2004: A year of high-tech changes. “The year 2004 defied predictions: IBM sold its PC arm to a Chinese competitor, Oracle managed to swallow PeopleSoft, and — perhaps the most dramatic of all — Microsoft and Sun Microsystems aligned to make their products interoperate.” Source: InfoWorld: Top News. So begins the end of the year summaries, flashbacks and punditries. Brace yourself for two weeks of reviews.