Forward Looking
By Amit Asaravala
Is anyone disappointed to see the end of 2001? What a truly grueling year it was. Over the past twelve months, we've endured report after report of layoffs. We watched helplessly as numerous companies—both new and old—shut their doors. And we read with dismay the news of an impending recession.
And then there was September 11.
Although we'll never forget our losses, or the lessons of the past year, turning the calendar to 2002 will be a comfort. Perhaps this year we can begin to move forward again, both emotionally and professionally.
We're here to help with the latter. One of our goals at Web Techniques is to prepare you for future technologies. What better way to do that than to share with you some of the topics we plan to cover over the next twelve months?
Digital Rights Management. The "new and improved" Napster—with subscription fees—is on hold for at least another quarter, but that doesn't mean that other companies will wait to begin implementing applications that tightly control the distribution and playback of digital media. This is good news for many content publishers who haven't yet figured out how to go online safely.
Identity and Authentication. It should be no surprise that we're expecting a lot of growth here in 2002. Law-enforcement agencies are pushing for more access to data, many companies want to introduce single-sign-on services, and all of us are increasingly worried about the misuse of personal information. For better or worse, tools like Microsoft's Passport are leading the way to a unified Internet.<>
