The top 10 underreported technology stories of 2007
33755
We at InfoWorld.com? like to think that our coverage of the news and trends shaping the enterprise technology world is the best in the business. But not even InfoWorld (not to mention our competitors) can connect all the dots as they're forming ? the welter of news and the fast pace of events sometimes makes that difficult. That's why we've revisited the sea of dots to make those connections that weren't evident at first.
180360
Starry-eyed companies and CEOs made big promises to rollout new gadgets and told consumers to prepare for big trends in 2007. Who was right? And who was wrong?
123991
A list of tech-industry questions that might get answers this year.
540556
Our 2007 picks for the best of what's new and exciting on the Web today  -  sites with exceptional style and smarts that offer new ways to enrich the on- and off-line experience
365200
The Story: Call it a trend within a trend. Blade servers have become the fastest growing segment of the server market, and for the first time accounted for more than $1 billion in sales during the third quarter of 2007. Although the vast majority of those sales were to enterprise customers, IBM and Hewlett-Packard have redoubled their efforts to push blades downmarket to small and medium businesses.[ Slideshow: 2007's top underreported tech stories ]                                                    And why not? There are tens of thousands of relatively small businesses, not to mention remote offices, that already run three or more servers ? in many cases with only minimal IT resources.Both HP and IBM launched blade products aimed at the small-to-medium business market late this year. HP has the BladeSystem c3000, which can hold as many as eight blades in a single chassis, and IBM has the BladeCenter S, a six-blade chassis system with on-board storage and switch options. These may sound familiar; both companies have touted blades as a solution for the small-to-medium business market for a few years. But their newest blade servers have actually been redesigned with the needs of smaller companies in mind.A good way to understand blades? appeal to smaller businesses is to think about what an enterprise datacenter has that a small shop doesn?t ? and how the new generation of blade servers can help fill those gaps.First, datacenters offer a controlled environment. Heat and dirt are server killers, but a small business may well stick a server under a desk or in a closet. So the new breed of blades comes with a chassis that filters and cools the air, and reduces noise.Second, datacenters rely on dedicated power systems, which smaller businesses just can?t afford. The ?downmarket? blades from HP and IBM, however, run on standard 110-volt lines and have the same three-pronged plugs you?ll find on a kitchen appliance.Third, datacenters have lots of room. A small business has no space for racks, but a chassis filled with six or eight blades takes up no more space than a desktop PC.Fourth, datacenters have dedicated IT support. Small businesses can?t afford that, either. Configuring small-business blades is relatively simple, though, and most customers get them preconfigured from a reseller that specializes in their industry. Either way, the blades should be up and running fairly quickly.For now, HP and IBM are the only major vendors offering blades tailored for smaller customers. Between them, however, they account for about 75 percent of the blade market, so that may not matter. And Dell is rumored to be contemplating a move to this market, and other vendors could follow.The Bottom Line: Why should the big boys have all the fun? Blades designed for smaller businesses let you get some of the datacenter capabilities that just weren?t possible before, without the headaches and costs of a traditional datacenter. Why not check them out?Complete list of 2007 underreported stories: 1.? Java is becoming the new Cobol 2.? Sun Microsystems is back in the game 3.? Hackers take aim at Mac OS X 4.? There are some threats you can worry less about 5.? Companies may have found a way around H-1B visa limits 6.? Open source?s new commercial strategy 7.? End-to-end Ethernet finally arrives 8.? Blade servers arrive for the masses 9.? BI is dead; long live BI 10. Balance of power shifts to software buyers
707106
The CAPS community is bullish for under-the-radar tech names.
