MaryMaryQuiteContrary

Start reving those competitive engines, kids

Tuesday May 13, 2008

We've got a contest to tell you about. 

(I got clued in to this one thanks to Dr. Chhandomay Mandal of Reviews Interactive fame)

The target demographic (as we like to say in the biz) for this one is students. So if you can type as fast w/your thumbs on a phone as you type w/your fingers on a keyboard, you're a good candidate for this one.

:-)

It's all about OpenSolaris and Netbeans.

We want to know what you think. And thoughtful, useful reviews can win up to $250 in Visa Debit cards!

Here's what you've got to do to play (along):

1. Download OpenSolaris 2008.5 OS and/or NetBeans IDE 6.1.
2. Test the product and post a review!
3. Submit the URL of the review.
4. Do it before June 6, 2008.

There are more details in Chhandomay's blog and also in the main student reviews page.

Fun, fun, fun!

Mary 

[0] Comments
Like this post? del.icio.us | furl | slashdot | technorati | digg

Word on the Tweet

Tuesday May 06, 2008

My new favorite blogger, Andreas Ebbert Karroum, published a great blog entry for keeping your finger on the pulse of JavaOne if you don't happen to be in San Francisco this week. If you'll induldge a little copy/paste action:

How To Follow JavaOne Without Attending

I’m in the unfortunate situation to actually have a full conference pass for JavaOne 2008 in San Francisco, complimentary of Sun for their Star Spec Leads - thanks Liz for all your support over the years, without actually being there (for various reasons). So how can you follow the conference as close as possible, without actually being there?

  1. Reading Blogs - this is a recommendation of blogs to follow to keep up with what’s going on at JavaOne.
  2. Twitter - apparently the way to follow the conference closest
  3. Webcasts - I wish they would also cast some selected sessions, maybe even only for those with a ticket. (I should propose that to Sun, to sell “virtual tickets” that only entitle you to follow the conference remotely)
  4. Magazines - even if this is the”old-fashion” way of doing it, it’s going to be more reflected and in-depth, I hope.
  5. Hands-On Labs - try out some labs yourself, they are fully downloadable

If you have any other suggestions, please comment, I love to hear about them!

Update:

  • @JavaOne2008 suggested to include the possibility to join JavaOne on Second Life. I’ve not included it in this blog previously because I’m not using Second Life, but if you are, this might be a good chance to take part.
Great write-up, Andreas! Thank you for pulling this together!

 

[1] Comments
Like this post? del.icio.us | furl | slashdot | technorati | digg

Java+You

Tuesday May 06, 2008

See the new look on Java.com?

Totally love it!

:-)

Mary 

[2] Comments
Like this post? del.icio.us | furl | slashdot | technorati | digg

Hot dog in my pursue

Monday May 05, 2008

It's been a super, super busy day. 

I got to see the Big Boss speak today.

 Sun founder and chairman of the board Scott McNealy speaking at the Center for Global Development's May 5 forum titled Open Source, Open Education and Eco-friendly: Can Sharing Improve Policy?

(very cool) 

I got to have a quick chat with one of my all time favorite hot shot techno celebs (of the executive variety)...

 Bill Vass, Sun Microsystems

Bill Vass. (very cool.)

Huge news on the OpenSolaris and CommunityOne fronts.

(very, very cool)

In short, there are lots and lots of important, substantive things to tell you about today.

(Which I will do as soon as I get a minute to sit down and blog)

Meanwhile, a trivial, frivolous story...

So this past weekend.... I'm at the elementary school spring fair on Saturday. Volunteer duty. My time-slot was at the end of the day, which included clean-up. So I'm one of the last people to leave...

This kid comes walking around... He's handing out hot dogs. He says the kitchen staff told him he had to give the hot dogs away. "Take one," he says. So, I'm not really a big elementary school cafeteria hot dog eater (I know you can't imagine why :-) I pass.

A few minutes later, this kid comes around again. He's still loaded down with hot dogs. And a bit irritated. "Please, lady. Would you just take a hot dog?" Clearly, the pressure of having to unload the dogs was getting to him. So I take a hot dog.

I put it in my purse.

I figure one of my kids will eat it when I get home.

One of my fellow-mommy-gal-pals is there and she tells me not to forget it in my pursue.

Fast-forward to Sunday morning... I'm in church... they pass the tray... I unzip my purse so that I can get out my wallet for some money... 

