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Eye of the Needle by David Needle (bio)

Insights from Silicon Valley and beyond

July 8, 2008, 4:24 PM

Hey Microsoft, forget Yahoo, buy VMware

The aftershocks are still reverberating from today's news of the unceremonious departure of VMware cofounder and CEO Diane Greene. While the news was a surprise to most, you have to assume VMware's board of directors has been actively planning for her exit for some time as it had a ready replacement to announce as CEO in Paul Maritz.

Maritz is the former Microsoft executive perhaps best known for some of the more colorful comments attributed to him during the software giant's antitrust trial with the Department of Justice in the '90s. The South African-born Maritz denied ever making the widely quoted statement that Microsoft would "cut off Netscape's air supply" back when Netscape had the leading Internet browser.

Satoshi Nakajima, who worked for Maritz as lead software architect for Windows 95, was surprised to hear about the appointment when contacted by InternetNews.com.

"Wow. I think they [Microsoft] should forget about Yahoo and buy VMware," Nakajima said. "Maritz knows Steve Ballmer, and who knows, this whole thing could be setting the stage for Microsoft to do a deal."

The rumor mill also has Intel potentially interested in buying VMware. Either Intel or Microsoft could do it, but EMC's price tag would likely be staggering.

In any case, Nakajima said Maritz's knowledge of the enterprise software market makes him a good fit for VMware. "Paul Maritz was the reason Microsoft shifted more of their business to the enterprise side. He saw there was a lot more opportunity to make money from enterprises than consumers as far as the revenue per machine Microsoft could make."

Nakajima is currently president of Big Canvas, a startup working on photo-sharing software for Apple's iPhone.

Posted by David Needle at 4:24 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0) | Share

June 13, 2008, 8:44 PM

Celtics, Lakers fans make an online date

When it comes to the NBA finals there's no shortage of trash talk. Of course, the cries of "Kobe's a crybaby" and "Pierce is a faker" extend far beyond the arenas where the games are played to pubs, dorms, offices and the vast number of online getaways across the Web.  Basketball fans love their teams.

But in one instance Cupid has apparently kicked aside the Celtic's famed Leprechaun, and brought two rival fans together. John Madden and Lizzie Walters met last month on WooMe, the online speed-dating site I wrote about last year, that features video and voice chat sessions. She's the diehard Celtics fan from New York (go figure), he's the diehard Lakers fan (who once worked at the Lakers' Staples Center arena).

The playoffs were just beginning, but as the long distance, online relationship grew, John threw out a crazy idea to Lizzie: If the Celtics/Lakers made it to the finals and she flew out to L.A., he would get them tickets to a game. Well move over Jack Nicholson and Will Smith, coz that's just what happened. The two rival basketball fans are slated to finally meet in person this Sunday in L.A. for what could be the deciding game in the series (the C's are up 3 games to 1).

"This is more than a blind date, we're already pretty comfortable with one another," said John.

"It's a great site to interact with people because it takes away some of the uncomfortable aspects of meeting someone for the first time," Lizzie said. "But it still has a date feel, we've had fun."

There are no expectations beyond the game, though Lizzie said she expects John to "buy the drinks after the Celtics win." She flies back to New York Tuesday.

WooMe CEO Stephen Stokols said the site's generated plenty of offbeat stories related to online introductions. "We're calling it an introduction platform," he said, noting WooMe is not just for dating. For example a lot of people are using it for travel planning and looking for car pool partners. In addition to information in your profile, you can name a session related to your interests -- e.g. Dinner in Des Moines?

Stokols said the site's doing great, and investor's seem to recognize its potential; WooMe just announced $12.5 million in Series B funding.

Go Celtics!

Posted by David Needle at 8:44 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Share

June 12, 2008, 8:17 PM

Intel's CTO sounds a little bitter

Intel had its big Research Day yesterday at the Computer History Museum. I expected CTO Justin Rattner to set the table by highlighting some of the futuristic developments in the nearby exhibit hall.

Eventually he got around to some of that, but first, it seemed to me, Rattner wanted to get a few things off his chest. He talked about the impact research is having at Intel (NASDAQ: INTC), "not only on the thinking and thought process, but the products and technology forming the future of the company."

Then he noted the recent introduction of Atom, Intel's highly power-efficient processor for mobile devices.  "I discussed with (CEO) Paul Otellini a few months ago that we'd been working on low-power processors for quite a long time." He noted at Atom's big rollout "there was no mention of the very smart people who worked for years" on research related to its development.

"There were at least three attempts to sell the company on a low-power IA (Intel Architecture)," he recalled, starting in 1999 when a group of researchers undertook "significant work" to come out with much lower power versions of the Pentium line to as little as a few watts. "It was reviewed by the senior staff but didn't make the cut," Rattner said.

Work on the Atom began in 2004, and Rattner said he's gratified it's been so well received -- finally.

