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In its latest survey of practices among makers of electronic gadgets, Greenpeace has raised the bar of what the environmental group believes is required for "green" corporate citizenship. The analysis of the products and procedures of 18 major electronics manufacturers, released today, ranked two Silicon Valley giants -- Hewlett-Packard and Apple -- in the middle of the pack. Handset maker Sony Ericsson topped the list, while video game company Nintendo finished last.

I'm not sure how it happened, but I seem to have become encircled by Apple products. I've always been pretty neutral when it came to hardware elegances. I've worked with many lifelong Mac addicts and have always found their devotion to the Apple brand amusing, given it inevitably leads to a comprehensive technology lock-in. But even when Macs were clearly inferior to PCs -- between 1997 and 2000 when Mac ran on OS 9 -- and more expensive, the Mac faithful never faltered. However, from where I type this today, I can see no less than four Apple logos on devices I purchased with my own money!

If Gartner proves prescient, there could be some heady times ahead for Apple. The Cupertino, Calif.-based firm figures prominently in a list Gartner released Thursday of predictions on 2008 and beyond. The predictions focus on specific areas in which IT leaders will have to make adjustments, and many of these areas concern the decreased emphasis on hardware and the adaptability of software. Gartner, which issues periodic forecasts about the IT world, highlighted 10 predictions among more than 100 it made this year.

If Gartner proves prescient, there could be some heady times ahead for Apple. The Cupertino, Calif.-based firm figures prominently in a list Gartner released Thursday of predictions on 2008 and beyond. The predictions focus on specific areas in which IT leaders will have to make adjustments, and many of these areas concern the decreased emphasis on hardware and the adaptability of software. Gartner, which issues periodic forecasts about the IT world, highlighted 10 predictions among more than 100 it made this year.