This application is near and dear to all of us in the SIGNAL newsroom. We follow AP Style, and with the AP Stylebook app, journalists like us can have error-free writing even when they’re away from their desks—and their editors. The tool features searchable listings for sections like sports, business and punctuation (my favorite), and users can even add their own customized entries and notes.

More information about the AP Stylebook app is available on AP’s Web site. The application is available for download from iTunes for iPhones and iPod Touch.

Share your favorite app with us in the comments!

These sites are not affiliated with AFCEA or SIGNAL Magazine, and we are not responsible for the content or quality of the products offered. When visiting new Web sites, please use proper Internet security procedures.

The intelligence community has been leading the government pack in its collaboration efforts. Christopher Dorobek points to 9/11 and other examples to show how government realized it needed a better way to collect, process and share intelligence data in this month’s Incoming column, “The Intelligence Community Writes the Book on Collaboration.”

The intelligence issues, particularly in the case of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, are well documented in the 9/11 Commission’s final report. The commission found that the government largely had the necessary data, but it failed to connect the dots. That data was scattered throughout many different organizations and among many people. Different parts of the intelligence and law enforcement organizations were not speaking to one other. In fact, these issues are not unique to the intelligence agencies. They are all too familiar throughout government.

Yet Dorobek notes that the intelligence community has developed a set of tools to quickly share information, known as Intellipedia. The success of the Intellipedia team has many people talking, and new reports show that Web-based collaboration works.

Everyone seems to be talking about social media and collaborative platforms such as Facebook, wikis and cloud computing. Do you think these tools are effective? If your organization uses them, have you noticed improved communication and collaboration? Is the intelligence community on the right track?

SIGNAL Scape isn’t the only blog at AFCEA. The intelligence department has two great blogs as well: MAZZ-INT and a new intelligence small business blog.

MAZZ-INT is the brainchild of Joe Mazzafro, who works in Oracle’s National Security Group. He has more than 30 years of experience in the intelligence community and also served in the U.S. Navy as a naval intelligence officer. His blog has been around for a couple of years, and great discussions develop between Mazzafro and commenters.

Dan Callahan has taken on authorship of the new intel small business blog. He’s an author and a federal sales professional with more than 20 years of experience working with the military and the IC. His blog is written for small business owners who want to develop and expand their relationship with the IC and increase their revenue.

Both blogs have great information and viewpoints, so check them out and leave some feedback.

Math is not my strong suit; I always travel with a calculator and a tip card to help me scoot by. I know I’m not alone thanks to CheckPlease. With this app, math-challenged diners can easily split a tab among multiple people and figure out the tip in just a few seconds. The app even calculates the tip on the total before tax. There are two versions of CheckPlease: a free one that features ads or an ad-free version that costs $0.99. It’s available for download to iPhones and iPod Touch here.

What’s your favorite app? Let us know in the comments below.

These sites are not affiliated with AFCEA or SIGNAL Magazine, and we are not responsible for the content or quality of the products offered. When visiting new Web sites, please use proper Internet security procedures.

Apps for your printer? Yup.

HP has an Internet-connected printer—the HP Photosmart Premium TouchSmart Web All-in-One printer—that comes with pre-loaded apps that have something for everyone. The Google Maps app lets users enter their destination and print out a map. Families can stay on track by printing out everyone’s weekly schedules with Google Calendar. Through the DreamWorks Animation app, movie fans can view upcoming movie trailers without logging on to the computer. Apps from Coupons.com, USATODAY.com, Nickelodeon, Fandago and more are also available. HP says that people will be able to create their own apps later this year. Visit HP’s Web site to learn more about the printer and HP apps.

What app can’t you live without? Got a favorite app you want to share? Let us know in the comments.

These sites are not affiliated with AFCEA or SIGNAL Magazine, and we are not responsible for the content or quality of the products offered. When visiting new Web sites, please use proper Internet security procedures.

I spend every summer eagerly awaiting the approach of fall for one reason: Starbucks’ pumpkin spice latte. (Then I anticipate the holiday season for the gingerbread latte.)

Thanks to iCoffee, addicts like me can keep track of how much money they spend on these delicious treasures. The app also features full Starbucks menus, information about local stores, nutrition facts and more. It’s available for iPhone at Apple.com.

What app can’t you live without? Got a favorite app you want to share? Leave a comment or send us an e-mail at newmedia [at] afcea [dot] org.

These sites are not affiliated with AFCEA or SIGNAL Magazine, and we are not responsible for the content or quality of the products offered. When visiting new Web sites, please use proper Internet security procedures.

Anyone who spends time on the Internet is well aware of the benefits that Web 2.0 provides. U.S. Forces Korea recognizes these attributes and is transforming its decision-making capabilities by employing Web tools, according to authors Maj. Vincent W. Lau, USAF, and David P. Martin in Command Takes Leap To Web-Centric Knowledge Sharing, published in the current issue of SIGNAL Magazine.

Even though U.S. Forces Korea adopted a command-wide communications strategy to foster collaboration, the authors point out that it still had to deal with huge quantities of fragmented data stored throughout its systems.

Col. Russell Wilson, USAF, chief of the U.S. Forces Korea Knowledge Operations and Initiatives Division (KOIN), describes the command’s initial efforts at online knowledge sharing:

Early on, there was no single, overarching strategy for our knowledge management, so units just posted their data on the networks anywhere and everywhere they could.

Leaders recognize that the power of Web 2.0 on defense C² networks is in making warfighters more effective. It provides tighter decision-making loops and more relevant information through collaboration and networking.

Success in this arena, the authors point out, will be based on two principles: authoritative data enabling users to trust that their information source is the definitive source from which all collaboration and work are based; and data availability anywhere, under any condition, ranging from peacetime to war.