719491
Another year of milestones and launches, and what do you have to show for it? A rekindled resolve to make your career in IT more worth your while this year in terms of the pay you take home.Sure, there have been upticks in pay for IT pros since the downturn, as the 2007 InfoWorld Compensation Survey attests. And yes, projections by analysts such as Robert Half Technology suggest brighter days ahead for some of your tech cohorts. But who is content with playing the law of averages when it comes to compensation?[ For a granular look at compensation trends, see: 2007 InfoWorld Compensation Survey: Personal gains and personnel woes and 2007 InfoWorld Compensation Survey: By the numbers ]Especially as the art of cashing in on added responsibility requires more than just the desire to earn more money.Especially as reports from analysts such as Goldman Sachs, JMP Securities, and ChangeWave "indicate that credit crunch and fears of a possible recession have convinced IT execs to rein in spending in 2008," as InfoWorld blogger Bill Snyder noted in a recent post.And everyone knows what executive budget anxiety means. Yet another increase in outsourcing -- and in particular, offshoring, which 2007 InfoWorld Compensation Survey results suggest will reach a tipping point in 2008, with more companies tapping offshore labor than not this year.The time to marshal your plan for raking in more dough is now. Here, you will find a wealth of valuable InfoWorld resources to help make your career in IT more rewarding in 2008.Project management pays For the nearly one in three tech workers concerned about job security, Snyder serves up worthwhile advice on avoiding jobs ripe for outsourcing in 2008: Hone your project management skills."Jobs that combine business-savvy with technical expertise will remain; purely technical positions are vulnerable," writes Snyder, whose Tech's Bottom Line blog takes a financial tack in navigating IT.But if spearheading a project this year is the best means for bagging a promotion or raise, how best to get your hands on one?Here, Dan Tynan's advice is timeless: Hold your nose and raise your hand by volunteering for projects nobody else wants to do and then excelling at them. Tynan's "20 ways to get promoted in the tech industry" is rife with get-ahead nuggets, chief among them the need to raise the bar and leave it there, as consistency in overachievement reaps more rewards than does excelling in fits and starts.Take the torch, but don't get burned For those hoping to cash in on heading up a project in 2008, forewarned is forearmed: Taking project management responsibility without authority and just saying yes to expanding requirements are two of IT's seven deadly career sins."The current corporate obsession with project management is nothing more than a realization that here is a great place to stick people with no technical or personnel management skills and get them to take the blame for failures," security consultant Robert Ferrell says in the aforementioned career sins article.Thus, defining your 2008 breakout project on your terms is essential, lest talks with your boss about taking on more responsibility result in you being saddled with a losing proposition.[ For a look at some award-worthy endeavors, see: 2007 InfoWorld 100 Awards ]As important will be avoiding the pitfall of resorting to prior solutions when tackling your new challenge, as former InfoWorld CTO Chad Dickerson advises in "Top 20 IT mistakes to avoid."Every project presents its own set of challenges, Dickerson writes, and stepping into the spotlight without the ability to increase your arsenal of ideas and methodologies will be a one-way ticket to high-profile embarrassment.Make more by moving on But for some, the thought of contributing above and beyond the already above-and-beyond requirements of an employer that just doesn't get the value of IT is enough to put "new job" atop the list of this year's resolutions.After all, as the 2007 InfoWorld Compensation Survey found, executive management's perception of the value of IT is the worst in years, thanks in large part to perpetually stingy budgets and expense-minded approaches to IT.Thankfully, with analysis such as Robert Half Technology's supporting 2007 InfoWorld Compensation Survey findings that the IT job market looks relatively healthy going forward, there are outlets for the more than one in four of you likely to be combing the classifieds this year.Differentiating yourself from the pack of prospects, however, will be your biggest challenge. InfoWorld contributor Bob Lewis emphasizes the "six Ps" -- product, price, place, promotion, production, and people -- in becoming your own IT career coach, an approach he suggests will help you capitalize on worthwhile opportunities.Market your skills Lewis -- whose Advice Line blog regularly doles out expert career insights ranging from dealing with bad bosses, to making the most of multiple opportunities, to negotiating salary, and exiting a