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The article focuses on the contribution of Rick King in the maintenance of the $3.1 billion information services business of the Thomson Corp. in the U.S. As executive vice president and chief operations officer for Thomson's North American Legal business, King has completed a 17,000 square foot upgrade of two 10-year-old data centers in May 2005. Moreover, to consolidate smaller data centers for the company's growing customer base, King plans to build a new 80,000 square foot data center that will house servers and storage for his company's growing customer database. He also aims to find and keep skilled staffers who understand the interplay of computing technology, power requirements and facilities design. INSET: Tape Tales.

The article discusses the importance for information technology (IT) brand specialists to have a strong understanding of business rather than specific technical skills. It says that addressing a business from the perspective of a particular technology does not always give the right directions for a business to proceed. It suggests that technologists keep abreast of industry trends, investing in professional development and training and learning new specialties.

The article discusses several stories about job interviews of information technology (IT) professionals. One story is about the interview of Santosh Jayaram who prepared to answer questions about technology applied in business, but ending up telling a joke or discussing his passion. Randy Gould's interview for a Macintosh specialist job at the Apple Store in New York led him to use fruits for a role play. Discussion on the approaches of the IT interviewees are discussed, such as asking questions and turning around a losing interview.

The article recognizes innovative technology professionals under the age of 40 in the U.S. Hayden Hamilton founded ProgressiveRx, which offers discounted medicine over the Web through an office. Bogdan Butoi, chief technology officer at Animas Corp., works to develop a new diabetes management system that allow patients to download information to configure the insulin pumps from their home computers. Naren Ramakrishnan, an associate professor at Virginia Tech, is working on a "storytelling algorithm" that could speed the discovery of what causes certain diseases. INSETS: Avenues to Innovation;The Well-Examined Career.

Features three business technologists on their career paths, what they do and what it takes to be one. Julia Austin, corporate manager of PeopleSoft applications Partners Healthcare Systems Inc.; Dennis Honan, vice president of Home Services Information Systems Sears, Roebuck and Co.; David Kramer, director of operations and technology at Devonshire Custom Publishing. INSET: So, who are these people.

The article discusses the Interplanetary Internet and the pornography case in Connecticut, as posted by Brian Boyko, the corporate blogger at NetQoS Inc. It is stated that Boyko's blog has gained national attention after he posted several entries about the case of a Connecticut schoolteacher who was convicted for exposing students to pornographic images that appeared on a classroom computer. He stated that he posted some information regarding the case because of the involvement of the school's information technology (IT) network management processes, which defended that the computer was infested by spyware. Information about the significance of different blogging strategies is discussed. INSET: BLOGGING CAN OPEN INSIDE LINES.

An interview with Neil Rasmussen, senior vice president and chief technology officer at APC-MGE, is presented. When asked about what made the marketing of Back-UPS successful, he details how their company spent much time and effort in developing the product. He discusses the development of the modularized, standardized data centers, and how electrical panels are set up. Information on why should the U.S. data centers shift to European voltage standards is included.

An interview with Vinton G. Cerf, vice president and chief Internet evangelist of Google Inc., is presented. When asked about what of his creations makes him proud as one of the founding fathers of the Internet, he emphasizes the commercialization of the network. He discusses how the Internet has affected mobility. Information about his assessment on Internet security and his work on interplanetary Internet is included.

The author reflects on the lesson on agility for IT professionals. He believes that agility is a way of perceiving the world and facing all situations that arise. There is a need to think big to keep up with the big challenges faced by organizations and there is a need to be agile to keep up because the tempo of events continues to speed up. People should start from small things since IT cannot be learned and employed with one great leap. Agility is all about delivering quickly through small steps till rewards are reaped from it.

The article focuses on the contributions of the inventor, writer, and futurist Ray Kurzwell in nanotechnology particularly on his insights about three-dimensional molecular computing, nanorobots in the brain and intelligence of human beings. He speculated that technologists have a very accurate detailed simulation of all parts of the brain by the late 2020's. Re-creating the brain in software has been arrogated to be a great accomplishment because people will be able to combine advantages of human intelligence.

The article presents some anecdotes related to information technology (IT). One is about how a multimedia technologist used a length of chain wrapped around the post to a projector to prevent it from vibrating when the heating was turned on. Another is a new chief information officer who got rid of an in-house help desk application that cost 50,000 dollars and replaced it with a modern hosted solution costing 1.5 million dollars a year which will take years for a switchover.

An excerpt about a person's technical skills becoming obsolete from the technology-themed blog, "Computerworld.com," by Glyn Meek is presented.

In this article, the author discusses the relationship between information technology (IT) and users. According to the author, the user is responsible to tell the technologists about any problems and the possible solution. The author also explains the involvement of users in project development and the responsibility of modern chief information officer (CIO) when dealing with technology opportunities.

An interview with Bruce Marcus chief information officer at McGraw-Hill Cos. is presented. When asked on how can a technologist who is interested in a leadership role stand out from his peers, he replied that technologists must have a deep knowledge and siloed perspectives. Marcus added that technologists must also be able to understand the business objectives. He also comments on the economic outlook for IT companies in the U.S.

