This was a party with a difference. Held in Mumbai, it was broadcast to 40 countries across the globe, with the host hogging the limelight. Small wonder because the party in question was Sun Microsystem's recent Sunergy show, and the host "" the company's co-founder and director, John Gage.
The infotech heavyweight is also a member of the scientific and advisory body of the US National Science Foundation, the US Congress Office of Technology Assessment, among others.
Gage founded Sun with four others in 1982, and takes the opportunity 15 years later to look back: Around the time I started Sun, the microprocessor was bringing about a revolution. And I wanted to create something similar. So years later, Java was born. Next came the network computer with more promises to change the face of computing and, of course, the emperor Microsoft.
Predicts Gage: In a couple of years, the income tax department will hold a serious discussion on how to track sales on the Internet. Law enforcing authorities will be worried about their lack of control on the WorldWideWeb and try to enforce a ban on encryption. But this will be opposed by businessmen who support it for security purposes.
The infotech guru had more sage advice, this time for newspaper barons: Hop on to the web "" the sooner the better. Continues Gage: Ad revenue will reduce drastically as more and more companies turn to the net. This has already started happening in California. Papers here are not yet threatened because Internet access is limited.
Judging by the number of newspapers that have gone on-line in the last couple of months, Gage's words are definitely worth paying heed to.
After some Microsoft bashing and gentle digs at Bill Gates, the party's over. The next stop for the Sun man will be China, India's arch rival in the infotech industry.