Here Are the Tech Bills the 118th Congress Passed Right Before the New Session

by  Natalie Alms

Some proposed tech legislation didn't make it into law.

Congress passed laws on customer experience, custom code in government and tech-focused transparency late last month.

Legislation that would require the Office of Management and Budget to tap a Federal Government Service Delivery Lead to coordinate government-wide CX work is awaiting Biden's signature after the Senate passed the bill on Dec. 21. Dubbed the Government Service Delivery Improvement Act, the House passed the proposal back in May.

One of its backers, Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., said in a statement at the time that the measure “will make it easier for Americans to access essential federal services from Social Security to Medicare to veteran's benefits.” …

 Read full story at NextGov/FCW…

Little Tech Can Have Huge Impact for State and Local Govt

by  Paul W. Taylor

Small technology companies focused on specific sectors or niche markets have more to offer than meets the eye. They can help solve problems that might be too narrow for big tech to take on.

State and local government is going digital. The tense is important. Digitization has been a work in progress for three decades, but it is not finished. Some changes have been incremental, some have been major pivots — and many fall in between. It is worth saying out loud that the default means of contact and transactions between residents and their government is no longer a front counter, a call center or the postal service. The default is digital.

Turning the ship of state is a long process and a heavy lift for all involved. Elected and appointed officials deserve credit for taking a chance on a new way of doing government that required purposefully shifting from atoms to bits, from paper to screens. The public-sector IT community came of age during this time, with many incumbents leading with their chins in a risk-averse environment. Many were elevated to — or, at least, rebranded as — CIOs, and have since surrounded themselves with chiefs of technology, innovation, data, security, privacy and even citizen experience.

 Read full story at Government Technology…

Network-Powered Procurement: The Future of Public Sector Procurement

by  Anthony Berry

Amid rising project demands and limited workforce capacity, network-powered procurement leverages peer collaboration, supplier networks and full-cycle solutions to enhance efficiency and innovation. By reducing risks, building stronger supplier relationships and fostering creativity, network-powered procurement addresses growing challenges and can deliver improved outcomes for public sector organizations.

Public procurement teams have always had to find creative ways to achieve more with limited resources. As governments and public institutions face increasing demands alongside shrinking budgets, the way they approach procurement is evolving. Today, two key trends are reshaping this landscape: 1) More governments are embracing technology solutions like never before; and 2) Despite these advancements, external challenges continue to outpace improvements in internal efficiency. Euna Solutions' newly-released 2024 State of Public Procurement report dives into these issues and makes the case for why “network-powered procurement” is emerging as the future of public sector procurement.

 Read full story at American City & County…

Collection of Insane and Fun Facts About SQLite

by  avi

Some of the interesting and insane facts I learned about SQLite

1.SQLite is the most deployed and most used database. There are over one trillion (1000000000000 or a million million) SQLite databases in active use.

It is maintained by three people. They don't allow outside contributions.

[Editor's Note]. This list is amazing and will surrpise, amuse and shock you. Number two blew my mind: “SQLite is likely used more than all other database engines combined. Billions and billions of copies of SQLite exist in the wild. SQLite is found in: …” [Hint: you are probably using it now and don't realize it.]

 Read full story at AVI Blog…

Dell Announces All-New Branding with Dell, Dell Pro and Dell Pro Max Laptops

by  Matt Elliott

Some familiar laptop models are being retired with new consumer and business lines taking their place.

Goodbye, Inspiron. Farewell, XPS. So long, Latitude and Precision. Dell is rebranding its laptop and desktop lines for 2025. The computer maker has shuttered its longtime model names in favor of a simplified nomenclature that it announced today at CES 2025.

Dell's laptops and PCs will now fall under an iPhone-like structure with series labeled simply as Dell, Dell Pro and Dell Pro Max. It's not exactly that straightforward because there are base, Plus and Premium versions of each, but we've seen our last Inspiron and XPS laptops.

 Read full story at CNET…

Starlink Wi-Fi Takes Off on United Airlines Flights This Spring

by  Rob Pegoraro

The service will be free for members of the airline's MileagePlus frequent-flyer program.

Free and much faster inflight Wi-Fi on United Airlines is now taxiing to the runway. The Chicago carrier announced Sunday that it's accelerating its Starlink installation and plans to start testing it in February before a first commercial flight in the spring.

SpaceX's satellite broadband will see its revenue-service debut at United on an Embraer E175 regional jet. The airline then aims to finish deploying Starlink across two-cabin United Express regional jets before putting Starlink on the first of hundreds of mainline Airbus and Boeing jets “before the end of this year,” it says.

 Read full story at PCMag…

Over 60,000 Water and Energy Efficiency Kits Delivered to LADWP and SoCalGas Customers to Help Adopt Sustainable Practices and Save Money

by  LADWP Press Release

LADWP recognizes the need to continue diversifying and expanding its local water resources through various methods and strategies, including initiatives focused on water conservation.

Each efficiency kit is equipped with simple household devices to help conserve water, natural gas and electricity, helping customers save money on their utility bills. Installing these devices can help save over 840 million gallons of water, reduce natural gas usage in Los Angeles by approximately 500,000 net therms, and save close to 1.8 million kWh in annual energy usage per year as a result of this program. The natural gas and electric savings are equivalent to the greenhouse emissions of over 700 gasoline-powered passenger vehicles or the energy use of over 800 homes for one year.

Each kit contains two CA-compliant 9W LED bulbs; two water-efficient shower heads; three faucet aerators; and inserts with information to access other LADWP water and energy efficiency programs and rebates. Customers will also receive information on energy-saving tankless water heaters and clothes dryers that are eligible for SoCalGas rebates. Distribution of the efficiency kits was completed last month.

 Read full story at LADWP…

Utility Companies Sign Massive Deals With Growing Industry in Wake of AI Revolution &Mdash; Here'S What It Could Mean for Public Healtt

by  Susan Elizabeth Turek

Major utility companies are signing deals with data centers as artificial intelligence demand soars. And while the agreements may be good for their bottom lines, questions remain about how the AI revolution will impact public health.

As detailed by Reuters, data center operators in the United States are signing deals with utility companies to ensure the latter have enough energy to meet their demand. According to the report, Goldman Sachs estimates the centers will account for 8% of power generated in the country by the end of the decade — up from 3% in 2022.

Utility providers that have agreed to power data centers include American Electric Power, which promised to produce an extra 15 gigawatts for centers by 2030, and AES, which will support Google's Ohio centers with 310 megawatts, per Reuters.

 Read full story at MSN…

Virginia to Get World's First Commercial Fusion Power Plant

by  Zachary Phillips

Commonwealth Fusion Systems announced it will build the multibillion-dollar project in Chesterfield County.

The world's first grid-scale commercial fusion power plant will be built at the James River Industrial Park in Chesterfield County, Virginia.

That's according to a Dec. 17 announcement from Commonwealth Fusion Systems, one of the largest private fusion companies in the country.

The multibillion-dollar project is still nascent, however. A CFS spokesperson told Construction Dive that the firm has only just announced plans, and therefore has not selected any contractors nor determined a project timeline or size.

 Read full story at UtilityDive…