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August 2006

What if Google CEO Eric Schmidt started blogging at Sun's ex-employee site?

Eric Schmidt

What I've been doing since leaving Sun

2006-08-30T13:36:00Z

Sun Microsystems is doing amazing things under Jonathan Schwartz. It's awesome to have a CEO who blogs, and Sun even gives us former employees this cool place to blog, for free! Anyway, I thought I'd catch everyone up on what I've been doing since I left Sun. For a while I was lost, I must admit, and I actually went off into the desert on a kind of retreat. That was pretty weird but then I got back the old Sun religion about the neetwork being the computer and hooked up with some kids with one of those risky dot-com ventures. That worked out OK, and recently I was asked to join Apple's board of directors. It's a great honor, and it's a thrill to hang out with fellow board member Al Gore, but I have to wonder if it's any more than ceremonial. After all, it's the job of a director to advise and supervise the CEO, and when your CEO is Steve Jobs isn't that sort of like being a bodyguard to a pro wrestler? I mean, how much advice and supervision would you say Steve accepts?

Posted by Mike Swaine at 12:31 PM  Permalink |

Sun got clearer last week about its plans to open-source Java. It then explained that this probably wasn't going to change your life, and an editor asks, well, is it?

Meanwhile the Schwartzwatch finds Jonathan chuckling over buying Silicon Valley pioneer paper dolls or something like that. I think he has a long way to go to reach the level of pranksterism of his predecessor.

Posted by Mike Swaine at 07:09 AM  Permalink |

Sun wants to explain its plans to better support dynamic languages on the JVM so it trots out a "computational theologist" who casts his explanation in terms of working "behind enemy lines." I wonder why programmers want to transform themselves linguistically into evangelists or "theologists," and why "theologists" are so fond of aggressive war metaphors. Does it have something to do with dynamic language?

Maybe it's increased support for dynamic language that we were seeing in Jonathan Schwartz's blog this past week, where he was apparently driven to share with us the information that blogging drives transparency, transparency drives information out to the marketplace and in to Sun, Sun's legal team drives Sun's business and lawyers drive change, but Jonathan doesn't drive lawyers crazy. Just those of us who obsess over language, dynamic or otherwise.

Posted by Mike Swaine at 05:19 AM  Permalink |

Schwartzwatch: In his blog, Sun's big boss brags that he broke bread with Britain's Blair. Schwartz said they discussed the standard topic: how can we replicate the Silicon Valley phenomenon in our part of the world. He also shared that he felt Tony was a little overdressed for the occasion, once again demonstrating that this is one CEO who know what blogging is all about. But Jonathan, surely you showed him the stuff Silicon Valley CEOs are made of by chewing with your mouth open and giving Meg Whitman an unsolicited massage?

Sun CEO picks up a quarter, investors lose a dime: On his blog Schwartz also fleshes out the official report on his first full quarter as Sun CEO. I won't attempt to paraphrase his explanation of how you can lose $300 million (9 cents a share) and have a good quarter. I'm not that good a writer.

Open Source Java: Based on a careful reading of Sun press releases, technology news stories, industry columnist opinions, and starbucksgossip.typepad.com, I conclude that Java will be open-sourced:

• Any day now.
• Soon.
• RSN.
• Within months.
• Not before next June.
• It already is open source, basically.
• When certain technical issues are resolved.
• When certain licensing and governance issues are resolved.
• When certain Sun managers are removed.
• When they find all the code.
• Over James Gosling's dead body.
• Enjoy the anticipation. Think of it as a strip-tease act.
• When that blooping noise stops.

Posted by Mike Swaine at 12:35 PM  Permalink |