White House releases IT Dashboard as open source code – O’Reilly Radar

With news of the federal open gov initiatives going dark, the already established technology is being released publicly:

The White House has released the software code for its IT Dashboard and TechStat toolkit. The initiative was coordinated through Civic Commons, a code-sharing project incubated within Code for America that helps governments share technology for the public good, with support from OpenPlans. Civic Commons staff worked with REI Systems, the contractor that originally built the IT Dashboard for the United States Office of Management and Budget (OMB), to prepare the code for release under an open source license. That work included a security audit, documentation, and a licensing review of the software’s components.

via White House releases IT Dashboard as open source code – O’Reilly Radar.

Federal open gov sites to go dark in May – Forbes

Forbes on the budget slashing of federal open gov sites:

Many of the Obama administration’s top open government initiatives are set to be turned off by May 31. Government sources confirm that the Office of Management and Budget is planning to take seven websites dark in two months because of a lack of funding.

via OMB prepares for open gov sites to go dark in May – Kevin L. Jackson – Cloud Musings on Forbes – Forbes.

Here’s another take and some traffic digesting from the Guardian.

Canadian federal government releases its own open data portal

Canadian federal government releases its own open data portal:

The Open Data Pilot is part of the Government of Canada’s commitment to open government, which is being pursued along three streams: open data, open information and open dialogue, and aims to drive innovation and economic opportunities for all Canadians. The Open Data Pilot seeks to improve the ability of the public to find, download and use Government of Canada data. You are invited to search the catalogue, download datasets and explore the possibilities of Open Data.

[Press Release] and [Developer's perspective]

Knight Survey: Nearly Half of Federal Agencies Lag in Responding to FOIA Information Requests – Knight Foundation

From the Knight Foundation:

Washington DC (March 14, 2011) – The Obama administration is only about halfway toward its promise of improving Freedom of Information responsiveness among federal agencies, according to the new Knight Open Government Survey by the National Security Archive, released today for Sunshine Week.

via Knight Survey: Nearly Half of Federal Agencies Lag in Responding to FOIA Information Requests – Knight Foundation.

Read more on the Knight blog here.

Philadelphia could lose $149M in federal funding: Links

• Penn freshman’s soon-to-launch microfinance site among Inc.’s Coolest College Startups [Inc] PoverUp from Charlie Javice H/T Keystone Edge
• SugarHouse official says casino building its names database [Philadelphia Business Journal]
• Philadelphia could lose $149M in fed funding [Philadelphia Business Journal]
• Call to Action : Mandatory Paid Sick Leave Bill Moves! [Chamber blog] — Chamber of Commerce is opposing City Council legislation that requires Philadelphia employers to offer paid sick leave
• From your driveway to China: Tracing the path of a recycleable in Philly [Newsworks]
• Philadelphia: Prime Meridian Between 1749 & 1816 [Geekadelphia]
• Save the Pennsylvania Tax Incentive for Filmmakers [Geekadelphia]
• Pennsylvania not on LEED list, but Philadelphia improving [Philadelphia Business Journal]

U.S. Census Begins Releasing Raw Data | Development Seed

Yesterday the U.S. Census Bureau announced that they will release raw data down to the block level on total population, race, Hispanic origin, voting age, and housing unit counts from the 2010 census for public consumption. The data will be released on a state-by-state basis, with data on Louisiana, Mississippi, New Jersey, and Virginia to be released this week. The Census Bureau will release more state-wide data following this general schedule here.

via U.S. Census Begins Releasing Raw Data | Development Seed.

FCC won’t vote on Comcast-NBC merger in January: Comcast Roundup

Every Thursday morning at 8:30 a.m. EST, find all the stories you need to know about your friendly telecommunications giant in the Comcast Roundup. Get an e-mail subscription for our Comcast news updates.

