Free Soft

Not long ago, I was sitting across from the CEO of a media company. He showed enormous pride in the social value of his organization - in delivering news to the world via a global team of thoughtful, award-winning journalists.

He asked what made me proud to be at Sun. Among a number of things, I said I'm proudest of the role Sun plays in making sure stories like his are told - "Our technologies, after all, are how your journalists file their stories, and we play a central role in how you present them to the world via the network." I am unreservedly proud of Sun's role in making the world a more open, transparent place.

Beyond professional journalism, the network is a social utility for the world's citizenry - whose digital cameras and cell phones and blog postings and emails form a tidal wave of transparency. We live in a world whose traumas and triumphs are visible instantaneously. Sunlight's not just a great disinfectant, it's a wonderful safety net, too - you can't fix the problems you don't know about. But once you know about a problem, even small attempts to help, multiplied over the long tail of the internet, can make an extraordinary difference.

Over the past few days, the world has watched an earthquake in China lead to the death and dislocation of countless thousands. The San Francisco Bay Area, where Sun is headquartered, has felt the impact deeply - beyond co-workers, friends and family, we've suffered our own traumas with earthquakes. A cyclone in Myanmar triggered similar thoughts among those of us effected by hurricanes in New Orleans, Louisiana.

But the world's an increasingly transparent place. And any help, from $1 to $1m, multiplied over the world, makes a difference.

Which is why I'm sending personal funds to the relief organizations I trust to bring aid to those stricken.

And I'm encouraging you to take the time to make a similar choice.

Tagi: enormous pride, phes, earthquake in china, countless thousands, delivering news, global team, ays, citizenry, traumas, tidal wave, digital cameras, safety net, earthquakes, triumphs, co workers, hurricanes, 1m, transparency, ace, sunlight

Your work is dangerous and your co-workers rely on you to stay alive. But you can never get far from those colleagues. You can't see your family for months, even years. The food isn't great. And forget stepping out for some fresh air.

Tagi: solace, astronauts, co workers, fresh air, colleagues

photo Courtesy of Susan V. Philips It’s always at the last minute that I decide to join in on Halloween festivities. As one of my co-workers pointed out, it is the only day of the year when it’s not only acceptable, but generally encouraged to dress up. Just in case you were wondering, there’s [...]

Tagi: halloween festivities, day of the year, co workers, photo courtesy, philips, halloween, last minute

You may remember the original Annoy-a-tron, a tiny device designed to annoy the crap out of friends and enemies alike. Well, now there's the new Annoy-a-tron 2.0, taking the obnoxiousness to new heights.

The Annoy-a-tron is a tiny device that plays annoying sounds at random intervals, perfect for hiding in your targets office. While the original would just play one annoying sound, the 2.0 version has five different sounds, allowing you to specifically choose your form of torment. The sounds are:

-15kHz (Mosquito tone) (full volume)
-Cricket chirping (medium/low volume)
-IM Doorbell (low volume)
-Grating Electronic noise (full volume)
-Typical Electronic Beep (medium volume)

Yes, that mosquito tone is the frequency that young people can hear and older people or people with bad hearing cannot, making it the perfect setting for "annoying" your toddlers when they're trying to sleep.

The tiny device has two magnets on board and a battery that will provide it with four full weeks of juice, provided you hide it well enough to torture someone for a full month. [ThinkGeek]

Tagi: random intervals, friends and enemies, annoying sounds, tiny device, annoying sound, obnoxiousness, medium volume, tr 2, tron 2, cricket chirping, grating, doorbell, mth, pranks, beep, mosquito, co workers, torment, toddlers, magnets