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Gov Ponders The Internet Of Things – Plus The 7 Stories You Need To Know

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But up front: The government is pondering the Internet of Things

I have been spending a chunk of time finding the right guests for GovLoop’s DorobekINSIDER LIVE on March 19 during which we will be talking about the Internet of Things. And it has been fun because I’ve been learning a whole bunch.

If you don’t know, the Internet of Things — IoT, as it is referred to sometimes (but not by me, I will note) — is the concept that “things” will be interconnected giving us knowledge, power, information — and making our lives better.

For example, in San Francisco, the “thing” that is connected are parking places. There is an application where drivers can find open parking places. Pretty cool. The city has sensors that can detect, in real time, which parking places are occupied and which are available. But even better, the data is used to adjust parking prices based on demand, essentially creating smarter pricing policies.

As part of my research, I also discovered a NIST project — the SmartAmerica Challenge, which is being run by two presidential innovation fellows, Geoff Mulligan and Sokwoo Rhee. The SmartAmerica Challenge seeks to connect “devices and systems in diverse sectors like transportation, energy, manufacturing, and healthcare in fundamentally new ways.”

Our March 19 program is going to work to help define what the Internet of Things actually is — an explainer, if you will. I’m then looking to get some early examples of what people are doing — even early examples or even concepts. And then we are going to talk about the implications… what people need to be thinking about and planning for… what all of this means for government.

Pretty cool. I hope you’ll join us on March 19.

The SEVEN stories that impact your life

  1. Defense One: Pentagon Leaders Struggle to Define Military’s Post-War Purpose – “What is shaping up is a vision of a post-war world in which persistent and spreading turmoil of all sizes and on all fronts is squarely the responsibility for the United States military, which by Hagel’s account will be prepared, willing and able to intervene at the commander-in-chief’s discretion.”

  2. Politico: Canceled health plans get reprieve – “The Obama administration will allow some health plans that fall short of Obamacare coverage requirements to be offered for two more years, extending the coverage past the November elections and through President Barack Obama’s second term.

  3. IT World: Oregon withholds $25.6 million from Oracle over health exchange website woes: Oregon is holding back $25.6 million in payments from Oracle over work the vendor did on the state’s troubled health care exchange website. Dubbed Cover Oregon, the Web site was built in connection with the Obama administration’s health care policy overhaul. It was supposed to go live on Oct. 1 but its launch has been marred by a slew of bugs and it is not yet fully functional. This week, Cover Oregon said it had reached an agreement with Oracle laying out “an orderly transition of technology development services, and protects current and future Cover Oregon enrollees,” according to a statement.

  4. Federal Times: Water scarcity a growing issue for installations – “Maureen Sullivan, director of environment, safety and occupational health in the Defense Department, said the increasing scarcity of water supplies is a rapidly growing issue within DoD, one that was barely a ripple a few years ago.”

  5. NextGov: NASA Is Budgeting for ‘Star Wars’ Engines – “The agency’s fiscal 2015 budget, released Tuesday, includes $133 million for the early stages of its mission to send astronauts to land on, capture, and redirect an asteroid. Included in its goals for the year? ‘Advancing solar electric propulsion and capture systems.’”

  6. The Washington Post: State Department employees union demands documents on embattled ambassador nominees – “The State Department employees union is demanding that the department turn over key documents on three embattled ambassadorial nominees — and all pending Obama administration nominees, both career Foreign Service and non-career folks — by Thursday evening or face a prompt lawsuit for the materials.

  7. GovExe: Fed Groups Offer Tepid Praise for Obama’s Budget – “Federal employee groups largely supported President Obama’s fiscal 2015 budget recommendation, though they once again criticized his proposed 1 percent pay raise to all civilian workers.

DorobekINSIDER water-cooler fodder… yes, we’re trying to help you make your water-cooler time better too…

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