Editorial Pointers

It’s that time of year.

No, I mean, it’s finally that time of year—the time of year that we’ve dissected in some respect in every issue of this magazine for the past 24 months. And as the days dwindle and final preparations made for the big turnover, we’ve decided to close out the millennium with an eclectic group of articles and columns covering a rainbow of technological topics of interest and concern, including a few more thoughts on you-know-what.

Our feature articles this month ricochet from online buying behavior to teledemocracy to software cultures to compromised security to health-care networks to virtual societies to plotting the future of software development and use. Our columns compound the range of discussions with commentaries on such issues as tempering Internet- related panic stories, realizing wireless Internet services, rejoining software engineering and computer science, tracking push technology in Europe, risking "insider" access, and that perennial hot button: licensing software engineers.

And finally, are we ready? The FAA says "yes," according to Frank Cuccias in an essay on how the agency prepared for the new millennium. And Leon Kappelman, a frequent Y2K voice of concern for this magazine over these many months, closes with a look at how he intends to spend the upcoming—and particularly infamous—New Year’s Eve. You’ll find it quite a departure from his usual fare.

And since it’s always that time of year for giving, we give our heartfelt thanks and deepest gratitude to all the writers, reviewers, and guest editors who have spirited the last 12 issues of this magazine, adding valuable insight and new editorial direction with each edition. We also thank the readers for alerting us to upcoming trends to cover and for always keeping us on track. And may I add a personal thanks to the tireless staff of Communications for their steadfast dedication and amazing collective talent for addressing each new issue with the same enthusiasm and curiosity as the last.

Happy, healthy holidays to all. See you on the other side.

Diane Crawford, Editor

COMING NEXT MONTH: A study and example of organizational memory, along with articles that discuss how software games can be used to engage girls in computers, how we can learn to expand the Internet by following the history of the radio; how people are investing online; and how to mold a curriculum for multimedia education.