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US: Vereinigte Staaten / United Staates

USA: Washington: Seattle Exploring Point-of-View Cameras for Cops
The Seattle City Council is considering a pilot that would test first-person cameras mounted directly on police officers.
A City Council subcommittee met last week to discuss the idea, which was initiated by Council member Bruce Harrell. The City Council asked the city's Department of Information Technology to further study the body-mounted cameras.
If Seattle moves forward with the project, it would become one of the first municipalities in the nation to adopt such technology. One example is the San Jose (Calif.) Police Department, which began a small pilot of head-mounted cameras last year. The participating police officers were required to switch the cameras on when they're on duty in the field.
USA: Washington: Six Area Counties Praised for E-Government Programs
National Survey Hails Online Services
Six Washington area jurisdictions made it onto a list of "top digital" counties, according to a nationwide study.
Counties were credited for using technology in innovative ways to improve service to residents, according to the survey, conducted recently by the Center for Digital Government and the National Association of Counties.
USA: Washingtons Funknetze stehen weit offen
Große Pläne zu "Cyber-Security" belasten in den USA die Unternehmen. Dabei kümmert sich Washington offenbar selbst nicht: Wer will, kann sich auf eine Parkbank vors weiße Haus setzen und in die Regierungscomputer einloggen.
Ein Hacker auf einer Parkbank könnte sich in dutzende Netzwerke der US-Regierung einloggen, berichtet ein Washington-Korrespondent des australischen Infodienstes AustralianIT. Der Journalist bezieht sich dabei auf einen neuen Report, den er in die Finger bekam. Dem Papier zufolge arbeitet die Regierung auf Basis alter lückenhafter Sicherheitsstandards.
USA: Washtenaw County Introduces Online Job Applications
Applying for a job in Washtenaw County, Michigan, just got easier. eWashtenaw (www.eWashtenaw.org), the County's official eGovernment portal, has launched an integrated human resources application system that allows job seekers to apply for positions with the click of a mouse.
USA: We Need a National Infrastructure Initiative

The United States, developer of the Internet, inventor of the first PC, the silicon wafer, the pen-based computer etc, is now 12th in the world in using broadband communication, according to the latest report out of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), a government think tank in Paris to which almost all developing countries belong.
USA: Weak coordination hampers efforts on medical databases
Efforts by the Defense and Veterans Affairs departments to create a medical database that works across their jurisdictions have been hampered by weak interagency coordination and the lack of a broad vision for the health network, an expert said Wednesday
USA: Web Chat Helps Virginia Reduce Phone Calls About Tax Questions
The Virginia Department of Taxation recently slashed Web-related calls from citizens by 70 percent, thanks to an online chat device with an instant messenger function that costs roughly $1,000, according to Sharon Kitchens, assistant tax commissioner for the state's Office of Technology.
Kitchens presented the cost-effective solution Thursday, March 18, on the Modernizing Critical Systems panel at the Managing Technology conference, a government IT event. The agency deployed the chat device in July 2009 as a pilot experiment in response to a tax amnesty program it would announce in late 2009. A tax amnesty program waives all fees and interest for citizens with unpaid back taxes if they come forward voluntarily. Naturally the department expected the program to set off a dramatic spike in phone inquiries.
USA: Web content: Get organized
The hard work required by draft content management policies could pay off
Organizing Web content to better serve citizens may be an arduous task for some agency officials as they tackle content organization and management responsibilities, but it's something they must do, experts say.
USA: Web Experts: Obama's Vision for E-government Will Take Work
U.S. President-elect Barack Obama has used Web tools to solicit donations and hear from his supporters during his campaign, but it's still unclear how many of those methods will translate into electronic government, a group of e-campaign and open-government experts said.
In addition to a robust online fundraising effort, the Obama campaign used blogs to communicate with potential votersand solicit their comments, posted hundreds of videos on YouTube, and sent thousands of e-mail and text messages to supporters. And many of those efforts continue, with Obama still posting videos and using his Change.gov site to organize meetings of supporters this weekend, noted Sam Graham-Felsen, a member of the Web site team for the Obama campaign.
USA: Web filing available for gas importers
Energy Department officials expect a new online application system to improve the authorization process for natural gas imports and exports.
The e-Filing system, an e-government initiative under the President's Management Agenda, allows importers and exporters to request federal authorization online. Previously, filing was only available through standard mail or by fax.
USA: Web Poll Topic: E-Government Study

