technology

Mobile App Encourages Preparedness in Arlington

By ARLnow.com

Arlington County’s Office of Emergency Management has released a new mobile app called “Arlington Prepares,” for Android and iPhone users.

The free app, which can be downloaded from the Android Marketplace and the Apple App Store, gives residents tips on what to do in the event of specific emergencies, provides a feed of Arlington’s emergency alerts, offers a checklist of emergency supplies and lists information about several emergency-related volunteer opportunities in Arlington.

Among the 10 emergencies covered in the “What Do I Do?” section are tornadoes (“if you are inside, seek a place of refuge such as a basement”), earthquakes (“many of the 120 fatalities from the 1933 Long Beach earthquake occurred when people ran outside of buildings only to be killed by falling debris”), and chemical attacks (“immediately strip and wash… look for a hose, fountain or any source of water”).

The app was developed “in-house” by the Arlington Office of Emergency Management and Department of Technology Services. There’s currently no plan to launch an app for Blackberry devices.

Thank You to Our Server Tech

By ARLnow.com

One might think that Alex Chamandy of Barcroft-based Arlington Virginia Computer Repair is merely a computer fix-it guy. Someone who spends his days troubleshooting errors, removing viruses, dealing with fizzled hard drives and tackling other computer maladies.

Yes — Alex and his partner Jennifer do all of those things, and do them well. But he’s also a wizard when it comes to Linux servers, open source server software, and the IT needs of small businesses, and that’s why we’d like to thank him today. Alex has been helping us with our technical/server issues since shortly after we launched, and now he’s spending hours of his scarce free time helping us transition to a newer, faster and more reliable server.

Without Alex’s help, we would have been hard-pressed to keep the site up and running as it grew. Plus, Alex has been our go-to guy for random technical questions and information security-related services.

Rather than toiling anonymously — save the mention at the bottom of each of our pages — we wanted to let Alex’s dedication be known to all. If you want the same expertise and service when your desktop or laptop goes belly-up, or if your small business needs some tech help, give his company a call at 703-486-0200 or visit the Arlington Virginia Computer Repair web site.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Beloved Bishop O’Connell Football Coach Dies — Steve Trimble, Bishop O’Connell High School’s varsity football coach since 2002, died suddenly at his office yesterday morning. Trimble played high school football in Cumberland, Md., before playing for the University of Maryland on a scholarship. He played free safety for the Denver Broncos and Chicago Bears during the early-to-mid 80s, before playing in arena leagues and then joining the coaching staffs of several NFL teams. Trimble, 53, was the father of four sons, all of whom played football at O’Connell. [Arlington Catholic Herald]

Immigrant Advocate Wants Office for Latinos — Lois Athey, the head of tenants-rights group BU-GATA, told the County Board over the weekend that she would like the county to establish an Office of Latino Affairs for Arlington’s 31,000 Latino residents. Board Chairman Chris Zimmerman asked County Manager Barbara Donnellan to look into options for further outreach to the Latino community. [Sun Gazette]

More iPads Coming for Arlington Students? — Camilla Gagliolo, the instructional technology coordinator for Arlington Public Schools, is a big believer in using iPads in the classroom. The device “is bringing educational technology to new levels of student engagement,” she told a conference. iPads are currently in use at several Arlington elementary schools. [THE Journal]

Library Staff Monitoring New Catalog System

By ARLnow.com

Arlington Public Library staff have been working to iron out a few wrinkles in the library’s new catalog system, which went live Thursday afternoon.

Some library patrons have been reporting difficulty logging in, placing holds and setting up lists. Staff have been responding to the feedback and encouraging more people to report their experience with the system.

In addition to the bugs, one tipster worries that the process of signing up for the new catalog system presents an opportunity for identity theft.

“Anyone can type in somebody else’s library card number, create and enter a PIN (I.D. number), and access somebody else’s account,” the tipster said in an email. “This is a security and privacy problem.”

We tested it and indeed you can sign up for an account and then see the library card holder’s name, address and phone number — provided you have the library card number. No additional identity verification is performed.

Library spokesman Peter Golkin says they’ve been monitoring the sign-up process.

“We’re keeping an eye on how the PIN sign-up process is working,” Golkin said. “We’re also still testing some related features like the alternate username so we can revisit such issues as we proceed.”

“So far we’ve had overwhelmingly positive feedback about the big upgrade,” Golkin added.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

District Taco Announces Taco Eating Contest — This sounds like a recipe for some fun, or vomit, or both. District Taco (5723 Lee Highway) will be holding a taco eating contest at 6:00 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 10. Ten contestants will compete to see who can eat the most tacos (without throwing up — seriously, it’s a rule) in 15 minutes. If you think you’ve got what it takes, fill out an entry form and submit it by Thursday. See more information on the District Taco web site.

Blame Technology for Rising Rents — Has your rent gone up recently? If so, a software program may be to blame. A number of large landlords are now using “sophisticated computerized models” to figure out how to price rentals. Arlington-based AvalonBay Communities, which owns rental communities in Ballston and near Shirlington, recently started widespread use of a software package called “Rainmaker” to squeeze every last dollar out of its properties. More from the Wall Street Journal.

Rustico Does Brunch — Rustico’s new Ballston location has launched a Sunday brunch service. Go for the ricotta doughnuts, stay for the oatmeal and coffee-infused beer. More from We Love DC.

