The Game Changer

Federal CIO promises efficiency mixed with innovation
The U.S. government needs to find ways of streamlining IT delivery to address budgetary constraints and "do more with less," according to federal Chief Information Officer Steven VanRoekel, who joined the Obama administration in 2011. VanRoekel says that beyond the issue of cybersecurity, his focus will be to combine a commitment to innovation with initiatives designed to ensure a return on investment for taxpayers through programs such as PortfolioStat that review agency IT programs to identify waste. InformationWeek/InformationWeek Government (2/22)
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Emerging Tools

Yole: Emerging NV memory market to reach $1.6B in 5 years
Magnetoresistive random-access memories, phase-change memories and spin transfer torque MRAMs will grow to a $1.6 billion market by 2018, according to Yole Developpement. Such memory chips will go into enterprise storage and mobile phones. When ferroelectric RAMs are factored in, the emerging nonvolatile memory market will reach $2 billion in 2018, Yole said. Electronics Weekly (U.K.) (2/21)
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Security Update

NBC.com temporarily blacklisted following Web hack
NBC.com and affiliated websites came under cyberattack briefly on Thursday, with hackers modifying the site to deliver malicious code along with breaking news. For several hours, hackers used an iframe to distribute an exploit known as Redkit, leading NBC.com to be temporarily blocked by Google and Facebook. PCWorld (2/21)
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Tech Business

Tech titans speak out in favor of patent system
Big IT vendors, including IBM and Microsoft, say they don't want lawmakers to eliminate software patents. At a recent Capitol Hill briefing, representatives from the companies added they hope the patent system can be improved, especially when it comes to fending off infringement. "As my grandmother used to say, you don't throw the baby out with the bathwater," said Oracle's Dorian Daley. CIO.com/IDG News Service (2/21)
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Managing IT

How startups and small companies can innovate like a ninja
Ninjas were nimble and determined warriors who successfully fought more powerful enemies, says Gary Shapiro, head of the Consumer Electronics Association. That should serve as a model for corporate innovators, who need similar agility and resilience to bring products to market. "While the big companies are mired in bureaucracy, small businesses can be ninja innovators by being more agile," Shapiro says. Inc. online (free registration)/Tech Report blog (2/20)
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Digital certificate mismanagement can carry heavy costs for businesses
Large businesses that fail to properly manage their digital certificates stand to lose millions of dollars over the next two years, according to a study by the Ponemon Institute. The survey of more than 2,300 executives in five countries, which was conducted on behalf of security firm Venafi, found that more than half of respondents are not even aware of how many authentication keys and certificates their companies maintain, an oversight that can lead to lost productivity and brand damage, among other things. eWeek (2/21)
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Geeking Out

Millionaire space tourist plans trip to fly by Mars
The world's first space tourist, who in 2001 funded his own trip to the International Space Station, is upping the ante with a proposed 501-day, round-trip expedition to travel near Mars in 2018. If successful, the Dennis Tito-sponsored journey would take place in a commercial Dragon Capsule courtesy of SpaceX, putting the company well ahead of NASA's own deep space program and setting the bar for commercial space travel. IO9.com (2/21)
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SmartQuote

We have to change the way we build and deploy and use technology. We have to find a way to live within our means, to continue to innovate and do that in a cost-neutral or cost-negative way." -- Steven VanRoekel, federal chief information officer, as quoted by InformationWeek/InformationWeek Government Share: