ShadowRAM: October 10, 2005

Sun Microsystems CEO Scott McNealy and Google CEO Eric Schmidt, a former McNealy minion, last week did their best "Laurel and Hardy" routine at the Sun-Google non-event. Not only did they lavish praise on each other regarding what great visionaries they were in their younger days (to drive the point home, the backdrop was two huge oversized photos of the leaders with entrepreneurial Doer's Profile vital stats), they also gave each other gifts. McNealy gave Schmidt a starter kit for the deal, including a Sun server and StarOffice. Schmidt gave McNealy a lava lamp. Wonder which will end up being more useful.

When asked by our intrepid reporter what this means to Sun's channel partners, McNealy replied: "That Sun is back."

Asked whether this means Sun is going to push StarOffice more aggressively, McNealy said: "We already do." (News to us.)

Finally, when we noted some partners think there is not enough support, McNealy replied: "If there are any complaints, have them call me directly, and I'll get it taken care of." Is that the sound of a phone ringing?

Now it's official: Wireless technology has hit the mainstream. Merriam-Webster just added Wi-Fi to the latest edition of its collegiate dictionary. In case you're wondering, Wi-Fi is defined as a certification mark "used to certify the interoperability of wireless computer networking devices."

Other newbies include brain freeze, chick flick and cybrarian ("a person whose job is to find, collect and manage information that is available on the World Wide Web").

Janet Perna, outgoing GM of IBM Software's Information Management Group may end up in New Orleans working with either the Red Cross or Habitat for Humanity. The first step, she said is "to figure out if I have skills they can use."

She is off to Red Cross orientation this week and thinks there may be something she could do in logistics. "They're having a heck of a time getting just supplies and things to where they need to be," Perna said.