U.S. Forces Korea’s commander, Gen. Walter L. Sharp, USA, sought to fulfill this vision:

I would like to go to a place on [our C² networks] where data is authoritative and accessible to people who want to get it. [I asked my staff to] identify ubiquitous and authoritative information flow [to] flatten the organization.

From the Virtual Knowledge Wall’s (VkW’s) versions, U.S. Forces Korea has moved to the Microsoft Office SharePoint Server (MOSS) because it offers advanced Web 2.0 capabilities.

With KOIN leading the way on the knowledge management front, U.S. Forces Korea has positioned itself–using a platform such as MOSS–to tackle the paradigm shift swiftly and smartly, moving quickly from static to dynamic Web portals across all the networks.

The command will add to the capabilities of its C² networks as a force multiplier to give U.S. Forces Korea even more ability to “fight and win tonight.”

We welcome you to share your thoughts here in the comments below, or you can read the full article here.

The commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard is simply enthralled with the opportunities social networking platforms offer. Adm. Thad W. Allen, USCG, opened the final day of MILCOM 2009 by explaining that it took some time for him to move into the Web 2.0 realm, but now that he’s there, he understands that it is a domain that all military leaders must learn to use.

“We have to understand that the changes in technology, computation and so forth have created what I call a fundamental change in our social atmosphere. If you think about social media—Web 2.0 or whatever you want to call it—I have said on many occasions that this is not just a change in technology; this is not a new product line; this is not a new way of marketing technology. This is a fundamental change in our social atmosphere that is as fundamental as climate change is to our environment,” he stated.

Once military leaders accept this fact, they will realize that their only choice is to adapt and understand what the technology presents in terms of both risks and opportunities. They can then manage it and move forward, he added.

As in climate change, only three options are available: suffer, adapt or manage. It was congressional hearings based on information on blogs that prompted Adm. Allen to change how the Coast Guard was dealing with social media. “The Internet is forever. A blog post is like non-biodegradable plastic. You cannot change it, and you cannot control the entry into that environment. What you can do is adapt and manage,” he stated. This is the tack that Adm. Allen decided to take for his service.

The permanence of information on the Web and the ability for adversaries to use the Internet to disseminate misinformation means that the military must find new ways to manage these problems. Referring to “Where’s Waldo?”—a series of books that challenge readers to find a single character hidden in an extremely cluttered background—the admiral suggested that while the military can’t change Waldo—in this case the misinformation on the Web—it can at least increase the background clutter with correct information to make it harder to find, he suggested.

“You have to proactively make information available to your people,” Adm. Allen stated. “The more you can make information transparent, the more you’re going to breed self-correcting behavior into your organizations.”

While he is sometimes criticized for this viewpoint because it can sound as if he endorses opening the floodgates on all information, most people understand that this is not possible because of both security and privacy issues. “In spite of some criticisms that have been leveled at me in the Internet world regarding transparency, I subscribe to it, I maintain it and we try to move in that direction, understanding that there will always be limits to how much you can make any organization transparent,” Adm. Allen stated.

When information is readily available, an organization’s members understand what the leaders want and are more likely to head in the right direction. “And I will just tell you that is the ultimate in convergence,” he added.

We’re starting a new feature here at SIGNAL Scape: a weekly post focusing on cool apps.

Our inaugural post features an app for you multitasking on-the-go folks: Torch Project Management. Torch lets you keep in touch with customers, coworkers and suppliers with one easy tool. You can attach messages, files, Google Docs, invoices and more to your projects. You can also track time and expenses, bill clients, and import data. There are two versions: the full-powered one and a faster offline version. To learn more, visit the Web site.

What app can’t you live without? Got a favorite app you want to share? Leave a comment or send us an e-mail at newmedia [at] afcea [dot] org.

These sites are not affiliated with AFCEA or SIGNAL Magazine, and we are not responsible for the content or quality of the products offered. When visiting new Web sites, please use proper Internet security procedures.

The defense sector is all a-Twitter about this and other social media platforms, with many organizations restricting how and if their employees can access the tools during working hours.

Authors Maj. Daniel Ward, USAF; Maj. Gabe Mounce, USAF; and Carol Scheina discuss the impact of these restrictions in their article “Twitter Is Mission Critical.” The article generated a lot of conversation when it was presented in excerpted form last month, and you can read those comments here.

The complete version of Twitter is Mission Critical is in this month’s issue of SIGNAL Magazine. And it’s worth another look to see what else the authors had to say.

The Defense Department currently denies access to social networking sites from many unclassified department networks, isolating the defense work force from Twitter, one of the biggest engines of social, economic and technological change. This policy is outdated, the authors say.

They stress that blocking access to social media restricts warfighters’ ability to collaborate and innovate. Many defense employees are knowledge workers, which requires connections with people and exposure to emerging ideas. Social media enables all of these things.

Social media communities such as Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn are self-selected and interest-driven. They are not limited to those who wear the same uniform, work on the same projects or have the same background. Social media extends beyond the military-industrial complex, encouraging collaboration and jointness.

Arguments against using Twitter include network security fears, bandwidth constraints and the perception that social media wastes time–none of which are strong enough reasons to preclude using these tools. The authors point out that blocked sites do not represent a unique threat; Twitter is not a bandwidth hog; and monitoring employee usage is a leadership issue.

It is time for the Defense Department to embrace the next evolution of technology–social media–and to acknowledge the change that is transforming the world, the authors argue. It cannot be ignored and should not be blocked.

You can read and comment on the full article here, or you can share your thoughts here at SIGNAL Scape.