MN to issue high-tech-driver&#39;s licenses
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Minnesota will soon begin issuing new driver&#39;s licenses that contain high-tech features to curb counterfeiting, as well as a &quot;status check&quot; that will show a driver&#39;s immigration status.
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By Jerry Berrios, The Miami Herald  Sep. 10--Florida highways are about to get a lot more high-tech thanks to a new wireless initiative proposed by the Florida Department of Transportation.
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By Stuart Tomlinson, The Oregonian, Portland, Ore.  Dec. 14--GOVERNMENT CAMP -- High tech has come to the mountains, with  more on the way.   Unmanned drones and a high-tech triangulation of cell phone signals and  phones with global positioning systems were on site Wednesday.
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(InfoWorld) - Texas and Minnesota may become the second and third U.S. states to adopt ODF (Open Document Format for XML) as the standard file format for government documents instead of the file format that Microsoft uses in its Office 2007 software suite. Two separate bills up for legislative consideration in each state propose to mandate the use of an open, XML-based file format that is "interoperable among diverse internal and external platforms and applications; fully published and available royalty-free; implemented by multiple vendors; and controlled by an open industry organization with a well-defined inclusive process for evolution of the standard," according to the Minnesota House of Representatives bill, which can be found here. The Texas bill, which can be found here, uses similar wording to describe the file format the states intend to support. The Minnesota bill proposes that the mandate would take effect beginning July 1, 2008, while the Texas bill gives the state's Department of Information Resources until Sept. 1, 2008 to develop a plan for the transition. Though the bills do not specifically name ODF as the document format under consideration, the explanation of what each state wants to move to seems to fit the standard. ODF is an industry standard supported by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), is available for free, and is supported by several vendors in their office suites, including IBM, Sun, and Google. In an e-mail to the IDG News Service, one of the senators who sponsored the Minnesota bill, State Senator Don Betzold, confirmed that his state's bill was written with ODF in mind. "ODF is the standard intended," he said. "It is my goal to make sure that the public has access to electronic documents in the years to come and that we do not have to rely on licensing agreements or code access." Indeed, proponents of ODF view the bills as another victory for the file format and another step closer to giving Microsoft Office the best -- and arguably only -- competition it's had in years. Office 2007 uses Open XML, a format Microsoft developed, as its default file format. "After Massachusetts, the ODF genie is out of the bottle here in the U.S.," Marino Marcich, managing director of ODF advocacy group the ODF Alliance, said. "We're encouraged that Texas and Minnesota seem to be following suit." Currently, Massachusetts is implementing a plan using ODF as the standard format for all state agency documents. Massachusetts was the first U.S. state to adopt ODF. Microsoft also has submitted Open XML as a global standard, and it is currently before the ISO for approval. If approved and adopted by companies other than Microsoft, it could theoretically fall under the description of an open, XML-based file format as outlined in the Texas and Minnesota bills. Novell plans to implement Open XML in its version of OpenOffice, and Corel plans support for Open XML in its WordPerfect Office software. In a statement from its public relations firm, Microsoft said it supports customer choice and interoperability and urges governments to also do so. However, the company does not approve of governments mandating the use of only one standard for file formats. Microsoft certainly is keeping a close eye on ODF and recognizes the need for its applications to interoperate with it. Microsoft funded the development of software that translates between Open XML and ODF. The software, called the ODF Translator, was made available in 1.0 form last week on SourceForge.net.
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New national standards for driver's licenses worry some privacy advocates.
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By Mike Johnson, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel  Feb.
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By Patrick Garmoe, Duluth News-Tribune, Minn.  May 30--Duluth is about to bring a virtual city hall to residents' computers, thanks to its overhauled Web site debuting July 1 in tandem with a new city logo.
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A pilot program at the Microsoft Download Center will require users to validate their Windows license in exchange for access to file downloads. Users with counterfeit software may find themselves locked out altogether.
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Lockheed Martin announced today it has entered into a license agreement with HMT Vehicles Ltd.
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Â· New law heralds world's biggest biometric systemÂ· Police to share information on visa applicants
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Digimarc Corp. said Wednesday that it received a five-year, $10.3 million contract from the Minnesota Department of Public Safety for new driver&#39;s license cards that include security features designed to thwart copying or alteration.
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The State Department will begin issuing electronic passports with microchips that store biometric and other data by early next year.
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Two top-tier license deals could push the company over the top.
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NEW YORK -- New York state may suspend driver&#39;s licenses for up to 300,000 people, including many undocumented immigrants, because their Social Security numbers could not be verified, a top New York state official said Thursday.
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The packaging and shipping company plans to upgrade readers it&#39;s testing to the next-generation, multiprotocol technology. By Elena Malykhina.
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Defying Congress, the Department of Homeland Security is pushing to tighten identification requirements at U.S. land borders starting Jan. 31, when it no longer will allow Americans or Canadians to enter the country by presenting a driver's license or declaring their citizenship.
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Perhaps Dan Rather should look into a new service to be announced Tuesday by Adobe Systems. The company&#39;s Certified Document Service verifies the authenticity of documents saved in Adobe&#39;s PDF, or portable document format, by adding digital signatures.