Personal Technology

The question government managers should consider is, "Do we really need instant messaging?" People like Fernando Burbano, chief information officer at the State Department, say instant messaging is fine for personal use. However, e-mail is sufficient for most State Department workers, Burbano says.

That leaves the business case for instant messaging up in the air. Beyond e-mail, instant messaging is centered on collaboration at the desktop. Instant messaging indicates when users are online, and it is based on the assumption that when people are online, they are available for messaging. "With e-mail you can respond to messages at your own time and pace," says Karen Hogan, director of the Commerce Department's Digital Department initiative. "Instant messaging interferes with asynchronous work."

One version of instant messaging that has been tailored for business is Lotus' SameTime software. SameTime is used for file- and information-sharing, as well as real-time data conferencing. "From where you are working you should be able to be aware of others who are working online," says Bethann Cregg, senior manager for SameTime product marketing. "SameTime is installed on an intranet and can encrypt all messages," she adds, countering arguments that instant messaging is inherently insecure.

Instant messaging software has several well-known security holes. Plus, government managers must consider the security risks of using Internet-based, free instant messaging software, which allows an exchange between users to reside on a server somewhere-anywhere. This means messaging conversations can be intercepted.

Until companies have worked out standards for instant messaging, it won't be tried on Intelink, the intelligence community's secure version of the Internet, says James P. Peak, the director of the Intelink Management Office. So far, instant messaging users can only communicate with those with the same software.

"We haven't yet seen a demand for instant messaging," says Roger Baker, chief information officer at Commerce. "Instant messaging is not appropriate for all business environments. You have to be careful about the way it is used."

Faster Chips Boost Notebooks

Government executives on the go now don't have to sacrifice notebook battery power for increased speed. Intel Corp.'s newest Pentium III processor, the SpeedStep, clocks in at 650 megahertz when using external power. But when unplugged, the processor decelerates to 500 megahertz to conserve battery power.

And while some speed degradation is likely to be noticed when the processor decelerates, a 500-megahertz notebook is still very fast. A 600-megahertz version of the processor is available as well.

Notebook vendors including Dell Computer Corp., Gateway Inc., Micron Electronics Inc. and Toshiba America Information Systems Inc. have adopted the technology.

Read Your Palm in COLOR

Palm Computing Inc. recently debuted the newest version of its line of Palm handheld computers, the Palm IIIc. The unit is a first for the company-it's in color.

At 6.8 ounces, the Palm IIIc has 8 megabytes of memory and, according to Palm Computing, can run for up to two weeks without recharging.

"Decreased battery life was the biggest drawback of color screens in the past," says John Inkley, manager of federal sales at Palm Computing. "We waited to put out a Palm unit in color until we had the right screen and battery technology."

Palm Computing also released a full-size keyboard for the Palm series that folds down small enough to fit into a pocket.

Government buyers can find the products on the General Services Administration schedules of CDW Government Inc., CompUSA, GE Capital IT Solutions Federal Systems and GTSI.

How to Send a Paper Digitally

Hewlett-Packard Co. has designed a way for the entire office to copy and send paper documents from one location. Similar to a fax machine, the Digital Sender 8100C scans paper documents and sends them to a destination. But that is where the similarities end. The Digital Sender resides on the network and uses the Internet to transmit documents to an e-mail address.

After scanning, the paper document is stored as a Portable Document File (PDF). Once sent, the PDF file goes straight to the recipient's e-mail bin.

The Digital Sender also can send documents to fax machines attached to the Internet and save money on phone charges.