"We believed in the idea wholeheartedly," he said.  "It's a clear example of a long-term, persistent research effort ultimately having a big payoff. We believe Atom is the fastest CPU in the sub 3-watt space."

He then traced similar long-haul efforts to when vPro and work on WiMax was started -- 2002 and 1999 respectively. He said Intel had a vision for fixed and portable mobile connectivity superior to cellular back in 1999. WiMax "didn't just fall out of the sky" he said.

Giving new tech a chance

Later during a Q&A session, Rattner said in year's past some technology would end up on a shelf for years "because no one on the product side took a look at it." He said in recent years Intel's changed the way research presents its ideas, now interacting more with business product managers to see what's viable. "The hit rate has gone up dramatically," he said.

So is Rattner bitter that some of the research efforts took so long to see the light of day? I didn't get a chance to talk to him afterward, but at a minimum, it sounded to me like he wanted to be sure the research crew at Intel got some overdue love for its accomplishments.

Nathan Brookwood, Research Fellow at Insight64, said Intel, like most other large tech firms, works on projects that will never see the light of day.  "It's useful for a company the size of Intel to have programs going on because you never know when they'll need it."

He noted that Intel didn't appear to make a big push into lower-power chips until after Transmeta burst on the scene.  "Nobody at Intel was interested in low power in 1999," he said.

Except a group of researchers.

Posted by David Needle at 8:17 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Share

May 15, 2008, 8:51 PM

Mosaic and other disasters

HALF MOON BAY, Calif. — Bill Morrison had the best of intentions. The chief Internet analyst for ThinkPanmure was set to introduce Web legend Marc Andreessen before a group of tech savvy venture capitalists at the ThinkTomorrow —Today Summit this week at the posh Ritz Carlton here.

Morrisson said he was struggling to come up with something he hoped the audience hadn’t heard about Andreessen, who of course helped launch the first Internet browser, Mosaic, and co-founded Netscape, Opsware and Ning.

“I’ll never forget the first time I saw Mosaic because I had been using online services like CompuServe and AOL,” Morrison recalled. “I remember it like the time Reagan was shot and  9/11, I’ll never forget it.”

By then Andreessen had his head buried in his hands and was mumbling “thanks a lot” while the audience laughed.

Advice to moderators — keep the analogies positive!

Posted by David Needle at 8:51 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Share

May 7, 2008, 6:38 PM

Build a Supercomputer Day

What’s it take to build a supercomputer these days?

One way is to first buy a whole lot of Dell computers and set aside a day, that’s right, just a day, to set it all up. That’s what Purdue University did this week with 812 Dell PowerEdge 1950 dual quad-core computer nodes.

More than 200 university employees participated in “Installation Day” Monday, May 5, actually taking only the half the day to build a new HPCC (High Performance Computer and Communications) system. You can see a 30 second sped up video of the Purdue folks loading the racks and software to bring the systems online.

The new HPCC will be used for research across a variety of disciplines, including engineering, biological and earth and atmospheric sciences, mathematics and physics. Purdue said its leading researchers pooled their grants and provided a majority of the funding for the cluster, which is housed at the University’s Mathematics Building on campus.

“This new supercomputer will enhance Purdue’s research capabilities and support our efforts to make significant advances in a variety of areas, from designing new drugs and materials to learning the structures of disease-causing viruses,” said Gerry McCartney, vice president for information technology and chief information officer, Purdue University.

When Michael Dell started PCs Limited (later renamed Dell) in 1984 out his college dorm room, it was one of the first to offer IBM PC-compatibles for sale via mail order. Wonder if he ever dreamed he’d eventually be shipping the components to build a supercomputer?

Posted by David Needle at 6:38 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Share

April 24, 2008, 4:32 PM

Netscape Firebrand Tones it Down
SAN FRANCISCO -- Marc Andreeson wasn't shy about criticizing Microsoft back in the days when the software giant slowly ate away at Netscape's once dominant browser's market share. Andreeson, of course, founded Netscape and the pioneering browser of the same name.

In the government's antitrust case against the software giant over bundling and monopolistic practices, former Microsoft executive Paul Maritz was famously quoted in an internal email that bundling Internet Explorer with Windows would "cut off Netscape's air supply".

But Andreeson, co-founder of social networking site, Ning, was given plenty of chances to zing Microsoft here in a keynote interview at the Web 2.0 conference today, but took a pass. Asked what he thinks of Bill Gates, Andreeson said he made "an unbelievable contribution to industry. It's hard to conceive of the PC  industry [evolving] if Microsoft hadn't standardized the OS and IBM the PC. If that incompatible regime had continued the PC industry would be much smaller and I don't think the Internet would have had the growth it's had."

He also noted the mobile side reminds him a lot of the PC industry before standard platforms evolved. "I don't know if it ever will" standardize, he said.

Asked by an audience member what can be done about all the security holes in today's browsers Andreeson said, "I can't do a damn thing."

