Everything's Social

Latest Updates: government RSS

• 

  Google Releases 'Google Apps for Government'

  JP 11:49 am on July 29, 2010 | 0 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: google (193), google apps (4), government, Los Angeles (6), mail accounts (6), mobile apps (5), nbsp (1,691), Orlando (3), Read (1,473), U.S. (109)

  Filed under: Google, Web

  Google’s mobile apps have long provided normal clients with an easy way to manage their e-mail accounts, calendars and personal data. Now, though, the company is turning its attention toward the public sector, with a new set of Google Apps for Government.

  Designed with guidance from the federal government and the city governments of Los Angeles and Orlando, the new apps include many of the same features available on normal Google apps, along with extra quirks to meet the specific needs of government workers. Public servants at the local, state or national level will now be able to use Google Apps for Government to store their Gmail and Calendar data in an exclusive, cloud-based format in the continental U.S. Because the apps don’t require users to install or maintain extra software, the company is confident that the system will provide an easy and cost-effective alternative to traditional data maintenance.

  Continue reading Google Releases ‘Google Apps for Government’

  Google Releases ‘Google Apps for Government’ originally appeared on Switched on Tue, 27 Jul 2010 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

  Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

  
   

  Reply Click here to cancel reply.

  Name (required)

  Email (required)

  Web Site

   
• 

  Pakistani Government Plans to Monitor Google, YouTube for 'Blasphemous Material'

  JP 1:46 am on June 29, 2010 | 0 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: government, information (9), major search engines, ministry of information technology, Mohammed Day (2), nbsp (1,691), Pakistan (6), pakistani government, Read (1,473)

  Filed under: Web, Social Networking

  

  The Facebook-fueled, ‘Everybody Draw Mohammed Day’ controversy may have subsided, but the Pakistani government is still doing its best to make sure it never flares up again. According to Reuters, Pakistan’s Ministry of Information Technology has placed seven major websites under stronger governmental surveillance in an attempt to guarantee that none of the sites contain “blasphemous material.” Pakistan’s list of flagged sites includes heavy hitters like Google, YouTube and Yahoo!, while Facebook and Twitter are conspicuous in their absence.

  Latif Khosa, an IT adviser to the prime minister, confirmed that the agency would not unilaterally block major search engines or websites, for fear of jeopardizing constitutionally guaranteed rights to information. “The constitution of Pakistan ensures access to knowledge, information and education to all citizens of Pakistan. These are the basic rights of the people of Pakistan and Internet is a major source of it,” Khosa says.

  Continue reading Pakistani Government Plans to Monitor Google, YouTube for ‘Blasphemous Material’

  Pakistani Government Plans to Monitor Google, YouTube for ‘Blasphemous Material’ originally appeared on Switched on Mon, 28 Jun 2010 10:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

  Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

  
   
• 

  China Takes Aim at Tibet's Dangerous Photocopiers

  JP 2:03 am on May 26, 2010 | 0 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: AIM (2), China (20), deadly riots, government, government fears, nbsp (1,691), Read (1,473), telephone conversations, Tibet

  Filed under: Computers, Web

  Chinese officials are cracking down on some of the most dangerous technology to fall into Tibetans’ peacefully clasped hands: the photocopier. Lhasa Evening News reported earlier this month that the ruling Chinese government fears that photocopiers may be used to reproduce politically dangerous material, and have begun working on regulating access to the machines by way of copying permits. Print shop owners will also be required to take down the names of their clients and the kinds of documents that they copy.

  According to the New York Times, the Chinese government said that it was implementing the controls in an effort to contain the kind of unrest that led to the deadly riots and protests in the country just over two years ago, during which anywhere from 13 to 100 people were killed (reports were conflicted). Since the riots, over 30 people have been detained for politically subversive artworks, writings, telephone conversations and e-mails.

  Continue reading China Takes Aim at Tibet’s Dangerous Photocopiers

  China Takes Aim at Tibet’s Dangerous Photocopiers originally appeared on Switched on Fri, 21 May 2010 15:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

  Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

  
   
• 

  More Americans Look to the Web for Government Info

  JP 1:48 am on April 30, 2010 | 0 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: adult internet users (2), government, nbsp (1,691), pew internet and american life (4), pew internet and american life project (6), Read (1,473), Web (76)

  Filed under: Cell Phones, Web, Social Networking

  

  As we’ve said before, regardless of your political affiliation, it’s hard to argue with the fact that the Obama administration has helped to usher in the Government 2.0 era. It’s not just the feds, though. Local and state governments are taking tentative steps towards digital transparency too, offering scads of raw data and information via revamped websites. According to a recent survey from the Pew Internet and American Life Project, these new tools aren’t going to waste either, as more and more people are turning to government-run sites to find out about benefits, services, legislation and statistics.