Let's put it this way, I smelled it before I saw it. 

(and so did everybody else sitting around me.)

I just quick zipped my purse shut and took on that same quizzical, slightly embarrassed look everyone else around me had on their face about where that ripe hot dog smell was coming from.

There's a moral in that story somewhere, I think...

:-)

Mary


 

[1] Comments
Like this post? del.icio.us | furl | slashdot | technorati | digg

JavaOne Hot Shot Techno Celeb Featured in Business Week

Monday May 05, 2008

While you're in line waiting for the doors to open for the General Session at JavaOne tomorrow... 

(and you want to get there early -- at 8 a.m. for JavaOne's ONLY shot at getting an original James Gosling designed t-shirt..)

... flip open the current issue of Business Week and check out the story on The [Virtual] Global Office

Hot shot techno celeb Nicole Yankelovich of Project Wonderland fame is featured. 

(She's a close, personal friend, btw. Not to brag :-)

The story is all about how companies (like Sun) are using virtual worlds for employee meetings, mixers, recruiting..

It's good stuff. Check it out.

Then, make sure you don't miss all the opportunities to see Nicole and the rest of the Project Wonderland team in SF this week, namely:

uesday, May 6th:

10:50 am Designing an MMORPG with Project Darkstar 
Jeff Kesselman - Technical Session

1:30 pm Project Wonderland: Community-built Virtual Worlds
Nicole Yankelovich & Nigel Simpson - Community Corner talk

Wonderland with Kids
Gilda Garreton & Juan Carlos Herrer - Community Corner talk

3:20 pm Project Wonderland: A Toolkit for Building 3-D Virtual Worlds 
Paul Byrne & Jonathan Kaplan - Technical Session

3:20 pm Project Darkstar Hands-On Lab
Jeff Kesselman & Jana Olivova - Hands-on Lab

6:00 pm Creating Games on the Java Platform with jMonkeyEngine
Rikard Herlitz & Joshua Slack - Technical Session

It's too bad the Wonderland talk and the Darkstar hands-on lab were scheduled opposite one another, but by the time we realized it, it was too late to change the schedule.

On Wednesday, May 7th

6:30 pmVideo Game Development on the Java Platform: Past Present and Future of Java Technology Games
Chris Melissinos - Birds-of-a-Feather Session

7:30 pm Project Wonderland Community Gathering
Thirsty Bear - 661 Howard Street, San Francisco
The entire Wonderland team will be at the JavaOne conference this year. We'll be heading over to the Thirsty Bear on Wednesday, May 7th at 7:30pm after Chris Melissinos' Java gaming birds-of-a-feather session. Whether or not you're planning on attending JavaOne, please join us for this informal Wonderland Community Event. We'll bring something along that says "Wonderland" on it so you'll be able to find us. 

Thirsty Bear Brewing Co
661 Howard St, San Francisco, CA
(415) 974-0905

---

 

Like this post? del.icio.us | furl | slashdot | technorati | digg

Thousands of employees participate in Sun townhall in Second Life

Tuesday Apr 29, 2008

Sun is a global company.

We have more than 30,000 employees in 100 countries.

We all live on the network.

And today we got to interact with each other in an environment enabled by it -- Second Life.

Sun hosted a global townhall for its employees in Second Life. A heavy-hitting line-up of execs came in world to talk to and interact with our employees there, including CEO Jonathan Schwartz...

(left)

Chris Melissinos (center) hosted the day-long event. The session with Jonathan also featured Don Grantham, EVP Global Sales and Services (right)

Others in the line-up today included:

8.00am -  8.30am Bill MacGowan, EVP, P&P
 8.30am -  9.00am Rich Green, EVP, Software
 9.00am -  9.30am Marten Mickos, SVP, Database Group
10.00am - 10.30am Scott McNealy, Chairman
11.00am - 11.30am Karie Willyerd, CLO & VP, Sun Learning Services
12.00pm -   1.00pm Jonathan Schwartz, CEO & President
                                    Don Grantham, EVP, Systems
 1.00pm -  1.30pm John Fowler, EVP, Systems
 2.00pm -   2.30pm Lin Lee, VP, Global Communities
 2.30pm  -  3.00pm Mary Cay Kosten, VP, Global Customer Services
 3.00pm  -  3.30pm Liz Matthews, Software Marketing
 3.30pm  -  4.00pm Mike Dillon, EVP, General Counsel
 4.00pm  -  4.30pm Ingrid Van Den Hoogen, SVP, Brand Marketing
 5.30pm   -  6.00pm Hal Stern, DE & VP, Global Systems Engineering 

In a word: Fawesome.

HUGE big time propos go to Fiona Gallagher, who's lead on Sun's presence in Second Life.

bravo!

:-)

Mary


[3] Comments
Like this post? del.icio.us | furl | slashdot | technorati | digg

Hiring for PAID Internship Positions

Friday Apr 25, 2008

Hey guys and gals!

I'm hiring.

Looking for undergraduate interns -- summer internships starting as soon as the semester ends.

PAID

I've got two positions open

One

Two 

Very, very hot jobs.

If you've got a student in your life, who's looking for a great internship... apply within. (online)

I'm looking for leads, people. You gotta hook me up. If you know any good candidates pls send them my way using the following secret forumla:

first.last-AT-sun.com

My last name is Smaragdis.

Mary

[26] Comments
Like this post? del.icio.us | furl | slashdot | technorati | digg

More Free Stuff! (and it's not even Friday :-)

Wednesday Apr 23, 2008

More good news!

Three more free JavaOne passes are being given away on Twitter this week.

If you want in on the fun:

Step 1: Go to http://twitter.com
Step 2: Log on/Register
Step 3: Follow @sdnjavaone08

:-)


 

[1] Comments
Like this post? del.icio.us | furl | slashdot | technorati | digg

Countdown!

Sunday Apr 20, 2008

j1

Just 16 more days until JavaOne!
 

Like this post? del.icio.us | furl | slashdot | technorati | digg

Friday Free Stuff!

Friday Apr 18, 2008

!!!!

Full Conference Pass to JavaOne 2008.

Not just one.

THREE of them.

@DukeJava is giving them away on Twitter this weekend.

Follow him there for a shot at it.

The rules:

  1. You have to be a new member to the Sun Developer Network. If you haven't already, join.
  2. You're on your own when it comes to getting to SF and finding a place to crash
  3. You can't get your paycheck from Sun.

If you're down with the rules and you want in on this game, follow @DukeJava on Twitter.

(On Facebook, Duke gave another pass away to one of his Facebook Friends today! So If I were you, I'd hook up w/him on Facebook too. You know, I did.)

Mary

 

[1] Comments
Like this post? del.icio.us | furl | slashdot | technorati | digg

I'm Hiring!

Friday Apr 18, 2008

Hey guys and gals!

I'm hiring.

Looking for interns.

I've got two positions open

One 

Two

Very, very hot jobs.

If you've got a student in your life, who's looking for a great internship... apply within. (online)

I'm looking for leads, people. You gotta hook me up. If you know any good candidates pls send them my way using the following secret forumla:

first.last-AT-sun.com

My last name is Smaragdis.

Mary

[3] Comments
Like this post? del.icio.us | furl | slashdot | technorati | digg

Linda Skrocki Named Social Media Rock Star!

Monday Apr 14, 2008

Close personal friend (not to brag) Linda Skrocki has been named a social media rock star by 

 

Or more precisely here's what the headline said...

The New Robert Scobles: Seven Leading Corporate Social Media Evangelists Today

 

Very cool!

OK. So I have my very own Linda Skrocki story and it's highly relevant to this whole thing...

A while ago, I was lead on a relationship with United Nations Global Youth Leadership Network. One of the things Sun brought to the table in that partnership was our experience in the blogging space, and our willingness to share our experiences.

When the time came to bring in the experts to brief the the team at the UN, I called Linda.

She was awesome! The United Nations told me that Linda was awesome.

That wasn't the first time I called on Linda in this capacity; it wasn't the last either.

:-)

She's a stellar business partner. She's a delight to work with. She's absolutely brilliant and she does a magnificent job.

It's so satisfying to see her get this recognition.

:-)

double :-)

Get the full story.  

That's a great way to end a busy, busy Monday.

Thanks Melanie Parsons for cluing me in.  

Mary 

[2] Comments
Like this post? del.icio.us | furl | slashdot | technorati | digg

There are so many things I love about this...

Friday Apr 11, 2008

I spent 18 months as executive director of the Sun Microsystems Foundation. 

It was an incredible experience, and one that I am humbled to have had the opportunity to engage in.

