Those futuristic flying cars movie-goers frequently see in science-fiction thrillers will be coming to real life in 2012, according to the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. According to Aviation Week, program manager Stephen Waller said both AAI Corp. and Lockheed Martin have produced “feasible designs” for DARPA’s Transformer program and demonstrations are scheduled for 2015. [...]

Richard Spires, chief information officer of the Department of Homeland Security stated his views Tuesday on a problematic situation for federal CIOs at the ACT/IAC Executive Leadership Conference in Atlanta. Spires insinuates that CIOs are not holding their position for a long enough period of time, and there is evidence to back up his claim. [...]

The Transportation Department seems willing to embrace Apple’s iPad for department-wide usage. Now the only question that remains is when. Government Attic reports the FAA has tested out 800 iPads and that other heads of transportation agencies seem to agree that integrating the iPad would be a beneficial move. Bill Mosley, department spokesman, said that [...]

In wake of a Symantec and National Cyber Security Alliance survey on cybersecurity practices of small businesses, the Federal Communications Commission announced it will launch a tool to help prevent attacks. The “Small Biz Cyber Planner” will help each individual company develop their own plan by answering questions such as, “Does your business use credit [...]

Recycling is spreading far beyond its debut platform of Earth. According to a Defense Department platform released last week, DARPA is working on plan to collect useful parts from dead satellites floating 22,000 miles above the planet in the geosynchronous orbit. The plan, coined Phoenix Program, will be collecting spare satellite parts — mainly antennas [...]

Federal agencies are struggling to put together mobile applications of substance according to a report released last week from White Horse. NextGov is reporting that several government applications are flawed. The Postal Service’s Tools app is severely flawed in reporting where packages are. The report recommends a website used to track packages rather than an [...]

The Government Accountability Office released a report Thursday laying out broad plans for fixing the finances of the Postal Service. The agency is projecting a 25 percent decrease in mail by the year 2020. The GAO was pointedly critical of the Postal Service’s payment system for retirees health benefits, a model they say is flawed [...]

NASA is embracing the cultural phenomenon of social media in stride. The aerospace giant announced it has rewarded 20 of its Twitter followers with a behind-the-scenes access at the launch of the agency’s next Earth-observing satellite mission, the NPP. Participants will be active in the daylong Tweetup program at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California on [...]

A group of panelists told the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Tuesday that a bioterroism threat’s likelihood will continue to increase with scientific advancements. “The potency and accessibility of these weapons…will increase as the bioscience revolution proceeds,” said Tara O’Toole, the Department of Homeland Security’s under secretary for science and technology. “In [...]

According to a new survey from Market Connections, 92 percent of federal respondents said they used social media within the last year. The survey, reported by AOL Government, shows an additional 74 percent reporting they use networking tools at work. A similar survey a year ago indicated that 55 percent of government employees were banned [...]