job gracefully -- notes that getting your foot in the door is a matter of defining exactly what you do best and finding a marketplace where those services are in short supply.And once you have a bead on 2008's dream job, Nick Corcodilos advises thinking like an investment banker by taking a profit-minded approach to interviewing.Corcodilos, a tech headhunter, provides advice on convincing managers to take a chance on you, how to beat low-cost competition for a job, when to take a pay cut, and how to deal with difficult questions from prospective employers regularly in his Ask the Headhunter blog."The reason people fail in most interviews is they're interviewing for the wrong jobs," Corcodilos says. And in advising you to not chase job listings, Corcodilos points out that what is hot in the IT job market is ephemeral; what matters most is becoming the best at what you are good at."Being hot means you will watch the market go up and down, while your talents go in just one direction: up," Corcodilos writes in a recent blog post.Brush up and avoid burnout Of course, keeping current on cutting-edge technologies can't hurt, especially as the call for broad IT skill sets will only grow louder in the coming year.Taking a practical approach to bringing new technologies such as AJAX development in-house will not only show management you are keen on remaining relevant in the years to come but will also send a message: Grow with me, or I will find an employer better suited to my career needs.Here, that old saw, training, can never be overemphasized."If spending $2K now means a $20K bump down the road, that's a pretty good return on investment," David Blair says, referring to personal investments in cutting-edge training in Tynan's "20 ways to get promoted in the tech industry."?Besides, making a commitment to keep on top of skills trends in 2008 will widen your net beyond the scope of traditional IT shops, to the once-again lucrative, though always risky startup job market.[ For tips on finding work at a particular search giant, see: How to get a job at Google ]And for those whose end-of-the-year reflections bummed them out with the thought of another year overworked in IT, heed Lewis' advice on dealing with burnout when you return to work:"Tomorrow, see if you're capable of putting in an intense productive workday. If you can, then you're de-motivated. If you can't, then you're suffering from some level of burnout."Additional resources 2007 InfoWorld Compensation Survey: Personal gains and personnel woes 2007 InfoWorld Compensation Survey: By the numbers  20 ways to get promoted in the tech industry IT's seven deadly career sins  Become your own IT career coach  Nailing the interview: A headhunter tells how  How to get a job at Google Targeted training keeps IT workers sharp  Strategic IT talent: Offshoring is not the answer  How to get a job at a hot startup How to avoid jobs ripe for outsourcing Is IT working hard for the money? Women in technology: A call to action Bob Lewis: Advice Line Nick Corcodilos: Ask the Headhunter Bill Snyder: Tech's Bottom Line The Salary Landscape InfoWorld Salary Calculator 2006 InfoWorld Compensation Survey
694737
Wired News nominates the sexiest geeks of 2007. Vote and submit your own nominees!
432563
In this article I've selected what I consider to be some of the past year's outstanding achievements in the world of Linux music and sound software. It's not really a "Best Of 2007", it's just my personal choices for what I found most interesting and significant in the past year.  read more
316696
This yearâs big story is mainstream marketers embracing new technologies like podcasts, video-on-demand, blogs, social networking and video sharing.
672609
What's left to say about Goldman Sachs' standout 2007?
106318
The BBC News website gives its predictions for five technologies that could start to become big in 2008
479993
From Google wonders to laptop reviews to iPhone torture tests, here's what the Web was reading and watching on PCWorld.com this year.
380249
VoIP. Google. iPod. Spyware. Mel Karmazin. Firefox. Blogs. Oracle.  They all made Filter's list of the top 10 technology "stories" of 2004. -washingtonpost.com
212950
Proposals for tax on engineers, compulsory arts degrees The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has this month brought out its World Economic Outlook for 2007, and the various heavyweights of financial news have all had their bash at reporting on it. Normally, no vulture would stir on his/her perch over this type of thing - unless, perhaps, Paris Hilton had been implicated in some kind of major economic upthrust - but in this case, the economists make some rather startling pronouncements about technology.â¦
739958
Overall, the industry did several things right and wrong this year. But here's what Network World readers, columnists, bloggers and testers say are the absolute smartest and dumbest moves of 2007 -- and why they matter.
116123
Satellite images of the world in 2007