In that time (and also in a previous life) I had the opportunity to work with Shannon Raybold, a Webby award winner who is a net gen hot shot in the non-profit circles. She works for the United Nations Foundation.

Shannon just pointed me to the latest work that her team did.

 UN Foundation Nothing But Nets game

It's an interactive game that allows the user to deliver mosquito nets to people who need them. If you play the game before April 25 - World Malaria Day - a mosquito net will be sent to Africa on the user's behalf. 

There are so many things that I love about this... using the network to fuel momentum for the work; creating rich, interactive user experiences; using the experience to underscore the message... you know I'm bursting to go on and on but I'm super pressed for time today.

The take-away (as we like to say in the biz): you should check this out.

It's just another way of proving it's fun to do good.  

Mary

p.s.  my kids are already hooked on FreeRice.com. Just wait till they get home from school and see this.
 

[1] Comments
Like this post? del.icio.us | furl | slashdot | technorati | digg

Don't miss the action

Wednesday Apr 09, 2008

The live chat's done but there's tons of action still going on w/today's announcements. 

screen shot from the launch

Don't miss it.  

Like this post? del.icio.us | furl | slashdot | technorati | digg

Live Chat Going On Now! Join Us!

Wednesday Apr 09, 2008

On the Web... 

 

And also in Second Life (search on Sun Microsystems Pavillion)

 

Like this post? del.icio.us | furl | slashdot | technorati | digg

"Stunning"

Wednesday Apr 09, 2008

Big, big news today, people!

We're talking third generation Chip Multi-Threading Technology

(And we all know CMT is to the techno-rati what OPP is to the hip-hop glitter-rati)

There's even a CMT Wiki...

(yeah, you know me)

:-)

Net, net: Scale more with less.  

If speeds and feeds are to you what M&Ms and Bon Bons are to me, heres a little cut-and-past action for you...

The industry's first dual-socket CMT systems based on the third-generation UltraSPARC T2 Plus processor set a new bar for performance, efficiency and economics in scaling web, enterprise, HPC and virtualization infrastructures. The new systems will enable you to dramatically increase the output of your applications at a fraction of the cost, in significantly less space and using much less energy for the same compute density than comparable x86 systems -- enabling you to design more innovative web services and products, achieve faster time-to-market, and make better business decisions.


There's a live chat at 9 a.m. US Pacific with the hot shot techno celebs, and some action going on in Sun's Pavillion in Second LIfe.

The who's who of big-time bloggers are picking this up. 

How's that for turbo-charging a Wednesday?

:-)

Mary

p.s. In SL I'm  MaryMaryAabye ...

[2] Comments
Like this post? del.icio.us | furl | slashdot | technorati | digg

What I love about Twitter

Monday Apr 07, 2008

So when my friends at church find out that I'm on twitter I get the same look that I got from them when they found out all those years ago that I started blogging. 

It's this cross between facination, befuddlement and anxiety.

I can see them thinking, wondering whether there's something slightly suspicious about the whole thing.

So when it comes to the "mainstream," we've still got a long way to go.

We digress...

Twitter.

My favorite thing.

Today I found out that Simon had moose stew in Norway, Tim was stuck in an airport with lots of artificial light and OpenSolaris rocks.

Though that isn't exactly in order of importance.

Nor is it a blatant suck-up, though it might appear to be.

:-)

Anyway... gotta jam... hosting a con call... gotta dial in...

Mary

Like this post? del.icio.us | furl | slashdot | technorati | digg

JavaOne Early Bird Registration Ends Today - Act Now! :-)

Monday Apr 07, 2008

Register Today
Register Today! 2008 JAVAONE(SM) CONFERENCE May 6-9, 2008 The Moscone Center San Francisco, CA http://java.sun.com/javaone
Use priority code J8EM4EM

PLATINUM COSPONSORS
AMD
Intel
Motorola
Oracle

COSPONSORS
BEA
BluAge
IBM
InterSystems
JBoss
Microsoft
Navteq
Parasoft
SAP
Terracotta
TIME IS RUNNING OUT!
The Early Bird discount ends April 7 for the 2008 JavaOneSM  conference. The Conference connects you with industry experts; the latest trends; and practical, job-related content:
bullet 300+ technical, collaborative, and hands-on sessions in core Java™ technologies as well as rich Internet applications, Ajax, open source, compatibility and interoperability, next-generation scripting languages, Web 2.0, services integration, e-commerce collaboration, and more.
bullet Access to Conference Rock Stars and other industry experts.
Rock Stars
REGISTER BY APRIL 7 AND SAVE
Take advantage of the Early Bird $200 registration discount when you register by April 7.

