The IT Blog Top 10: Jan. 7, 2010

10. How to reset the Cisco Catalyst Switch to Factory Defaults Yasir Irfan offers up a helpful, illustrated tutorial.

9. Choosing a block size when creating VMFS datastores Eric Siebert has written a guide on how to choose the right size for VMFS datastores.

8. What is Changed Block Tracking in vSphere? Eric Siebert discusses how new block tracking features can ease incremental backups.

7. Gartner acquires Burton Group, bolsters presence Robert Westervelt takes a look at the consolidation of security analysts, what it means for smaller shops and what it means for IT organizations.

6. Forrester points to 2010 changes in application development Jack Vaughan points to changes down the pipeline for application developers.

5. A monkey is better than Jim Cramer at picking data center stocks Mark Fontecchio’s never one to tip toe around calling it like he sees it, and Jim Cramer gets called.

4. Solid state hard drives: A requirement for VARs in 2010 Eric Slack takes a look at why solid state hard drives matter to the channel.

3. Avaya gives up headset sales to OEM’s channel program Jessica Scarpati reveals the messy breakup between the Brangelina of the the desktop headset world, Avaya and Plantronics.

2. The state of compliance in the cloud Nicole D’Amour  takes a look at the dark side of the cloud in a podcast with Jim Reavis, co-founder and executive director of the Cloud Security Alliance.

1. Good riddance to a bad decade Barbara Darrow says goodbye — and good riddance! — to the ’00′s with a worst-of list.