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When a group of us convened late last year to start planning our anniversary coverage, we talked about where the industry has been and where it's going. Looking back is fun, and historians say reflecting on the past can help paint a clearer picture of the future. Adopting Top 10 lists as a theme was an easy decision, but defining the specific categories and picking the winners was no picnic.

As Network Computing readers, you know our roots lie in testing and evaluating products; you also know our writers are technologists first and foremost. So our decision to include top products and technologies as categories was a no-brainer. But in the past 10 years, we've seen some excellent products and technologies fail because of poor marketing. So we agreed to identify the Top 10 companies of the decade as well.

Then there's the personal element. Time and again it's been demonstrated that an individual can make a dramatic difference. It might be a personal vision that defines the future, or a business strategy that resurrects a dying company. Products. Technologies. Companies. People.

Once we defined the categories, the real excitement began. We compiled an initial list of more than 200 nominations at our Manhasset, N.Y., offices in April. Then we debated the list to a fevered pitch online, and assembled again at N+I in Las Vegas to hammer out our final choices. My dad used to tell me hard work pays off. He also said open discussion brings people closer. Hey, one out of two ain't bad.

In this issue, we unveil the 10 most influential people and 10 most important products of the past decade in networking. We also look back at our favorite cover stories, share observations from former columnists, interview longtime readers and report the results of a special e-mail poll. In our next two issues, we'll reveal the 10 most innovative technologies and 10 most effective companies, respectively. And my son Mike just wants to know: Did DSL make the final cut?

-- Dave Molta