The Top Unsung Tech-Stock Leaders

Summer is supposed to be the time of lounge chairs and beach balls for the stock market, but someone apparently forgot to tell technology investors.

For the first time in years, the world's largest computer companies are strutting across Wall Street with an undeniable swagger, as second-quarter earnings are likely to come in above expectations and shares are sweeping to multiyear highs.

It's not just Apple's(AAPL Quote) iPhone, either. It's notebook computers, set-top boxes, networking equipment, enterprise servers and high-definition televisions. It's operating systems, digital cameras and DVD players. It's RAM and flash memory.

Indeed, despite bears' forecasts that a plunge in residential real-estate values would scare off consumer and business spending, the demand for things that plug in, turn on and help you tune out is as strong as ever. ...