AFCEA SIGNAL Scape

SIGNAL Says

Katie Packard — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:43:50 +0000

“What we have today is scalable, so it’s allowing us to manage the growth that’s always involved in providing bandwidth. Because of that, we can truly migrate everything over IP. We can truly become a network-centric Army.”–Lt. Col. Joseph Dupont, USA, product manager, Defense Communications Systems–Europe

Find out what he’s talking about here in the current issue of SIGNAL Magazine, online now.

Nations Discuss Road to the Future in Rome

Maryann Lawlor — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 21:42:19 +0000

More than 300 representatives from 30 nations are examining solutions to future warfighting challenges in Rome this week at the 2009 Concept Development and Experimentation Conference. Specifically, members of U.S. Joint Forces Command (JFCOM) and NATO nations are conducting work that will promote multinational cooperation. Conference participants are discussing concept development and experimentation in the areas of countering hybrid threats, providing security force assistance, developing strategic communications and deterring non-state actors. Although the concepts that are being discussed focus on future confrontations, leaders of the conference agree that those concepts that can aid today’s joint warfighters are likely to go to the head of the list for fast tracking.

Rear Adm. Christian Canova, French navy, says that the most significant part of strategic communications from the NATO standpoint is understanding that the connections are not just about military leaders. Instead, troops on the ground also must have access to strategic communications capabilities so that they can synchronize their actions with the strategy military leaders have in mind. Adm. Canova is the deputy assistant chief of staff for future capabilities, research and technology, Allied Command Transformation.

Rear Adm. Dan Davenport, USN, director of Joint Concept Development and Experimentation, JFCOM, agrees with Adm. Canova and adds that strategic communications must be embedded in every operation. “Aligning the strategic narrative from across the government and across the coalition is particularly important. Then within that strategic area that the military can provide, each nation can determine its specific contribution,” Adm. Davenport states.

In addressing how work being conducted at the conference could be applied to current and future missions in Afghanistan, the admirals concur that the purpose of the event is to explore and find concepts that can be turned into doctrine and then flow through the acquisition of capabilities phase. But, while workshop attendees are concentrating on the future, the challenge also is to contribute to current operations. According to Adm. Davenport, “If we come up with a new idea or solution that looks like it has value to current operations, we will transition that as fast as possible.”

Adm. Davenport and Adm. Canova each emphasized, however, that the goal of the conference is to gain mutual understanding about how various nations can work together as allies during future operations and to share ideas about how to take on some of the toughest problems facing the nations’ governments.

Cool App-titude: AP Stylebook

Katie Packard — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 18:00:57 +0000

This application is near and dear to all of us in the SIGNAL newsroom. We follow AP Style, and with the AP Stylebook app, journalists like us can have error-free writing even when they’re away from their desks—and their editors. The tool features searchable listings for sections like sports, business and punctuation (my favorite), and users can even add their own customized entries and notes.

More information about the AP Stylebook app is available on AP’s Web site. The application is available for download from iTunes for iPhones and iPod Touch.

Share your favorite app with us in the comments!

These sites are not affiliated with AFCEA or SIGNAL Magazine, and we are not responsible for the content or quality of the products offered. When visiting new Web sites, please use proper Internet security procedures.

The Best the Webbys Have to Offer

Rita Boland — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 14:03:13 +0000

Each day, millions of people use the Internet for purposes of work and play. Each year, the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences—a 550-member body composed of leading Web experts, business figures and others—distributes Webby awards for the best Web sites in a variety of categories. All of the nearly 70 categories include two prizes—the Webby Award and the People’s Choice Award, voted for by the online community. The groupings include one for Consumer Electronics, which features some very creative work.

TomTom Secret Services
This Webby Award winner in the Consumer Electronics category invites site visitors into secrets about the TomTom navigation tool. Users can choose to view the site content in English, French, Spanish, Italian, German or Norwegian. After a language is selected, a manual opens, first instructing readers to keep the information as “our little secret” and then turning the page to reveal nifty tricks for getting the most out of one’s device. Offerings include content about how to obtain information regarding traffic conditions, points of interest, voice recording, iPod control and deletion of recent points of interest or buddies. Also included are instructions for how to use special features such as TomTom Map Share and TomTom HOME, a content-sharing platform. The manual write-ups take a tongue-in-cheek approach to sharing instructions, keeping site viewers amused as well as informed.

Wired.com: Gadget Lab
As the tag line puts it, this winner of the People’s Choice Award features “hardware that rocks your world.” The site—actually a blog section of Wired.com—has an abundance of information regarding electronic devices. Most of the Web page is devoted to write-ups and videos about common and uncommon electronics ranging from items as original as homemade security robots to mass-produced, famous-name products. The blog also posts Do-It-Yourself information such as how to ruggedize and waterproof personal gadgets. The right-hand column includes a list of links to Gadget Lab videos as well as product reviews, recent entries, popular tags and more.

