Cures for the compulsive gadget grabber
Unflinching focus on value and program needs helps rein in temptation to buy the latest and greatest toys

Get smart about desktop management
Neglect the basics and you’ll risk having days of high-profile grief and frustration

Buzz of the Week: Be careful what you ask for

• House committee postpones Doan's hearing
• House passes bill to restrict no-bid contracting
• FCW parent buys Post Newsweek Tech Media

Chertoff gives the CIO the power of the purse
Scott Charbo will gain broad control of IT spending in DHS directorates

DOD renews acquisition reform by focusing on unearned fees

• Read the Defense Acquisition Transformation report [.pdf].

OFPP outlines plan to clean up data

Circuit

• Leslie Barry, vice president of government affairs and business development at GTSI, led a group to Nicaragua to help build a community center. See a slideshow with photos from the trip, hear Barry talk about it and check out the Bridges to Community Web site.

Intercepts

Editorial: Doan's task
Despite the controversy surrounding her, the GSA administrator’s main goal should be leaving the agency better than she found it

Nadler: How small is small?

• Read SBA’s small-business size standards.

Fountain: More than a grade

Using the bad to do good
Government Printing Office looks to learn from its mistakes to improve its programs

GSA tries sweetening telework with new federal regulations

• Read the General Services Administration's new telework guidelines.

Big vendors give open source added clout
Familiar suppliers provide a higher comfort level for agencies

Technology briefs

• For more technology news, visit FCW’s sister publication, Government Computer News at www.gcn.com.

FedBizOpps procurement stalls once again
GSA is mum on next steps as judge denies government’s request for reconsideration

GSA seeks a catalyst role in its plans for an IPv6 program office

• Read NIST's document on IPv6, "A Profile for IPv6 in the U.S. Government" (.pdf).
  Source: National Institute of Standards and Technology

Democrats gain the advantage on health IT issues
With Democrats now in charge on Capitol Hill, the rush for national health IT legislation is on

Two agencies prove it’s possible to fix GAO high-risk programs

VA gives thumbs down to thumb drives

Congress pressures agencies to improve E-FOIA compliance

FCW@20: Tech toons told the story

Buzz of the Week

• Click here to find out what the word about town was or here to listen to a podcast of the Buzz from the March 19, 2007, issue.

Editorials: Submission guidelines

• Op-ed submission guidelines

Take the FCW.com poll

• Should agency CIOs control all IT spending within their agency?

Letters

• Send a letter to the editor at letters@fcw.com.

Community.gov

• What's going on in the federal IT community? Check out these photo galleries from recent events around town.

Download archive

• Miss the Download from a past issue? Click here.