The top 10 underreported technology stories of 2007
520328
InfoWorld presents the 2007 trends and events you may have missed and their implications for the year ahead.
106318
The BBC News website gives its predictions for five technologies that could start to become big in 2008
630646
Aught-seven turns out to be a fine year for CEOs, as well as one of the world's most respected scientists, to bless the world with their embarrassing, clueless and cringe-worthy comments. Facebook, Microsoft and Apple all vie for top billing this year.
137785
Megadeals signalled realignment in the IT industry and foreshadowed the Internet's multimedia future. A much-delayed Vista debuted amid speculation that it would be the last of the old-school, big-bang product launches. As software giants announced support for Linux, and manufacturers switched chip allegiances, the open-source and chip industries were thrown into turmoil. 2006 was a transition year, as IT giants positioned themselves for a new era of global competition in the post-PC era. Here, not necessarily in order of importance, are the IDG News Service's top 10 news stories of the year:
114860
This yearâs headlines also revealed plot twists that were not so surprising. The adoption of open source software continued unabated; Microsoft deferred its dream of a unified file system in Longhorn; Web
54522
New 2007 editions of products promise improved protection and better use of computing resources.
636100
The AP takes a look at some of 2007's overlooked albums:
653198
The best of Computerworld's coverage of IT outsourcing.
368232
By Anonymous  BUSINESS TRENDS According to Grant Thornton's 14th Annual Survey of Bank Executives, more than seven in 10 bankers (73%) plan to increase technology spending in 2007.
558094
Anonymous sources feed the rumor mill with tales of an upgraded input device. In Gear Factor.
439617
Wired News runs down the 10 most interesting new organisms created through genetic engineering in 2007, from poison-sensing yeast to schizophrenic mice.
714791
Here are CNET Reviews' 10 favorite items from the past week, including a blazingly fast Canon SLR, the Drobo "storage robot," a two-room wireless digital audio system and the 2007 Apple MacBook Pro.
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
241648
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
521208
By Kevin Maney  Sometimes, it's worth pausing to appreciate how vastly things have changed in technology since 10 or 15 years ago.    The other day, I started pulling out my columns from the 1990s. I've been writing weekly columns about tech for USA TODAY since 1991.
436240
In 2007, life online continued to meld with life offline.
658432
The Story: Even when there?s good news on the security front, there always seems to be bad news to balance it out. And while we think this news is important for you to know, it?s not an exception to the Good News/Bad News Syndrome.[ Slideshow: 2007's top underreported tech stories ]                                                    The use of e-mail-borne executable virus attachments dropped sharply in 2007. In particular, spammers have dialed back their use of so-called image spam, which tricks filters by embedding text within an attached image.According to IronPort Systems, outbreaks of viruses embedded in e-mail attachments totaled 860 in 2006 and 844 in 2005. But as of mid-October 2007, attacks totaled just 360. Dave Mayer, an IronPort product manager, said it?s likely that outbreaks will total 450 by the end of the year ? a drop of 47 percent. It appears that evildoers are moving on: ?Traditional viruses have been around for years, a long enough time to harden defenses against malicious attachments,? he said.Earlier in the year, IronPort, Symantec, and McAfee all noted that image spam, which appeared about two years ago, is waning, now that defenses have improved. Filters have now gotten better at scanning the contents of the attachments, leading spammers to link instead to images elsewhere.Mayer, whose company specializes in e-mail and Web security, says spammers are now placing those images on free photo-sharing sites ? the ones people use to send vacation photos to friends and family ? and embedding links to those images in their junk messages. These are difficult for spam filters to block because the same sites are used for legitimate photos as well.But as the abuse of e-mail attachments has declined, other types of threats have escalated. For example, outbreaks of macro viruses, aimed at Office-type applications, have risen by 50 percent to 60 percent while URL viruses climbed by at least 250 percent this year, IronPort found.The Bottom Line: It often seems as if the number of threats that you must be on guard against only increases, stretching your resources past the limits. But the truth is that threat profiles change over time, and some things you may be investing in are no longer as great a threat or are now handled by the tools you have in place. So, although you can?t get lax about security, you can focus more on newer threats.Complete list of 2007 underreported tech 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