There was perhaps a more subtle dig at Microsoft in his follow up. "The browser and systems software over a long period of time has gotten quite complicated," said Andreeson. "That means a continuous cat and mouse game for years to come" between Internet developers and criminals looking to exploit weakness in the systems.

Posted by David Needle at 4:32 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Share

March 14, 2008, 3:29 PM

Mobile Phones -- Good for Your Health?

Well, it's not quite the phone that's a health aid, but a new service launched today called Wellphone, promises to help you keep your fitness quest on track when you're on the go.

Nothing to download, you just register at the Wellsphere Web site. Once registered, you can get text message reminders, daily tips, local health-related resources and log progress toward fitness goals from your mobile phone.

Wellsphere quotes a Stanford Prevention Center study that tracked a group of people's workout habits over eight weeks. The results? Those who received mobile reminders worked out for five hours per week on average, three hours more than the control group. But no real surprise there, we all know nagging  works -- except when it comes to my teenage son.

I poked around Wellsphere's Web site and saw they have quite a few resources including how-to videos and plenty of community entries. There's also an Enterprise Solutions area for companies that want to get their employees doing a few squat thrusts in between trips to the snack room.

"Wellthy employees make healthy companies" is their slogan -- interesting play on words. Here in Silicon Valley I think there are plenty of gym rats, but the overriding corporate philosophy is more like "healthy companies make wealthy employees". Perhaps the two aren't mutually exclusive.

Posted by David Needle at 3:29 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Share

March 5, 2008, 8:01 PM

Clickety-Clack? Apple Says Stay in The Back

For many years, Apple CEO Steve Jobs has complained and put tight restrictions on photography during his appearances. More recently, the once total ban on flash photography has been lifted at his Macworld Expo keynote to allow the pool of media photogs to snap away during the first several minutes of the event. Any further flashes were met with stern warnings from Apple personnel to knock it off.

Now it appears Jobs & Company want to further micromanage the media's behavior. Ahead of Thursday morning's iPhone SDK event on the Apple campus, I received a call from an Apple PR guy wanting to make sure I was clear on the logistics for the event and asking if I would be covering it for news. When I said I would be, he said Apple's going to have power outlets in the back of the small auditorium for all the reporters with notebooks. When I said, I didn't need the power outlet he said all the people with notebooks we're going to be asked to sit in the back, rather than up front, so the "clickety-clack of typing" won't be a distraction.

Which of course brought back memories of Hal Glatzer. Hal who? Hal was one of the first reporters to use the Tandy Model 100 portable computer at press events. We're talking Wayback Machine here, the 1980s. Everyone else was still using paper notebooks or tape recorders.

But Hal soon tired of the stares and glares in response to the clickety-clack of his typing at these events. So he came up with an ingenious idea. Hal inserted those tiny rubber elastic bands used in braces, under the keys on the Model 100 to soften the sound.

Worked like a charm, though portable computers soon became so common at press events the sound of typing ceased to bother anyone.

Until now.

Posted by David Needle at 8:01 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Share

March 5, 2008, 3:02 PM

Apple CEO Hid Cancer Diagnosis Nine Months

The MacFaithful breathed a collective sigh of relief when Apple CEO announced in 2004 the bad news/good news that he had faced a life-threatening illness, but was cured. Jobs had been given the usually fatal diagnosis he had pancreatic cancer, but it turned out to be a rare treatable form of the disease. And luckily for Jobs, the surgery was a success.

But an in-depth article in Fortune article reveals Jobs kept important details tightly under wraps. Jobs left the impression he acted on the diagnosis and had the surgery quickly, when in fact, Fortune reports, he waited some nine months while he tried "alternative methods" including an unspecified special diet, to try and cure himself. Finally, after being urged by members of Apple's Board of Directors and others, Jobs had the surgery on July 31, 2004 at Stanford University Medical Center in Palo Alto near his home.

Jobs' illness was the subject of much discussion among Apple's Board, which wrestled with how much responsibility it had to go public given the importance of the CEO at Apple. In the end, and on the advise of counsel, it said nothing publicly on the matter. The Fortune article notes that Jobs' Buddhist and vegetarian beliefs left him skeptical of mainstream medicine.

While no one wants to hear they have cancer, Jobs is one lucky fellow under the circumstances and the risk he took in delaying surgery. 

Dr. Roderich Schwarz, chairman of surgical oncology at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, who has performed the procedure more than 150 times (but who was not involved in Jobs' case), told Fortune that waiting more than a few weeks with this diagnosis "makes no sense because you don't know what the potential for growth or spread is." Schwarz said he knows of no evidence that diet can be helpful, but that it's up to the patient to decide how he or she wants to be treated.

Apparently Jobs really does live by the credo of an earlier Apple ad campaign: Think Different.

 

Posted by David Needle at 3:02 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Share