Year in review: He said, she said

A warof words For the entrepreneurs, engineers and venture capitalists who make up the technology industry, 2003 was the year of some of the sharpest debates in memory. Does information technology matter, or doesn't it? Is Linux the future, or is it another false Messiah? Does utility computing redefine the way companies think about their technology needs--if so, which supplier's vision of the future should they select? As the industry limped into 2003, still trying to recover from a post-bubble hangover, some suggested the technology business had come to a crossroads. A widely read piece in the Harvard Business Review even declared that IT no longer conferred a competitive advantage to companies and, much like the telephone, had become just an expected feature of a normal business. But others drew starkly different lessons from the bubble and what it suggested about the future of IT. What with the arrival of 64-bit computing and of increasingly powerful software, they argued that IT was every bit as relevant as it ever was. What was needed was a more effective way of consuming technology--as if it were a utility like electricity. So, as the year progressed, nearly all the major computer vendors turned their attention to putting their own spin on the still-amorphous concept of utility computing and how it should work. Meanwhile, open-source technology stoked the argument between proponents, who view it as the latest manifestation of freedom in innovation, and critics, who equate it with undisguised theft. The resolution of this debate--now headed for a courtroom case pitting SCO Group against IBM--will surely reverberate through the computer industry. On the security side, there was an equally heated argument over how to stop a hacking onslaught that wreaked havoc throughout the year. Microsoft, whose operating-system software was repeatedly compromised by sundry Internet worms and viruses, said it was a law-and-order issue. The company grew so frustrated that it offered a bounty for information leading to the apprehension of authors of malicious programs attacking its software. The legal ramifications of the unauthorized swapping of music files over the Internet also became headline news in 2003, as the recording industry turned its lawyers loose in a bid to protect its business. As the year drew to a close, there were few final answers to any of these issues--all of which promises to make the debates in 2004 that much more intriguing. --Charles Cooper Sun Microsystems' Chief Security Officer Whitfield Diffie wades into a raging controversy over which approach is better--or worse--for security: open-source or proprietary software. Jan. 16, 2003 Cryptography expert David Holtzman explains how the ambiguous boundaries of the Homeland Security Act guarantee that many things will get reported to the government that have nothing to do with terrorism. Jan. 21, 2003 Groove Networks CEO Ray Ozzie takes issue with fellow execs mourning the decline of the tech industry--and Silicon Valley in particular. But in an increasingly connected future, computer systems and technologies must evolve or people will simply be unable to cope, he cautions. April 22, 2003 Zone Labs CEO Gregor Freund says hackers are shifting their focus from committing acts of cybervandalism toward carrying out more targeted attacks. Can they be stopped? May 13, 2003 J. William Gurley writes that the cellular phone is starting to prove its worth as a launchpad for interactive entertainment services. July 17, 2003 Veteran open-source developer Ian Murdock says it's time to view Linux less as a product and more as a collection of components or a process. July 30, 2003 General Motors CTO Tony Scott says he's fed up with products that fail to work as advertised and with technology suppliers who duck suggestions they should bear the responsibility. Sept. 2, 2003 Jon Oltsik explains why IT shouldn't wait around for vaporware solutions before tackling serious corporate computing issues. Sept. 4, 2003 With a 59-year-old CEO who indulges in high-risk behavior, CNET News.com's Karen Southwick says the software maker's future depends on the strength of a depleted bench of top-level talent. Sept. 8, 2003 CNET News.com's Mike Ricciuti says the Microsoft-IBM "love fest" around Web services is being driven by a lot more than mutual concern for the greater good. Sept. 22, 2003 Former Novell executive Joe Firmage details the internal battles that led to the sale of the licensing rights for Unix to SCO and how that decision is now roiling the Linux market. Oct. 1, 2003 The spectacle of super-connected Silicon Valley investment banker Frank Quattrone on the receiving end of public defenestration is too little, too late. Oct. 16, 2003 U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette says a move by certain big tech firms to support Internet regulation may result in customers receiving the short end of the stick. Oct. 21, 2003 BEA's Tod Nielsen says Java has come to a fateful crossroads as it turns 8 years old. Nov. 11, 2003