IBM discovers what we already found out 14 years ago!!!

I've read absolutely astonished the following piece of news today: IBM Creates Microsoft-Free desktop....
Come on, guys, even Jonathan 'Defending Freedonia' Ponytail is able to do better than this. We at Sun have been running a 'Microsoft-Free' desktop for 14 years: Using StarOffice as an Office substitue (is that old, really?) -and now even works fine!-, and Solaris as the operating system. And, of course, the Only Ultra Thin Client in the market: Sun Rays instead of computers, saving power comsumption, cooling and noise (my wife is almost convinced to use one!). If you want to know some of the benefits of our non-Microsoft, non-PC, low-cost, high-productivity and ecological environment, follow the previous Sun links or this one for more information.

McNealy consultory

Day after day I receive hundreds, thousands of e-mails (remember my address: fakescottgmcnealy@gmail.com), telling me how marvelous I am, how well would Sun go if I was the CEO again, and in some occasions I also receive questions and worries. Today I selected one of those e-mails and I'll try to answer to the questions it poses. So, thanks dear 'forangel' for your kind e-mail (although you forgot to add you SunID). The mail said the following:

"Scott,

Help!! All the investments in R&D are finally coming to fruition and the only people

that know are our loyal customers and geeks. We need air coverage fast.

I was at a meeting last month and asked Anil Gadre about advertising while our

products are still ahead of the competition and he said that the better return is through

Google ad words, blogs and article links....even Chevron is running ads. It would have

been great to have just one ad run during the biggest election in a lifetime...another missed

opportunity.

As Chairman, can you please force these guys to work on brand awareness in a

big way? We are the best kept secret in the industry.

Respectfully,

A Loyal Employee"

Dear Forangel,

I really wanted to answer your letter before, but after reading it I've been crying a whole week. You are so right... but although I'm the Chairman, Jonathan doesn't count on my opinions. I tried to influence about the advertising campaign during the election (Go Hillary!), but when I managed to talk to Ponytail, he had already made the order to purchase the phones for the SunRise, so the marketing budget was used at once in the second quarter of the fiscal year...

I understand your frustration. Last week I was playing golf with the GM CEO, and I told him if he was happy with our new line of products. He didn't even know we are a software maker, AND HE IS ONE OF OUR CUSTOMERS! So imagine what happens when I go to a non-Sun customer and start talking about the new storage, the software and the open-source: they start looking at me like if was from Mars and mumble 'Do you have software, really?'
I know you are not asking too much, like those 'Run on SAP' or ORACLE campaigns you can see in every media along the country and other countries too... but just a few well done, well focused advertisements to create some more awareness than the one we can create with Gaagle ADs and just the voice of the geek community.
I long for the day when you tell your mother, your wife or any of your significant other that you work for Sun, and they understand it without further questioning (like Ballmer does with his mother).

Keep pushing my friend, I'll do the same in the next board meeting and every time I see Jonathan in the lobby! (And next time don't forget to add your SunID...)

So,What Will Happen to Sun?

Well, only heaven knows indeed...
I have to say we have a bright future (the same was said about Brazil by General De Gaulle: Brazil will always be the country of the future...). I expect Sun will not incur in De Gaulle's damnation, and we'll reach sooner or later (better sooner), our bright future again.
I wanted to add a link to an article in The Register about us, and a couple of comments about it:

-I'm eager to show we are the best and am not seeking retirement (and I'm sure I can say the same about my real me, that it is not me pretending not to be while being me, nor being mini-me. Is that clear?).

-As the article said, once I was able to take the company from less than 5 dollars to more than 80: My time has come (again) to take the reigns of Sun.

P.S.: (Fake) Jonathan, the PBS title of the documentary fits you quite well. If you want to dedicate it all of your time and effort I'll understand it (and with the $11 M of your salary I'll save some useful jobs at Sun).


UPDATE:
After seeing the results of the poll, I'm insistently calling the Nestle people, but they don't really understand what is Sun's business (they still think I want to sell them just a few desktops and laptops, as if we had any!). I'll keep you informed about this. About Fujistsu, I don't quite understand them, they are all the time saying "McNealy Sun, wait a moment, yes McNealy Sun", they always end their phrases with 'Sun', but it is the only thing I understand (Ashok doesn't speak a word of Korean!).

