Certification - October 2008 - (Page 3)

EDITOR’S LETTER Tools and Techniques for the IT Professional IT Gets Real AGAThA GILMORE If you’re anything of a sports fan — or even just a casual observer — you were probably glued to your TV at the end of August watching the Summer Olympics in Beijing. You’d also probably agree that despite the thrill of the Games themselves — the sweat and tears, the hard-won victories and the crushing losses — perhaps one of the most memorable moments was during the opening ceremonies, when dancers flitted across a giant, scrolllike LED screen, while other performers created magical, dreamlike images in costumes adorned with light beads. According to an article by China’s Xinhua News Agency, the opening ceremonies exhibited a true blend of high technology with traditional Chinese culture. The ceremonies also highlighted the fact that technology has permeated the very fabric of society today. In this issue, we took a look at this phenomenon and what we found was interesting, surprising and ultimately illuminating. In our cover story, for example, Associate Editor Lindsay Edmonds Wickman explains how new technologies — specifically the Internet — have fundamentally changed the way our democracy works, offering voters greater transparency into the process and a clearer picture of the candidates. Likewise, in “Managing Relationships in the Nonprofit Realm,” writers Paul Hagen and Chris Bernard talk about how software solutions that manage constituent relationships not only help these organizations leverage their existing networks but also aid in bringing new opportunities to light. Additionally, in this month’s “Look Ahead” column, I focused on the ways in which education has been affected by the availability of online resources, as well as innovative hardware such as Smart Boards. With technology playing such a vital role in everything from the government to the classroom, professionals in the field no doubt will have to adapt to changing roles. But with this mainstreaming also comes great opportunity. I, for one, can’t wait to see where it takes us. 8 VOLUME 10 ISSUE 10 OCTOBER 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 SENIOR EDITORS Agatha Gilmore | agilmore@certmag.com Brian Summerfield | bsummerfield@certmag.com Kellye Whitney | kwhitney@certmag.com COPY EDITOR Meagan Polakowski | meaganp@certmag.com ASSOCIATE EDITORS 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 TRAFFIC COORDINATOR Ishea Brown | ibrown@certmag.com WEB DESIGNER Spencer Thayer | spencer@certmag.com WEB SPECIALIST Michael Elmore | melmore@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 Wayne Anderson Deanna Hartley Chris Bernard Andrew Bonslater Agatha Gilmore Paul Hagen Katherine Spencer Lee Scott Schauer Ken Wagner Lindsay Edmonds Wickman 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. Agatha Gilmore Senior Editor agilmore@certmag.com Printed by: RR Donnelley Inc., Mendota, IL October 2008 CERTIFICATION MAGAZINE http://www.CertMag.com

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

Certification - October 2008 Editor's Letter Contents Data Stream Virtual Village Tech Careers Dear Techie Troubleshooting Academic Connection What We Like Look Ahead Elect IT: Technology and the Democratic Process Managing Relationships in the Nonprofit Realm Interface VoIP Technician: Answering the Call of the Network Inside Certification Ad Index Endtag

Certification - October 2008

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