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And the Sun Sets

There was an interview in the San Francisco Chronicle with Scott McNealy (CEO/co-founder of Sun) that was pretty interesting.

I don't know, maybe he was just tired or the editors were peppering him right and left with uncomfortable questions, but McNealy came across as ... as a "dick." At the very least, cranky or testy.

And McNealy is chairman, president and chief executive officer of Sun, so how can you account for this statement by him (in response on what to tell kids who want to go into tech - good/bad?): "I'm not a great visionary."

HUH? So what exactly is it that you do?

And, in case you think I'm taking one part of a longish interview too seriously, McNealy was asked to comment on a Michael Dell comment that the future of technology does not belong to proprietary systems (such as Sun's Solaris vs. Linux on software, for example).

McNealy stressed the importance of R&D (OK, but what does R&D really have to do with proprietary systems?? IBM is doing a lot of R&D on Linux..) and then uttered: " How many extra people would be working in the auto industry if Henry Ford hadn't figured out, 'We'll give you any color you want, as long as it's black.' "

HUH (again)?? What does that mean?

Well, McNealy meant that there were benefits to keeping all technologies in the "flavor" (so there are no interoperability issues, for example), but this introduces (at least) two problems for McNealy:

• Isn't this an argument that supports the Microsoft juggernaut? (McNealy's favorite bashing post) MS is all MS, all parts (OS, Office, SQL Server, CE etc....) - you buy into the platform, the rest will seamlessly integrate (the concept, OK?)


• Isn't this the Ford quotation that everyone holds up as an example of how Ford blew it: Yes, he changed (interchangeable parts/assembly line) the making of autos - but refused to acknowledge that others could do this as well (why not other colors?) and that the customer wasn't always right, Henry Ford was, dammit! Oldsmobile came in with colors (red, I think, to start) and hurt Ford's sales.

Ouch.

On the other hand, McNealy has always been this way - and, in many ways, it's refreshing. While he always harps on the same things (MS, antitrust,Dell....), he doesn't do as much weasel-speak as others in his type of position.

But I still see the sun setting on Sun sometime shortly...buy out, merger...Probably not bankruptcy, they have dough in the bank.

Still.