UPDATE 2: Ashok told me Fujitsu is a Japanese company, not Korean, so I'll stop calling Kim Jon-Il and the department of Commerce to solve the commercial issues of doing business with North Korea. Ashok doesn't speak Japanese either, so Fujitsu is not so clear candidate now. After all I'm not seeking retirement so soon... (and a buyer is unlikely too...)

What happens in Hawaii stays in Hawaii

Well, I know this is not the real saying, but is quite meaningful.
A few weeks from now (that's why I've been so busy, I've been traveling all around the World!), I had to go to Hawaii for the SunRise 2008 event, where we give a reward to our sales team after they met their objectives. Many people was intrigued why Jonathan didn't show up to the SunRise event, and only was 'present' via video conference. Well, there were two major reasons: somebody had to stay at the Sun's Headquarters to announce the Q1 disastrous results, and I was first at the airport to grab the corporate jet (and you don't know how much does Jonathan hate to travel in regular airlines!!). No, now talking seriously, the reason why Jonathan didn't come to the SunRise event was because he didn't fulfill his objectives for the FY'08, so he didn't deserve to go. As I said before, the SunRise is for sales reps that have met or overachieved their objectives, and Jonathan was not the case this year. So,while he was at home announcing the bad results and thinking in firing about 6,000 people, I was in Hawaii with my gorgeous wife, delivering $400 Nokia phones to the 2,000 sales reps attending the event, and bearing the absurd rumour that I'm back to take the reigns of the company (well, I have cash enough to buy the whole company today, so maybe it is not so absurd; anyway, I won't be back while Sun is firing people, so I'll wait at least a few months until the dirty job is done).

I wonder how many people are we letting go to pay the Nokias... Well, it is a problem for Jonathan.

So, after the Hawaii event I went to Las Vegas (you know the saying, what happens in Vegas... this time I didn't bring my wife with me ;-) ), to the Customers Engineering Conference, and again Jonathan only showed up by video conf (yes, again I grabbed the corporate jet before, and besides, he was about to announce the firings, and was a little afraid to be assaulted by the engineers present at the event). Well, to be honest, I only stood at the Paris/Bally's swimming pool and went to the Tom Jones show, so I sent Ashok to mix with the engineers and write an accurate report of the state of the morale and so on. The problem is that Jonathan included Ashok in the list of the 6,000 'riffed' people, so now I have to write the posts in the blog by myself and so on (well, not really, because I'm hiring Ashok again, but this time as a contractor so he'll do the same job, earning a 20% less but costing Sun a 15% more because we have to hire him via a third company, but now is not included in the headcount, so Jonathan and the shareholders are happier).
Well, I'll probably talk about that later, Ashok now works less hours for me, so I can't write as often as I did in the past... now I'm sharing him with another two vicepresidents...

Schwart'z Interview

This may have a few days old, but remember, I am traveling all around the globe to get customers for Sun, something that is not done even by most of our sales people, not to say our VPs...
Anyhow, I know you have been wondering about the strategies that Jonathan is following lately, about the opensource of software and all such stuff. Here you have the answers. Enjoy...

Thanks Steve Gillmore for such an enlightening experience.

Too Sad and Busy to Blog

I'm sorry my dear followers, but after the pre-announce of our -so bad!- results and the way the shares (and my stocks...) are going, I feel too depressed to do some blogging.
Besides, I'm searching for Jonathan, I have a message for him, so until I find him I'll take some time off. Jonathan, my frieeennnd, where are youuu...?

Who is Buying Sun? Sun is an option...

Yes, it is something I didn't mention in the past entries of the blog, but Sun could even buy itself. There are some opinions that say that we should go private by buying all the shares we do not control now, and amazingly, today this would cost us more or less the same as it costed us to buy StorageTek (and if we wait until we release the Q1 earnings it will be even cheaper... ups, I'm supposed not to say that, we are in quiet period...).
Well, as I was saying, our stunning Q1 performance and results will boost our shares (and if it doesn't happen, just turn the charts upside down...)