The Future Is Now

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In This Issue:
1. Editor's Note: The Future Is Now
2. Today's Top Story
    - Microsoft Targets Google, Yahoo With Online Ad Platform
    Related Story:
    - eBay CEO Sees Faster Revenue Growth Ahead
3. Breaking News
    - Any Further Vista Delays Will Pressure Win2000 Users
    - Tech Pros Worried About Fuel Costs, Job Security
    - FTC Orders Wallace To Pay $4 Million For Spyware Scam
    - Billion-Dollar Love Bug Worm Marks Sixth Anniversary
    - IE7 Beta 2 Breaks Outlook Web Links
    - Newsgroup: Windows Anti-Counterfeit Tool Requires Loosening PC Security
    - Massive DoS Attack Knocks Out TypePad, LiveJournal
    - BI Spending Seen Picking Up: Reports
    - Q&A: EMC Exec Talks Storage Security
    - South Korea Unveils Female Android
4. Grab Bag: News You Need From Around The Web
    - HP's Wow Factor (BusinessWeek Online)
    - Toxic Warning For Nanotech Industry (BBC News)
    - Seeking Calendar Nirvana (The New York Times - reg. required)
5. In Depth: Reviews And Personal Tech
    - Review: Sansa e200 Music Player
    - Review: Actiontec VoSky Call Center
    - Review: Can You Learn 101 Languages From A Four-CD Tutorial?
    - Few Consumers Sending Pictures From Camera Phones
    - Can Your Cell Phone Help You Lose Weight?
    - Wal-Mart To Sell Build-Your-Own Computers
6. Voice Of Authority
    - Women IT Pros Still Earn Less, But Why?
7. White Papers
    - Network Access Control
8. Get More Out Of InformationWeek
9. Manage Your Newsletter Subscription

Quote of the day:
"I look to the future because that's where I'm going to spend the rest of my life." -- George Burns

1. Editor's Note: The Future Is Now

Don't you just love future tech? It's always fascinating to read about the new ways we'll be interacting with technology down the road. Just say the word "nanotechnology," and you've got my full attention. Or "robot." Or "flying car." (Actually, I think flying cars are a terrible idea, but that's a rant for another day.)

While it's fun to imagine the possibilities, the truth is that for one reason or another, many of the great-sounding tech ideas we read about will never come to fruition. That's why we've put together a special feature showcasing five up-and-coming technologies you need to know about right now, not at some nebulous point in the future. Some of the technologies on our list are already in play; the rest will be by the end of this year. And they all have the potential to change the rules of enterprise and consumer computing.

As we compiled our hot list, a few promising technologies failed to make the cut:

Ultra-mobile PCs: The potential of Microsoft's ultra-ultra-portable Origami is interesting, but we've been suckered before by the promise of a fully functioning miniature PC. We'll suffocate if we hold our breath waiting for this category to bloom.

Flexible displays: We're sold on the inevitability (and desirability) of organic light-emitting diode (OLED) displays based on a flexible substrate that allows them to bend and fold. This is really cool stuff. But in terms of real-world use, we're still a few years off. We hope next year this technology will make our list.

WiMax: Last year's big story has turned into this year's big yawn. The promise of widespread neighborhood wireless networks sounds appealing, but carriers are finding it difficult to implement. Plus, why WiMax when Google will build you an urban wireless network for free?

So what technologies did make our list? Ajax, for one. It stands for Asynchronous JavaScript and XML, but Ajax is more about efficiency than anything else. Why click and wait for a whole Web page to reload when Ajax can deliver what you want on the same page? More and more, the Web is behaving with the speed and responsiveness of a desktop application, and we have Ajax developers to thank for that.

To find out the other four technologies on our hot list, read the story. Then I invite you to weigh in: What red-hot right-now technologies do you think we should have included? Please submit your suggestions at my blog entry.

Valerie Potter
[email protected]
www.informationweek.com

2. Today's Top Story

Microsoft Targets Google, Yahoo With Online Ad Platform
AdCenter is an online service where advertisers can buy space across Microsoft Web properties MSN and Windows Live. The ad platform lets advertisers purchase display and search ads.

3. Breaking News

Any Further Vista Delays Will Pressure Win2000 Users
The problem, a Gartner analyst says, is the shrinking window between the time Vista is unveiled and Windows 2000 paid support ends.

