Veterans Seen as Suffering as U.S. Scraps Health-Records System

Feb. 27 (Bloomberg) -- The Pentagon and Department of Veterans Affairs may let veterans care fall through the cracks by scrapping a plan to build a joint health-records system, U.S. lawmakers said.

Last year, then-Defense Secretary Leon Panetta pledged to "meet or beat" a 2017 deadline to integrate the two agencies' networks, one for troops and the other for veterans.

The agencies instead this month scrubbed their plan because of cost and time concerns, and said they will integrate the data without building a new system. The move may hurt veterans struggling to access military medical records and seeking compensation for injuries, said Representative Jeff Miller, chairman of the House Committee on Veterans Affairs.

More:
http://www.healthdatamanagement.com/news/defense-veterans-affairs-integration-electronic-health-records-45773-1.html

|| David K. Shepherd ||

Samsung Increases Business Security Features of Galaxy S3, Galaxy Note 2, Galaxy S4 via SAFE with Knox

 

The Samsung Galaxy experience is no longer confined to the fun realm. With the introduction of Samsung SAFE with Knox, the South Korean firm offers secured productivity moments for Galaxy S3 and Galaxy Note 2 users.

The new security suite is geared for S3 and Note 2 deployment and will allow owners of the flagship handsets to "switch between their business and personal lives without switching phones," Gotta Be Mobile said in a report.

Clearly, Samsung's agenda is to encroach on the territory previously ruled by BlackBerry and now considered an Apple turf.

More:
http://m.ibtimes.co.uk/samsung-increases-business-security-features-galaxy-s3-439885.html

This one looks interesting - Sassy App Punishes You When You're Being Lazy

Take heed, procrastinators: A new apprewards and punishes users based on how many items they check off on their to-do lists.

Promoted as "the world's first to-do list with a personality," Carrot aims to encourage productivity, but is more entertaining than motivating.

Each time users complete a task, they are rewarded with points, which they can later redeem for prizes (including gifts, compliments, jokes and quotes). In response, Carrot — represented on-screen by a blue dot — stays happy.

But when users fail to get things done — watch out. Carrot turns red, evoking the creepy aura of HAL 9000 from 2001: A Space Odyssey. As the description says on Apple's App Store: "You do not want to make Carrot upset."

More:
http://mashable.com/2013/02/28/carrot-app-lazy/

Yahoo Responds to Controversy Over Work-at-Home Ban

As much as I like telework, I believe it should be used sparingly and only with clear tasks and assignments. Too often it is abused. 

I think this says it nicely:

To become the absolute best place to work, communication and collaboration will be important, so we need to be working side-by-side. That is why it is critical that we are all present in our offices. Some of the best decisions and insights come from hallway and cafeteria discussions, meeting new people, and impromptu team meetings. Speed and quality are often sacrificed when we work from home. We need to be one Yahoo! (Insert you organization name here), and that starts with physically being together.

More:
http://mashable.com/2013/02/27/yahoo-work-at-home/

59% of the 'Tuna' Americans Eat Is Not Tuna - Atlantic Mobile

Nonprofit ocean protection group Oceana took 1,215 samples of fish from across the United States and genetically tested them in order to bring us the following astonishing facts:

• 59% of the fish labeled "tuna" sold at restaurants and grocery stores in the US is not tuna.
• Sushi restaurants were far more likely to mislabel their fish than grocery stores or other restaurants.

What's for dinner at your local sushi joint? Pretty much anything but what's on the menu.

• In Chicago, Austin, New York, and Washington DC, every single sushi restaurant sampled sold mislabeled tuna.
• 84% of fish samples labeled "white tuna" were actually escolar, a fish that can cause prolonged, uncontrollable, oily anal leakage.

More:
http://m.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2013/02/59-of-the-tuna-americans-eat-is-not-tuna/273410/

Meet ownCloud 5, The Open Source Dropbox

ownCloud is a free software suite, written in PHP, that provides file storage, synchronization, and sharing. It provides the same basic features of Dropbox or Box.net. It also provides a whole lot more.

ownCloud was started three years ago when Frank Karlitschek wanted a free software alternative to proprietary solutions. In the time since the project has attracted a dedicated group of core contributors, made several significant releases, and is available in 42 languages. It's also spun off a commercial project to drive development of ownCloud for enterprise users.

The core ownCloud offering is file storage and synchronization. You also get optional contacts and calendar synchronization, if you want to use it. As an open source application, you can install it on any computer you control. This means you know how and where your data is stored, something which existing hosted solutions abstract away from you. Individuals and enterprises can install ownCloud on their own hardware, and define access policies according to their own needs.

More:

http://techcrunch.com/2013/02/24/meet-owncloud-5-the-open-source-dropbox

LMI Awarded $28.5 Million IDIQ to Support Army Deputy Under Secretary - MarketWatch

LMI will lead a diverse, highly qualified team in competing for tasks to support the Deputy Under Secretary of the Army (DUSA) under a $28.5 million multiple-award indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract. The scope of work is reflective of LMI's acclaimed expertise in deep analytics and organizational improvement.

Over the course of the contract's three years, LMI will compete for task awards to provide DUSA with advisory and assistance services for improving organizational alignment, performance management, cross-functional decision making, and knowledge and information management.

More:
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/lmi-awarded-285-million-idiq-to-support-army-deputy-under-secretary-2013-02-21

Former LMIer tasked with “the most distasteful task” of sequestration

Developing plan to furlough of up to 750,000 civilian Defense Department employees

Calling it “the most distasteful task” of his four-year tenure, Pentagon Comptroller Robert Hale on Wednesday outlined the process for furloughing up to 750,000 civilian Defense Department employees should looming across-the-board-budget cuts take effect, hours after his department sent Congress notice that a 45-day furlough clock is now ticking.
Given the need to cut $46 billion, or 9 percent in all 2,500 Pentagon accounts if no new budget law is enacted by March 1, “we feel we don’t have any choice,” Hale told reporters. Reductions in force would be too expensive due to requirements for paying for unused vacation and severance, he added.
More:
http://www.govexec.com/defense/2013/02/pentagon-planners-detail-distasteful-sequestration-furloughs/61418/

It's Okay to Open More Than Nine Browser Tabs; Here's How to Easily Manage Them [feedly]

Recently, we had a guest post on why you should never have more than nine browser tabs open, and it was quite controversial—even among some of us on staff. So, here's our counterpoint: it's okay to have a ton of tabs open, you just need a few tricks to keep them all organized.

More:

It's Okay to Open More Than Nine Browser Tabs; Here's How to Easily Manage Them

ADMIN HORROR: Enable TLS 1.1 and TLS 1.2 on Windows Server 2008 R2 and IIS 7.5

This is worth looking at...

I would make the changes by hand though.

More:
http://www.adminhorror.com/2011/10/enable-tls-11-and-tls-12-on-windows_1853.html

10 Pro-Gun Myths, Shot Down

Fact-checking some of the gun lobby's favorite arguments shows they're full of holes

By cutting off federal funding for research and stymieing data collection and sharing, the National Rifle Association has tried to do to the study of gun violence what climate deniers have done to the science of global warming. No wonder: When it comes to hard numbers, some of the gun lobby's favorite arguments are full of holes.

More:

http://m.motherjones.com/politics/2013/01/pro-gun-myths-fact-check