Numbers certainly rule The National Aeronautic Space Association’s (NASA) universe. When it comes to solving complex formulas to calculate the orbit of a Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the exact second when space particles disappear into a black hole, or the amount of oxygen needed for human life to orbit the moon, they have it down to a tee. NASA has developed some of the worlds’ most complex tools and mathematical formulas that have helped the agency lead the world in space-related technological innovation.
GAO Reports Highlight Continued Deficiencies in IT Reporting
The federal government is expected to spend $81 billion in information technology (IT) in fiscal year 2014. Management and effectively monitoring IT investments is critical during this time when budgets are constrained by sequestration.
Where’s Your Data?
Radio shock jock Doug “The Greaseman” Tracht in the 1980s and funny man Dennis Miller in the ’90s had a shared catch-phrase, “Who’s your daddy?” that evolved into a taunting expression of superiority over the respondent. The familiar adage, “knowledge is power,” evokes another dynamic, wherein access to information is critical. Inquiring taxpayers would therefore want to know, “Where’s my data?”
Freeing Up Government Held Spectrum
On December 11, 2013, the House Energy and Commerce Committee voted to approve a bi-partisan measure that would provide incentives to federal agencies to free up more spectrum. The federal government is the largest holder of spectrum below the 3 GHz range. According to the National Telecommunications and Information Agency, the U.S. government currently has […]
Public Utility Model Doesn’t Hold Traction for Broadband
On November 4, 2013, a study released by Reason Foundation found that government-owned broadband networks (GONs) do not provide the value that cities and towns hope to achieve. According to the study, which focused primarily on the Lafayette Utility Service (LUS) in Lafayette, Louisiana, plans for broadband GONs are developed using the same budgeting model […]
Court Begins Hearing on Net Neutrality
The notion of equality on the Internet may sound reasonable, but net neutrality, as defined by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), is instead an attack on private-sector business models. Proponents of net neutrality want the online world to be forced “open” at the expense of successful Internet providers, but fail to recognize the many tradeoffs to “openness,” such as increased spam, fewer privacy controls, slower service, and, perhaps most importantly, decreased incentives for investment and innovation.
The Brave New World of Intellectual Piracy
By any standard, the Pirates of the Caribbean have nothing on the antics of the pirates of India. An April 2013 Indian Supreme Court decision has handed over the keys to the castle, and declared open season on pirating intellectual property (IP). The booty in that case was for a drug to treat cancer that was developed by Novartis, a Swiss drug manufacturer. The decision opens the door for future denials of drug patents and IP infringement for other industries.
CAGW’s Prime Cuts Hones in On Programmatic Waste
Every year, Citizens Against Government Waste produces Prime Cuts, a comprehensive list of spending cuts that could be used by Congress to reduce spending and keep the budget under the Budget Control Act spending caps. Here are just a few of the programs CAGW includes in its Prime Cuts report. Eliminate the Rural Utilities Service 1-Year […]
Private Sector Solution to Digital Literacy
As students return to school this fall, they are finding that their teachers are using technology tools, such as online curriculums and textbooks, and assigning online homework more frequently. Today, virtually all schools and libraries are connected to the Internet. However, once the school day has ended, students may find a different picture when they […]
Summer Retransmission Dispute Heats Up
In the midst of the summer doldrums, a broadcaster and a multi-channel video programming distributor (MVPD) are battling over retransmission fees with consumers suffering the consequences. The parties this time are CBS and Time Warner Cable (TWC), with millions of viewers across the country losing access to shows such as “NCIS,” “The Big Bang Theory,” and “Under the Dome.”