TeKnocratix » government

Bureaucratix: U.S. Government Launches Its Own URL Shortener, Epic Fail Ensues

jcenters — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 00:00:10 +0000

Techcrunch reports that the federal government has launched its own link shortening service. Not to be outdone by its hundreds of competitors, like the outgoing tr.im, the original Tiny URL, or the currently chic bit.ly, government employees can now use the oh so svelte http://go.usa.gov.

So http://recovery.gov gets “shortened” to…http://go.usa.gov/liO. Wait, that’s not shorter at all, it’s two characters longer! YOU ARE DOING IT WRONG.

Granted, this isn’t a bad idea…in theory. First, who knows how long any commercial shortening service will last? Second, it’s nice to have a trusted service, one that (hopefully) won’t direct readers to pictures of a repulsively ripped rectum.

Then again communism works…in theory. Seriously, how many .govs can there be? I think http://u.gov is wide open! No one else can even take it but you, the federal government of the United States! In fact, you’d be the shortest shortener in the biz! C’mon, prove that you can beat the private sector in at least one thing!

U.S. Department of Energy to Invest $32 Million in Cloud Computing

jcenters — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 02:00:01 +0000

The United States Department of Energy announced Wednesday that it will spend $32 million on cloud computing test beds.

Cloud computing is the technology behind many popular web services, such as Gmail and Twitter. As opposed to traditional server technologies that only use one server, a cloud uses many, both real and virtualized, as one unit. The advantage is that it is scalable, meaning that a user only uses as much as he needs, and that it is (usually) redundant, meaning that if one server goes down, the others can pick up the slack.

“As one of the world’s leading providers of computing resources to advance science, the Department of Energy has a vested interest in exploring new options for meeting the overwhelming demand for computing time,” said Michael Strayer, associate director of DOE’s Office of Advanced Scientific Computing Research.

Magellan, as the project is called, will be powered by thousands of Intel Nehalem CPUs, and possibly solutions from companies like Amazon, Google, and Microsoft.

The DOE hopes that cloud computing’s commercial success will carry over into scientific research.

Let’s just hope the DOE’s data doesn’t get sidekicked, shall we?

Obama Mandates Greener Government

jcenters — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 00:58:42 +0000

President Obama signed an executive order today ordering federal agencies to reduce consumption and emissions by 2030.

"As the largest consumer of energy in the U.S. economy, the Federal government can and should lead by example when it comes to creating innovative ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, increase energy efficiency, conserve water, reduce waste, and use environmentally-responsible products and technologies,” Obama said.

Here’s a brief timeline of the executive order:

50% recycling and waste diversion by 2015.
30% reduction in petroleum use by 2020.
26% greater water efficiency by 2020.
Net-zero-energy buildings by 2030.

Federal agencies will also be required to measure carbon emissions for the first time, including those from commuting employees.

The White House says that the new efficiency standards will save taxpayers money. I wonder if they apply to the Department of Defense?

Update 21:30 CST: “The executive order requires agencies to ‘measure, manage, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions toward agency-defined targets.’” So I guess that’s a big NO.

Bloggers Could Be Fined $11,000 Under New FTC Regulations

jcenters — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 23:56:47 +0000

The FTC today released new guidelines that threaten to fine bloggers up to $11,000 for what the organization considers an undisclosed paid endorsement.

However, the commission has a broad definition of what constitutes an endorsement.

“The revised Guides specify that while decisions will be reached on a case-by-case basis, the post of a blogger who receives cash or in-kind payment to review a product is considered an endorsement,” said a release by the FTC.

This could be a legal nightmare for reviewers, who often rely on manufacturers to lend the products for review. In fact, most reviewers depend on this system, with a few rare exceptions such as This Week in Tech’s Leo Laporte. Even then, he doesn’t buy every single product he reviews.

This is the first time the guidelines have been updated since 1980. Under those rules, endorsements were considered perfectly fine, as long as the paid endorsers included the line, “results not typical,” but the new mandate removes that safe harbor.

Since this only applies to bloggers residing within the United States, it’s hard to imagine this will do much to curtail astroturfing. And it’s uncertain if this will apply to traditional reporters, however celebrity endorsements are specifically mentioned.

The FTC says that it will enforce the new rules on a “case-by-case basis.” I can’t help but wonder if this will create a chilling effect for American bloggers.

Read a PDF of the new regulations.

Update 20:25 CST: Leo Laporte commented about this on Twitter: “…Fantastic news! I’m clean. Are you?” [In response to @wa4hrk]