Secure Authentication Infrastructure

Many Dutch are concerned about pushing for more egovernment services until a secure common authentication architecture can be put in place.

  posted by David @ 3:40 PM

 
Golden Shield's Internet Censorship

Xiao Ming of the Epoch Times reports on China's "Golden Shield" program which has clamped down on internet usage throughout the country.

British Telecom's promise to deliver 512K speed broadband is being questioned as some look at what France is doing across the sound and rolling out a service 12 times that speed over existing copper phone cabling. Meanwhile Qwest's promise to speed up the delivery of 256K DSL has derailed UTOPIA's promise of fiber to the home in some areas of Utah.

  posted by David @ 3:35 PM

 
Humans in the Portal

In an article (in WebProNews, popular columnist Gerry McGovern asks, "How much human support should your website need?" He answers the question with an example from Utah,

"In 2003, Utah.gov was named the best state government web portal in America by the Center for Digital Government. "Our goal is to use technology to make state government services more efficient and accessible," said Governor Mike Leavitt. "This award shows we're making real progress in our efforts to move more government services online instead of in line."

Utah sees its website as a way to deliver better services while at the same time saving money through greater efficiency. A key feature of Utah.gov is its '24/7 Live Help' service. I tested it on a Saturday morning in Ireland. Within seconds I had a friendly reply. I asked if lots of Utah citizens availed of such a service. I was told that it was very popular. "

The value of live help service can be difficult to determine. It worked well in Utah by coordinating it with other 24x7 service support.

Utah boat owners can now renew their boat registration online.

  posted by David @ 12:40 PM