"Cooling" noncertified skills

ComputerWorld's August 8th edition (Career Watch, page 44) listed five skills that, from a salary standpoint, have lost the most value during the past twelve months. It reads frighteningly like Novell's strategic technologies checklist:

• XML
• Java
• Linux
• and of course, "Novell" itself.

The fifth item mentioned - ActiveX - is confusing, but what do I know.

In case you're interested, the hottest noncertified skills (25% or more growth in skills pay premiums over the past 12 months) were:

• SQL Server
• WebSphere
• Active Server Pages
• Microsoft .Net

Yikes.