2010 Outlook 

2010 CPU forecast: What's coming for desktop and mobile PCs
What will be the big news in the desktop and mobile PC chip markets this year? From mighty six-core desktop chips to minuscule smartbook processors, here's a look at what's in the CPU cards this year.

5 reasons why IE will lose market share in 2010
Microsoft's Internet Explorer has lost nearly a third of its market share over the past five years, and analysts say it will be tough for Microsoft to turn around its browser business.

First business day of 2010 ends well for IT
Worldwide semiconductor revenue reached $22.6 billion in November, an 8.5% increase from a year ago and 3.7% gain from a month earlier, reported the Semiconductor Industry Association today. That helped rally tech stocks today, which finished the day across the board gains.

4 reasons Apple will launch a tablet in 2010
It's the one product everyone just knows Apple will unveil in the coming year. It's also the one product no one really knows anything about.

Intel to chip away at rivals despite legal issues
Next year will be challenging for Intel as it fends off accusations of monopolistic behavior while trying to establish a larger presence in the mobile and graphics segments.

Google Chrome OS may be security hot spot in 2010
Google's Chrome OS will be "poked" by hackers in 2010, in large part because it will be the "new kid on the block," a security researcher predicted Wednesday.

2010: The year of the Mac?
Apple was a bright spot in 2009 in terms of PC sales, but the signals are mixed as to whether the Mac can grow beyond its niche

Adobe will be top target for hackers in 2010, report says
Adobe Systems' Flash and Acrobat Reader products will become the preferred targets for criminal hackers in 2010, surpassing Microsoft Office applications, a security vendor predicted this week.

Opinion: Time for a little 'era awareness'
Thornton May thinks too many of us in IT lack a sense of where we've been and where we're heading. He suggests three areas of focus for 2010.

Opinion: IT's future lies in sharing resources
Gartner's Howard Rubin envisions a time when organizations leverage global technology capacity for the "basics" of technology-related services -- everything from simple consumables such as connectivity, desktop services and e-mail to processing power to data storage.

Budget tips for the new year
IT budgets in 2010 will look a lot like 2009's. CIO strategies for getting the biggest bang for the same amount of bucks include everything from further streamlining and consolidating the IT infrastructure to plugging in iPhones, Google Apps and netbooks.

6 hottest IT skills for 2010
As the economy takes its first tentative steps toward recovery, organizations surveyed by Computerworld said they will work first to replenish their ranks of programmers and help-desk technicians to meet the demands of new projects and growing staffs.

Cloud computing: Love it or hate it?
IT executives on both sides of the cloud computing debate explain what they like, or don't like, about the hosted technology.

11 daring predictions for 2010
Six industry pundits put it on the line with some thought-provoking predictions for 2010.

Innovative tech projects won't slow down for some
Despite tight IT budgets and a gloomy economic outlook, most companies aren't hesitating to invest in emerging technologies. Computerworld examines the types of budding technologies that organizations are testing and how IT leaders are able to persuade other decision-makers to take the plunge.

Servers get a makeover in 2010
As virtualization takes over, enterprises are ordering more systems fully loaded with maximum processing power, memory and I/O capabilities.

10 big cloud trends for 2010
Cloud computing is clearly worming its way into the enterprise, but more as a testing and development environment than as a platform for critical business apps. That should begin to change in 2010.

Mike Elgan: 10 obsolete technologies to kill in 2010
Make the world a better place. Just say no to dumb tech, writes Mike Elgan.

Ballmer in 2010: Should he stay or should he go now?
Will 2010 be the year the Ballmer era ends at Microsoft?

Google and Microsoft to escalate war in 2010
One of the most heated battles among technology companies was waged this year between Microsoft and Google, but industry watchers say this is just the beginning of a long-term struggle between the two companies.

Mike Elgan: Why 3D will fail in 2010
Mike Elgan predicts that people will largely reject 3D consumer electronics products next year.

10 outsourcing trends to watch in 2010
CIO.com's outsourcing guru talks to the experts, dives into the research and offers up 10 key outsourcing trends that you need to know about.

2010 to be 'year of conflict' in mobile
Despite a lagging economy that continues to drag down the market, 2010 promises to be an exciting year in mobile, analysts say.

Hot security predictions for 2010
Looking forward to 2010 while trying to erase the memory of 2009 -- here are security predictions for the new year.

Opinion: The year ahead in mobile -- Mobile services and fewer platforms
Five predictions from mobility analyst Michael Gartenberg.

Goldman Sachs: Windows 7 upgrades to fuel IT spending in 2010
A Goldman Sachs report on IT spending for the next year and beyond indicates industry growth, with help from storage gear, server and PC refreshes as well as Windows 7 upgrades.

Data centers drive Ethernet switch market in 2010
2010 promises to be an interesting year in the enterprise LAN switching market.

10 IT predictions for 2010
No doubt, one of the leading IT stories in 2010 will be the role of the tech sector in the expected economic recovery. OK, so that's a no-brainer to predict, but we've found a limb or three to walk out on. In no particular order, we present the 2010 edition of our annual predictions.

Microsoft in 2010: Four challenges that lie ahead
For Microsoft, 2010 will be a critical rebuilding year where the software giant must maintain Windows 7 and Bing momentum, resuscitate Windows Mobile and prevent businesses from "Going Google."

Opinion: How to improve your IT planning in 2010
For long-term IT effectiveness, leaner planning processes will help CIOs spend more time leading, and less time planning, says CIO.com's Chris Curran. Consider this practical advice for tweaking your planning process.