  Perhaps most surprising about the findings is just how many Americans are digging deep into the information available. According to Pew, 40-percent of adult Internet users have used government sites to look at so-called raw data, like unprocessed stats about stimulus spending, the full texts of bills and campaign contribution data. In total, 81-percent of those polled had received information about government policy and programs from the Web, including online videos and social networking services.

  Continue reading More Americans Look to the Web for Government Info

  More Americans Look to the Web for Government Info originally appeared on Switched on Wed, 28 Apr 2010 07:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

  Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

  
   
• 

  More Americans Look to the Web for Government Info

  JP 1:47 am on April 29, 2010 | 0 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: adult internet users (2), government, nbsp (1,691), pew internet and american life (4), pew internet and american life project (6), Read (1,473), Web (76)

  Filed under: Cell Phones, Web, Social Networking

  

  As we’ve said before, regardless of your political affiliation, it’s hard to argue with the fact that the Obama administration has helped to usher in the Government 2.0 era. It’s not just the feds, though. Local and state governments are taking tentative steps towards digital transparency too, offering scads of raw data and information via revamped websites. According to a recent survey from the Pew Internet and American Life Project, these new tools aren’t going to waste either, as more and more people are turning to government-run sites to find out about benefits, services, legislation and statistics.

  Perhaps most surprising about the findings is just how many Americans are digging deep into the information available. According to Pew, 40-percent of adult Internet users have used government sites to look at so-called raw data, like unprocessed stats about stimulus spending, the full texts of bills and campaign contribution data. In total, 81-percent of those polled had received information about government policy and programs from the Web, including online videos and social networking services.

  Continue reading More Americans Look to the Web for Government Info

  More Americans Look to the Web for Government Info originally appeared on Switched on Wed, 28 Apr 2010 07:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

  Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

  
   
• 

  Google Lifts the Veil on Government Requests

  JP 2:36 pm on April 24, 2010 | 0 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: google (193), google map (3), government, government transparency, national governments, nbsp (1,691), Read (1,473)

  Filed under: Google, Web

  

  With its recent steps to increase government transparency, Google may be putting serious pressure on other Internet companies to follow suit, and might even be affecting how nonchalantly governments issue take-down and data requests to such companies.

  The Government Request Tool tallies various national governments’ requests for information from Google, and their calls to remove content from YouTube. The data is embedded in a Google Map, and clicking on a country reveals further details about what specific Google service was targeted, whether or not a court order was involved, and with what percentage of the requests Google complied.

  Continue reading Google Lifts the Veil on Government Requests

  Google Lifts the Veil on Government Requests originally appeared on Switched on Wed, 21 Apr 2010 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

  Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

  
   
• 

  US Government Acknowledges That Piracy Estimates Can't Be Trusted

  JP 10:40 am on April 17, 2010 | 0 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: business software alliance, government, government accountability office (2), ip infringements, nbsp (1,691), piracy, Read (1,473), US (24)

  Filed under: Computers

  

  Quantifying the effect that online piracy has on businesses and copyright holders has always been an inexact science. For years, suspicion has been brewing over the accuracy of estimated losses claimed by software companies, the MPAA and even governmental agencies. Yesterday, though, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) finally admitted to the scientific shortcomings of many common estimates, and determined that it’s generally “difficult, if not impossible, to quantify the economy-wide impacts” that digital piracy inflicts.

  In a report that examined the “efforts to quantify the economic effects of counterfeit and pirated goods,” the GAO found that even industry-specific studies are prone to significant quantitative uncertainty, simply because “the illicit nature of counterfeiting and piracy makes estimating the economic impact of IP infringements extremely difficult.” The study also acknowledged the inherently problematic process of determining what exactly constitutes a “lost sale.” The Business Software Alliance, for example, has long assumed equivalence between individual downloads and lost sales. As the GAO points out, though, this kind of presumptive substitution technique ultimately rests upon “assumptions… which can have enormous impacts on the resulting estimates.”