The article offers information on news stories at the Web site www.computerworld.com/more. One focuses on the x86's lineage that can be traced back to a design by Austin O. Roche in 1968, an engineer in San Antonio, Texas, who is claimed to be the true origin of the personal computer. Another is about the emergence of large-screen notebooks, which feature 18 inches displays, fast processors, multiple hard drives and television tuners. At age 86, developer of the personal computer, cellular telephone and technology publishing, Wayne Green is still on a mission.

The article reports that the Kenya Bureau of Standards is calling on technology experts in the country to join in the effort to develop national information technology standards. According to Zacheus Mwatha, manager at the standards bureau, the bureau plans to form a committee to collect and analyze information and then draft relevant standards. The standards will likely cover areas such as telecommunications, information technology security and data formats. Future plans of all committee members are also cited.

The article offers anecdotes about IT professional. A correspondent has realized that one consultant who resigned from their company is indeed happy to leave. A Milspec pilot fish has submitted a feedback form that asks to reword the mandatory Web browser's notice. Another pilot fish realizes that the solution to the problem is simply to formatting the network card.

The article focuses on the author's opinion about the information technology (IT) of Wall Street in New York City. He discusses the expertise of Wall Street IT executive, particularly in providing information in a millisecond timescale. He identifies some of the many capabilities of Wall Street, and compares its technologists with those from the Main Street. According to him, the executives uses the technology infrastructure at its best in creating competitive advantage, as they push what technology can do.

The article offers anecdotes related to technical employees in the U.S. An insurance company hires contract programmer to help with the workload in technology, but the contractor lacks technical ability. Help desk pilot fish receives an electronic mail from an administrative assistant complaining that an employee is not in the Outlook global address list, and Fish sends back an e-mail and attaches a screenshot showing Moe on the list.

The article provides information on the contribution of technical people to the computer companies in the U.S. The author stated that it is their job to be sure that people are utilized to the best of their abilities, which does not mean forcing everyone into the same business-proper role. He asserted that some people do better in business situations who are those sent to the meetings and to the customers sites. Forcing a technical person to give a PowerPoint presentation may result in an hour of mumbling embarrassment, resulting in an overall negative impression of the team.

An interview with Judy McKay, author of "Managing the Test People" is presented. When asked about managing a team of technologists different from managing other kinds of office workers, she asserted that technical people are motivated by interesting work. McKay notes that technical people need to have adequate playtime in which ideas are exchange and expanded while they play. She added that she strive to hire people who are stronger than her in areas where she is weak.

The article focuses on the collaboration of colleges and universities and the private sector in the U.S. to develop the next generation information technology (IT) leaders. It is recommended at the University of Michigan that IT executives should put more emphasis on student development in areas like project management and leadership development. It is emphasized that project management teaches students how to work with people with different skills and areas of specialization on a project team. Moreover, IT workers who have strong communication skills and leadership capabilities are highly accepted by employers.

The article offers overviews regarding the news published at the "Computerworld" Web site. One school in the U.S. is implementing a communications system for use in emergencies like the Virginia Tech shootings while students are on break. Stories about the experiences of information technology (IT) professionals who survived a rough round of questioning is offered. A survey from the readers regarding the rating of their high-speed Internet providers on connection reliability, speed, customer service, and more is presented.

Several letters to the editor are presented in response to articles in previous issues including "10 People in IT Who Mattered Over the Past 40 Years (but You May Not Know Why)" that was published in the July 9, 2007 issue, the 40th anniversary celebration of the "Computerworld" periodical, and a response to the article which states that John Cullinane and his company, Cullinet Software Inc. was the creator of the packaged software market.

The author reflects on the article "Computerworld is becoming increasingly schizophrenic in its focus," that was published at the "Computerworld" Web site. He discusses the main focus of the periodical since the start of its publication, which is the promotion of interests of the senior information technology (IT) managers. He stresses that the periodical serve as advocates of senior IT managers in helping to solve daily technology and management problems.

The article profiles the professional career of Grant Bourzikas, director of information security and business continuity at Scottrade Inc. in the U.S. After analyzing the problem concerning the phishing schemes of online technology security, he decided that the best way to address the overall security issues was to help Scottrade's customers. Bourzikas suggested providing free antivirus, antispam and content-filtering services to all Scottrade's million online customers, in collaboration with security vendor McAfee Inc.

The article profiles the professional career of Wendy Cebula, chief operating officer of VistaPrint Ltd. in the U.S. She worked in the marketing and analytics department at VistaPrint. However, Cebula was able to develop a niche by leveraging data for making key business decisions. Her team has installed more energy-efficient servers and improve utilization in VistaPrint's primary data center in Bermuda. Moreover, as a result, the company expects to save nearly half a million dollars and estimates that it will reduce its output of carbon dioxide emissions by several hundred tons.

The article profiles the professional career of Coach Wei, chairman and chief technology officer of Nexaweb Technologies Inc. in the U.S. He is a pioneer of Internet applications, Asynchronous JavaScript and Extendible Mark-up Language (XML) (AJAX) and Enterprise Web 20. He holds five patents, and his writings on Java, service-oriented architecture, Web 2.0 and entrepreneurship have been featured in more than 50 publications. Moreover, Wei is a member of the OpenAjax Alliance steering committee, a lead of the Apache Experimental Aerial Platforms (XAP) project at the Apache Software Foundation.

