People

NIH bars sensitive data from Mac laptops

The agency restated its policy mandating full-disk encryption for laptop PCs, which is still in beta testing for Macs.

People

OFPP: Data on advisory contracts lost in the shuffle

Officials can't find information on advisory and assistance contracts because agencies don't keep track of services contracts.

People

Senators: DHS needs flexibility in choosing personnel chief

Sens. Akaka and Voinovich have introduced a bill that would allow DHS' secretary to appoint a career chief human capital officer.

People

Letter: GAO lost objectivity under Walker

A reader says Comptroller General David Walker has completed GAO’s transformation into a management consultant to Congress, undermining and often abdicating its role as an independent auditor in the process.

People

Letter: Agency practices keep employees from advancing

A reader says the practice of “stepping” keeps qualified employees from using outside experience to move up to the executive level in government.

People

Letter: Lifting IBM’s suspension was the right move

One reader has worked with or competed against IBM for 30-plus years, and he believes the company is rigorous about following the rules.

People

Letter: IBM sales figure is misleading

A reader says the company’s sales to the government exceed $1.5 billion when you consider indirect sales through other contractors.

People

Letter: Is IBM off the hook?

A reader says the government’s reversal of its ban on IBM shows a failure to adjudicate.

People

IBM is back, but what happened?

EPA pulls the computer giant out of limbo after the parties quickly reach an agreement.

People

Census counts on paper for 2010

House lawmakers grill Commerce officials about rising costs and reversion to paper.

People

IG: FAA needs layers of oversight to fix safety gaps

Official finds systematic problems with agency's safety oversight.

People

ODNI releases sharing strategy for intell community

The new strategy aims to improve collaboration and communication between segments of the intelligence community.

People

Buzz of the Week: Blue week for Big Blue

Blue week for Big Blue

Modernization

Storage smarts: a class act

Federal employees and organizations find value in obtaining specialization and certification in storage technologies.

People

FlipSide: A few minutes with…Jonathan Breul

A few minutes with…Jonathan Breul

People

PowerPoint: Project yourself

Public-speaking experts offer pointers on delivering effective presentations

People

Hiring managers look to outsiders

Trends show federal government looks to industry for new upper-level hires

People

Bush nominates new DHS undersecretary for management

Elaine Duke became DHS' first deputy undersecretary for management last October.

People

Letter: Agencies need to make older workers happy, too

A reader says young professionals aren’t the only ones driving changes in the government workforce.

People

Letter: Craft an organizational change strategy and test it

Change is enabled by carefully crafting strategies (including, but not limited to communication and compensation) to help employees and organizations to shift their mind-sets.