ShadowRAM: August 29, 2005

But at last week&s IDF, AMD wound up on the receiving end. Outside the Moscone Center in San Francisco, representatives of MoveAMD.com, a group opposed to the company&s plan to put a new office building near aquifers in Barton Springs, Texas, posted signs reading, “Hey, Hector Ruiz! Not on our aquifer, please!” A nearby woman handed out explanatory flyers asking, “Why is AMD breaking its own standards for sustainable growth?”

While Intel often sics security on AMD reps who hang out too close to the conference, there was no immediate sign they were asking the MoveAMD people to, well, move.

Ellie Nazemoff, our friend at DataTech Enterprises, who immigrated here from Iran, has created a Web site posting tribute messages for the U.S. armed forces. DataTech ascribes 99 percent of its revenue to government projects.

Alvaka Networks& Kevin McDonald—novelist, managed services gadfly and occasional CRN guest columnist—was faced with a system crash of a different sort about a week ago after the small plane he was in crash-landed near San Luis Obispo when its engine cut out. The landing gear was destroyed, but McDonald and the SonicWall partner with him walked away fine.

We love it when vendors and disties hire comedians to take potshots at the competition. Last week Avnet brought in Richard Jeni, who normally does an R-rated set, for its annual Ignition event. Jeni said Avnet asked him to not to use the A-word or the F-word. When he asked what the A-word was, “They told me it was ‘Arrow,& ” Jeni said to thunderous applause. “So I asked them what the F-word was. They said, ‘It&s what we usually say before we say ‘Arrow,& ” Jeni quipped.

Speaking of Avnet, Partner Solutions exec Fred Cuen just returned from a monthlong hiking trip in the Himalayas. The trip got off to a shaky start when the porters did not meet his party until well after midnight the first night, forcing Cuen and his cohorts to huddle for warmth awaiting their warmer clothes.

Cisco&s channel chief Keith Goodwin ain&t wasting any time. Three weeks into his tenure, and he&s already created a worldwide channels marketing position and filled it with Andrew Sage. Last week, he also outlined at least one major difference between his regime and that of predecessor Paul Mountford: No leather pants. Mountford donned the standard rocker garb and played guitar at the Cisco Partner Summit this year. Goodwin pledged to avoid a similar performance.