When I was a teenage computer nerd in the 80s, I really admired SUN and their workstations. I dreamed of working for Sun, and that dream came true in 2001 when I was hired to a small group that created custom Solaris kernel modifications in the days before Open Solaris.
These days I do operating system bringup on new server hardware, working on new technology that truly pushes the state of the art. I've had a hand in platforms that break I/O world records, surpass everybody in virtualization performance and are on the Top 500 list of worldwide supercomputing sites. The project I'm technology I'm working on today for release later this year is mind blowing in its capabilities. I'm proud to work for a group that remains profitable and growing within Sun.
Today is a difficult day for me as well as thousands of other former Sun employees. We're watching the death of a Silicon Valley icon. The brands will remain, but the assimilation into the Oracle Collective should be interesting, to say the least.
I'm hopeful, though, with this new combined company. My skillset is pretty unique and my skills are in demand in spite of the economic downturn. Several recruiters who know of the turmoil and uncertainty at Sun have called, hoping to reel me in. With Oracle's acquisition (official as of today), I believe Oracle's huge marketing and sales organization will help my organization sell lots of the hardware I help design.
Nobody knows what tomorrow holds, whether it's something good or bad. I to beleive that everything works out for the good in the end.
And like Sun's ex-CEO Jonathan Schwartz encoded in his farewell message last week: Beat IBM! :-)
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Interesting. I worked for Sequent and then Informix in the Bay Area, back in the early 90s. My job was to tweak hardware and software to get as much performance as possible out of the combination of SMPs and RDBMS. Back then, a "big" database was 100 GB, which fits in memory these days. IBM ended up buying both Sequent and later Informix. Sequent didn't survive the merger, but Informix Dynamic Server lives on.
ReplyDeleteAll the best to you and your colleagues!
ReplyDeleteWelcome to the Oracle team. I enjoy reading your blog from my Oracle home office.
ReplyDeletescott/tiger welcomes you to the family.
ReplyDeleteCongrats, Fritz! Can we start calling you 'Casandra' now?
ReplyDeleteTHe uncertainty of today's world makes you look for something in your life or even in the world that will bring you peace. Find it, and money never becomes #1 desire. Maybe I should get married?
ReplyDelete