Use priority code J8EM4EM

Choose from one of the following packages:
bullet Conference Pass: $200 discount ($1,595 versus $1,795)
Access to the four-day Conference program and the JavaOne Pavilion
bullet

Conference Plus Pass: $200 discount ($2,390 versus $2,590)
Access to the four-day Conference program, JavaOne Pavilion, and the one-day Java University, plus a JavaOne Pavilion Guest Pass for a colleague

START BUILDING YOUR SCHEDULE
Go to the Advance Conference Guide for all the information about this year’s Conference.
Go to the Online Content Catalog to view the latest information on technical sessions, Birds-of-a-Feather sessions, and Hands-on Labs all in one place. Search by track, session type, keyword, or speaker/company.

THE JAVAONE PAVILION
Over 100 companies with an interest in Java technology will exhibit at the Pavilion, which will also showcase:
bullet SOA Village and Mobility and Device Village: Meet experts who are developing underlying platforms and applications for both SOA and mobility.
bullet Startup Exhibitor Alley: Visit our showcase of small privately held companies.

GET RSS CONFERENCE UPDATES
Subscribe to our JavaOne Conference RSS news feed for the latest updates.

BIKE TO JAVAONE
Reduce your carbon footprint: bike or take public transit to this year’s JavaOne conference. Free bike valet service is available daily from 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. (6 p.m. on Friday) in front of the Moscone Center South Hall, provided by the nonprofit San Francisco Bike Coalition.

REFER FIVE FRIENDS,
RECEIVE A Wii
Get five friends to register for the Conference program, and qualify for a Nintendo Wii. Just have them enter your Registration ID number as their Referral Code when they register.
Complete Details.

  5 + 1 GROUP DISCOUNT
Purchase five Conference Passes or Conference Plus Passes at the regular price, and get the sixth Conference Pass FREE.
Learn more.
If you have any questions or feedback, please send a message to javaoneinfo-AT-sun.com
Thank you, Sun Microsystems
java.sun.com/javaone
 
© 2008 Sun Microsystems, Inc. All rights reserved. For information on Sun's trademarks see: www.sun.com/suntrademarks
If you no longer wish to receive this kind of communication from me, please reply and let me know.
If you prefer to no longer receive any email from Sun, add yourself to the Sun Do Not Email List.
Sun Microsystems, Inc., 18 Network Circle, M/S: UMPK18-124, Attn. Global eMarketing, Menlo Park, CA 94025 USA

 

Like this post? del.icio.us | furl | slashdot | technorati | digg

Speaking of April Pranks...

Monday Apr 07, 2008

Not all those wacky pranks happen in April... 

:-)

Gotta love those guys and gals on the SunSpots team.

Mary


Like this post? del.icio.us | furl | slashdot | technorati | digg

Interesting, provocative perspective

Tuesday Apr 01, 2008

 

Meet Gary Vaynerchuk, my  new favorite blogger.



Very interesting.

Mary

p.s. I like to think of myself more like Queen Latifa than Run DMC. :-)

[1] Comments
Like this post? del.icio.us | furl | slashdot | technorati | digg

There's no better place in the world to work -- especially on April 1

Tuesday Apr 01, 2008

I just love working here. 

(most days)

:-)

But if I got to work for Sun Microsystems only one day per year, I'd want to choose April 1.

A sampling of April 1st from years past....


Sun Founder (and one of the smartest people on the earth to draw air from the same atomsphere that sustains me) Bill Joy's brand new Ferarri in the middle of a pond.

But the real fun seems to happen inside.....

(car in office)

(office in fish tank)

(jungle in office; yes that's a snake on his keyboard)

Want more? Here's a little round up of April 1 pranks at Sun Microsystems from years past.

:-)

It's a great place to work.

Especially on April 1.

Start here if you want in.

:-)

Mary 




[4] Comments
Like this post? del.icio.us | furl | slashdot | technorati | digg

Pop Quiz!

Tuesday Apr 01, 2008

Q: What does my front yard have in common with my blog, my Facebook page and my closet: 

Mary's front yard

A: All are in desperate need of a little Spring sprucing up.

That's what I'm going to work on this weekend... 

[