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"   The Obama administration tapped Vivek Kundra to be the federal government&amp;#039;s first CIO yesterday. Kundra was the Chief Information Officer for Washington, D.C., and should not be confused with Obama&amp;#039;s long-promised Chief Technology Officer, who has still not yet been named. But based on Kundra&amp;#039;s previous experience and comments thus far, he could have a pretty significant impact on the government&amp;#039;s use of technology.   Kundra&amp;#039;s main goal will not be to set the nation&amp;#039;s tech policy\u2014that, presumably, will be the CTO&amp;#039;s job\u2014rather, he will be in charge of a $71 billion budget for technology acquisition and support for government networks. Kundra&amp;#039;s record in D.C. shows him to be a forward-looking and resourceful guy. He set up an online data catalog for the city that allowed citizens instant access to information ranging from current city contracts to arrest info to purchase orders. He has reportedly called for setting up a similar site for the federal government to be named data.gov. Notwithstanding the tremendous data-integration task that might represent, if accomplished, it would be a tremendous step towards government accountability and transparency.   Another of Kundra&amp;#039;s big accomplishments from his D.C. government days was a movement to slash city IT costs by migrating government e-mail and work applications to Google Apps. Kundra has called for some federal cloud-computing initiatives as well, although that may prove at odds with the cyber-security demands of the Bush administration, which called for a reduction of total contact points between government networks and the public Internet. To be sure, Kundra might want to speak with Christine Varney, Obama&amp;#039;s selection for antitrust chief at the Justice department. She has made statements pointing the finger at Google as a potential target for monopoly-busting. Might want to think twice about any federal cloud-computing contracts with the government&amp;#039;s monopolist du jour.   Finally, Kundra is a big advocate of government using off-the-shelf technology solutions, rather than custom-designed networks and technology that typically lag behind what&amp;#039;s available in the local Best Buy. He&amp;#039;s certainly right about that\u2014most people don&amp;#039;t realize that the most sophisticated computer chips available in the world are found in everyday consumer computers\u2014most specialized computing technology designed for the government is outmoded by the time it&amp;#039;s rolled out. Nevertheless, a big push towards off-the-shelf equipment could bring up even more security issues.   Off-the-rack software and equipment is more vulnerable to mass-scale cyber attacks and hijacks, but it also lets the government take advantage of the latest and greatest cyber defenses. Regardless, Kundra&amp;#039;s put a lot on his own plate, and it will be interesting to see how fresh thinking about technology meets entrenched bureaucracy. \u2014Glenn Derene   RELATED STORIES \u2022 EARLIER: Practicing Cybersecurity at Home  \u2022 PLUS: How to Fight Back Against Cyber Attacks  \u2022 DIGITAL CLINIC: Stop Your Boss from Spying on You  \u2022 BUZZWORD: Tracking New Workplace Surveillance Tech   "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/gadgets/a4108/4307524/>