Government Technology - January 2009 - (Page 4)

features 14 Stemming the Retirement Tide january 2009 GARMIN NÜVI 880 govtech.com j As the government work force ages, CIOs seek options to retain older workers and attract young employees. BY H I LT O N C O L L I N S 22 Getting the Picture BY J I M M c K AY Technological advances spur growth of large-scale video surveillance networks. news 8 On the Scene 10 Big Picture 48 Products Hoverit, Nikon, Garmin, ARCHOS, Junyi Heo, Nanda Home GT editors report from the road. departments 36 Fact of Matter Sacramento, Calif., investigates how plasma gasification might revolutionize waste management. 38 Money Trail columns S TAT E | L O C A L | F E D E R A L California’s GIS-based Web tool lets citizens follow state bond money after Election Day. Solar maps let citizens investigate their home’s solar potential and learn about local installations. Governments discover that Twitter is more than a social media novelty. emerging tech ng g 6 Point of View 12 Four Fact of Matt B Y C H A D V A N D E R V E E N | A S S O C I AT E E D I T O R When Computers Turn Customers Into Cattle … 40 Rays the Roof Questions for … Ken Theis, CIO, Michigan ILLUSTRATION BY TOM McKEITH Sacramento gasification might re hy don’t they just fill a rocket full of garbage and shoot it at the sun?” Many who want to reduce pollution but have a flimsy grasp on rocket science and economics have asked this question. But what if such a feat could be accomplished without a rocket? That’s essentially what plasma gasification is designed to do. Plasma gasification is the process of breaking down matter at the atomic level by exposing it to high temperatures. Gasification isn’t combustion or incineration. Those processes result in unpleasant, toxic byproducts. Gasification uses extreme heat, in the form of plasma arcs, to reduce matter to its basic elements. 50 signal:noise 42 Trick or Tweet? Making the Case W 36 44 The Modern Way to Vote When the federal government mandated changes to voting systems, Washington state met the challenge with help from one of the biggest names in software. JAN_09 Superheated plasma is nothing decades, plasma arcs, which rea peratures of up to 8,000 degrees Fa have been used in foundries to me However, a few years ago several w posal startups in the United States a took notice of a plasma arc technolo oped by NASA that produced an ar peratures exceeding those on the sun Any solid matter that came into con such an arc would be reduced to more than synthesis gas — or syng is generally carbon monoxide and — and an inert slag. It turns out the syngas can be produce useful products like di methanol or separated and sold to i month: JAN_09 next AN AWARD-WINNING PUBLICATION Public Sector ERPs: Then and Now Ten years ago, Sacramento, Calif., and Phoenix, Ariz., were among the first local governments to deploy SAP’s business software. In February, we’ll look at the experiences and results of these two ERP pioneers. Silver Folio: Editorial Excellence Award 4 http://www.govtech.com http://www.goctech.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Government Technology - January 2009

Government Technology - January 2009 Contents Point of View On the Scene Big Picture Four Questions for... Stemming the Retirement Tide Getting the Picture Fact of Matter Money Trail Rays the Roof Trick or Tweet? The Modern Way to Vote Products signal:noise

Government Technology - January 2009

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