Tech Pros Worried About Fuel Costs, Job Security
Job confidence was down for tech pros last month, but tech pros are still more confident than workers overall, according to a study from professional staffing firm Hudson.

FTC Orders Wallace To Pay $4 Million For Spyware Scam
Users were duped into thinking they needed software being sold by "Spam King" Sanford Wallace because he exploited an Internet Explorer vulnerability to install real spyware on their PCs.

Billion-Dollar Love Bug Worm Marks Sixth Anniversary
The worm, one of the first major malware attacks, caused an estimated $7 billion to $10 billion in damages worldwide.

IE7 Beta 2 Breaks Outlook Web Links
The problem has been a topic of discussion of newsgroups on Microsoft's support site. The issue—broken Web links in messages—affects at least Outlook 2000 and 2003, and similar problems were also reported in Outlook Express.

Newsgroup Chatter: Windows Anti-Counterfeit Tool Requires Loosening PC Security
One university administrator found that complying with Windows' new anti-counterfeit measures meant he had to open up the security reins on PCs in public places like campus computer labs.

Massive DoS Attack Knocks Out TypePad, LiveJournal
This is the second 12-hour disruption for the blog hosting firm since December. Back then, Six Apart let customers pick the compensation for the outage, but there are no such plans this time around.

BI Spending Seen Picking Up: Reports
Forking over corporate dollars on business intelligence will be an emerging priority in IT budgets for the next 12 months, a pair of studies says.

Q&A: EMC Exec Talks Storage Security
Mark Lewis, EMC's chief development officer, discusses encryption, end-to-end data security, and related issues.

South Korea Unveils Female Android
The robot can recognize 400 Korean words and can answer questions both verbally and through facial signals, according to the developer.

All Our Latest News

Watch The News Show

In this episode:

Eric Chabrow With 'Convergence Everywhere'
Microsoft is expected to create original video shows for the Web, Microsoft may team up with Yahoo, Apple wins $0.99 battle with record labels, and more.

Larry Greenemeier With 'Open-Source Security'
Learn about the most popular open-source security downloads on the market.

Elena Malykhina With 'World Cup Snapshot'
The World Cup will be the most photographed event in history, but most photos will never be forwarded.

----- The latest research, polls, and tools -----
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4. Grab Bag: News You Need From Around The Web

HP's Wow Factor (BusinessWeek Online)
Hewlett-Packard is unveiling a bold, provocative marketing campaign. But can it back up the new message with equally spiffy products?

Toxic Warning For Nanotech Industry (BBC News)
Nanotechnology companies need to do more to understand the potential toxic effects of their products, warns an Aberdeen University researcher.

Seeking Calendar Nirvana (The New York Times - reg. required)
When Google Calendar or its online cronies just won't do, try Now Up-to-Date instead.

5. In Depth: Reviews And Personal Tech

Review: Sansa e200 Music Player
SanDisk says it has an iPod killer on its hands—but is it only an iPod wannabe?

Review: Actiontec VoSky Call Center
This unique device lets you use an ordinary landline phone for making Skype VoIP calls over the Internet.

Review: Can You Learn 101 Languages From A Four-CD Tutorial?
While the claim of teaching you 101 languages may be a stretch, this set of CDs can be as entertaining as it is helpful.

Few Consumers Sending Pictures From Camera Phones
The NPD Group's survey is bad news for wireless carriers, which had hoped to make additional money from people using data services to ship pictures.

Can Your Cell Phone Help You Lose Weight?
Sprint is offering the MyFoodPhone service, which lets users send pictures of their meals via camera phone to nutritionists, who then offer diet advice.

Wal-Mart To Sell Build-Your-Own Computers
Shoppers can choose from different CPUs, monitors, keyboards, and mice to create customized packages they can take home right away.

6. Voice Of Authority

Women IT Pros Still Earn Less, But Why?
If you're a female tech professional, there's good news and bad news about pay. The salary gap between male and female IT staffers seems to be narrowing—but it's widening at the manager level. Marianne Kolbasuk McGee takes a closer look.

7. White Papers

Network Access Control
Are the right users with the right devices gaining access to your network? Learn how to systematically and effectively institute an enterprise-wide network access control (NAC) rollout strategy, while preserving your network uptime and user productivity.

8. Get More Out Of InformationWeek

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