7 smartphone predictions for 2010
2009 was a boom year for smartphones, despite the recession. And it looks like 2010 will feature another wild ride for mobile devices. Here are predictions for, among other things, what will happen to AT&T's exclusive iPhone deal, the Android mobile operating system, Net neutrality and e-readers.

2009 Highlights 

The 5 essential patches of 2009
If you don't patch any other security bugs this year, patch these.

2009: Social networks go mainstream
As 2009 draws to a close, it's clear that the year was a watershed for social networks and the firms that own them.

Opinion: The 10 best IT videos of '09
The cameras were rolling in tech land, and the results are all over YouTube

Gartner: 2009 a dismal year for the worldwide chip industry
The worldwide semiconductor industry hit such a slump in 2009 that it will likely go down as one of its steepest sales declines since 1985, according to Gartner Inc.

2009 Rewind: 3 Tales of FUD
It's time to reflect on three stories that got lots of attention in 2009, but didn't necessarily do much to move security in a better direction.

Cisco will be hard pressed to match 2009
2009 started with a bang and ended with a bash for Cisco. The company entered the data center blade server market in the beginning of the year and ended it with two acquisitions worth a combined $6.3 billion.

Top 10 technology stories of 2009
The Great Recession cast a shadow on all sectors of the economy in 2009. IT fared better than most, however, and the slump did not curb the dynamic nature of the industry.

YouTube's Most Watched Videos of 2009
Susan Boyle may not have won the top spot in "Britain's Got Talent," but the big-voiced Brit achieved a far more impressive feat: Her video has taken the title of most watched clip on YouTube in 2009.

Twitter's Top Trending Topics of 2009
Did you know that Twitter users are a bunch of Super Bowl cheering, American Idol watching, Google Wave using music lovers? That's according to Twitter's top trending topics list for 2009.

The 10 biggest tech mergers and acquisitions of 2009
The top 10 mergers and acquisitions in the network industry in 2009 all cracked the billion-dollar barrier, and involved vendors in hardware, IT services, collaboration, storage, wireless infrastructure and other segments. IT behemoths such as Oracle, Cisco, Dell, HP, EMC and IBM were among the big spenders.

Top tech quotes of the year
As 2009 draws to a close, we thought about the memorable quotes related to IT and offer, in no particular order, 15 that stuck with us.

Experts scrutinize 2009's most notable IT apologies
We asked the team at Perfect Apology to rate the quality of the apologies issued by top tech companies and executives this year (Apple, Amazon, Microsoft, among them) for their assorted mistakes and misdeeds.

Our bloggers on 2010 

The insider threat

I have been on the road for the past few weeks, last week I was in the Middle East and this week I come to you from Scotland. These places would appear to the outsider as being very different places but not when it comes to IT. One topic that was common throughout most meetings that I attended was on the subject of the insider threat, something getting inside a network and causing a problem.

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Oracle v Google: Jury verdict inconclusive

The Jury is back with its crucial verdict on whether Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) infringed Oracle's (NASDAQ:ORCL) copyright. But it's unclear whether it's a usable decision, leaving the software-development world in a proper pickle. In IT Blogwatch, bloggers break out the Magic 8-Ball.

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Did Google break Oracle's copyright? Can APIs even be copyrighted?

The jury is out (literally) on the first, critical phase in the case of Oracle v Google. It's a decision that could have huge, far-reaching effects on software developers. Let's unpick it, in The Long View...
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Packet capture made simple

Capturing packets from computer networks can sometimes sound like an activity reserved for hackers and geeks. Looking at a stream of raw packets is not for the fainthearted, but thankfully there are a number of technologies out there that can make the task easier.

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Why Tron is a true story ... or how the iPad is transforming the enterprise

In Disney's "Tron" an evil computer program seeks to enslave all to the "system" while the hero Tron "fights for the users." This battle is being played out as tablets and other technologies put the power in the hands of users, enabling unprecedented agility.

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How can an Ultrabook be just $699? Here's how...

[Updated: More about battery life and price] Yesterday, at Intel's Developer Forum (IDF) in Beijing, we were told that the next wave of Ultrabooks will start at $699. These new, less-expensive, skinny laptops are just around the corner, apparently. But how is that low price-point possible? I've got the answers in The Long View...
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Getting collaboration up and running

Collaboration within and between organizations requires some kind of technology solution, but getting the solution up and running, especially with today's SaaS-based offerings, has far more to do with overcoming change management challenges than surmounting technical hurdles.

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5 tips for managing remote data centers

Over at the Ethergeek blog last week, Josh Stephens had an interesting piece on the challenges of finding experts with data center expertise. Another trend that I see is the centralization of IT staff to main data centers. Gone are the days of having a dedicated IT person at sites which run a number of local services or applications.

This brings its own problems as it can be cost and time prohibitive travelling to these sites to diagnose and fix problems. The good news is that there are a number of technologies out there that can make this task easier.

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That's a TERRIBLE way to fix spam

A respected email technologist has been quoted in the mainstream media as saying he has a plan to solve spam. Oh really? Sadly, it seems he's just repeating a failed idea...
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Stimulating IT innovation

We are seeing IT-centric innovation become the key to competitive advantage. IT is not longer about delivering a rock-solid general ledger system and a CRM system that lets you deliver incrementally better customer service than others in your market. It's also about incubating ideas that can make sure you're the disruptor, instead of the disruptee.

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