Certification - August 2008 - (Page 3)

EDITOR’S LETTER Tools and Techniques for the IT Professional Resisting Extinction DANIEL MARGOLIS For our Look Ahead column in this month’s issue of Certification Magazine, I tackled the question of when CDs will become extinct and why. I approached this topic ready to acknowledge that CDs will eventually become extinct; it’s impossible to look at their steady decline during the past eight years and not realize what’s happening. But in my personal life, I am not ready to acknowledge this. The fact of the matter is I don’t want CDs to disappear. This might trap my ability to be forwardthinking, but I still find it important for music to be represented in a tangible form, on a disc of some sort, placed in a package adorned with images. The equation has always worked this way for me. I still buy a fair amount of new CDs, believe it or not. Admittedly, since I got an iPod, saving the CD through iTunes tends to be one of the few times I actually use the CD, but for whatever reason, this is still the way I get new music. I do download albums occasionally. But when an album is reduced to a dozen files on my computer rather than involving a tangible purchase, I find I don’t take it as seriously. I listen to it less. Even if I go to the trouble to burn the album, label it, place it in a case — even print up a track list — the effect is still not the same. One thing I’ve kept in mind in considering the coming disappearance of CDs is the flexible nature of a format disappearing. Vinyl albums are said to be gone, but I bought one yesterday. New recordings still are being released on vinyl, and as CDs become obsolete, they’ll likely follow the same path: serving a niche market of collectors who hunt down used CDs and new ones when they’re available. It’s absurd I know — CD enthusiasts — but it’s going to happen. I’ll probably be one of them! VOLUME 10 ISSUE 8 AUGUST 2008 GROUP PUBLISHER John R. Taggart | jrtag@certmag.com EDITOR IN CHIEF Norman B. Kamikow | nkam@certmag.com EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Mike Prokopeak | mikep@certmag.com MANAGING EDITOR Daniel Margolis | dmargolis@certmag.com SENIOR EDITORS Brian Summerfield | bsummerfield@certmag.com Kellye Whitney | kwhitney@certmag.com COPY EDITOR Meagan Polakowski | meaganp@certmag.com ASSOCIATE EDITORS Agatha Gilmore | agilmore@certmag.com Deanna Hartley | dhartley@certmag.com Lindsay Edmonds Wickman | lwickman@certmag.com DIRECTOR, CREATIVE & PRODUCTION SERVICES Kendra Chaplin | kendra@certmag.com ART DIRECTOR Kasey Doshier | kdoshier@certmag.com PRODUCTION MANAGER Linda Dziwak | linda@certmag.com WEB DESIGNER Spencer Thayer | spencer@certmag.com E-MEDIA MANAGER Kat O’Connor | koconnor@certmag.com E-MEDIA DESIGNER Rahel Haile | rahelh@certmag.com VICE PRESIDENT OF OPERATIONS Gwen Connelly | gwen@certmag.com EVENTS MANAGER Trey Smith | tsmith@certmag.com EVENTS COORDINATOR Kara Shively | kshively@certmag.com EVENTS SALES MANAGER Kristian Walters | kwalters@certmag.com MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER Laura Cibuls | lcibuls@certmag.com BUSINESS MANAGER Vince Czarnowski | vince@certmag.com CIRCULATION DIRECTOR Cindy Cardinal | ccardinal@certmag.com LIST MANAGER Jay Schwedelson | mediatec@worldata.com REPRINTS reprints@parsintl.com OR call David Einziger at 212-221-9595, ext. 407 ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER & ADVERTISING DIRECTOR James R. Yeakel | jyeakel@certmag.com ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Dave Lienemann | davel@certmag.com Lisa Newton | lnewton@certmag.com CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Agatha Gilmore Katherine Spencer Lee Andrew Bonslater Kelly Shermach Brian Summerfield Kellye Whitney Daniel Margolis Ken Wagner Deanna Hartley Lindsay Edmonds Wickman Matt Walker Matthew Grob Meagan Polakowski Wayne Anderson Norman B. Kamikow PRESIDENT Philip S. Wolin GENERAL COUNSEL John R. Taggart EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT Patricia Pierce CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER Certification Magazine (ISSN 1529-6903) is published monthly by MediaTec Publishing Inc., 318 Harrison St., Suite 301, Oakland, CA 94607. Periodicals Class Postage Paid at Oakland, CA and at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Please send address changes to: Certification Magazine, P.O. Box 2083, Skokie, IL 60076-7983. Subscriptions are free to qualified IT professionals. Non-qualified paid subscriptions are available at the subscription price of $39.97 for 12 issues. Canada/Mexico orders must be prepaid in U.S. funds with an additional $15 postage charge. All other countries outside the U.S. must be prepaid in U.S. funds with an additional $40 postage surcharge. Certification Magazine, CertMag and CertMag.com are the trademarks of MediaTec Publishing Inc. Copyright © 2008, MediaTec Publishing Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Reproduction of material published in Certification Magazine is forbidden without permission. Daniel Margolis Managing Editor dmargolis@certmag.com Printed by: RR Donnelley Inc., Mendota, IL August 2008 CERTIFICATION MAGAZINE http://CertMag.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Certification - August 2008

Certification - August 2008 Editor's Letter Contents Data Stream jVirtual Village Tech Careers Dear Techie Troubleshooting Academic Connection What We Like Look Ahead The China Boom United in IT: Tech Culture Breaks Down Barriers Abroad Interface Digital Home Technology Integrator: Specialized Skills for the Smart Home Inside Certification Ad Index Endtag

Certification - August 2008

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