The Best Issue, 11/12/01

	Best products: User picks IBM and Cisco remain perennial favorites while Microsoft lags in popularity among readers who participated in our third-annual Best Products survey.
	Best of the tests Thirteen products win our 2001 Best of the Tests Award as tops in their tested categories.
	Wares extraordinaire Six of our columnists select the most innovative products and services for our annual Category-breaker Award.
	Tips from our Test Alliance reviewers Internet appliances, Web acceleration hardware, switches and routers - our testers offer the secrets of selecting top performing products, in audio.
	More product reviews Read the full, original review for any of our Best of the Test winners and numerous other products.

	A grand telework plan Prudential Financial wins our 2001 User Excellence Award for an IP VPN project that turned it into a telework powerhouse while cutting remote access costs in half.
	Putting banks in balance The Chicago Clearing House Association's check adjustment system sets the industry standard and earns the CCHA runner-up status in our 2001 User Excellence Awards.
	A hospital's one-man network band St. Elizabeth's Don Woeltje's ability to juggle myriad projects defines 'user excellence' and earns the hospital runner-up status in our 2001 User Excellence Awards.
	User Excellence Award honorable mentions Huge savings, whopping productivity gains and creative use of technologies; these network projects earn our applause.

	The best ways to avoid burnout IT execs reveal how they get the most from their staffs without turning them to toast.
	The Best books of 2001 Here's the latest crop of must-read technology-related business theories.
	Network pros know they have the best job And they aren't at all shy about telling you why.
	Newsletter archive: Management Strategies Our crack editor, Melissa Shaw, brings you the best practices in employee management all year long, via her bi-weekly newsletter.

	Best IP technology tips Experts share their secrets for implementing the hottest IP network services, from clustering to VoIP.
	Best Bets on Fusion Our list of the top ten most read articles on Network World Fusion last week. Learn what your peers have read.