Flickr pool photo by BrianMKA

If You Could Improve One Thing About Arlington…

By ARLnow.com

You may have seen the IBM ads on TV talking about “building a smarter planet.” Those ads reference the company’s Smarter Cities Challenge, which seeks to award 50 cities (or counties) in North America with $250,000 to $400,000 in free technology and consulting services to solve a key problem facing each locality.

The company is now hoping that Arlington applies to the program.

“There could be a number of ways for IBM to help in Arlington, from traffic problems to Metro efficiency and safety,” said IBM rep Max Luckey. “The IBM grant could help fund new infrastructure improvements, streamline administration costs, or even help with projects like the Rosslyn Gateway Park redevelopment.”

The solutions provided by IBM are data and technology-driven, but such solutions can be applied to most problems facing local governments, we’re told. Better citizen engagement and improved delivery of services are two other examples of ways in which the Challenge can help.

The deadline for applying to the program is Dec. 31.

If you ran the county government, what problem would you try to solve?

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Arlington Jury Hears Rape Victim’s Story — A 23-year-old University of Maryland graduate student took the witness stand yesterday in the trial of former Henderson Hall Marine Jorge “George” Torrez. The woman described the night in February when she was abducted while walking home with a friend in the Ballston area, then repeatedly raped and left for dead in a remote, wooded area. More from the Washington Post.

Solar Raisers Install First System — Volunteers organized by Arlingtonians for a Clean Environment helped install a solar water heating system at a home in south Arlington’s Claremont neighborhood over the weekend. The system reduces water heating energy use by 75 percent. The installation was the first in ACE’s Solar Raisers initiative. More from the Sun Gazette.

DARPA Conference to Discuss ‘Pre-Crime’ System — The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is trying to develop a system that would use powerful analytical tools to determine if a soldier is becoming homicidal or suicidal, or if an intelligence operator is about to turn double agent. Next week, DARPA will be holding a conference in Arlington to educate contractors about the development process for such a system. The publication Government Computer News compares such a system to the “pre-crime” technology in the Tom Cruise film “Minority Report.”

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Arlington Woman Hits Lotto — An Arlington woman who won $1 million playing the Mega Millions game is expected to pick up her prize today. So far, the new millionaire’s identity is unknown. More from WTOP.

Arlington Schools to Get iPads — Arlington school officials are using a state grant to buy about 70 iPads. Meant to increase participation in a state “Beyond Textbooks” program, the grant will provide iPads to a fourth-grade social studies class at Drew Elementary and two world history classes at Washington-Lee High School. More from the Washington Examiner.

League of Women Voters to Hold Referendum Discussion — In the wake of this year’s unsuccessful attempt to change Arlington’s form of government by referendum, the League of Women Voters is holding a panel discussion entitled “Citizens Making Change in Arlington: How Does the Referendum Process Work, and Does It Work Well?” The talk is taking place at the Arlington Career Center main hall (816 S. Walter Reed Drive) from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m.

Flickr pool photo by BrianMKA

Arlington Police to Launch Project Lifesaver Program

By ARLnow.com

Within the next two weeks, the Arlington County Police Department is expected to announce that it is joining the Project Lifesaver program, which helps more than 1,000 public safety agencies locate adults and children who wander due to various disorders.

The program provides police departments with LoJack-like tracking equipment and training courses that allow them to find wander-prone people who have been outfitted with specialized wrist or ankle transmitters.

The program is especially geared toward those with Alzheimer’s, autism, Down syndrome, dementia, and similar cognitive conditions.

Project Lifesaver International, the organization behind the program, says its technology helps ensure that missing people are found quickly and safely, without the need to organize large, expensive searches. The organization says it’s responsible for 2,142 rescues in the past 10 years, with a 100 percent success rate.

It’s not clear how quickly Arlington County would be able to implement the system after the announcement.

Dominion Installing Smart Meters in Arlington

By ARLnow.com

Dominion Virginia Power is using parts of Arlington and three other Northern Virginia localities as an urban testing ground for its new smart meter system.

The company plans to install 32,000 advanced digital meters in Arlington, Alexandria, Fairfax County and Falls Church by the end of the year. Of the 32,000 meters in Northern Virginia, more than 19,000 will be installed in Arlington, according to Dominion spokesperson Le-Ha Anderson.

Unlike traditional meters, which must be read via on-site inspection or drive-by reading, the smart meters are capable of remote, two-way communication with Dominion’s control centers.

Dominion says that power usage data from the new meters will allow the company to improve its efficiency and conserve energy.

The new meters will also be able to communicate information about power outages, and will allow the company to shut off power to individual homes remotely.

More than 56,000 smart meters are currently being tested in the hilly and rural environs of Charlottesville and Midlothian.

ART Buses Now Can Be Tracked Online in Real Time

By ARLnow.com

Arlington has rolled out a suite of real time tracking solutions for ART buses. The tools let riders check up-to-the-minute arrival times based on the actual location of buses.

Among the tracking options for riders are the “RealTime Desktop,” which displays a useful but user-unfriendly map of the bus system, and “RealTime Smartphone,” which can be accessed on a computer as well as on a smartphone and which is actually much easier to use. There will also be RealTime displays at select bus stops throughout the county.

Excluding Metro’s NextBus system, the new ART system the first local real-time bus information service in the region. Beta testing on the system began a few weeks ago.

The technology for the service is provided by New Zealand-based Connexionz.

Arlington Transit has also recently started publishing schedule and route information in an online format that may eventually be used by Google and other web developers.