The article profiles the professional career of Hans Keller, chief technology officer of National Aquarium in Baltimore, Maryland. When he became the technology director, he was on the mark to achieve his goal of contributing to marine science. He has implemented a new financial suite, a business intelligence suite and numerous handheld applications to provide better information about the aquarium's dolphin and shark collections, since joining the National Aquarium. Moreover, Keller has the ability to assess and stay ahead with IT systems he has helped to develop and deploy.

The article profiles the professional career of Jeffrey D. Blackwell, a national director of technology and account at Financial Advisory Services in the U.S. In his role, he ensures that strategic systems, such as pipeline and backlog management, scheduling, and knowledge management, are in place. He began his career at Deloitte in the Business Systems Consulting practice, where he focuses on technologies for the real estate and construction industries. Moreover, he is also a Certified Information Technology Professional with the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (CPA).

An interview with Chieko Asakawa, a senior accessibility researcher at the Tokyo Research Laboratory of International Business Machines Corp. (IBM), is presented. Asakawa, who has been blind since age 14, has worked on a variety of projects to improve system and Web accessibility for the visually impaired. She discussed the project which she and four other researchers have been working to enable blind users to access multimedia content online.

The article presents an interview with Martha Lyons, a distinguished technologist at Hewlett-Packard Services in the U.S. When asked about how Generation Y is going to change the workplace, she refers to the environment rich with technology and Internet tools where Generation Y has grown. Lyons believes that there is an increasing need for a collaborative business model which focuses on geographically dispersed teams. She feels that Generation Yer's fondness of collaborative environments will increase productivity in companies who embrace these environments.

The article reports on the different opinions on the editorial which argued that perpetuating the contention that the IT profession's reputation for being filled with socially inept introverts is well-deserved is harmful to the IT industry. One reader contended that the message young people should get is that people in that profession don't hug walls, but they knock them down. Another suggested that the editor's view is skewed. Steve Litt, Linux technologist and technical author, expressed his appreciation for the said editorial.

The article reports on the examination on what will be the importance of information technology profession in 2010 conducted by researchers at the IT Leadership Academy in the U.S. According to the author, the test did not use the traditional research firm method of extrapolating where technology is going and then bolting on few afterthoughts about what kind of technologists will be required to support this environment. Instead, researchers use a work-centric planning method by looking at how the world of work will evolve. Moreover, they identified three competencies guaranteed to be important in 2010, which include leadership, information management and change management.

This article discusses labor demand and supply of computer programmers, computer software developers, electronic data processing personnel, and information technologists. Critical success factors for addressing a shortage of information technology (IT) talent include the fact that IT has become vital to corporate profitability, the fast pace of technological innovations keeps IT careers interesting, the demand for IT employees in the U.S. will remain strong, and there is opportunity in the globalization of IT.

This article analyzes why technical people have a bad reputation for being poor communicators. The real problem was realized by the author at a conference where he was giving a presentation. Speakers clearly articulated lots of interesting ideas. But ultimately, many failed to transmit the key points that they wanted to share. The more information a presenter wanted to share, the lesser the audience received. The presenters were so enamored of their own ideas that they could not condense them into a form for others to digest.

This article presents an interview with Jerry McElhatton, chief technologist at MasterCard International Inc., regarding the MasterCard project, information technology trends, his management style, and finishing projects on time and within budget. McElhatton also shares some of the bigger challenges he had faced at the company over the years. In addition, he reveals his secret in managing vendor relationships.

This article reports that a group of technology experts in the U.S. concerned about the fate of electronic voting machines on November 2, 2004 used some tools of the trade — the Web and open source technologies — to create a system to monitor e-voting on election day. The new technology, dubbed the Election Incident Reporting System, was developed by technologists from the Verified Voting Foundation and Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility. The system will be used by the Election Protection Coalition, which consists of a variety of organizations, to identify and fix problems with DRE machines on November 2, 2004.

This article reports that an improving U.S. economy and heightened demand for technology workers with certain skills will help drive 10% to 15% salary increases for seasoned technologists through 2007. This was revealed in a new study unveiled by Group Inc. this month. The predictions seem to fly in the face of conventional wisdom following more than three years of a weak IT job market, a rise in organizations' use of lower-cost offshore labor and marginal pay increases for full-time domestic IT workers.

Offers a look at the job and skills of business technologists. Goals considered by business technologists; Challenges faced in finding employees with business and technology skills.

Reveals the technologists and scientists that were awarded the National Medals by United States President Bill Clinton on March 2000. Processor that will aid the Moore's Law, according to Ray Kurzweil; Prediction of Kurzweil on computer chips by 2025; Comments from science medal winner, Lynn Margulis.

Features an interview with University of Pennsylvania telecommunications professor and appointed United States Federal Communications Commission Chief Technologist David J. Farber. Job descriptions of a chief technologist at the US Federal Communications Commission; Influence of the US government position; Relationship with the Clinton administration.