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The war in Iraq may be the most reported, most difficult-to-follow war in history. If previous wars were marked by limited news sources reporting through managed outlets, this war includes an overload of information coming from a global variety of sources. The handwritten war diaries have become Weblogs. Video and audio reporters, embedded or otherwise, operate in unfiltered real time. As the news is reported in real time, analysis and commentary are offered as the event takes place.
Weblogs, once the province of people with too much time on their hands, now provide a personal portal to the thoughts and experiences of combatants and civilians. In a manner similar to the new—and more important—purpose for Weblogs, technologies that were overlooked or never seemed to fulfill their promise have resurfaced as key. In “Comm in the High-Tech War,” we look at the changing role of satellite communications, GPS and Internet security systems operating in wartime.
Although it may be difficult to believe a new generation of Web services is here before many have had the opportunity to work with the first generation, that is indeed the case. As Labs analyst Tim Dyck reviews in “Next-Gen Web Services,” products from Systinet and BEA allow development of Web services that are truly multifunctional, able to operate in heterogeneous environments and offer a comprehensive range of development tools.
The Labs also reviewed other products important to Web services. Jason Brooks investigates Microsofts InfoPath Beta 2. InfoPath is the XML-based forms tool for Office 2003 and is probably the most vivid example of how Microsoft is trying to embrace XML. Jim Rapoza reviews the 1.3 version of the Mozilla browser. Mozilla, while intended as a development platform, continues to be in the forefront of adding capabilities such as advanced spam filtering and Web pop-up ad blocking.
This issue marks the last week for the current design and format of the print version of eWeek. With the April 7 issue, eWeek will introduce a new look as a magazine-size publication. The convenience of a magazine size, compatibility with digital versions of the publication and a promise to add even more of the content you prefer in a modern design were key drivers for this change. Make sure to look for the familiar eWeek logo on a magazine-size publication starting April 7.
How are you operating on overload? Write to me at eric_lundquist@ziffdavis.com.