• Comcast to Start Streaming on Tablets [Gadgetwise: New York Times] — “Comcast on Wednesday took a step toward television viewing on tablets with two announcements about live and on-demand viewing.” The Comcast blog gave more corporate perspective on those announcements.
• No Comcast vote at January FCC meeting [The Hill] — “The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will not vote on the Comcast merger at its January meeting, according to an agenda summary released Tuesday.”
• Taking Media Mergers to the Next Level [FAIR] — Perspective on media coverage of NBC merger
• Why I Love Comcast [The Motley Fool] — Counter to the maxim of ‘don’t buy what you hate,’ an investor suggests that “we just need to ensure that we don’t extrapolate our own personal experiences too greatly onto the general population, and assume that everyone thinks like us.”
• Analysts: Comcast-NBCU conditions could change if GOP wins White House [The Hill] — “Telecom analysts say the conditions that may be placed on the merger of Comcast and NBC Universal could be rolled back if Republicans take the White House in 2012. “
• Inquirer Editorial: Cable giant grows bigger [Inquirer] — Local voice on the merger, without much hard perspective we can find.

Comcast Roundup: Senate chairman worried, House leader encouraged by NBC deal

Every Thursday morning at 8:30 a.m. EST, find all the stories you need to know about your friendly telecommunications giant in the Comcast Roundup. Get an e-mail subscription for our Comcast news updates.

DEFINITE READS

• Internet issues bog down Comcast-NBC merger [LA Times]
• Comcast Tests Combo Internet-Cable Device [Wall Street Journal] — “Comcast Corp. is testing a new service that knits together television and the Internet, as the U.S. cable giant goes after rivals that threaten to undermine its business.
• Rockefeller Pans Comcast-NBCU Deal [Tech Daily Does: National Journal] — “Senate Commerce Chairman Jay Rockefeller – the most powerful voice in Congress on telecom policy — told the FCC he’s worried that the $30 billion transaction could have a detrimental impact on consumers and competition.”
• Comcast getting good deal on NBC Universal, research firm Bernstein says [Philadelphia Business Journal]

Below, why Comcast should chase the Olympics, is the end of NBC regulatory approval nearing and more.

Read more

XIPWIRE opens platform to donate to WikiLeaks, after MasterCard, Visa stop

XIPWIRE, the Center City-based mobile payments company, has launched an online platform through which supporters can donate funding to the controversial WikiLeaks and the legal defense fund of its founder Julian Assange, as reported by Raw Story.

The move comes after major credit cards Visa and MasterCard, in addition to online payment giant PayPal, halted any payments to the nonprofit, which was the mechanism through which thousands of pages of classified U.S. government diplomatic documents were made public.

On the XIPWIRE WikiLeaks page, the following message is posted:

While people may or may not agree with WikiLeaks, we at XIPWIRE believe that anyone who wishes to support the organization through a donation should be able to do so.We are waiving all fees so that 100% of the donations collected will be directly passed on to WikiLeaks.

More from the Baltimore Sun’s technology blog here.

Do you think this is a brave or a dangerous act? Tell us below.

Comcast Roundup: ‘Self regulation, not government mandates’ for internet and More

Every Thursday morning at 8:30 a.m. EST, find all the stories you need to know about your friendly telecommunications giant in the Comcast Roundup. Get an e-mail subscription for our Comcast news updates.

DEFINITE READS

• Comcast executive: self-regulation, not government mandates, for Internet [Post Tech: Washington Post] — “Comcast executive vice president David Cohen will deliver a speech in Washington on Monday, where he will stress the role of self-regulation of the Internet.”
• Verizon echoes Comcast: Feds shouldn’t reign over Internet service providers [Post Tech: Washington Post] Tom Tauke, Verizon’s executive vice president of public affairs, says: “After haggling over the issue for over five years, we are essentially in the same place we were when this debate started… There still is no identifiable problem to be solved, and instead, as predicted, technology and market forces are ensuring that access to the Internet is open to consumers, as well as to developers of content and services.”
• Who Should Govern the Internet? [Comcast blog] — David L. Cohen says “The more important the Internet becomes, the more discussion, debate and pressure grows for more government involvement. In my talk at Brookings, I will suggest a path that relies primarily on the consensus-based self-governance model that has typified the Internet since its founding as a better alternative…” And follow up on the Comcast blog regarding the panel that followed Cohen’s keynote address.

Below, Comcast said to struggle with the Hollywood entertainment ecosystem, NBCU reshuffling detailed and more.

Read more