Open source
Technology trends turn painfully realistic
If one word could serve as a prevailing theme for 2003, it would be "survival."
As the technology economy continued to suffer, companies searched for creative ways to cut costs and experiment in new areas without losing their competitive edge or abandoning their core businesses. The result was a partial roadmap that began to show what a recovery would look like in coming years.
Computer, Internet and service companies of all sizes were forced to reassess their future in response to a fundamental change in the way the high-tech industry viewed itself: After years of leading the charge into the digital age by peddling the next big things, companies instead found themselves under close scrutiny by customers fed up with hype and demanding concrete results for their purchases.
Products that once promised revolution gave way to boring but practical technologies such as Web services, utility computing and supply chain systems. Many companies looked for new opportunities outside their primary information technology markets, ranging from life sciences to digital entertainment.
Others made sweeping changes in their business plans--such as utilizing wireless networking or corporate instant messaging--or adopted entirely redrawn strategies, such as finding new ways to sell music, experimenting with search engine advertising or attacking market leaders in a different field, as Microsoft is doing with Google.
Not surprisingly, the industry's most visible changes were reflected in leading companies such as Microsoft Oracle, Sun Microsystems, eBay, Time Warner and Yahoo.
Some businesses looked for answers either in previous technological trends or in future breakthroughs. A few went as far back as the 18th century in search of areas to develop, while others revisited more contemporary ideas such as datacasting and application services. Perhaps wistfully, the industry also observed the anniversaries of various technological milestones, including the creation of the first computer virus, the Web browser and the Extensible Markup Language.
Forward-thinking players turned to ideas such as radio frequency chips that can track the life of practically any type of product and, farther out, technologies like carbon nanotubes, which some believe will become a miracle material for making everything from paint to computer screens.
At the same time, crossing all businesses and technologies were the
perennial issues of security and the law. The first issue took some
familiar forms in fighting
viruses and controlling their damage, but the legal battles
broke new ground in areas as diverse as browser patents, Web log technologies,
spyware,
Linux,
--Mike Yamamoto
Soaring costs of chipmaking recast industry
The wildly expensive business of building semiconductor plants, combined with the faltering economy, is forcing chipmakers to overhaul their business.Jan. 22, 2003
Beleaguered tech industry flocks to wireless boom
What began as a pet project for technophiles has become a multibillion-dollar industry that provided one of the year's few bright hopes for new business.Feb. 3, 2003
'Slammer' attacks may become way of life for the Net
The SQL Slammer worm yielded a lesson far more disturbing than its $1 billion in estimated damage: No matter what protective measures are taken, no network can be considered secure.Feb. 6, 2003
IM, corporate software vie for workplace
Instant messaging has evolved from a teenage fad to a valuable corporate tool, creating opportunities for companies ranging from AOL and Yahoo to IBM and Oracle.March 13, 2003
How the Mosaic browser triggered a digital revolution
Software created a decade ago at the University of Illinois would go on to change everyday life, from global economics and free speech to shopping and online dating.April 17, 2003
Online music on verge of revolution
A purely digital world could dramatically change the economics, marketing and consumption of music--and, perhaps unconsciously, even the way artists create their works.May 30, 2003
Technology overturns five major businesses
Computer companies are racing for contracts under multibillion-dollar technology initiatives in the life sciences, finance, health care, security and entertainment industries.June 23, 2003
PeopleSoft bid a sign of weakness for Oracle
Despite wide praise in the media, Oracle's surprise move can be seen as the desperate sign of a company that must resort to buying its rivals for expansion instead of beating them.June 12, 2003
Microsoft, Google may go head-to-head
The software empire hopes to displace Google as the king of search technology, which Microsoft believes could bind its various Web sites, applications and dominant PC operating system.June 25, 2003
Dispute exposes bitter power struggle behind Web logs
As blogs rise in popularity, a fight for control of its technologies offers a glimpse into the byzantine political world of industry standards and their enormous consequences.Aug. 4, 2003
Rivalries set aside in defense of Internet Explorer
A federal patent lawsuit challenging Microsoft's browser technology has created an unusual alliance of former competitors, who say the case could lead to a crushing burden on the Web.Sept. 25, 2003
Battered Sun maps strategy for comeback
After facing an unusually heavy barrage of bad news, Sun Microsystems finds itself at a critical crossroads between its old Unix roots and technology innovation.Oct. 7, 2003
From cars to medicine, nanotubes may be miracle material
In a relatively short time, thin tubes of carbon atoms have emerged as a miracle material that could revolutionize a number of industries.Oct. 20, 2003
Longhorn project revives Microsoft's pre-Web strategy
The next Windows operating system may steer software development away from Web technologies and back toward the PC, shifting the balance of power back to Microsoft.Nov. 6, 2003
Is tech industry a savior or danger to education?
Technology alliances are proliferating in higher education, where companies sponsor research that advances their agendas, and concerns over conflicts of interest give way to pragmatism.Nov. 11, 2003
Decades after creation, viruses defy cure
Little has been documented about the origin of computer viruses, the works of well-intentioned but naive academic researchers who had no idea what damage they could inflict.Nov. 25, 2003
