"My mantra for investing in this dicey market is to focus on three non-negotiable demands: very solid balance sheet; large, installed customer base; steady cash flows; and dividends," says Jack Adamo.

In his Insiders Plus newsletter he looks at a technology stock that meets his criteria: Sybase (NYSE: SY). He notes, "Overall, this is a company I'm comfortable owning, even in a bad ongoing recession."

The advisor explains, "Sybase is an industry leader in software to manage, analyze and distribute information in the most data-intensive enterprises, such as financial services, telecoms, manufacturing and government.

"To put it concisely: It manages data and makes it available to the many different devices that use it, across the myriad communication protocols that must be traversed to accomplish that.

"Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT), already a holding on our buy list, was added to Goldman Sachs' Conviction Buy List," says Bill Martin. In BullMarket.com, he offers the reasoning for his continued buy rating.

"Analyst Sarah Friar at Goldman recently raised her price target on the name to $29 from $25 saying, 'We are adding Microsoft to our Conviction List as we think the combination of better revenue drivers, improved expense management, and sizable cash balances provides more opportunities for bottom-line beats.'

"'Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2, Bing, Xbox 360 and new Halo content, Office 2010, and the Azure Cloud provide renewed innovation beyond anything we have seen in multiple years,' Friar wrote.

"Overall, we believe quality technology stocks offer above-average growth potential and attractive valuations," says Gregory Dorsey.

In Stephen Leeb's The Complete Investor, he explains, "International Business Machines(NYSE: IBM) has plowed ahead despite a daunting economic and business environment; we are adding the stock to our Growth & Income Portfolio."

"For prudent investors in this challenging economy, most of the major technology companies are financially solid, often with little or no debt and lots of cash on their books. This makes them good long-term vehicles even if the economy remains off the rails for a prolonged period.

"Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) remains the dominant search engine on the web," notes Paul Tracy. In his StreetAuthority Market Advisor, he views the stock as a solid buy for growth investors.

"In economic downturns, one of the first costs most companies cut is advertising. Not surprisingly, over the past year, most companies have slashed their advertising budgets in response to the severe economic downturn.

"But online ad spending has remained remarkably resilient. GOOG's system targets specific ads based on what users type into their search box, geographic location and other factors.

"International Business Machines (NYSE: IBM) provides a good mix of rising earnings estimates, worldwide exposure and a safe dividend," says analyst Alex Kolb from Zacks Research.

"IBM was incorporated in the State of New York in 1911 as the Computing-Tabulating-Recording Co., changing its name to International Business Machines Corporation in 1924.

"And with the strength of its global on-demand model, IBM is experiencing strong revenue growth in all geographies, with robust growth in emerging markets worldwide.

"We are still finding attractively valued growers in tech," says quantitative analyst Richard Morney.

In his Upside stock advisory newsletter, he notes "We have found several especially promising tech stocks with solid track records, strong finances, and attractive growth prospects."

Here, the advisor reviews three stocks that earn his top 'best buy' rating: Akamai NASDAQ: AKAM), Synaptics (NASDAQ: SYNA) and TeleCommunications Systems (NASDAQ: TSYS).

"Earnings prospects for companies in the information technology (IT) sector are surprisingly resilient, and one of the best-placed and most recession-resistant IT stocks is IBM (NYSE: IBM)," notes Elliott Gue.

In Personal Finance, he adds, "In the recession of 2001, tech stocks were among the hardest hit groups in the S&P 500, but that was mainly a hangover from the technology bubble of the late 1990s that saw many big-cap tech firms soar to unprecedented valuation levels.

"The tech sector today bears no resemblance to what it was in the early part of this decade. The S&P 500 IT sector now trades at a slight valuation premium to the S&P 500 as a whole, and many of the largest names have impressive, cash-heavy balance sheets.

"Everyone who wants out has probably already done their selling," says Nate Pile, who sees a "sidways to up' market. In his Nate's Notes, the advisor sees opportunity in a trio of techs.

"My experience with market cycles continues to suggest to me that the odds favor a 'sideways or up' market over the next several months.

"Meanwhile, Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) is technically still stuck in a trading range, I am very pleased with the leadership it has shown in the market over the past several weeks.

"Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT), having watched Apple's success at running its own stores, has decided to get into retailing as well," reports Bill Martin in his BullMarket.com advisory.

"Microsoft began its new retail effort by announcing last night that it had hired a veteran retail executive to lead it. The software giant hired David Porter away from DreamWorks Animation SKG, where he was head of worldwide product distribution.

"Prior to joining DreamWorks in 2007, Porter had spent 25 years at Wal-Mart, where he held a variety of jobs in store operations, merchandising, and information technology.

"Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) is offering a rare opportunity and is now one of our favorite ideas for investors with a multi-year time horizon," says Bill Martin.

In his BullMarket.com, the trading and investing expert explains, "Our bullish thesis on Apple revolves around cash; both the cash on its balance sheet and the cash it is able to generate."

"With approximately $24.5 billion in cash and no debt, about $27.50 of Apple's share price is cash. Meanwhile, the company generated $9.1 billion in cash the past fiscal year.

"Given the way revenue with the iPhone is reported (it's recognized over the life of a contract, not upfront), the cash Apple generates is actually a lot higher than what its earnings indicate.

"Combined, this makes common metrics like P/E ratios not a great way to value the company. If you instead substitute an Enterprise Value (which is basically the market cap with net debt or cash added back in) to cash flow ratio, the stock is trading at only about a 6x multiple.

This post is part of a report entitled "Six-pack of technology favorites." You can read about the other top tech stock picks here.

"For more than a decade, International Business Machines (NYSE: IBM) lived up to its reputation as a slow-growing, stodgy company," says Richard Moroney.

The editor of the blue chip advisory, Dow Theory Forecasts, contends, "But over the last 12 months, the picture changed. Strong operating momentum is now propelling genuine operational growth despite U.S. economic weakness."

"Acquisitions and cost cuts have accounted for most of IBM's growth in recent years. In the 10 years ended 2006, sales increased at an annualized rate of less than 2%, and the company lost both market share and in?uence.

"However, sales growth has accelerated in each of the last three quarters, and per-share pro?ts have risen at least 23% in each period. Consensus estimates, trending upward over the last month, project per-share-pro?t growth of 24% in 2008 and 11% in 2009.

"A broad business mix has helped the company keep growing during the economic slowdown. IBM may still be best known for its hardware, but the company's strength over the last year has stemmed from the services and software businesses, which tend to be less economically sensitive than hardware.

"Hardware accounted for about 18% of sales in the six months ended June, while services represented 58% and software generated 20%. Financing operations brought in most of the last 4%.

"While the current economic climate has pinched the consumer, companies are still investing heavily in new technology. IBM's products and services help customers improve ef?ciency, productivity, and security, which in turn can reduce costs. In the six months ended June, IBM's revenue rose 12%, while per share-pro?ts jumped 34%. Revenue from services increased 17% in the six-month period.