Florida

10 agency IT projects take 2012 GCN Awards

The winning project teams found creative solutions to challenges in information sharing, end user services, military communications and other areas.

DHS R&D program has a disconnect with first responders' needs, House panel told

The department has a program to help develop technology for first responders, but matching the money with state and local agencies' requirements has proved difficult.

3 tips on e-mail consolidation

State CIOs who have finished e-mail consolidation projects suggest starting small, communicating widely and considering a tiered services approach.

Ex-official in Fla. charged with hacking district's computer system

The former CFO of the Key Largo Wastewater Treatment District faces 21 felony counts.

Desktop virtualization: Is the future now?

As smart phones and tablets redefine personal computing, agencies across the United States are giving desktop virtualization a fresh look. Could yours be next?

LiveBallot gets overseas votes to the polls on time

Voters living overseas from Florida, Virginia and California can now get absentee ballots via a secure Web portal powered by Microsoft's Azure cloud platform.

In hard times, state CIOs gain clout, survey finds

State CIOs' influence is on the rise as state governments turn to them to help bring order during a time of economic upheaval, according to a survey released by NASCIO.

Fla. city takes secure path to Google cloud

Panama City officials add an extra layer of security to lock down Google Docs, giving it control of document publishing and archiving.

FBI mobile fingerprint system puts criminals at RISC

Police officers nationwide will soon have access to the FBI's new fingerprint system that allows them to see if someone is a nationally known "worst" offender using mobile devices.

Shoe-print database helps police run down criminals

Police in Florida can tap a database of shoes to identify the footprints that criminals leave behind at the scene of the crime.

Forensics tool lets Florida police gather digital evidence at the scene

The Plant City, Fla., Police Department is using a mobile digital forensics tool that enables officers to quickly pull data from computers and other personal electronics.

Wireless carriers: Your data is safe with us, but we can't speak for third parties

AT&T, Verizon Wireless, Sprint Nextel and T-Mobile all say they obtain user permission before using a customer's location to find information.

Kit puts digital forensics into the field

Dell and Evidence Talks attempt to lower the bar for forensics in the field with digital mobile forensics.

Analytics tools help open the book on public-sector agencies

Government organizations trail the corporate world in making use of business analytics, but they can use their own data to influence agency decisions on financial, personnel, policy and other matters.

Law enforcement using analytical tools to predict crime

Predictive software helps give police a better idea of where to send patrols at any given time. But at least one other use for it has raised the "Minority report" specter for critics.

Florida gets technical with evacuation maps

The Florida Coastal Mapping project combines data collection with disaster preparedness by collecting LIDAR data for coastal counties to estimate storm surge depths from hurricanes.

Open source powers Florida county's revamped website

Officials in Manatee County, Fla., recently revamped an aging website and technology infrastructure to more effectively interact with a growing and diverse population. The new site, mymanatee.org, uses an open-source content management system from Magnolia.