Times are changing in the publishing industry. Online delivery is in, and glossy paper is on the outs. What does this mean for Texas Technology? An ending, but also a new beginning.

This is the final issue of Texas Technology in the printed or electronic magazine format. The magazine's parent company, e.Republic Inc., founded Texas Technology in 2005, and it quickly filled a niche for professionals who want to be among the first to know about Texas-related IT projects, innovations and job-critical news.

We will continue delivering you the same information, but in a different format. Beginning in January, Texas Technology subscribers will receive the bimonthly Texas Report, a newsletter delivered directly to your e-mail inbox. We hope you enjoy the new format. And don't forget that our flagship publication, Government Technology magazine, often includes stories about IT happenings in Texas. For a free subscription, click here.

Speaking of free, this month's issue is all about saving money - and there couldn't be a better time, as the U.S. falls into recession, and state and local IT agencies brace for a period of lean budgets. On the cover, we feature a story about the Texas Department of Information Resources (DIR), which streamlined its IT Staffing Services program to facilitate hiring and cost control. According to the DIR, the program re-engineering saved more than $20 million in fiscal 2008.

Contributing Writer Michael Jeffers writes about a cheap, nifty technology called QR codes that CIO Dustin Haisler put to use in the city of Manor. With downloadable software, anyone with a camera phone can photograph these bar codes that are attached to landmarks and buildings, and the phone's browser pulls up information about the locale. Price tag: $400.

And here are two more budget-minded ideas: I write about how more schools are moving their file-management capabilities to online, hosted solutions rather than storing data in on-site servers. When students or teachers want to retrieve a homework assignment, they can download it from the Web onto a home computer. And Contributing Writer Kahliah Laney writes about Colleyville's rollout of an automated, electronic management system that replaced a paper-based system for its planning, inspections and permitting services. Less paperwork is budget-friendly.

While the world waits for the financial storm to clear, Texas continues to accrue lessons learned from Hurricane Ike, which made landfall last fall. Texas Technology Staff Writer Elaine Rundle talked to George Szakacs, Seabrook's CIO. Have you ever heard of an IT chief stashing essential computer equipment in a water tower? That's what Szakacs did in anticipation of the storm surge. And don't miss out on more coverage about how IT aided recovery and response efforts in Contributing Writer Adam Stone's feature story, Crisis Communication.

Thanks for reading.