Utah and Maine are the best states for e-government in the United States, according to the sixth annual e-government analysis conducted by researchers at Brown University. The White House and the Department of the State are the most highly rated federal sites.
Darrell M. West, director of the Taubman Center for Public Policy at Brown University, and a team of researchers examined 1,620 state and federal sites. The researchers analyzed 1,559 state sites (or an average of 31 sites per state) plus 48 federal government legislative and executive sites, and 13 federal court sites. Research was completed during June and July, 2005. Previous e-government studies were released in 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, and 2004.
USA: Web satisfaction scores rising
Citizens are increasingly willing to recommend e-government and more likely to return to government Web sites than they were last year, according to new survey results released today.
Each of the 53 federal sites represented in the American Customer Satisfaction Index E-Government Report showed growth in these customer loyalty factors
USA: Web Search Is the New King of Government Portals
When governments began launching their own websites in the '90s, the results left much to be desired, to say the least. The portals were painfully difficult to navigate and had multiple tabs that were too busy -- seemingly created with government users in mind rather than the general public. To everyday citizens, these websites paled in comparison to the private sector's efforts, which were constantly evolving to better suit their needs.
Some argue that's still the case and will forever be, despite vast improvements over the years. Naysayers aside, a recent surveypoints out online features -- searching and social media -- are now top public priorities when it comes to navigating a government's Web page. And with every redesign, there is an opportunity to better meet those needs and engage the public.
USA: Web site allows preparing, filing of taxes free online
Today the Treasury Department, Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the Internet Revenue Service (IRS) launched a new web site featuring private-sector partners that will allow most taxpayers to prepare and file their taxes online for free. A substantial majority of citizens will be eligible to use this service at www.irs.gov or through www.firstgov.gov.
USA: Web site governance hotly contested in many agencies

Who should be responsible for the content on a federal agency’s Web site—the agency’s public affairs office, CIO office or some other oversight body? Or should the program managers actually control the material?
This is the issue that many federal agencies are now grappling with, according to two researchers at George Mason University.
USA: Web site helps Utahns after government aid
State residents in need of government services can "chat" about them round-the-clock in real time on Utah's Web site.
Officially open this week, the new online service offered at www.utah.gov is the first of its kind in the country, said the state's chief information officer Val Oveson.
USA: Web site lists possible veteran benefits
Vets have options to determine eligibility for gov’t programs
A Web site created by the government offers war veterans a source to find 712 federal and state programs.
USA: Web Site Offers Easier Access To Government Grants
Grants.gov is designed to make it easier for users to identify and apply for grant money.
A Web site intended to simplify the process to identify and apply for government grants was officially launched on Tuesday. Grants.gov is one of the administration's two dozen E-government initiatives aimed at exploiting Internet technologies to better serve citizens. The interagency project was headed by the Department of Health and Human Services, which awards more than half of all federal grants.
USA: Web site offers info on regulations

Small businesses now have an online resource to find information on federal requirements relating to regulations, taxes and other paperwork, and agency contacts to answer specific questions, the Office of Management and Budget announced today.
USA: Web site shows agencies how to standardize computer desktops
The National Institute of Standards and Technology launched a Web site to help agencies comply with a new requirement that they adopt standard computer desktop configurations rather than allowing employees or their information technology departments to make changes at will.
It’s part of an aggressive security strategy push by the White House to move agencies from thousands of possible configurations for Microsoft Windows operating systems to just one. A universal configuration improves security while reducing operating costs, Office of Management and Budget e-government administrator Karen Evans has said.