Tuesday September 20, 2005
Tuesday September 20, 2005 Ok, so it's not Letterman but I did have fun creating my Top Ten Favorites of the NC05Q3 Launch. Looks like something interesting happened behind the scenes though - the rejected ads about ass-whoopin' servers (on a page titled Sun Censored But Not Silent) that had placed #2 in my Top 10 list have disappeared into thin air. Whoooosh. Instead, when you follow the link to rejected ads, you get the approved ads. Which are certainly edgy and interesting in their own right (especially this centerfold) - after all, the approved ads had already landed as #3 on my Top 10 list. Unfortunately the link where the approved ads used to be is now broken, too. Oh well. It was fun while it lasted!
(2005-09-20 23:48:12.0) Permalink
Wednesday September 14, 2005 [Updated: #9 and #10 added below.]
I sheepishly admit that ever since we stopped having those Sun Network Conferences, the NC0xQx quarterly product launches have been off my radar screen. Not this one, though. NC05Q3 in New York is very much on my radar screen. And if you get a glimpse of one of the Galaxy boxes I think you'll see why. These boxes are beautiful, from a design perspective. Aesthetically, functionally, environmentally, fiscally and darwinianly beautiful. They're good for business and good for the soul.
I've long been a fan of Top 10 lists. The proof is here. So, while I'll let the geeks comment on the modern matte Sun Fire X2100, X4100 and X4200 servers and the Sun Grid Rack System, I'll put on my marketing hat and share some NC05Q3 favorites from an alternate version of reality:
Top Ten Favorites of the NC05Q3 Launch:
1. Jonathan rings the Closing Bell at NASDAQ in NY. Check out the pics. Was it thrilling, Jonathan?
2. Online collection of rejected ads about ass-whoopin' servers! Somebody had fun with this one. :-)
3. Online library of approved ads. Sweet. And still a bit edgy.
4. Martin Hardee and team's Stunning New Web Pages. In particular - the photo galleries.
5. Some creative soul took to the friendly skies to spread the word. Specifically, and I quote, "Sun hired a plane to fly a "Sun's Got a New x64 Server" banner over the Bay Area. Planes also flew a "Thanks AMD" banner over Austin, Texas, and a "Sun's got a new x64 server. Watch out Dell!" banner over Dell headquarters in Round Rock, Texas." It didn't take long for an email to show up in my inbox from a friend of a friend of a friend who works at Dell - with the picture attached:
6. Postcard greetings (really, invitations) from New York, Silicon Valley and from around the world. You can find them on the NC05Q3 press kit. My favorite - the one "from around the world":
7. Use of the word "hodgepodge" in a Sun press release (specifically in a quote from Jonathan.) I know, I'm not being a big fan of "press release voice" - but I love this word just the same. Shows we're loosening up a bit, huh? I quote:
"Until today, the thought was that a move to an industry-standard platform meant a move toward hot, inefficient servers, with weak management and a hodgepodge of system components. We're here to call an end to that era," said Jonathan Schwartz, chief operating officer and president, Sun Microsystems.
8. As with Laura's Box of Chocolates, amid all the pomp and circumstance about the beautiful boxes, I like this line about OpenSolaris (yeah, yeah, I'm biased...)
And following Sun's recent move to make the source code to the Solaris OS available at opensolaris.org under the Common Development and Distribution License (CDDL), more than 7,000 users have registered to participate as part of the OpenSolaris community.
[Updated on 9/14/05: #9 and #10 added below.]
9. I like these statues. Does that mean that size does matter? Nah, it's not the size, it's the handwritten scribble of equations that brings to mind late nights of brilliant engineering. (This photo doesn't have the scribbles. Once I find a photo with scribbles I'll replace it.)
10. The centerfold. Check out the horse. "Warning. The following statements contain explicit content. By viewing them, you are making the statement: I am viewing explicit content." See why Bryan calls this "easily the funniest ad in Sun's history."
Technorati Tag: OpenSolaris
(2005-09-14 00:19:25.0) Permalink
Monday September 12, 2005 
So what, you ask,
does NC05Q3 stand for anyway? "Network Computing (fiscal year) 2005 in
Quarter 3". Because, as we've said for a long, long, (did I say
long?) time - "the Network is the
Computer".[Sidebar: If you want definitive proof that the network is the computer, just count the number of not so genteel words that I whisper under my breath if my home wireless router ever goes on the blink. The ability to connect your system to the network has become a common, fundamental requirement - whether you're a doctor working for Kaiser on evening paperwork or running a worldwide sales organization or a technomarketinggeek at Sun like me. Without connectivity, I'm lugging around a fancy red typewriter.]
So, what exactly is LIVE from New York today?
We launched Galaxy. These systems are 56% more energy efficient, at half the price of the competition, with 1.5 times the performance. That's *%^$# compelling in my book. And here are the benchmarks to backup the claims. Wow. Am I glad that we acquired Andy Bechtolsheim's company back in 2004. Incidentally, I fully agree with Scott's description of Andy earlier today. And I don't pass out compliments like this easily:
"...Andreas von Bechtolsheim, employee #1 at Sun, who I think is the greatest computer designer in the history of industrial computing..." --Scott McNealy
All manner of info about today's NC05Q3 launches - including interviews with Scott and Jonathan - are available online. Check it out! And, of course - MaryMary has some inside scoop on the launch - complete with photos.
(2005-09-12 18:16:32.0) Permalink
