Could the growing focus on user experience management, grounded in human centred design, be a harbinger of healthier and more sustainable growth for the IT industry?

Government is not responsible if private investors fail to educate themselves about Telkom before buying into it. But will it be able to keep its hands off the market when the share hits trouble?

Last week saw AOL Time Warner posting the largest ever loss in US corporate history, while locally the second national telecoms operator selection process hit another obstacle.

One look at the DTI`s Web site and it`s clear that the department needs to seriously reconsider its public image.

The software giant has realised its days of desktop domination are over and it is looking to make inroads into other markets to ensure the Microsoft name continues to live, even if in a vastly different guise.

The economic and political landscape has changed significantly since Iscor went to the market, but there are still valuable lessons Telkom can learn from that privatisation exercise.

Last week`s major news included further developments around Telkom`s initial public offering and a damning consultant`s report on the bidders for a stake in the second national telecoms operator.

One of the reasons I`m so optimistic for the future of the Welsh economy is the approach which the National Assembly for Wales is taking to encourage telcos to invest in the country`s communications infrastructure.

Even after discovering the joys of open source, Unix and free software, the desire to own another Apple is stronger than ever.

The first issue of Booth`s Bites this year covers the past six weeks.

The more I see of the Welsh IT industry, the more it feels like I`ve stepped through a time warp, and into a parallel dimension.

Microsoft`s offer to open its source code to governments comes a little too late for the South African government, which is moving quickly on open source. Much quicker than most expected it would a year ago.

With the growing use of Internet chat rooms by children of all ages, the threat of paedophiles using the anonymity of this medium to entrap minors has become very real indeed.