Samsung Music
The nominated Samsung Mobile Music site is an experience for the eyes and the ears as colored bars pulsate in time with music to demonstrate the value of Samsung’s Mobile Music phones. The Soundscapes created on the Web site calm visitors with the pastel shades and silky melody while demonstrating the products Samsung is pitching. Site users can explore different features of the two cell phones featured as well as create their own music. Choosing the “Create your own Soundscape” option takes visitors to a virtual music production studio where they can choose different sounds connected to various shapes. After creating the sound of their choice, amateur composers can save their work and share it through e-mail or by posting directly to a blog page. The site’s music gallery allows users to scroll through Soundscapes created and saved by previous site visitors. Users can even rate the posted compositions.

Virtual Kitchen Tour
This site by Electrolux enables visitors to obtain a close-up look at the appliances in the company’s latest collection without ever leaving their chairs. Television star Kelly Ripa hosts the tour of the nominated Web site, which features a wall oven, refrigerator, dishwasher, induction hybrid cooktop and always-necessary European-style wine tower. Users can watch demonstrations of several features on each device to learn how the appliances will benefit them. When site visitors choose an appliance, the screen zooms in on the chosen tool located in what appears to be a luxury apartment before listing the available demonstrations. Foodies and non-foodies alike should enjoy the tour of the state-of-the-art kitchen. The Virtual Kitchen Tour site also includes links to appliances organized by category and not featured on the tour.

1000 Awesome Things
This Web site actually won the Webby for the best Cultural/Personal blog. The final nominee in the Consumer Electronics category is a site called Epsonality; however, it has been the victim of the economic downturn, according to officials with the company. To fill in the blank, readers should visit 1000 Awesome Things even though it falls outside of the electronics realm. The site is a countdown of 1,000 awesome things updated every weekday. Every item already cited on the homepage can be found listed in countdown order using the “Top 1000” link. The right side of the page offers more resources such as the last five comments posted, top posts, contact information and a blogroll.

When visiting new Web sites, please use proper Internet security procedures.

SIGNAL Says

Katie Packard — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 15:24:58 +0000

“The problem is our warfighters are digital natives. They understand the technology they could have and are looking at what they’re getting and they’re saying, ‘Hey, this isn’t good.’” — Timothy J. Harp, deputy assistant secretary of defense, command, control, communications, intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and information technology acquisition, OASD(NII)/DOD CIO

Find out what he’s talking about here in the current issue of SIGNAL Magazine, online now.

The IC Shows How Collaboration Is Done

Katie Packard — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 16:39:16 +0000

The intelligence community has been leading the government pack in its collaboration efforts. Christopher Dorobek points to 9/11 and other examples to show how government realized it needed a better way to collect, process and share intelligence data in this month’s Incoming column, “The Intelligence Community Writes the Book on Collaboration.”

The intelligence issues, particularly in the case of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, are well documented in the 9/11 Commission’s final report. The commission found that the government largely had the necessary data, but it failed to connect the dots. That data was scattered throughout many different organizations and among many people. Different parts of the intelligence and law enforcement organizations were not speaking to one other. In fact, these issues are not unique to the intelligence agencies. They are all too familiar throughout government.

Yet Dorobek notes that the intelligence community has developed a set of tools to quickly share information, known as Intellipedia. The success of the Intellipedia team has many people talking, and new reports show that Web-based collaboration works.

Everyone seems to be talking about social media and collaborative platforms such as Facebook, wikis and cloud computing. Do you think these tools are effective? If your organization uses them, have you noticed improved communication and collaboration? Is the intelligence community on the right track?

Blogs for the IC

SIGNAL — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 13:00:00 +0000

SIGNAL Scape isn’t the only blog at AFCEA. The intelligence department has two great blogs as well: MAZZ-INT and a new intelligence small business blog.

MAZZ-INT is the brainchild of Joe Mazzafro, who works in Oracle’s National Security Group. He has more than 30 years of experience in the intelligence community and also served in the U.S. Navy as a naval intelligence officer. His blog has been around for a couple of years, and great discussions develop between Mazzafro and commenters.

Dan Callahan has taken on authorship of the new intel small business blog. He’s an author and a federal sales professional with more than 20 years of experience working with the military and the IC. His blog is written for small business owners who want to develop and expand their relationship with the IC and increase their revenue.

Both blogs have great information and viewpoints, so check them out and leave some feedback.

In Honor of Veterans Day

SIGNAL — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 12:00:01 +0000

SIGNAL Magazine and AFCEA International thank all veterans and service members for their sacrifice.

Cool App-titude: CheckPlease

Katie Packard — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 18:00:30 +0000

Math is not my strong suit; I always travel with a calculator and a tip card to help me scoot by. I know I’m not alone thanks to CheckPlease. With this app, math-challenged diners can easily split a tab among multiple people and figure out the tip in just a few seconds. The app even calculates the tip on the total before tax. There are two versions of CheckPlease: a free one that features ads or an ad-free version that costs $0.99. It’s available for download to iPhones and iPod Touch here.

What’s your favorite app? Let us know in the comments below.

Happy birthday, U.S. Marine Corps!

Rita Boland — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 14:47:41 +0000