Friday, June 13, 2003

More on Tracking Traffic in London Now that London has cut traffic jams by 50% by issuing a congestion charge in the downtown area, some ambitious members of Parliament want to install satellite tracking devices in every vehicle so that they can charge you if you use drive during busier times.  Obviously, some Londoners feel this is pretty intrusive. 3:59:08 PM    comment []

Getting Started with XSLT I mentioned earlier that Utah Interactive is using XSLT to present RSS feeds on the Governor's website as well as on the new Utah.gov portal.  Other agencies and product managers may be interested in this article from XML.com, "What is XSLT?"  It also includes a helpful guide on getting started with XSLT and XPath. State agencies can contact Kerry Huntington with ITS for more information on tools available to create and present RSS feeds. Browser Cam looks like another interesting product for web developers.  Just enter your URL and specify the browsers and operating systems that you would like to view and Browser Com presents you with actual screen capture images.  Eliminates the hassle of cross-browser testing. 2:46:23 PM    comment []

XML, Bonding, and Wireless PDAs For years, I have been trying to elevate the discussion on determining our wireless platform and direction.  Next week, I should be getting a chance to test the Samsung i700.  This device looks like the right direction.  It has an integrated digital camera, higher res monitor, integrated phone with higher speed data access, etc. Here's a review in infosync world.  I would like to see integrated support for Bluetooth and 802.11 so that you don't have to use the single SDIO slot. Several months ago I mentioned the National Environmental Exchange Network.  The June issue of Maine's IS newsletter has an update on the project.  The XML Design Rules are 221 pages and available for comment.  I met yesterday with a group that came together to analyze the status of the State's Medicaid service on the web.  Previously, the effort to create a web presence has been disjointed with various groups doing their own thing with respect to Medicaid services and no central focus.  A new team will bring these efforts together and give focus to the various stakeholders, including clients, providers, employees, advocates, etc.  I expect to see a lot of progress in this area over the next few months. DARPA, the agency that brought you TIA, is now working network centric concepts for a multi-mission combat system that will be overwhelmingly lethal, strategically deployable, self-sustaining and highly survivable in combat through the use of an ensemble of manned and unmanned ground and air platforms (Future Combat Systems). The State of Utah just sold $407 million worth of bonds at a rate of only 2.8% - that a week after the New York bonding agencies reconfirmed our AAA bond rating.  The bonds will fund a variety of projects including a new library at Utah State University.  Another project approved during the 2003 legislative session, the State Archives building, is already moving ahead on a rigourous schedule. The National Center for Biotechnology Information has created the Journal Archiving and Interchange Document Type Definition for exchanging journal content.  NCBI provides free full text access and search on over 80,000 articles through its PubMed service. Ross Mayfield tells us that free WIFI is popping up all over Estonia.  I love the Baltics. 2:08:58 PM    comment []

2003 GMIS Conference to be held in Salt Lake City The Government Management Information Sciences organization (www.gmis.org) serves as an informative forum for Government IT/Business professionals from State, County and City government agencies in up to 42 States (formal chapters in 17 states) and 5 countries. Membership is by agency in that, for a single membership fee, the entire agency is considered a member and the Utah Chapter is currently comprised of 4 State, 1 County and 11 City agencies.  In less than 2 weeks, the Utah chapter will be hosting the organization's annual Educational Conference at the Little America Hotel in Salt Lake City.  Here's the event site and program agenda. 8:11:11 AM    comment []

Spending Geography The Utah Foundation is a "watchdog" organization that periodically performs independent analysis of tax and spend activity in this state.  Their latest report examines the geographic distribution of government expenditures across the state. 7:42:09 AM    comment []

© Copyright 2003 David Fletcher.