want changes to ePetitions system and website >> eDemocracyBlog.com
Basically, to water it down and have debates that arise from them shoved out of the Commons chamber.
edemocracy  government  epetitions 
january 2012 by guardiantech
MegaUpload Indictment in full >> Scribd
All 72 pages. If you found you couldn't get it from the US Department of Justice site for some reason...
megaupload  copyright  government 
january 2012 by guardiantech
Changes to the DFID website >> Department for International Development
"The homepage of the projects database has a new look. There is a list of our latest projects and the most recently published project documents, including new business cases. You can search by sector and keyword, or by finding a country on the world map.
When you view a project, instead of just seeing the title and description, you now see a colourful pie chart showing the project budget by sector. Hover over each sector with your mouse to see the latest budget for that sector. This is an excellent way of illustrating how DFID-funded projects can target a variety of priorities."

What's not visible is the number of very smart people who are working in the background to get more and more government websites not just up to date, but to incorporate some future vision.
freeourdata  opendata  web  government  from delicious
december 2011 by guardiantech
Open Source Procurement Toolkit >> Cabinet Office
"The Government first set out its policy on the use of open source in 2004. This was restated in both 2009 and 2010.

The Government ICT Strategy states that “Where appropriate, Government will procure open source solutions.”

To support this, Action 3 of the Strategy says that “To create a level playing field for the use of innovative ICT solutions, the Government will publish a toolkit for procurers on best practice for evaluating the use of open source solutions.”

"The following set of documents make up that toolkit…The purpose of this toolkit is to ensure that there is a level playing field for open source and proprietary software and that some of the myths associated with open source are dispelled.

"It is intended for those who need to consider, evaluate or procure open source solutions as well as anyone just wanting to know more about open source."

We strongly suspect this is the work of Liam Maxwell. In which case he has moved fast. This bodes well.
charlesarthur  opensource  government  freeourdata  opendata  from delicious
november 2011 by guardiantech
UK Central Government and Local Authority Public Spending 2012 - ukpublicspending.co.uk
Very nice, although it would be good to be able to drill down to more details such as suppliers. That really would be impressive. And it goes back to 1700. (That's not 5pm.)
opendata  freeourdata  business  data  government  from delicious
september 2011 by guardiantech
Government wants open standards to be royalty-free >> eWEEK Europe UK
"Francis Maude has confirmed that it will adopt royalty-free standards, to deliver a level playing field for open source<br />
"Maude, minister for the Cabinet Office, has clarified the government’s policy on seeking open standards when procuring IT equipment, following confusion over whether “open standards” means Royalty-Free (RF) or Fair, Reasonable and Non-Discriminatory (FRAND).Technologies available under RF conditions, can be used freely, while those under FRAND terms require users to pay a “reasonable” royalty. The HTTP protocol is free, for instance, while technologies for 3G communications are FRAND."<br />
<br />
Important distinction.
charlesarthur  opendata  government  from delicious
september 2011 by guardiantech
If you started today, you would never build what we’ve got. You would build Alphagov >> Neil Williams
"We’re mere days away from the big reveal of Alphagov, the prototype ‘single domain’ website which will set a challenging vision of what a unified, user-focused front end to UK government could look like.<br />
"I’ve been relatively close to the project, from unofficial chats with project lead Tom Loosemore and others in dingy Lambeth North pubs before the thing had a name, to more formal advice lately on how Departments do their digital communications – and how Alphagov could help them do it better. (Though if I’m honest, an index card saying “F*** IE6” is the contribution I’m proudest of).<br />
"Without giving the game away too much, here’s a taste of what’s coming to a browser near you soon, and some speculation on the stir it will surely cause."<br />
<br />
Read on...
charlesarthur  opendata  freeourdata  government  from delicious
may 2011 by guardiantech
A Manhattan Project for online identity >> O'Reilly Radar
"Governments are now faced with complex decisions in how they approach issues of identity, given the stakes for activists in autocracies and the increasing integration of technology into the daily lives of citizens. Governments need ways to empower citizens to identify themselves online to realize both aspirational goals for citizen-to-government interaction and secure basic interactions for commercial purposes."<br />
<br />
Complex hardly begins to describe it.
charlesarthur  security  privacy  government  from delicious
may 2011 by guardiantech

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