OPEN SOURCE
HATCHIT: An Open Source Game Engine. More students are learning about the world of open source through video games. Open source games like FreeCiv and Minetest invite young gamers to dig into the source code, while projects like SpigotMC empower them to write plugins to extend their favorite games. Unfortunately, the open source tools used to build games do not share the same prominence. Rochester Institute of Technology student Matt Guerrette hopes to help change that with Hatchit, his open source gaming engine. Read more
[OPENSOURCE.COM]
TOOLS: Open Source Software Matches Benefits to Eligible Recipients. State agencies can now leverage an open source tool to help ensure that individuals eligible for income-based human service benefits actually receive them. The software is Benefit Assist, and it was first launched in 2015 by Intuit for that company’s TurboTax users. Benefit Assist sifts through tax information to help determine a person’s eligibility for benefits from programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, Medicaid and Medicare.. Find out more
[GCN.COM]
NETWORKS: Securing the Future of Federal Networks with Open Standards. Back in the early 1940s, General Dwight Eisenhower, while tasked to build an Army, mandated the consolidation of weaponry, equipping soldiers with M1 Garand semi-automatic rifles. It was a controversial and disruptive move that upended the traditional way things were done; the relationship between an infantryman and his weapon was not one to be trifled with lightly. It was necessary action that ultimately provided a sound foundational building block for World War II combat and beyond. Today’s version of consolidation looks like the Defense Information Systems Agency’s Joint Information Environment initiative, which is converging various networks while bringing together disparate technologies. Those technologies have to work together if DISA is to achieve its ultimate goal of a consolidated and more efficient and cost-effective network. Juniper’s Tim Solms explains why it’s important for modern mission-critical systems to be built on open source code. Find out more
[FEDSCOOP.COM]
WHITE HOUSE: Open-Sources Chatbot. The White House opened the source code for the first government bot on Facebook Messenger in the hope that other governments and developers will use it to build similar services and foster online interactions with their citizens. Read the rest
[FCW.COM]
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NOW ON SLIDESHARE: Tech Update Summary from Blue Mountain Data Systems October 2016 http://www.slideshare.net/BMDS3416/tech-update-summary-from-blue-mountain-data-systems-october-2016.
IT SECURITY SUPPORT: Blue Mountain Data Systems is actively involved in implementing FISMA and NIST standards with Federal Civilian Agencies. Due to our extensive experience in this area, Blue Mountain has developed processes and organizational techniques to help ensure security deliverables are completed on time, and performed in the most efficient manner possible. We ensure that NIST-800-53 control requirements are treated consistently during definition, analysis, implementation, auditing, and reporting phases of a system. Find out more about Blue Mountain Data Systems IT Security Support Services. Call us at 703-502-3416.
BLUE MOUNTAIN DATA SYSTEMS HAS THE EXPERIENCE: 1994 to Present – U.S. Dept. of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration. Responsible to the Office of Technology and Information Systems for information systems architecture, planning, applications development, networking, administration and IT security, supporting the enforcement of Title I of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act — ERISA. Within the EBSA, Blue Mountain is responsible for design, development and support for its various enforcement database management systems, as well as all case tracking and customer service inquiry systems. Blue Mountain also provides IT security services to the EBSA, in the form of FISMA Assessment and Authorization, System Security Plans, Risk and vulnerability assessments, monitoring and investigation support. Read more.
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