Sprint, Nextel Employees Compete to Keep Their Jobs

Rather than rank results based on Web popularity, the site lists links based on their position in the market. So if a user searches for "firewall," the engine will come back with links to the top-selling firewall companies.

IT.com built a similar engine for the Web site of Federal Computer Week (FCW) that covers only government sites, regulations and related publications. Editor in chief John S. Monroe said people go to FCW's site to read about government news and policies, but before now had to go elsewhere to find relevant information beyond the magazine's content.

"It's making it easer for people to find the information they want from us -- and it's the 'from us,' part that's important," Monroe said. But, he added, "No one is going to replace Google."

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The Center for Innovative Technology , the Herndon organization that's been through several identity crises and countless legislative assassination attempts, just keeps rolling along. Yesterday, the center named Paula S. Gulak , co-founder of Richmond-based SyCom Technologies Inc. its new chairperson, replacing Charles W. Steger , president of Virginia Tech .

Her mission for the year?

"Really defining what [CIT] is in the eyes of most people. It has been a hot potato since the time it was created," Gulak said. She thinks of the center as "the glue that connects emerging technologies at every level." So, that's a start.

Ellen McCarthy writes about the local tech scene every Thursday. Her e-mail ismccarthye@washpost.com