  Continue reading US Government Acknowledges That Piracy Estimates Can’t Be Trusted

  US Government Acknowledges That Piracy Estimates Can’t Be Trusted originally appeared on Switched on Wed, 14 Apr 2010 10:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

  Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

  
   
• 

  White House Claims Government's Technology Is Outdated

  JP 11:54 am on January 18, 2010 | 0 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: Bill Burton, government, nbsp (1,691), Peter Orszag, President Obama (20), Read (1,473), tax payer dollars, technology (7), The Hill, Washington (15), washington bureaucracy

  Filed under: Cell Phones, Computers, Web

  

  Political blog The Hill may have called the recent announcement by Peter Orszag, the White House budget director, that the government is saddled with “outdated technology” a “startling admission,” but it sounds to us like old news. As of January 2008, the Bureau of Indian Affairs still lacked Internet access, and during the transition from campaign to presidency Obama spokesman Bill Burton described it as, “going from an Xbox to an Atari.”

  According to Orszag, that outdated technology is a big reason why the government is often inefficient and ineffective. His statement was part of the kickoff for a summit between President Obama, his administration, and CEOs of several major technology companies. The goal of the summit is to develop a plan to shore up the existing technology gap that results in billions of wasted tax payer dollars.

  Of course, by the time any resulting initiatives manage to navigate the Washington bureaucracy the new technology being implemented will already be obsolete. [From: The Hill]

  White House Claims Government’s Technology Is Outdated originally appeared on Switched.com on Sun, 17 Jan 2010 12:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

  Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

  
   
• 

  Government Reportedly Storing Comments on Social Networking Pages

  JP 1:55 am on September 19, 2009 | 0 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: Act, congressional oversight, government, nbsp (1,691), oversight committee, private contractor, Read (1,473), United States (15)

  Filed under: Web, Social Networking

  

  The Presidential Records Act of 1978 ensures public access to government documents so that United States citizens can be aware of the actions of the nation’s highest office. According to the Washington Times, the government is asserting that the same act enables the White House to have access to statements made by the public. More specifically, the Act apparently allows the government to monitor and store comments, notes, photos, and videos posted to sites that host a White House page (i.e., Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, Flickr, Vimeo, YouTube, and Slideshare).

  Because the Act applies specifically to public comments “received by the President or the immediate staff,” it’s still not clear as to exactly what information, posted by whom, would be susceptible to monitoring. All of the aforementioned are third-party sites, after all. Although some folks, possibly in hopes of inspiring vitriol and paranoia, may suggest that a nefarious Obama is hiding in a dark room crawling through everyone’s profiles, the monitoring of the sites is being carried out by a private contractor. Hopefully, some form of congressional oversight committee will be created and more details will emerge soon. Until then, stay tuned, and watch what you say on that White House page. [From: The Washington Times]

  Government Reportedly Storing Comments on Social Networking Pages originally appeared on Switched on Wed, 16 Sep 2009 23:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

  Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

  
   
• 

  U.S. Cyber Challenge Recruits Hackers and Geeks Into Government

  JP 9:35 pm on July 31, 2009 | 0 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: Alan Paller (2), cyber guardians, government, nbsp (1,691), partnership for public service, President Obama (20), Read (1,473), S. Cyber, security (9), U.S. (109), U.S. Cyber

  Filed under: Computers

  

  Sometimes it’s nice to see the government admitting weakness — and even better when it does something about it. Following President Obama’s announcement in May that the U.S. was “not as prepared” as it should be against mass Internet attacks, the Partnership for Public Service has released a study suggesting a need for stronger security on the .gov sites.

  The bottom line was articulated by Alan Paller, director of research at the network and security educational center SANS Institute. Paller explained to CNET: “Now we have people (in government) writing policies and reports about security rather than people who can do it. And we’re getting killed.” So on Monday, federal officials launched the U.S. Cyber challenge, a talent search for 10,000 young Americans who can be “cyber guardians and warriors.” The prize: elite regional training, and a secured place at the NSA, FBI, Defense Department, or another high-profile government agency.

  Continue reading U.S. Cyber Challenge Recruits Hackers and Geeks Into Government

  U.S. Cyber Challenge Recruits Hackers and Geeks Into Government originally appeared on Switched on Wed, 29 Jul 2009 09:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

  Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments