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U.S. government and business organizations are re-evaluating their communications network design and resiliency following the September 11 terrorist attacks. Planners are now emphasizing dispersed, redundant, military-style systems that can rapidly retrieve and update lost data or switch to alternate transmission modes to maintain connectivity.

Despite a shaky economy, businesses are contributing to homeland security and the war against terrorism by backing their workers who are guardsmen or reservists. Although it is still too early to determine how an extensive call-up may affect human resources, many firms are researching their legal requirements in terms of pay, benefits and re-employment. Several are then going beyond the mandatory to the extraordinary to ensure that their employees can serve their country without worrying about their families or civilian jobs.

If necessity is the mother of invention, then Linda Gooden can qualify as an expert on both. Ever since 1790, inventors who wanted to protect their intellectual property against possible theft or exploitation have filed their patent applications pretty much the same way-they filled out a form on paper.

As the Standard Procurement System reaches the installation halfway point, U.S. Defense Department officials are highlighting how the technology makes the department more responsive to Congress and the American taxpayer. Although some personnel are still wary of the new system, the department is forging ahead, and the U.S. Army has adopted additional capabilities that save time and money.

The economic wave that started out as a Tsunami has lost momentum, and the high tide of World Wide Web surfers as devoted consumers is beginning to ebb. Online start-up company owners who thought they would catch a wave and be sitting on top of the world have been caught in an undertow. Established firms that poured millions of dollars into creating an online presence are discovering that the same tried-and-true business practices that keep traditional business afloat are just as necessary in the cybermarketplace.

The worlds of wireless and Web-based technology are converging in a new generation of linked networks that could produce a vast computing and communications infrastructure based on the interaction of currently exclusive technologies. The integration of these independent communication architectures will result from a gradual dissolution of the physical boundaries of today's Internet, enabling the realization of a broader view of everyday computing.

It is easy to understand why Gene Colabatistto might be tempted to get by on image. After all, ever since his company launched its first sensor-laden satellite in 1986, the international Spot system has captured and delivered millions of images of Earth-from the sands of the Sahara to the expanse of the Golden Gate Bridge.

For Anthony K. Robbins, building a billion-dollar business is about more than high performance. Indeed, as the president of SGI's recently launched federal business subsidiary, success depends on generating images such as realistic battle scenes and high-resolution relays from outer space.

Companies that have made their millions-and billions-in the guts and brains of information technology products are spreading their techno-tentacles into e-commerce through the gap between operation and application services. They are not leaving the world of hardware behind but rather are ensuring that their companies will continue to prosper by infusing their technical expertise into the space between the transmitter and the receiver of e-commerce messages.

Next-generation signal processor technology for wireless communications is the focus of a unique research center. The Atlanta-based StarCore Technology Center combines the pooled assets of Motorola Incorporated's semiconductor products sector and Lucent Technologies' microelectronics group.